The Irish Cruiser Racing (ICRA) National Championships return to Dublin Bay in 2021 it was confirmed at the weekend.

The National Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire will host the three-day championships from May 28 to 30th, just a week before the East Pier Club also stages its biennial offshore 2021 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race.

The announcement was made by ICRA Commodore Richard Colwell at last weekend's annual conference that attracted a turnout of 50 despite the storm warnings. 

A fleet of up to 100 boats in four divisions is expected for the championships that last sailed in Dublin Bay in 2019 when hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

This year the championships are heading for Royal Cork Yacht Club as part of the line up for the Cork Harbour Club's 300th celebrations at Cork Week Regatta.

Meanwhile, Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Chairman Adam Winkelmann has set the date for the next edition of the D2D as Wednesday 9th, June 2021.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour's National Yacht Club celebrated another year of great sailing by its members at their annual awards dinner last Saturday night.

The club, that celebrates its 150th birthday this year, has fourteen annual awards for outstanding sailing achievements by members awarded from nominations received from members of the Committee and Sailing Sub Committee.

The awards reflected a great horizon of sailing activity and administration in 2019.

Commodore Martin McCarthy awarded the "Commodore's Award" to Chris and Sandra Moore. The husband and wife team were rewarded for their dedicated and ongoing voluntary service in support of sailing. 

Download the full NYC Awards booklet below. Prizegiving photos by Michael Chester

The Club has fourteen annual awards for outstanding sailing achievements

The Commodore’s award was presented to Chris and Sandra Moore. The award was made for their dedicated and ongoing voluntary service in support of sailing in the National Yacht Club and Dublin Bay Sailing Club over many years

John O’Gorman (left) receives The Boyne Regatta Cup. It is awarded to the member who achieved the best performance in Offshore racing of the year, he finished third in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race and was the best-placed National YC member

Clare Gorman receives The Winkleman trophy (2003) from her Mum & Dad Sarah and David. It is awarded to the cadet member who has the finest sailing achievements during the year

Jack Roy receives The Paul Murphy Cup (2009) from Paul's widow Ruth. Jack has been awarded the Cup for his unmatched commitment in Race Management including as PRO every Thursday for DBSC and for the Subaru Flying Fifteen pre - worlds regatta and World Championships

Chris Doorly and David O’Gorman receive The Edward Yacht Club Trophy (1919) from the Commadore Martin Mc Carthy is awarded to the member who achieves the best performance of the year in dinghies, Mermaids or Flying Fifteens

Commodore’s Commendation Fiona Staunton, Susan Spain, Tony Fox & Crew, Ida Kiernan and Frank Burgess for their contribution to the National Yacht Club in many areas  

William Byrne, (Grandson of John Byrne) receives The John Byrne memorial trophy (1989) from his Father Rory and NYC Commodore Martin McCarthy. The Cup is awarded to the member who achieves the greatest contribution to sailing at the NYC during the year 

Helen Cooney and Rosemary O’Connell, receive The Sue McDonnell Trophy is awarded to the member who has contributed most to the advancement of women in sailing. Presenting the trophy is John, Sue's Husband.

The Martin Crotty Cup (2017) Tom Shanahan has been awarded the Martin Crotty Cup for his season as skipper of J109 Ruth campaigning in Dublin Bay and ISORA and finishing in fourth place in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race. Pictured are Ben and Tom Shanahan with Commodore Martin McCarthy

The Wild Geese Trophy was awarded to Ian Mathews (centre) for his outstanding and success in raising sponsorship for the Subaru Flying Fifteen World Championships while being based in Abu Dhabi

Brian Bourke receives The Muglins Cup (1949). Brian has been awarded the Mullins Cup for his family cruise to an isolated archipelago situated 40 miles west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean

Noel Butler and Stephen Orman receive The O’Leary Cup. The trophy is awarded to the member who achieves the best performance of the year in One Designs. Noel and Stephen were rewarded for a “Fireball Grand Slam” in 2019.

Today's popular National Yacht Club's Christmas Eve Swim at Dun Laoghaire Harbour has raised funds 'beyond expectation' for Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

The swim off the club's slipway took place from 10.45 am and featured waves of swimmers at phased times.

