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Displaying items by tag: Blessington

#Rowing: The agm of Rowing Ireland was businesslike and brief – coming in under an hour.

 Neville Maxwell, the chair of the high performance committee, praised the “energy and enthusiasm” of high performance director Antonio Maurogiovanni. “He wants a system which is open and transparent,” he said.

 Maxwell said that there was a move away from lightweight rowing and it was essential to build a programme which would last. Finding new sources of income was very important.

 Leo Gibson replaced outgoing treasurer Dan Buckley, who has stepped down. The Old Collegians man spoke of the hope of drawing down Large Scale Sports Infrastructure grants.

 Rowing Ireland president Eamonn Colclough said the priority was to finance work on the National Rowing Centre, with the hope of replacing the slips and, perhaps, the buoyed course. Next in priority would be Lough Rinn and then the proposed new Blessington course.

 Colclough said that he hoped there was a big uptake on the package deal which will give Irish spectators a good way to travel to the World Rowing Championships in Linz in Austria in August/September. “I would love to hear The Fields of Athenry ring out over the waters in Linz,” he said.

 Rowing Ireland is preparing to facilitate clubs using Lough Rinn by taking over the insurance requirements asked for by Leitrim County Council. The Council will “spend hundreds of thousands of euro” on developing the course and surrounds, Colclough told the agm.

 The fixtures calendar for 2020 emerged in a very similar form to the one proposed. Erne Head moved to a week earlier than scheduled and will now take place on March 7th and the Castleconnell Sprint Regatta takes a similar step to May 9th. Carlow’s Dambuster Head is set to take place on  February 1st.

 Galway Regatta (June 6th) and Shandon Masters Regatta (August 15th) were late additions to the draft calendar put before delegates.  

Awards

President’s: Seamus Scully, Carlow

Connacht: Paul Gallen

Leinster: Gerry Conway, Frank Moore, Willie Ryan, Mick Carney, Andrew Coleman

Munster: Brian Sheppard

Ulster: Jeremy Johnston

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Dambuster Head of the River, scheduled for this Saturday, January 26th, at Blessington Lakes, has been cancelled. The organisers, Carlow Rowing Club, say that they had to take into account the forecast of strong winds. As the week wore on, the weather forecast worsened. Today (Thursday), the prediction was for winds of 33 kilometres at the venue on race day.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Metro Regatta has been cancelled. The weather forecast was for winds to rise to 20 to 25 kilometres in the afternoon at Blessington – with gusts. The organisers felt that these conditions might have made it unsafe to row. The cancellation is the third of a major regatta, following Skibbereen and Lough Rinn.  

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: The Dam Buster Head of the River, scheduled for this Saturday, December 16th, has been cancelled. The weather forecast for Blessington was not good, and the organisers chose to abandon the event because of safety concerns. It was the inaurgural Dam Buster Head, run by Carlow Rowing Club.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Neptune Head of the River, scheduled for Saturday, November 5th on Blessington Lakes has been cancelled. The organisers say that the forecast of high winds at the venue meant they could not continue with the event. A big part of the entry consisted of junior crews – there were 20 entries in the men’s junior 18 single sculls.

Published in Rowing
28th January 2016

Neptune Head Set to Go Ahead

#Rowing: The organisers of the Neptune Head of the River this Saturday, December 30th, have decided to go ahead with the event. The weather forecast is for winds of 12 to 20 kilometres per hour at Blessington, which would leave the course rowable. The course has to be laid, and there is a chance that the event could yet be cancelled, but only if the weather forecast changes significantly. 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Neptune Head of the River, scheduled for this Saturday, November 7th, has been cancelled. The weather forecast for the course at Blessington predicted gusts of up to 40 kilometres per hour, forcing the organisers to take the option of calling off the event.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Commercial won the battle of the men’s quadruples at Dublin Metropolitan Regatta. The established unit were tested by Skibbereen down the Blessington course, but won well. The experienced oarsman in the Old Collegians boat, with Albert Maher joining Sean Jacob, Dave Neale and Eimantas Grigalius, finished third. The NUIG/Grainne Mhaol men’s senior eight set a good time while winning the Division One final, despite being clearly superior to their intermediate opposition. UCD provided the top women’s pair and four. The women’s single had a strange set of finals. Elise Maurin won her heat but the progression by fastest time (of which she was unaware) consigned her to the B Final – which she won in a much faster time than set by junior competitor Erin Barry in winning the A Final.

