The forced postponement of the Kish Race, with sponsorship from Leinster Boats, from the last Sunday of September to the first Sunday of October was completely vindicated with a forty-plus fleet who enjoyed glorious sunshine and pleasant wind conditions to start them off on their journey to the Kish lighthouse in Dublin Bay. Traditionally sailed as the last race of the summer season and hosted by the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, it was a poignant reminder of the vagaries of life as the 2022 edition was the last occasion on which the late Ben Mulligan was involved, when he set the limit mark at the start.
This year, 2023, the race was opened to the Flying Fifteens, of which there were a few on the water, some of whom enjoyed a prominent place on the start line – a running start under spinnaker.
"The surprise package was the Flying Fifteen of Team Poole”
An innovation this year was the setting of an offset mark which the fleet had to leave to port on their outward passage and to starboard on the reverse leg. This took the form of an inflatable mark put in position by Race Organiser Neil Colin, with co-ordinates detailed in the Sailing Instructions. While one boat challenged the distance from the start line to the offset mark, it didn’t appear to put them off their game, as the final results would attest later in the day.
As Afloat reported earlier, the wind at the start was slightly west of SW and was of the order of 8/9 knots, with gusts getting into the low teens. A clean start at the first time of asking saw the fleet streaming past the mouth of the harbour on their way to the offset mark, with Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (FF 3938) and Keith & Katie Poole (FF 4093) at the inshore flank of the fleet.
The 2023 Kish Race fleet crosses the mouth of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Afloat
It seems the wind started to fade as the fleet went further south and post-race reports suggested the leg from the offset mark to the Kish was verging on tortuous so light and fickle was the wind. Indeed, the Race Committee based at the hut on the West Pier and Neil Colin debated the merits of attempting a shortened course. However, patience and maybe good fortune persevered, and the fleet enjoyed a brisker breeze for the leg home to the finish.
The forty plus fleet head out to the Kish Lighthouse Photo: Afloat
From the Hut there appeared to be some unusual approaches to the Kish, which was to be left to Port, but watching a race progress under binoculars from that distance can be very distorting.
What became apparent though on the return leg was that a black-sailed boat was leading the charge home on the water and when said sails rounded the end of the East Pier and a black hull appeared with them, it wasn’t hard to guess which boat this was – Searcher, the Sunfast 3600!
Overall Kish Race winner Searcher came home in a time of 3hr 19min and 15 seconds Photo: Afloat
Searcher came home in a time of 3hr 19min and 15 seconds with the Archambault A31 Crazy Diamond, out of Greystones, second on the water in a time of 3hr 33min and 15 seconds and the First 34.7 Black Velvet third on the water in a time of 3hr 49min and 25 seconds. The surprise package was the Flying Fifteen, “Mike Wazowski” of “Team Poole”, who had an elapsed time of 4hr 08min and 45seconds, placing them well up the pecking order in terms of on the water finishes, just ahead of the Mustang 30, Black Sheep in 4hr 09min and 19 seconds. Other class times were the SB20, “SportChip.ie” of Grzegorz Kalinecki at 3hr 57min and 43 seconds; the Shipman 28 of David Freeman, “Toucan” at 4hr 48min and 12 seconds and the first Ruffian 23 of Brendan Duffy, “Carmen” at 4hr 49min and 05 seconds.
From L to R; Ronan Beirne, Frank Guilfoyle, Evan O’Connor & Peter Smyth, Searcher, 1st Overall, Kish Race 2023 Photo: Cormac Bradley
L to R: Ronan Beirne of Leinster Boats, David Freeman & Crew, Toucan, 1st Shipman 28 in the Kish Race and Frank Guilfoyle Photo: Photo: Cormac Bradley
L to R: Ronan Beirne, Leinster Boats, Frank Guilfoyle, DMYC, Brendan Duffy and Enda, Carmen, 1st Ruffian. (Photo Cormac Bradley
The results had to be amended three times before a result sheet was pinned up for final consideration, as the requirement of rounding the offset mark generated some genteel debate about compliance. However, a prize-giving did take place in the DMYC to round out the day’s proceedings.
Top five Kish race 2023
The prize-giving opened with due thanks to Leinster Boats’ Ronan Beirne and Dublin Port who gave permission for the Race to take place, given their responsibility for managing and vetting traffic into and out of the Port. Additional thanks were given to the staff at the DMYC for their help in preparing for the Race and hosting the prize-giving.
In addition to the Overall Trophy, 2nd, and 3rd places overall, first double-handed crew, 1st Shipman and 1st Ruffian 23, a prize in memory of Ben Mulligan was presented in recognition of his involvement with recent Kish Races and was awarded to the Best Placed “Young” person in the fleet. Katie Poole was awarded this trophy. Keith and Katie also picked up the prize for the first double-handed crew.
Katie Poole receives the Kish Race's Ben Mulligan Trophy - with Ronan Beirne of Leinster Boats, Frank Guilfoyle and Dad, Keith Poole Photo: Cormac Bradley
