ISORA will stage its first cross-channel race in nearly two years on Saturday morning for a 75-mile offshore race from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Pwllheli.

Despite teething problems with COVID passports, new customs procedures, a clash with deliveries to Calves Week Regatta, and this weekend's Lions Rugby match, an eight boat fleet will start Dun Laoghaire outfall buoy for an 8 am start.

Four Dublin boats and four Welsh boats will test the waters, but the reigning champion Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club along with the Royal St. George top performer Aurelia, both from Dublin Bay, have pulled out.

Nevertheless, there's still a potent lineup with two J/109 designs, a J/125 as well as some Jeanneau Sunfast marques competing.

The starters are: A Plus (Archambault 31), Indian (J109), More Mischief (First 310) and Elandra from Dublin Bay and Mojito (J109), Zig Zag (Sunfast 3600), Jac Y Do (Sunfast 3200i) and Jackknife (J 125) from Pwllheli.

J/109 Indian from Howth

Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox's J/109 Mojito were winners of the Tremadog Bay 'pop up' Regatta at Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales.

This Welsh regatta was organised over the same days as the cancelled Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta - hence its “pop up” moniker.

It produced a great local fleet of 14 offshore boats with IRC racing for Class One and two and inshore boats.

There were four days of 'Round the Cans' races as well as a day to take in the sights of Tremadog Bay.

According to provisional tracker results, reigning Irish ISORA Champion Paul O'Higgin's in the JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI was the winner of yesterday's 35-mile Dublin coastal race. 

There was a fine turnout of 14 competitive boats for Race Ten of the series to and from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that featured Lambay Island as a turning mark.

The fleet favoured the pin end for the the start of ISORA's Coastal Race Ten off Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Local knowledge of the Fingal coast gave Simon Knowles's Howth J/109 Indian second overall with the line honours winner, Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia from the Royal St. George in third place.

Simon Knowles's Howth J/J109 Indian was second overall

Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia

The IRC 2 podium was a Beneteau affair, the winner was Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet with the Grzegorz Kalinecki skippered First 310 More Mischief second and a second 34.7, Magic Touch third.

Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet

Kalinecki's plucky More Mischief also won the Two-handed and silver fleet prize. 

Grzegorz Kalinecki skippered First 310 More Mischief

Provisional results are here via tracker

Race Ten ISORA Photo Gallery

There is a 'quality' fleet now assembled for Saturday's 35-mile Viking Marine sponsored ISORA race that starts and finishes at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

With entries still open for race ten of the season, the Irish fleet is back to full strength after a busy June that saw many boats opt-out of last weekend's 64-miler.

As Afloat previously reported, there will be three Sunfast 3600s and two J122s racing as part of the fleet that currently stands at 15. 

The Grand Soleil 34 Justtina has dropped out, but the arrival of a second First 34.7, Magic Touch, will be more competition for Leslie Parnell's Black Velvet sistership from the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Early forecasts indicate light south-easterly winds for Saturday.

The latest entry for ISORA Race Ten totals 15 boats

The race start is at 10.00 am. Entry is still open here

14 strong and competitive entries have been received for Saturday's ISORA Race ten of the Musto Irish Coastal Series including potent Greystones 2021 debutante, Frank Whelan's new J122, Kaya.

The July 10th race will be to and from Dun Laoghaire to Dun Laoghaire with a target distance of 35 miles starting at 10 am.

ISORA boss Peter Ryan says he is confident of even more starters by the weekend with Dublin Bay numbers back up to full strength after last month's trip south with both the D2D Race and the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale. 

Two J122s

Chris Power Smith's Aurelia – last Saturday's line honours winner in the 64-mile offshore – can expect more competition from her J122 Wicklow sistership and a few more new entries besides including the overall leader Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins).

Pete Smyth's new Sunfast 3600, Searcher

Three Sunfast 3600s

There will be no less than three Sunfast 3600s racing with Pete Smyth's new Searcher making her return to ISORA after the Dingle Race. Currently placed third overall in the offshore points series, John O'Gorman's 3600 Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club is racing as is Brendan Coghlan's Yoyo from the Royal St. George Yacht Club. 

The entries so far for Saturday's tenth ISORA Coastal Race

Link to race entry form here

Reigning ISORA Champion Rockabill VI Paul O'Higgins leads this season's ISORA Irish points series after Saturday's 64-mile offshore race from Dublin. The Royal Irish JPK 10.80 also leads in the overall combined UK and Irish ISORA league.

As regular Afloat readers know, ISORA organisers have been forced to separate the Musto sponsored leagues for a second year given the ongoing restrictions due to COVID that rules out cross channel racing. 

Last Saturday's line honours winner of race eight at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the J122 Aurelia (Chris & Patanne Power Smith) of the Royal St. George Yacht Club is 32.3 points behind Rockabill VI overall with John O'Gorman's Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club in third place.

The overall Irish Series position is here

The Welsh Sunfast 3200i Jac Y Do (Mark and Jo Thompson) trails Rockabill VI by just 6.1 points in the overall combined UK and Irish league. Third is former ISORA Champion, the J109 Mojito of Pwllheli Sailing Club (Peter Dunlop & Victoria Cox)

The overall combined UK and Irish position is here

Paul O'Higgin's JPK10.80 Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the IRC winner of ISORA's race eight over a 64-mile course off Dublin Bay yesterday with Chris Power Smith's corinthian crew on the J122 Aurelia taking line honours at Dun Laoghaire yesterday evening.

