Ever since Fintan Cairns of Dun Laoghaire and the late Jim Donegan of Cork brought the Irish Cruiser-Racer Association into being twenty years ago, ICRA’s Annual Conference & AGM has provided a fascinating overview of the state of play in this most popular yet notably diverse sector of our national sailing scene.

But although the ICRA Commodore (currently Dave Cullen of Howth) will have to guide the formal and sometimes very technical aspects of the 2023 meeting through to the optimum conclusions this morning in the Royal St George YC, there’s no doubting the fact that the mood will really leap to life when there’s a presentation which, in effect, brings the sea and sailing right into the room.

Last year in Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club, with the social aspects of sailing only just emerging from the Pandemic Lockdown, there was a stroke of genius with Fastnet Race overall winner Tom Kneen of the JPK 11.80 Sunrise being spirited across from Plymouth in a private plane to tell of his “secret formula” in boat choice, crew selection and campaign structure.

THE KNEEN EFFECT

The Kneen Effect had resulted in the clear overall win in the Fastnet, the real overall win in the Middle Sea Race, and subsequently a Class win in the Sydney-Hobart Race. So merely to be in the room with this affable campaigner – whose amiable personality clearly camouflages a personal core of purest marine grade steel – was as inspirational as it was instructive.

The buildup begins. Snapshot’s crew and supporters in Kinsale, June 2021, tops in the O’Leary Insurances Sovereigns Cup series with Anthony O’Leary himself (left) to launch them on two seasons of rising success. Photo: Robert Bateman

Thus it says much about the current healthy state of ICRA and its members that today’s “atmospheric, inspirational and instructive” presenter slot is being filled from within the Association’s own ranks. For the “Man With a Plan and a Powerpoint Presentation” is Mike Evans, co owner-skipper with his brother Richie in the all-conquering J/99 Snapshot from Howth, the ICRA Boat of the Year which - by diligently availing of every summer easing of movement restrictions – has blazed a comet-like streak across the Irish cruiser-racing firmament, both inshore and offshore, since she was commissioned in April 2021.

TEAM EVANS TO STAR ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BAY TODAY

Obviously the real meat of the information exchange will emerge from this morning’s Q & A session. And there may be more to be learnt this evening back in Howth, when the Snapshot team are to be given a proper welcome home by their fellow members with their newly-acquired Top Boat Trophy in Howth YC at 6.30pm. So though the focus is rightly on the moment and Snapshot’s almost dreamlike achievements, a little bit of background wouldn’t go amiss.

It says everything about the quality of the Snapshot campaigning that their crew panel should include the internationally-successful former RORC Rear Commodore Laura Dillon (centre). Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’Brien

For the Evans family have contributed at least as much to life ashore in Howth and the sensible development of the village as they have to the success of sailing from the harbour. For it was Mike and Richie’s father Tom, a New Zealand airline pilot recruited by Aer Lingus but now nearing retirement, who spotted an opportunity hidden in plain sight with an historic but under-utilised building for which he envisaged an unexpected and bright future.

EVANS INSPIRATION FOR NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD BUILDING

Back in the early 1800s when workers were coming from all over Ireland to find employment in the construction of the new harbour under the noted engineer John Rennie, Howth was tiny, lacking in most facilities including a Catholic church. So in their spare time, the workers built themselves a church, a simple sensible building with a few basic yet evocative external decorative stone carvings illustrating, among other things, the little railroad trolleys which brought the stone for the new harbour down from the nearby Kilrock Quarry.

Despite its decline as a cross-channel ferryport because of the increasingly large size of ferries and the better options of Kingstown, Howth eventually thrived as a fishing port and expanding harbourside village. So much so, that in the 1870s a leading Wicklow stonemason, William Lacy, was brought in to build a proper church of attractive character which is now central to the main village (for Howth has at least three parts).

CREATIVE INPUT FOR HOWTH

The Lacys stayed on and became one of Howth’s leading sailing families, and meanwhile the former “harbour-builders’ chapel” was de-consecrated and used for a variety of functions, none of which seemed to do it justice. In fact, as it was set back from the main street with newer buildings intruding on the useful space in front, many folk more or less forgot about it until Tom Evans came up with the Renaissance Project to make the building the centre of a miniature business park, perfectly placed right in the hidden heart of “old Howth”.

