It was Super Saturday on Dublin Bay for VDLR23 Day 3, with brisk but very manageable sailing conditions matched by a brisk throughput of three races by the Race Teams, setting up everything nicely on track for two intense races in the Grand Finale tomorrow (Sunday).
A southeast-to-south breeze at premium competition strength provided some notably close finishes, made even more so by the application of the handicap system of your choice, but for now we concentrate on IRC.
Pete Smyth's Sunfast 3600 Searcher Photo: Michael Chester
Class 0 has seen a real ding-dong developing between two very different boats, Paul O'Higgins JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI (RIYC) and Pete Smyth's Sunfast 3600 Searcher (NYC).
With one discard now in use, Rockabill is on 5 pts to the 7 of Searcher after winning the final race of the day from Searcher by 49 seconds.
Shaun Douglas's First 40.7 Game Changer Photo: Michael Chester
Also in the frame is that grand veteran from Belfast Lough, Shaun Douglas's First 40.7 Game Changer (RUYC), whose crew delighted themselves by winning Race 4 by twenty seconds from Rockabill, while Game Changer's newer sister, the First 40 Prima Forte (Patrick Burke, RIYC) is on equal points at 14, but is notched at fourth through the count-back.
The 2023 regatta, the ninth edition of Ireland's largest sailing event, concludes on Sunday with two final races for most classes and a great festival of sailing across the waterfront and Dun Laoghaire town as four sailing clubs come together for the biennial event; Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club.