The new timing system for heats worked well and the regatta ran exactly to schedule in excellent conditions.

Dublin Metropolitan Regatta, Blessington, Saturday

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:11.863, 2 Rudergesellschaft Wiking Berlin (inter) 6:21.173, 3 UCD (inter) 6:22.163; 4 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 6:41.850.

Div Two – A Final: 1 Cork BC (Club Two) 6:15.297, 2 NUIG (Club Two) 6:15.873, 3 Commercial (Club Two) 6:22.777; 4 UCD (Nov) 6:21.543; 5 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 6:40.310.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:21.603, 2 Commercial (sen) 6:28.590, 3 Carlow (sen) 6:39.810.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: 1 Rudergesellschaft Wiking Berlin (inter) 6:48.173, 2 Skibbereen (inter) 6:51.123, 3 UCD A (inter) 6:52.57; 5 UCD A (Club One) 7:09.843, 6 Athlunkard (jun 18A) 7:12.387. B Final: CAI (jun 18A) 8:37.280. Div Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (Club Two) 7:06.850, 2 NUIG A (Club Two) 7:18.223, 3 Col Iognaid A (jun 16) 7:27.490. B Final: 1 UCD (Club Two) 7:22.253; 3 Lee (jun 18B) 7:46.653.

Pair – Division One – A Final: 1 Carlow (sen) 7:00.373, 2 St Michael’s (sen) 7:01.760, 3 Carlow (inter) 7:09.357; 4 St Michael’s A (jun 18A) 7:12.590. B Final: 1 UCD A (inter) 7:14.300, 2 St Michael’s (Club One) 7:17.827.

Sculling,

Quadruple – Div One – A Final: 1 Commercial (sen) 6:31.557, 2 Skibbereen (sen) 6:34.490, 3 Old Collegians (sen) 6:36.673; 5 Cork BC (jun 18A) 6:49.217. Div Two – A Final: 1 Cork BC 6:59.537, 2 Lee (jun 16) 7:04.77, 3 Cork BC (jun 18B) 7:06.493. B Final: Graiguenamanagh (jun 18B) 7:39.147; 2 Commercial (club two) 7:46.617. C Final: Neptune (nov) 8:33.443.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Old Collegians (sen) 7:07.373, 2 UCD/Portadown (sen) 7:11.603, 3 St Michael’s (inter) 7:13.740; 4 Garda (Club One) 7:15.670. B Final: Lee (jun 18A) 7:59.930. Div Two – A Final: 1 Shandon B (Club Two) 7:30.470, 2 Waterford (Club Two) 7:46.707, 3 Three Castles (jun 16) 7:47.227; 5 St Michael’s (jun 18B) 7:57.393. B Final: Skibbereen (jun 18B) 8:08.357.

Single – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (E Rowan, sen) 7:23.600, 2 Portadown (S McKeown, sen) 7:23.817, 3 Garda (D Kelly, inter) 7:33.333. B Final: 1 Shandon (S O’Sullivan; jun 18A) 7:40.700; 5 Garda (R Allen; Club One) 7:47.357. C Final: 1 UCD (R O’Sullivan; Club One) 7:46.767. Div Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (K Mannix, jun 18B) 7:48.270, 2 Commercial (E Meehan, jun 16) 7:54.950, 3 Graiguenamanagh (A Lennon, jun 18B) 7:57.740; 5 Shandon (D Smith, Club Two) 8:00.627. B Final: Castleconnell (A Mozdzer, Club Two) 8:04.933. C Final: Graiguenamanagh (K Scully, jun 18B) 8:05.560.

