Kinsale Yacht Club Clinch Inaugural Irish Sailing League Title on Dublin Bay

22nd April 2024

Afloat.ie Team

Competitors arrive at a robotic mark in the INSS J80 fleet of keelboats at the inaugural Irish Sailing League hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Kinsale Yacht Club emerged as the winner of the inaugural Irish Sailing League 2024 after 20 races sailed off Dun Laoghaire on Sunday.

The light wind league was hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and organised by Kenny Rumball and his Irish National Sailing School team in the school's fleet of J80 keelboats.

Tight racing in the INSS J80 fleet of keelboats at the inaugural Irish Sailing League hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

According to provisional results (below), the 20-race event—with no discard—saw Kinsale finish on 98 points five points ahead of Dublin rivals, the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

A finish at the Irish Sailing League 2024 on Dublin Bay officiated by the RIYC Committee Vessel 'Spirit of the Irish' Photo: Afloat

The Kinsale winners were Sam Hunt, Micheal O’Suilleabhain, Sorcha O’Suilleabhain, Ben Fusco and Mike Carroll, who were presented with the inaugural Irish Sailing League Cup and winners medals by league organiser Kenny Rumball.

Courtown Sailing Club from County Wexford finished third with 106 points.

The league was made possible thanks to the INSS J80 keelboat fleet Photo: Afloat

In a successful staging that featured many firsts for an Irish regatta, the organisers pioneered the use of robotic marks, which have been hailed as a great success.

Conditions were such that virtually every course changed with regard to wind strength and direction, and Race Officer Barry O'Neill told Afloat that "the event would not have been possible without robotics."

Kinsale Yacht Club winners are presented with the inaugural Irish Sailing League Cup and winners medals by league organiser Kenny Rumball (right). The Kinsale winners were: Sam Hunt, Micheal O’Suilleabhain, Sorcha O’Suilleabhain, Ben Fusco and Mike Carroll

Irish Sailing League Results 2024

Published in Irish Sailing League, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Kinsale, INSS

Published in Irish Sailing League

Tagged under

Irish Sailing League

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About the Irish Sailing League

The inaugural Irish Sailing League 2023, under the control of Kenneth Rumball, will be sailed over three weekends, in late June and early July, in Dun Laoghaire, and the plan is to race in Scotsman’s Bay vicinity.

In the first instance, each club is limited to one entry, but this may be increased based on the number of clubs wishing to participate. Worth noting, too, that in future years the plan would be to extend the event to include regional rounds in North, South, East and West.

Each Club must nominate a crew. The maximum crew number is 4, all members of the same club, and one crew must be female. The crew number and lineup cannot be changed later than seven days before the first race without a points penalty.