Unlike some re-purposed churches, the former “Harbour Builders’ Chapel” in Howth has lent itself well to its new identity as the Renaissance Building. Photo: Streets of Dublin

Meanwhile, another Evans family interest through Tom’s Irish wife Rosemary was in skincare products. Here again, they were ahead of the curve, for it’s only now that most of us are aware that Ireland has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world. Yet years ago the Evans family were working at making skincare mainstream and sensible, rather than a vanity interest, such that now the Howth-based Renaissance Products – with Michael Evans (who of course, was to have one of the first all-electric Tesla cars in Howth) as Managing Director. The firm has become the largest professional skincare distribution company in Ireland, regularly winning international awards for the success of their business operation.

INTO SAILING

And like most families living in Howth, the Evans clan availed of the peninsula’s many outdoor sports possibilities, with young Mike setting the pace in sailing, particularly after he’d become very active in Laser racing with a bit of Mirror experience going into a mix which has since gone on to include alternatives of an International 14, a B 14, and now an RS800. But meanwhile the 1720 Sportsboats from Cork started to become the hot class, and he and younger brother Richie moved into that and learnt much while getting themselves on the podium with regularity.

No matter what business is at hand in Howth, you’re never far from a sailing connection. Mike Evans in his capacity as MD of Renaissance Products presents an award to Sally Ann Collier of Howth Haven Skincare. Sally Ann’s father Denis McBride raced two Fastnets as an Admirals Cup crewman, and was for several seasons a regular crewmember aboard the frequent ISORA-winning Leemara (Bill Cuffe-Smith, Howth YC).

That in turn gave them a taste for the possibilities of boat modification, and for several years they campaigned and up-dated the Rob Humphreys-designed Half Tonner The Big Picture with the hyper-hot Half Ton Classic class at Howth. But the picture from The Big Picture seems to be that they were only reaching their peak towards the end of each season, and though regular overall victories in the Howth Autumn League were a rewarding way to finish the summer’s sailing, they decided that season-long value might be better served by a carefully-selected multi-purpose off-the-shelf standard racing machine. Out of a personal short-list of J/99, J/109, Cape 31, and Italia 998, they settled on a J/99.

IT’S ALL IN THE NAME

The Big Picture, having started to run up astronomical costs at Cinerama levels, was sold to Belgium, and it tells us much about the completeness of the Evans way of doing things that they then chose a new J/99 and called her Snapshot. A snapshot is about as far as you can get from a big picture. And with more tightly-controlled budgets and readily available options for the best in sails and J/99-friendly equipment, they had more organisational energy to build up a crew panel of like-minded and extremely talented sailors, such that since April 2021, campaigning with Snapshot has been a largely happy and congenial affair.

Yet another excuse for us to use one of our favourite sailing photos. The spirit of active enjoyment aboard Snapshot as she puts the Fastnet Rock astern and races towards success in Calves Week 2022 with Des Flood trimming, Richie Evans on the helm, and Mike Evans reading the numbers.

The assessment formula for the ICRA “Boat of the Year” title has been carefully refined over the years, and these days it needs season-long commitment across a remarkable variety of events and some really impressive results. The highlight of Snapshot’s 2022 season was of course the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race from Wicklow, when she took the top Irish boat award with her close second place which she almost managed to convert into first overall with a classy performance at the finish.

The crew of Snapshot in Wicklow after Round Ireland success are (left to right) Daragh White, Richard Evans, John Phelan, Shane Hughes of North Sails, Michael Evans, and navigator Nick Cherry

But the thoroughness and closeness of the ICRA series is revealed in the fact that Snapshot only clinched the overall title with a win in the final race of the Autumn League at Howth, which put her tops of that particular points table, and then with season-long successes, put her at the top of the ultimate peak.

The bullet points from the presentation Mike Evans will be giving at the ICRA Conference in the Royal St George YC this morning are downloadable below as a PDF file. If you want to get full value from it, have your questions ready….

The J/99 ‘Snapshot’, owned by Mike and Richard Evans, has been crowned Boat of the Year by the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA), for a combination of the major inshore and offshore events in 2022, a great result for a J/99.

The win was closely followed by Club rival Bob Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 ‘Samatom’, which took the top spot in Class 0. Samatom has had a successful season this year, having also placed in the top group in the Round Ireland Race, winning its division at Cork Week and a podium finish in the ISORA series.