Women

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7 mins 6.773 secs, 2 Trinity (sen) 7:13.667, 3 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 7:15.690; 4 Trinity B (Club One) 7:55.210. Division Two – A Final: 1 Commercial (Club Two) 7:32.520, 2 Shandon (jun 16) 7:43.393, 3 NUIG (Club Two) 7:44.207; 4 Galway (Jun 18B) 7:46.857. B Final: 1 Commercial (jun 16) 7:59.867; 2 Trinity (nov) 8:10.273.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 UCD (sen) 8:25.937, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 8:26.170, 3 NUIG (sen) 8:33.670.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: 1 UCD B (inter) 7:20.803, 2 UCD A (inter) 7:24.170, 3 NUIG (inter) 7:28.417. Div Two – A Final: 1 NUIG (Club Two) 8:01.323, 2 Commercial (Club Two) 8:16.833, 3 Athlunkard (Club Two) 8:28.237.

Pair –Div One – A Final: 1 UCD (sen) 8:31.340, 2 Commercial B (inter) 8:34.460, 3 Bann (jun 18A) 8:39.267. B Final: 1 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 9:05.617; 2 Athlunkard (Club One) 9:31.823.

Sculling

Quadruple – Div One – A Final: Lee (jun 18A) 7:10.203, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:14.900, 3 Bann (jun 18A) 7:15.943; 4 Carlow (Club One) 7:32.560. Div Two – A Final: 1 Commercial (jun 16) 7:38.500, 2 Shandon A (jun 16) 7:46.817, 3 Garda (Club Two) 7:50.140; 5 Cork BC (jun 18B) 7:54.523. B Final: Commercial A (nov) 7:57.957.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:35.167, 2 Bann (jun 18A) 7:42.297, Skibbereen (sen) 8:12.747; 4 Castleconnell (Club One) 8:14.730. Div Two – A Final: 1 Bann (jun 18B) 8:00.347, 2 Garda (Club Two) 8:12.923, 3 Carlow (jun 18B) 8:48.290; 5 Castleconnell (jun 16) 9:10.130. B Final: Castleconnell (jun 18B) 9:00.677.

Single – Division One – A Final: 1 Bann (E Barry; jun 18A) 9:06.307, 2 Lee (C Synnott; jun 18A) 9:09.533, 3 Bann (B Mullin; jun 18A) 9:20.487. B Final: 1 New Ross (E Maurin; sen) 9:00.437; 2 St Michael’s (A O’Sullivan; inter) 9:01.187, 3 Fermoy (S Bouanane; Club One) 9:19.283. C Final: Skibbereen (B Walsh; sen) 9:41.843.

Div Two – A Final: 1 Bann (H Scott; jun 16) 9:02.560, 2 Bann (F Chestnutt, jun 18B) 9:12.593, 3 Garda (S Kenny, Club Two) 9:20.207. B Final: Castleconnell (R Kilkenny; Club Two) 11:35.533. C Final: Fermoy (A Collins; Club Two) 9:39.823.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Eric Rowan of Skibbereen beat Sam McKeown of Portadown by less than a quarter of a second in the A Final of the men’s Division One single sculls at Dublin Metropolitan Regatta today. Rowan had a marginal lead over McKeown for much of the race, but the big Portadown eked out a lead coming up to the line, only for Rowan to finish better. The Division Two men’s eights A Final was also very close, with Cork Boat Club passing NUIG to win. NUIG/Grainne Mhaol came out on top in the men’s Division One fours, and Carlow in the pairs.

The junior women of Skibbereen were the best women’s eight on the day, while Aoife Casey and Emily Hegarty – also juniors – were the fastest women’s double. Conditions were excellent, with bright sunshine and a light headwind.

