The Royal Irish Yacht Club is set to stage its second annual J Cup Ireland this weekend (September 7/8), the second of three big cruiser-racer events the Dun Laoghaire Harbour club is staging this September.
Three champions from last weekend's IRC ICRA cruiser-racer national championships return to the RIYC this Friday to contest the Northern Trust J Cup Ireland 2024, which sees a combined fleet of up to 40 boats.
This year's Cup features one design racing for three J designs: the J109, the J24, and the J80, as well as IRC racing for a mixed fleet of J cruiser racers.
For a second weekend running, the weather gods will provide Royal Irish organisers with more light to moderate sailing breezes forecast from the north, with Saturday looking like a sub-five knot day.
A highlight this weekend will be the 2024 'European' championships of the J109 class that are incorporated as part of the event and one that has drawn entries from across the south coast of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, with a strong showing by the host club.
The event also includes the National Championships of the J80s and the J24 class Eastern Championships. Download the Sailing Instructions below.
J Boats have long been dominant in IRC and class racing in Ireland, and the J Cup will bring together all the J Boats classes for the second time following the inaugural Cup in 2023.
As Afloat's WM Nixon wrote on the new initiative, 'the introduction of fresh initiatives for established J classes has provided extra leases of life' for some of these GRP models.
With a weigh-in for J109 competitors on Friday, the first races begin on Saturday and run until Sunday afternoon. There will be a maximum of four races on any day. Six are scheduled.
J109s to contest European title
Robin Young's Jings is one of two Scottish entries contesting the J109 European Championships, which is being raced as part of the J Cup Ireland Photo: Marc Turner
A 14-boat fleet will contest the J109 European Championships, which is being raced as part of the J Cup Ireland. Competitors come from across the south coast of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Ten boats are from Dublin, with the host club fielding four entries. National Yacht Club neighbours have three entries, and Howth Yacht Club has three, including the recently crowned ICRA IRC One champion Outrajeous of John and Suzie Murphy. John Maybury's Joker II and Barry Cunningham's Chimaera (second and third, respectively, at the ICRAs) are racing again.
While the defending J Cup champion Outrajeous must be seen as the favourite, this weekend all the boats will be racing as one design. As pundits will tell you, ultimately, it will boil down to the talent sailing onboard each boat that will decide the outcome.
Unfortunately, Afloat sources say the Solent's Jukebox (John Smart), who scored second overall at Cowes Week 2024 in a nine-boat fleet, although entered, will not be racing due to a 'keel problem' and the boat is still in Dartmouth.
Two of the J109s from Scotland's RC35 class are contesting the championships with the Scottish Series IRC 1 fleet winner, Ben Shelley's Mocking-J and Robin Young's Jings, both in action on the Bay.
J109 European Championship entries:
- IRL 53222 Riders on the Storm Robert Kerr RIYC
- RL1543 Indian Simon Knowles HYC
- IRL 28898 Powder Monkey Chris Moore NYC
- IRL1141 Storm Pat Kelly HYC/RSC
- GBR1242R White Mischief Richard & Timothy Goodbody RIYC
- IRL2160 Chimaera Barry Cunningham RIYC
- GBR9091 Jukebox John Smart RORC
- IRL1383 Ruth Tom Shanahan NYC
- GBR8543R Jings Robin Young RNCYC
- IRL19109 Outrageous John & Suzie Murphy HYC
- GBR8529C Mocking-J Ben and Jono Shelley FYC/LSC
- IRL29213 Something Else Brian & John Hall NYC
- IRL1206 Joker 2 John Maybury RIYC
- IRL5109 Jalapeno James Peter Donegan KYC
Valentina seeking J Cup IRC title
Three J99s are contesting the J Cup Ireland IRC division with 2022 ICRA Boat of the Year, Snapshot (Michael & Richard Evans) from Howth (pictured above), joined by Dun Laoghaire's brand new Miss Ollie and David Lean's Jackpot from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club Photo: Afloat
A seven-boat IRC fleet includes the overall leader in the 2024 ISORA offshore series. Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox's J122 Mojito return to inshore competition but will be up against the might of one of this season's prime movers, Johnny Treanor's J112e Valentina that won last weekend's IRC Zero ICRA title and before that, July's overall Volvo Cork Week crown. Three J99s are also contesting this division with 2022 ICRA Boat of the Year, Snapshot (Michael & Richard Evans) from Howth, joined by Dun Laoghaire's brand new Miss Ollie and David Lean's Jackpot from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club.
J IRC entries:
- J105 GBR1510R Only Just Ian McMillan SCYC/PSC/LYC/RMYC 0.995
- J112e IRL3721 Valentina Johnny Treanor NYC/RIYC 1.048
- J99 IRL 1699 Snapshot Michael & Richard Evans HYC 1.014
- J99 GBR8799R Jackpot David Lean SCYC 1.002
- J99 IRL 1799 Mister Ollie Davis Inglis RIYC 1.012
- J122 GBR4822R Mojito Peter Dunlop Pwllheli SC 1.087
- J122 IRL35950 Aurelia Chris & Patanne Power Smith RSGYC 1.071
Eight J24s for East Coast battle
The 2024 IRC Three ICRA winner Jupiter, sailed by Conor Haughton, Jonny Flood, Charles Heather, and Garrett Kinnane will contest the J24 class East Coast championships this weekend at the Northern Trust J Cup Ireland at the Royal Irish Yacht Club Photo: Afloat
The official entry list does not mention the Irish J24 European champions Headcase—who also recently lifted the national title on Lough Erne but last weekend's IRC Three ICRA winner Jupiter, sailed by Conor Haughton, Jonny Flood, Charles Heather, and Garrett Kinnane, is listed for the eight-boat East Coast Championships that are drawn from eight separate Irish yacht clubs, (none of them local).
J24 East Coast Championship entries:
- IRL4794 Hard On Port David Bailey Bray Sailing Club
- IRL 5481 Blind Squirrel Colm O'Flaherty Sligo Yacht Club
- IRL680 Kilcullen Jack McMahon HYC
- IRL4236 Kinsailor Mikey Carroll KYC
- IRL4217 Hedgehog Mark Usher GSC
- IRL 4384 Proud Mary Brian McConville CLYC
- IRL4533 Crazy Horse Luke McBride LEYC
- IRL 5270 Jupiter Conor Haughton, Jonny Flood, Charles Heather, Garrett Kinnane WSC
O'Neill's Mojo to defend J80 National title
Lisney Sotheby's International Realty sailed by Jonathan Craig of the RStGYC will contest the national J80 title as part of this weekend's Northern Trust J Cup Ireland at the Royal Irish Yacht Club Photo: Michael Chester
Pat O'Neill's Mojo will defend her national J80 title at this year's Cup against a six-boat fleet. Howth Yacht Club's O'Neill is the only visitor to the Bay, with the rest of the fleet all drawn from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, including new entrant Red Cloud skippered by Owen Laverty of the RStGYC. As regular Afloat readers know, the first overall J Cup Ireland winner was awarded to O’Neill last year after he scored four out of five wins across two days of racing.
J80 East Coast Championship entries:
- IRL1730 Ram Jam Austin Kenny RIYC
- IRL1303 Jitterbug Conall OHalloran RStGYC
- Mojo Pat O'Neill HYC
- GBR605 Jambiya Martin Ryan RIYC
- IRL 1609 Lisney Sotheby's International Realty Jonathan Craig RStGYC
- 1408 Red Cloud Owen Laverty RStGYC