Bob Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 Samatom Photo: Afloat

The J/121 ‘Darkwood, owned by Michael O'Donnell, a regular and successful RORC competitor, performed well in the ICRA season results, coming 3rd in Class 0. The J109, Storm finished runner-up to Snapshot in Class 1.

In ICRA class 2, the overall winner was another J Boat, Stephen Quinns’ J/97, again from Howth.

The J/99s have had a great season this year.

Snapshot also finished 1st in her class in the Round Ireland Race, 1st in Calves Week, 1st in the HYC Autumn League and 2nd in the HYC Wave Regatta.

In the UK, Kevin Taylor’s J/99 Jump 2 won IRC overall at Dartmouth Regatta, and Vernon Bradley’s BlackJack came 1st in her class and 3rd in IRC overall at JOG’s Serversys Channel Race.

Key Yachting’s Wayne Palmer, owner of fellow J/99 ‘Jam’ commented, “We have had some great racing results from our owners this season, especially the J/99’s. We are looking forward to racing in next year’s events and watching the J/99’s performing at their best once again, both inshore and offshore!”

There are still delivery slots available for the J/99 in Spring 2023, so if you’re interested in this high-performance J Boat then you could be racing one next season!

Contact Key Yachting’s Irish agent, Mark Mansfield, at [email protected] for more information.

When the Irish J/109s hunt as a pack – as nine of them did at the Sovereigns Cup in Kinsale – there's blood in the air and anyone racing a brand new J/99 against such a mob will naturally feel vulnerable. But former Classic Half-Ton Racers Mike & Richie Evans of Howth kept their cool with their fresh-out-of-the-box J/99 Snapshot. With talents of the calibre of Laura Dillon, Shane Hughes, Des Flood and Graham Curran on the strength, they were so game for the challenge that they emerged at the regatta's conclusion as outright winners of the hyper-hot IRC 1 and the new holders of the overall trophy – the Sovereigns Cup - for good measure.

It's all change at the top of the leaderboard in IRC classes One, Two and Three after four races sailed at the Sovereigns' Cup in Kinsale today.

The new Howth Yacht Club J99 design of Michael and Richard Evans has outwitted the popular J109 designs that dominated racing after day one and now tops 14-boat class one at the end of the second day of the four-day competition in West Cork.

The Evans brothers leapfrogged the top three J109s overall to move into the overall IRC lead on 13 points, some eight points clear of the National Yacht Club's J109 Something Else (Brian and John Hall).

A second place and then a race win for Mike and Ritchie Evans' Snapshot bounced the Howth Yacht Club crew back into the lead of Division 1 under IRC.  The J99 crew had an opening race win penalised on Wednesday and followed with an eighth place but their form is now being rewarded with a healthy points margin in the 14 strong class. Photo: Bob Bateman

Third is the day one leader, Storm (Pat Kelly), one point behind Something Else on 22 points.

But it wasn't all plain sailing on day two of the biennial event with the wind shifting 180 degrees causing headaches for race management in another day of light winds.

Half Tonner leads Class Two

In Class Two, David Kelly's Half Tonner King One from Howth has taken the lead by a single point from Royal Cork's Olson 30 Coracle VI skippered by Kieran Collins. Cove Sailing Club's Cortegada (George Radley) stays third overall in the five boat fleet.

YaGottaWanna Moves into the Class Three Lead

Dave Lane's YaGottaWanna from Royal Cork now leads clubmates Dave O Regan & Denise Phelan & Tony Donworth in the quarter tonner Supernova by shares the same six points.

Rob O'Reilly's quarter tonner BonJourno! Part Deux from Monkstown Bay SC stays third.

The two White Sails fleets that have 19 boats between them raced a coastal course

White Sails coastal course

On ECHO handicap, Paralympic veteran and former Kinsale YC Commodore John Twomey had a seventh-place for the day on Shillelagh which handed the White Sails 2 lead over to Sam Cohen on Gunsmoke.  David Riome and Mark Leonards' Sigma 33 Valfreya took over from Frank Caul's Prince of Tides in White Sails 1.

Results here are provisional and subject to protest. 

Day Two Sovereign's Cup Photo Gallery By Bob Bateman

Mark Mansfield, Irish agent for Key Yachting, is delighted to welcome Michael and Richard Evans of Howth as the owners of the newest J/99 arrival into Ireland.