Open to members and non-members (for a small entry fee) the icy plunge is held annually in aid of good causes and again attracted a big crowd of participants and onlookers in the east coast port.

A donation was also raised for Kings College Hospital ICU in London.

Among the throngs of participants. the swim attracted Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy and 1988 Olympian Aisling Byrne.

Photos below by Michael Chester

1988 Olympian Aisling Byrne (left), Olympic Race Officer Con Murphy and Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy prepare for the dip

The CBC Monkstown senior rugby cup team joined the NYC Swim

Commodore Martin McCarthy (right) with Christmas Eve swim supporters

The popular National Yacht Club's Christmas Eve Swim at Dun Laoghaire Harbour takes place at 10.45 am next Tuesday. Open to members and non-members (for a small entry fee) the icy plunge is held annually in aid of good causes and attracts a big crowd in the east coast port.

This year the dippers are raising funds for Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin with a donation also to Kings College Hospital ICU in London.

As Afloat previously reported, the swim takes place from the club's pontoon with Santa also getting in on the act.

Two evenings and one day of racing is the celebratory programme outlined to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire next June. 

As reported by Afloat in its 2020 Preview of the Irish Sailing Season, the Sesquicentennial Regatta will run from June 10th to 14th.

Racing will be in association with DBSC and ISORA and include cruisers, one designs, dinghies & Wags.

As befitting the 150th anniversary, NYC Regatta Director Con Murphy says it will be bigger than the traditional Saturday club regatta by being a multi evening/days event from 10-14th June with racing for keelboats on Thursday and Friday evenings as well as the normal racing on the Saturday.

Dinghies will have racing on Friday evening and Saturday, Waterwags on the Wednesday and Friday evenings and ISORA boats on Thursday and Friday evenings and all day Saturday.

For cruiser and keelboat classes, the races on Thursday evening will be run by DBSC per their standard Thursday courses and be scored in the regatta results.

Thousands of miles and 10 months of lead time are proving no deterrent for former ISORA Champions Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox of the National Yacht Club in Ireland but are based in North Wales and who are intent on ensuring their spot for their J109 Mojito in New York in one of the most anticipated sailing championships of 2020.

A second ISORA yacht, Andrew Hall's Jackhammer, a J121, will also be competing in the Big Apple.

In the few short weeks since entries opened as Afloat reported here, nearly 30 entries have registered for the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championships, exceeding organisers' expectations and laying a strong foundation for the regatta's triumphant return to the United States after a two-decade absence.

Click here to see the entry list.

Among the teams making an early commitment to travel to the regatta is the Teamwork crew (above), led by Robin Team from Winston-Salem, N.C.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to sail in the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championships," said Team. "It is a chance to race against the very best competition in a world-class venue run by the New York Yacht Club. They always run a great regatta, both on the water and shoreside."

The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will bring top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of three coveted world titles. The regatta will be scored using a combination of the two most popular rating rules in the sport, ORC and IRC, and racing will be a mix of around-the-buoys racing and longer, offshore courses. The competition will be held out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court from September 25 to October 3, 2020.

While the Teamwork crew will put in the miles to get its J/122 to Newport, there are many other teams committing to an even longer journey. Among the 28 entries to date are two each from Italy and Great Britain and one each from Germany, France and Canada. This geographic spread is crucial to the regatta as ORC championship rules state that the number of competitors plus the number of countries represented within the fleet must total 14 or greater for each class to confer a world title to its winner.

With an impressive surge of 12 entries from four countries, including Tilmar Hansen's TP52 Outsider from Kieler Yacht-Club in Germany, Class A has already met this requirement. This boat was brand new to Hansen at the last combined ORC/IRC Worlds in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2018, where he finished as runner-up to Karl Kwok's gold medal-winning TP52 Beau Geste from Hong Kong.

"We are very much looking forward to coming to Newport next summer," said Hansen. "The town is wonderful, the racing is always good, all the infrastructure is there, and we enjoy the great hospitality of the New York Yacht Club. Our plan is to race the RORC's Caribbean 600 in Antigua in February, then ship the boat to race in Newport all summer in preparation for the Worlds."

Outsider will have some strong competition in a brand-new Fox, Victor Wild's Botin 52 currently under construction, and Vesper, a competitive TP52 from Southern California skippered by David Team (no relation to Robin). All three boats should be among the fastest boats, according to rating, in Class A.

Another interesting development is the three IC37s that have entered Class B. This boat, created for one-design racing by the New York Yacht Club, has recently had some success under IRC, including an overall win in the Hamble Winter Series on the Solent. Another full season of one-design racing and, perhaps, some optimization for handicap competition could well make one or more of these IC37s a formidable competitor next fall. So far 10 teams have entered Class B.

And Class C is also shaping up well with six teams from three countries, including Kevin Brown's Farr 30 Notorious from Toronto and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. His plan includes IRC and ORC racing in Florida in the SORC offshore series this winter, and says his boat "is in top form, getting ready for the Worlds now."

While the Worlds will come at the end of the sailing season in Newport, two other major events earlier in the summer will provide teams from around the world with the opportunity to train, test their equipment and enjoy all that Newport, America's first resort, has to offer. The 166th Annual Regatta—North America's oldest annual sailing competition—and the 12th edition of Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex will provide an invaluable opportunity to preview the racing formats and the scoring system that has been confirmed for the world championship.

Outsider, Teamwork and Notorious all plan to enter one or more of these pre-Worlds events.

"It's really encouraging to see early entries from outside New England and across the Atlantic Ocean," said event chair Patricia Young (Jamestown, R.I.), who will be racing her Tripp 41 Entropy in Class B. "The previous ORC/IRC World Championship, in The Hague in 2018, set a high bar in terms of entries and while we're not sure we can reach that level—Europe remains the epicenter for both of these rating rules—we are that much more confident we'll have a very strong and diverse fleet of yachts for the regatta."

Scoring System Confirmed

While this big boat handicap championship has been a staple of World Sailing's regatta slate for many years, the concept of scoring it with two rules is quite new, having only been done once previously, in 2018 in The Hague. The scoring formula is a little more complex, but the end result is a competition that does a more consistent job of rewarding the best-prepared and most-talented teams regardless of the wind conditions.

"The system we agreed to we think will minimize differences in the two rule systems," says ORC Chief Measurer Zoran Grubisa, who is co-chairing the event's Technical Committee along with Jason Smithwick from IRC. "We believe this will be an improvement on what we did in The Hague two years ago."

The basic mechanics of the scoring scheme are fairly straightforward. ORC Results will be calculated using the Coastal / Long Distance time-on-time scoring model, while inshore races will be scored using Performance Curve Scoring with a constructed course. IRC Results will be calculated using each yacht's IRC time correction coefficient. Corrected times calculated for ORC and IRC will be shown as deltas to the winning boat. The winning boat in each rating system in each class will have a corrected time of 00:00:00, and all others will have a corrected time calculated as the difference in time to the winner.

Finally, a single corrected time to determine the finishing place is calculated by averaging a yacht's corrected times in ORC and IRC. That score alone will go on the team's score card. The official scoring language can be found

There was an august gathering of Irish 505 sailors at the National Yacht Club on Thursday 7th November to commemorate the second European Championships of the class, which was held in Dun Laoghaire in August 1969.

Former 505 sailors came from far and wide across the island of Ireland to remember the championships, which helped build a young and dynamic group who went on to contribute greatly to Irish Sailing over the following 50 years.

The commemoration was organised magnificently by former DBSC Commodore, Michael O’Rahilly. The attendance included Jackie Patton, Chair of RYA Northern Ireland and a number of Ulster 505 sailors including Simon Haselden, Peter Thompson, Michael Hill, Wyclif McCready and Colin McErvel. Ted and Tom Crosbie along with Neil Hegarty, came from RCYC in Cork while the dynamic Dublin engineers Paddy Barry and Michael Cotter, shared tales for their 505 exploits.