A much reduced but nevertheless strong fleet of five boats contested the race, the first since last month's Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race. 

The ISORA fleet is recovering from an intensive June that saw some of the boats also contest Kinsale's Sovereign's Cup.

The 64-mile course saw the ISORA fleet head out of Dublin Bay at 8 am

The 64-mile course saw the fleet head out of the bay at 8 am leaving the Muglins to Starboard, then to North India (P), Taylors Rock (P), (Lambay was NOT a mark on the course), ISORA Dublin (S) and a finish between Dun Laoghaire Pier Heads that evening at 6 pm.

The reigning Irish Sea Coastal Champion Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins of the Royal Irish Yacht Club) got the upper hand on second-placed J122 Aurelia with the Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie in third place.

ISORA Race 8 IRC Overall from the race tracker

This article was updated to include the IRC and line honours winners

There are six proposed starters for Saturday's first ISORA race since June's big offshore Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race including the 2021 Irish Sea Coastal Champion Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins of the Royal Irish Yacht Club). 

The Archambault 31 A Plus, the Beneteau More Mischief, the Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie and Howth J109 Indian, all D2D competitors, are slated for the 0800 am start from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Outfall Buoy for race eight of the Viking Marine Coastal Series.

ISORA's proposed 64-mile course from Dun Laoghaire for Race 8 of the Viking Marine Coastal Series

The 64-mile course will see the fleet head out of the bay leaving the Muglins to Starboard, then to North India (P), Taylors Rock (P), (Lambay is NOT a mark on the course), ISORA Dublin (S) and a finish between Dun Laoghaire Pier Heads.

Meanwhile, Lyver Race (ISORA) from Liverpool to Pwllheli also has a six-boat fleet mustered for it Friday evening start on the other side of the Irish Sea.

Billed as the last training event before June 9th's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, a fleet of 11 boats turned out on Saturday morning for a light wind training run but after 12 hours of racing over a 50-mile course, only four finishers were recorded on ISORA's YB race track app (see full list below).

In an update, to the tracker results, it appears only the three big boats Aurelia, Rockabill VI and Prima Forte finished the course with Sunfast 3600 Searcher counted as a finisher but was in fact a retiree.

Sunfast 3600s Hot Cookie and Searcher, both retired around 11 pm when the tide turned against them after rounding Kish lighthouse on the edge of Dublin Bay.

The rest of the fleet bar the front runners had all retired prior to that.

The ambitious course set in 5 mph easterly winds out of the bay attracted some strong competition including ISORA Champion Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins) of the Royal Irish Yacht Club who will defend his 2019 D2D crown in ten day's time. 

Though a smaller fleet than anticipated mustered at the outfall buoy at 10 am, it did include no less than three Sunfast 3600s with some new arrivals, including black-hulled 'Searcher' making her Dublin Bay debut.

Dufour 45se Blaoga

Also race training for the first time under the ISORA burgee was Howth Yacht Club Dufour 45se Blaoga.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia, O'Higgins' Rockabill VI, Patrick Burke's Prima Forte and newcomer Searcher are all recorded as finishers.

(above and below) The light air start off the Outfall Buoy at the back of Dun Laoghaire's West Pier

Justtina, a Grand Soleil 34, negotiates a strong flood tide at the start of the ISORA training race at the back fo the East Pier at Dun Laoghaire

John O'Gorman's Sunfast 3600, Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club

ISORA Race training on the Beneteau 40.7 Tsunami

Patrick Burke's Prima Forte - the Best new DBSC yacht of 2020 - is racing to Dingle on Jun 9th

On deck on the Sunfast 3600 Searcher at 10.30pm, some 12.5 hours after the start....

Provisional results from the YB app

Update: May 30 2021. 10.50 am : This article was updated to reflect the retiral of the Sunfast 3600, Searcher 

A 17-boat fleet can expect light winds for Saturday's ISORA Training Race as part of the Viking Marine Coastal Series off Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The race is the last before June 9th's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race and thus provides an opportunity for some race practise before the 320-miler in 12 days time.

Joining the ISORA Coastal fleet on Dublin Bay for the first time is Searcher, a new Sunfast 3600 to the bay. 

Another new addition is Blaoga, a Dufour 45se from Howth Yacht Club.

The 17-boat ISORA fleet for the Dublin Bay Coastal training race

The 35-mile race is forecast to get underway at a new start time of 10 am in East South East winds of less than 5 mph. 

George Sisk's XP44 Wow is ISORA training tomorrow Photo: Afloat

The course is as follows:

• STARTING LINE at Dun Laoghaire Outfall Buoy.
• ISORA Dublin Virtual Mark (P) N53 17.110 W6 00.100
• Kish Light (S)
• Virtual Mark 1 (P) N53 19.000 W5 35.500
• Kish Light (P)
• ISORA Dublin Virtual Mark (S) N53 17.110 W6 00.100
• FINISH LINE at Dun Laoghaire Pier Heads.
• RL Sailing briefing this evening 20.00

The ISORA training race course from Dun Laoghaire to Dun Laoghaire

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