Richard and Mike previously campaigned, to great success, their Half Tonner, Big Picture.

The Evans brothers new 32-foot J/99 was launched last Friday and will make it to its home club, Howth Yacht Club, in the coming days.

The Evans's first competitive outing is likely to be Howth Yacht Club's Lambay Race on the 12th of June, possibly followed by the Sovereigns Cup later in the month.

ISORA and Howth Yacht Club racing and other significant regattas such as September's ICRA National Championships will be part of their exciting programme this summer.

In addition, local family cruising and 'weekending' will also be on the cards.

This is the second J/99 that's come into Ireland, following Andrew Algeo's Juggerknot 2, which is based out of the Royal Irish and has been increasingly successful in ISORA and DBSC racing, both fully crewed and shorthanded.

Andrew Algeo's J/99, Juggerknot 2

A third J/99 is to find its way to the Irish Sea with ex J/109 Owner David Lean, who keeps his boats at Abersoch in Wales, is purchasing a new J/99 to be delivered in July.

No doubt she will be seen in Dublin at times for ISORA and other Regattas once Covid restrictions are lifted.

The J/99 orders have now exceeded 90 boats worldwide, and new delivery dates are now expected as of January 2022 due to the high demand for this new breed of yacht.

The J/99 is growing in traction as an all-round Cruiser Racer, possessing a very comfortable interior for cruising while still being able to compete at the sharp end of the racing, both inshore and offshore, fully crewed or shorthanded. A very capable performer in all conditions, it can excel downwind in a breeze and reach planning speeds.

J /99 Interior

See the J/99 at speed downwind below

Please contact Mark Mansfield at [email protected] or call on + 00 353 87 2506838, if you would like further information or to arrange a viewing of the J/99.

With news that 65 boats have now been built, it is clear there are more owners attracted to this new J/99 cruiser-racer design which combines excellent all-round racing performance with attractive interiors.

Inshore, the J/99 performs well around the windward/leeward race tracks, while offshore it will plane in strong winds.

All of this comes with a starting list price of €117, 000 ex VAT.

New J/99 video

A new J Composites produced video of a J/99 sailing two up at speed in France has been posted with some amazing shots. It certainly shows what it's like to push a J/99 in rough conditions...

IRC Performer

A J/99 also recently won her IRC division at Les Voiles de St Tropez. See results here.

For further enquiries about any of the J/Boats range, contact Irish agent, Mark Mansfield at [email protected] or telephone 00 353 87 2506838

Mark Mansfield, J/Boat agent for Ireland with news that wheel steering is now an option on the speedy J/99 cruiser-racer

There is one J/99 already racing in Ireland, Andrew Algeo's’ Juggerknot 2. Juggerknot 2, the 2019 Dublin Bay Sailing Club champion, has been mainly sailing two-handed this year in ISORA coastal racing.

The J99 was designed for both shorthanded and fully crewed sailing and many clients had asked about a wheel option.

The first J/99 with a wheel was delivered to a UK client last week and photos are above and below of the smart Carbon wheel.

Already over 50 x J99’s have been delivered to clients with many more on order. Smaller crews and shorthanded sailing has been growing hugely with the announcement that a two-handed offshore boat will be included in the 2024 Olympic lineup. The J/99 is currently one of the boats under consideration.

The arrival of the COVID 19 pandemic has further pushed the case for shorthanded sailing with crews being able to keep apart more easily.

A J/99 with wheel steering

Any interested parties wanting to talk about any J/ boat or test sail a J/99, even the option with a wheel, should contact mark Mansfield at [email protected] or at 087 2506838.

It is hoped that a J99 will be on show at the Ocean Village Boat Show in Southampton from the 11th to the 20th of September.

Andrew Algeo's J/99 Juggerknot II is the 41st entry into August's Round Ireland Race. 

The entry for the 21st edition of the 700-mile race from Wicklow Sailing Club is building again after a hiatus during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Round Ireland will be the second offshore foray for the Royal Irish Yacht Club and Baltimore Sailing Club entry, the Dun Laoghaire crew finished in the top ten in the 2019 Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race.

The former J109 National Champion  had his first regatta in the new J99, Juggerknot II (IRL3990) at Spi Ouest Regatta in April 2019 and since then has campaigned at Dublin Bay Regattas and ISORA.

