Pete Smyth's Sunfast 3600 Searcher from the National Yacht Club was the overall handicap winner of Sunday's Leinster Boats-sponsored DMYC Kish Race on Dublin Bay.
Smyth's crew led the 36-boat fleet from Dun Laoghaire Harbour's start to finish line in the last big event of the Bay’s summer sailing programme.
Start vid below by Barry O'Neill
The race lived up to its billing regarding fleet size and the return of summer sailing conditions with a balmy 17-degree air temperature for the October 1st race and a pleasant westerly breeze of up to 15 knots and a relatively flat sea state to boot.
A mix of cruisers and small one-design keelboats at the start of the DMYC Kish Race 2023 at Dun Laoghaire's East Pier lighthouse including the third overall 20-foot Flying Fifteen (red and black spinnaker) skippered by Keith Poole Photo: Afloat
Smyth finished in an elapsed time of three hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds, but won only by a margin of 46 seconds on corrected time from Frank Whelan's Archambault A31, Crazy Diamond.
In third place was one of the many one-design keelboats competing, as Keith Poole's 20-foot long, two-man Flying Fifteen, Mike Wazowski, finished in an elapsed time of 4:08:45 corrected to 3:43:53 on local handicap.
The Kish Race fleet cross Dun Laoghaire Harbour mouth Photo: Afloat
The results produced yet another overall ISORA racer as the event winner, as last year's Kish title went to a former Irish Sea Champion, Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia.
The successful staging of the 2023 race, under Race Officer Cormac Bradley, was a tribute to the late Ben Mulligan, who was DMYC's Kish Race organiser until 2022.
The fleet passed south of a mark in the proximity of the South Burford on the outward and return legs to the Kish to comply with Dublin Port requirements
There was a strong one-design keelboat presence in the all-in fleet with seven Ruffian 23s, four Shipman 28s, four Flying Fifteens, two 31.7s and an SB20 competing in the 36-boat fleet.
David Roche's Dufour 32 classic Hebe IV to leeward with John O'Callaghan's Shipman Ruadh on the outbound leg to the Kish Lighthouse Photo: Afloat
15 knots from the West gave the fleet a shy reach to the Kish lighthouse Photo: Afloat
G&S O'Shea's Superseal 26 Gung-Ho and Frank Bradley's Ruffian 23 Ripples race past the Norwegian Star cruise liner moored on Dublin Bay on the outward bound leg to the Kish lighthouse Photo: Afloat
Michael Walsh's Westerly Falcon, Leda competing in the 2023 DMYC Kish Race on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat
John Clarke's Shipman Jo Slim competing in the 2023 DMYC Kish Race on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat
Michael Ryan's Nicholson 31 Saki competing in the 2023 DMYC Kish Race on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat
