Two Irish hopes in this month's prestigious Rolex Fastnet Race from Cowes will compete first this week in a 20-boat Coastal Class at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta (VDLR).
Pundits say the pre-event favourite must be the First 50 Checkmate XX, fresh from Sovereign's Cup victory (three wins from four races sailed).
Nigel Biggs is driving, and co-owner Dave Cullen is onboard for the Dublin Bay challenge.
Insiders say Checkmate XX underwent some optimisation over the winter, and the boat has been lightened by some 276kg; she now has a new bigger A2 kite and is sailing with a lengthened bow sprit but Biggs told Afloat, "We don’t have high expectations in terms of race results for VDLR or the Fastnet, but if we continue to have as much fun with the great group of people we sail with, that is all the success we need".
Biggs explained that when they bought Checkmate XX last year, we did so in the knowledge that she wasn’t a successful race boat but "more a platform for us to enjoy our sailing as age begins to catch up with us, whilst also trying to encourage more younger people into keelboat racing."
"The plan appears to be working, as we have already had some great times sailing with friends, both old and new", he added.
Also from Howth, Robert Rendell's Samatom will look to bounce back after fourth overall at the Sovereign's Cup as the Grand Soleil 44 also makes her final preparations for the Fastnet Race.
Robert Rendell's Grand Soleil 44 Samatom Photo: Afloat
Outside of the two big Howth boats, VDLR coastal contenders include last weekend's line honours winners in a tough edition of the Lyver Trophy Race, Andrew and Sam Hall's Jackknife.
The J125 is expected to perform well if the forecasted strong conditions prevail.
Andrew and Sam Hall's J125 Jackknife is back on Dublin Bay to race in the 20-boat Coastal Division of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta on Thursday Photo: Afloat
Current ISORA champion Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop on J109 "Mojito" (who have already notched up two cross-channel offshores from Dun Laoghaire this season) should also be very strong, but, as in the Lyver Race, the 36-footer may struggle against the bigger competition in the forecasted breeze.
Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop's J109 "Mojito" from North Wales is the current ISORA champion Photo: Afloat
The host port's John O'Gorman in the Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie is looking to capitalise on further weight saving and optimisation and should relish stronger winds.
The Royal Dee Offshore Championship series will use the four VDLR coastal races to complete its series that began with the Lyver. However, Lyver winner Rockabill VI has elected to race in Cruiser 0 this week, not Coastal, so that they won't be taking any further part in the RDYC championship series.
Four races and one discard for the coastal division will be under Race Officer Michael Tyrrell.
The course will be decided on the race day and communicated to each skipper via a dedicated Offshore WhatsApp group at least one hour before the start.
The finish will be between the Pier Ends at the Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance. The finishing time will be taken from the Yellowbrick tracker system.
The class will be the first to start on Thursday, with a warning signal at 1425 and 0955 on Friday. Coastal starts at 1055 on Saturday and 0955 on Sunday.
The course will use DBSC Marks, Volvo Yellow inflatable Top Hat and Shipping Navigation Marks.
VDLR Coastal will use YB trackers
The races in the VDLR will be tracked using the YB trackers so boat race positions will be displayed constantly, and results will be immediate.
Using the trackers will allow race shortening and, importantly, prevent the non-results that happened during the last VDLR and have been a bone of contention ever since.
According to ISORA's Peter Ryan, it is also a first for YB to use the trackers for regattas.
"Courses have to be set up very shortly before races, and we can take times at every mark", he told Afloat.
Early forecasts
With so much riding on the optimum set-up for the prevailing conditions, an early peek at weather forecasts indicates there will be a breeze and plenty of it to produce a range of conditions over the four days. Medium to strong conditions with winds from a southerly quadrant will build from and provide some top-class conditions. Starting Thursday (July 6th), there will be medium conditions of up to 13 mph with strong gusts for the first afternoon races. From there, the breeze is forecast to strengthen up to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph and with its southerly direction, the six courses on the Dublin Bay race track can anticipate a big sea state to boot. Sunday's last races, however, may see a drop in wind strength for a light to medium-air conclusion to the 2023 event.