Juggerknot II is entered for the offshore fixture under the joint names of Algeo and Mark McGibney, the RIYC Sailing Manager.

Sigma 33 entry

A third Kinsale Yacht Club entry, David Riome’s Sigma 33, Valfreya brings overall entries in the Round Ireland to 43 so far.

Olympian Mark Mansfield is the J/Boat agent for Ireland. Here he describes sailing the multipurpose J/99, its improving performance and why this new J/boat model is shortlisted for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The J/99 is one of 12 models that have been shortlisted for selection for upcoming Olympic 2024 Offshore Mixed Keelboat Qualification events. The actual equipment (boat) that will be used at the Olympics will not be known until Dec 2023, but the J/99 must be in the mix. An all-inclusive (including sails and instruments) new stock J/99 is available for May delivery at a competitive price.

A number of the other 12 shortlisted boats are older designs, and likely may just be used in qualification events.

There is already a J99 is sailing in Dublin. Andrew Algeo's Juggerknot, and has been showing increasingly good form since her Launch in April 2019. She was the overall DBSC class 1 winner for 2019.

The J/99 interior

Of the 12 listed boats, some are out and out offshore boats that may not perform particularly well inshore or in light winds.

Should the Olympic organisers decide to go for a more all-round boat that can perform in all conditions, and still be designed for a smaller or doublehanded crew, then the J99 must be a serious contender.

I have sailed on the J/99 several times and can see that little by little; the J99 is improving its performance. Most new designs go through a year or two of changes and improvements. In the case of the J/99, more rake to the mast has been added throughout the season, which has helped. Some small sail area and pole length increases are planned for 2020, and a few small deck equipment updates. Similarly, with the larger J109, it took a few years for this boat to become ultra-competitive and this is now a tough boat to beat on IRC rating.

The J/99 Juggerknot  at the start of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race Photo: Afloat

Key Yachting UK has a new stock J/99 available in April and is ready for sale.

The package will include Instruments and a top-level sail inventory of five-race sails (main, two headsails and two spinnakers). This all-inclusive pricing arrangement may appeal to prospective purchasers, as we can pass on discounts that often would not be available to the general public.

For further information, contact Mark at 087 2506838 or [email protected]

Mark Mansfield, J Boats agent for Ireland will be on the J Boats stand at the Dusseldorf Boat Show from the 18th of January. One of the three boats that J Boats will be showing will be the J/99, which has received the following accolades in its short life.

• US SAIL Magazine’s 'Best Performance Boat over 31’
• British Yachting Awards 'Racing Yacht-of-the-Year 2019'
• Sailing World magazine’s 'Best Crossover Boat-of-the-Year'
• The J/99 is also nominated for the '2020 European Boat of the Year' in the performance category.

J99 Interior

Rarely can you find a cruiser-racer that sports a comfortable interior plus the ability to be able to race it competitively.

• Inshore —Very competitive around the buoys and some recent improvements will make it even more competitive in 2020.
• Offshore —planing hull gives it the ability to really get up and plane downwind.
• Shorthanded—Designed for ease of handling to be easily sailed by a small crew.
• Shorthanded with water ballast—water ballast tanks and pumps can be added for single or doublehanded sailing.

Unlike many other modern boats of this size, the J/99 can perform in all conditions, at all wind angles. Very many new designs are fully offshore orientated with wide sterns and high wetted surface areas. That's great if you are reaching downwind in big breeze, but not so quick upwind and, in particular, upwind in lighter conditions.

J99 sailing under spinnaker

J/99 - Perfect for solo, twin, shorthanded or the full crew

The new J/99 (32'6") does it all - combining great sailing performance and stability with below-decks comfort in a boat that can be sailed by just one or two. The deck layout and sail plan are optimised for easy handling, while the roomy cockpit accommodates eight + for fun daysailing.

Want to jump into the next adventure-style overnight race or cruise and can’t find crew? No problem. The J/99 will reward you with easy, high-speed sailing no matter how many crew.

This year there is a public vote for the J/99’s category in the European Yacht of the Year Awards. The winner will be decided in Dusseldorf. Vote here.

Contact [email protected] if you would like to view the J/99 at the Dusseldorf Show. Tel:00 353 87 2506838