Sean and Joan Flood and Tom Crosbie Photo: James Woods

Sean Flood came from Howth YC while John Simington, Rory McDonagh, John Bourke and others shared experiences of the 505 – a very fast two-man boat.

In 1969, the race office was run by Carmel Winkelmann, who, while not in attendance sent a lovely note of reminiscences of the event – which was held under the stewardship of Commodore Frank Lemass. Clayton Love, Joe Woodward and Johnny Hooper also shared memories by email while Johnny’s sailing partner Peter Grey, attended.

Harold Cudmore, who finished runner up the 1969 505 World Championships, sent his best wishes to a group that he had inspired.

Gerry Donleavy, Peter Gray and Tom Flood Photo: James Woods

To bring matters up to date, Flying Fifteen legend, Gerry Donleavy, shared his stories of the 505 in the 1980s and recounted his early pairing with Afloat.ie’s David O’ Brien in the 505, before the duo switched to the Flying Fifteen and winning the 1988 UK Nationals.

It was clear that running championships inspires further endeavour and so many of the attendees have great subsequent sailing records while contributing endlessly to the development of the Sport organisationally and on the water, in Ireland and internationally.

The National Yacht Club launched its inaugural match racing league over the weekend with 12 teams competing over 2 days. 

Saturday kicked off with light winds which suited the ‘intro to match racing’ participants. RO Alan Daly took full advantage of the conditions to get everyone familiar with the format and the boats. Niall Meagher of the Flying 15 Class showcased well oiled starting tactics to lead the Saturday series going into week 2. James Gorman of the SB20s performed very well in his first match races, only to be edged out by Niall in the final race. Jack Hall’s youth team of Instructors managed 1 win sailing with his father and J109 expert Brian Hall.

The Sunday Series saw glamour conditions prevail. The 6 ‘pro match racing’ teams managed to get a full complement of races away in 10-12 knots of breeze and bright sun. Baltimore SC’s Mark Hassett currently leads with a 100% win rate going into week 2. The league has been getting rave reviews, with Howth YC sailor Scott Flanigan who currently sits in second overall overheard saying “Raging to be missing this Sunday, yesterday was class”. 

As Afloat reported previously, the National Yacht Club recently acquired a fleet of Elliott 6m sportsboats and is hosting a series of match racing events throughout the autumn. Six teams will compete in one series across 6 Saturdays 2nd November – 7th December, with a further six youth teams competing on the corresponding Sundays. The top three teams from each series will then compete in a Grand Final weekend on 14th/15th December.

There is still room for 2 'intro to match racing' teams in the Saturday series. If interested, don’t hesitate to sign up at our new pro-rated and cheaper price here

Race schedules and results can be found below:

Saturday league
Sunday league

The annual lift-out of yachts and boats in Dun Laoghaire Harbour at the neighbouring Royal St.George and National Yacht Clubs took place in fine weather conditions on Dublin Bay today.

Boats will be stored ashore now on club platforms for the winter period and launched again in advance of the Summer season next April.

It's not the end of Dun Laoghaire sailing, however, as Dublin Bay Sailing Club runs year-round racing for cruisers based at the town marina with its popular winter Turkey Shoot Series before Christmas and its Spring Chicken event in the new year that attracts up to 70 and 50 yachts respectively for each series.

More details of the forthcoming Turkey Shoot here.

No sooner than it has successfully completed the Flying Fifteen World Championships last month, the National Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay has launched its inaugural Winter Match Racing Series.

The East Pier club has acquired a fleet of four Elliott 6ms sportsboats and, after a period of setting-up and testing that included a 2k Team Racing event in September has unveiled this brand new event format. 

Typically, a match race consists of two identical boats racing against each other. 

The National Yacht Club already has teams of U30s / Ensign Members lined up for the Sunday Round Robin series and are opening up the Saturday Series for all NYC members to constitute and register teams of three people.

At the 2k event in September, 30 sailors took to the water in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for that event including teams from The National Yacht Club (U30 and U25 teams), The Royal St George Yacht Club, Royal Cork Yacht Club, and the Sorento Sailing Club from Australia who travelled for the event.