July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta on Dublin Bay saw a big surge in early bird entries the last few days of March with the fleet now close to 300 of the expected 400 boats which, organisers say, will really help in planning for the biennial event.
The Wayfarer dinghy class were added to the running order yesterday bringing adding another ten boats to VDLR 2021.
As regular Afloat readers will know, in order to facilitate social distancing and be Covid-19 compliant, a new regatta format will comprise a One Design Championship (2nd – 4th July 2021) specifically tailored for sailors in the one-design keelboat and dinghy classes. This is to be followed by an Open Cruiser Championship (8th – 11th July 2021) catering for the full range of Cruiser Handicap classes.
In anticipation of a summer outside of 5km bubbles that might just be possible, the VDLR committee is extending the current Early Bird Entry price until Friday 16th April 2021.
Event Chairman, Don O'Dowd told Afloat: "We saw a surge of entries in the final 24 hours of March, and look forward to seeing everyone on the water as soon as it is safe to do so".
"Thanks to those 260 who have already entered across both weekends. It is great to see a number of the classes now taking shape and will really assist in the logistics and planning for this year's regatta", he added.
The safety of participants and volunteers is of the utmost importance to the Waterfront Clubs and the Organising Committee of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2021. We are working extremely hard to ensure a Covid-19 compliant Regatta shall be run over the two weekends in July. The Regatta will comply with all current Government Guidelines relevant at that point in time, Event Chairman, O'Dowd said.