Dublin Metropolitan Regatta, Blessington, Saturday

Men

Eight – Div Two – A Final: 1 Cork BC (Club Two) 6:15.297, 2 NUIG (Club Two) 6:15.873, 3 Commercial (Club Two) 6:22.777; 4 UCD (Nov) 6:21.543; 5 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 6:40.310.

Four – Division One – A Final: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:21.603, 2 Commercial (sen) 6:28.590, 3 Carlow (sen) 6:39.810.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: 1 Rudergesellschaft Wiking Berlin (inter) 6:48.173, 2 Skibbereen (inter) 6:51.123, 3 UCD A (inter) 6:52.57; 5 UCD A (Club One) 7:09.843, 6 Athlunkard (jun 18A) 7:12.387. B Final: CAI (jun 18A) 8:37.280.

Pair – Division One – A Final: 1 Carlow (sen) 7:00.373, 2 St Michael’s (sen) 7:01.760, 3 Carlow (inter) 7:09.357; 4 St Michael’s A (jun 18A) 7:12.590. B Final: 1 UCD A (inter) 7:14.300, 2 St Michael’s (Club One) 7:17.827.

Sculling,

Single – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (E Rowan, sen) 7:23.600, 2 Portadown (S McKeown, sen) 7:23.817, 3 Garda (D Kelly, inter) 7:33.333. Div Two – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (K Mannix, jun 18B) 7:48.270, 2 Commercial (E Meehan, jun 16) 7:54.950, 3 Graiguenamanagh (A Lennon, jun 18B) 7:57.740; 5 Shandon (D Smith, Club Two) 8:00.627. B Final: Castleconnell (A Mozdzer, Club Two) 8:04.933. C Final: Graiguenamanagh (K Scully, jun 18B) 8:05.560.

Women

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7 mins 6.773 secs, 2 Trinity (sen) 7:13.667, 3 St Michael’s (jun 18A) 7:15.690; 4 Trinity B (Club One) 7:55.210.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: 1 UCD B (inter) 7:20.803, 2 UCD A (inter) 7:24.170, 3 NUIG (inter) 7:28.417. Div Two – A Final: 1 NUIG (Club Two) 8:01.323, 2 Commercial (Club Two) 8:16.833, 3 Athlunkard (Club Two) 8:28.237.

Sculling

Quadruple – Div One – A Final: Lee (jun 18A) 7:10.203, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:14.900, 3 Bann (jun 18A) 7:15.943; 4 Carlow (Club One) 7:32.560. Div Two – A Final: 1 Commercial (jun 16) 7:38.500, 2 Shandon A (jun 16) 7:46.817, 3 Garda (Club Two) 7:50.140; 5 Cork BC (jun 18B) 7:54.523. B Final: Commercial A (nov) 7:57.957.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:35.167, 2 Bann (jun 18A) 7:42.297, Skibbereen (sen) 8:12.747; 4 Castleconnell (Club One) 8:14.730.

Div Two – A Final: 1 Bann (jun 18B) 8:00.347, 2 Garda (Club Two) 8:12.923, 3 Carlow (jun 18B) 8:48.290; 5 Castleconnell (jun 16) 9:10.130. B Final: Castleconnell (jun 18B) 9:00.677.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: The St Michael’s senior men’s eight were the fastest crew at the Neptune Head of the River at Blessington today, setting a time of 12 minutes and nine seconds in the first of the two heads. Lisa Dilleen was the outstanding woman competitor, winning the senior single sculls. The conditions were variable, with the second head going off in heavy rain and a headwind – only for the weather to clear as the head went on.

Neptune Head of the River, Blessington (Selected Results)

Overall: 1 St Michael’s senior eight 12 mins 9 secs (first head), 2 UCD/Neptune sen eight (1st hd) 12:10, 3 UCD, Lee, Neptune sen eight (1st) 12:16, 4 UCD, Neptune sen eight (2nd) 12:52, 5 Carlow sen four (1st) 12:56, 6 Old Collegians, UCD, Commercial sen eight (2nd) 12:56.

Men

Eight, Senior: 1 St Michael’s (first head) 12:09, 2 UCD, Neptune (1st) 12:10, 3 UCD, Lee, Neptune (1st) 12:16. Club Two: Commercial (1st) 13:24. Junior 16: Commercial (1st) 13:54. Junior 18: Portora A (2nd) 13:54. Masters: Commercial, Old Collegians (2nd) 14:17.

Four – Senior: 1 Carlow (1st) 12:56, 2 UCC (1st) 13:13, 3 NUIG, St Joseph’s (1st) 13:35. Intermediate: 1 Trinity A (1st) 13:07, 2 Trinity B (1st) 13:17, 3 Trinity B (2nd) 13:55, 4 Neptune (1st) 13:57. Club Two: NUIG (1st) 14:39. Junior 18: Portora (1st) 14:51.

Pair – Senior: 1 NUIG A (1st) 14:01, 2 NUIG, Lee (1st) 14:22, 3 NUIG B (1st) 14:36.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two: Offaly (2nd) 17:25. Junior 16: Three Castles (1st) 14:36.

Double – Senior: 1 UCC (2nd) 14:39, 2 Castleconnell (2nd) 14:39, 3 Garda (1st) 14:57.

Single – Senior: 1 Univ of Limerick (D Quinlan) (1st) 15:15, 2 Castleconnell (A Prendergast, 2nd) 15:22, 3 NUIG (L Keane, 1st) 15:23. Intermediate: 1 Garda (D Kelly, 1st) 15:36, 2 St Michael’s (D O’Connor, 2nd) 15:38, 3 Garda (Kelly, 2nd) 15:39, 4 Commercial (F Groome, 1st) 15:40. Junior 18: 1 Portora (E Murray, 1st) 15:54, 2 Belfast BC (A Murray, 1st) 16:08, 3 Carlow (O Nolan, 1st) 16:19.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 Trinity (1st) 13:46, 2 Trinity (2nd) 14:07, 3 Commercial, Trinity (1st) 14:18. Intermediate: Trinity (1st) 14:11. Club Two: 1 Carlow (1st) 15:59, 2 Commercial (1st) 19:50, 3 Commercial (2nd) 21:29. Junior 18: 1 Portora A (1st) 14:36, 2 Neptune (1st) 14:56, 3 Carlow (1st) 15:14.

Four – Intermediate: 1 UCC (1st) 15:49, 2 NUIG A (1st) 15:53, 3 Trinity (2nd) 16:02. Club Two: Trinity (1st) 16:54. Junior 18: St Michael’s (2nd) 16:21.

Pair – Senior: 1 Portora A (2nd) 16:36, 2 Portora B (2nd) 17:17, 3 UCC (2nd) 18:13.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two: 1 Carlow (2nd) 16:40, 2 Garda (1st) 17:14, 3 Cork (1st) 17:46. Junior 16: Offaly (1st) 16:56.

Double – Senior: 1 Trinity (2nd) 15:55, 2 Belfast BC (2nd) 16:30, 3 Garda (2nd) 19:01.  

Single – Senior: 1 Gráinne Mhaol (L Dilleen, 1st) 15:55, 2 Gráinne Mhaol (Dilleen, 2nd) 16:01, 3 Trinity (R Morris, 1st) 16:39. Intermediate: 1 St Michael’s (H O’Sullivan, 1st) 17:33, 2 Belfast BC (S Quinn, 1st) 17:41, 3 Neptune (L Leahy-Bailey, 1st) 19:04. Junior 18: 1 St Michael’s (S Murphy, 1st) 17:39, 2 Carlow (A Byrne, 2nd) 18:04, 3 Belfast BC (O Blundell, 1st) 18:10.

Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 2

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

 

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.

©Afloat 2020