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Displaying items by tag: Dublin Bay

With less than a week to the start of the the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race 29 boats are entered for the 320-mile classic. 2009 race winner Legally Brunette is entered and there will be a two boat two handed match race. The final race entry list is below.

Name of Boat Sail No. Model IRC TCC Sub DivisionName
SpindriftIRL 1503HR34White CruiserDavid Kelly
DinahIRL 3508JOD 35White1.016Two HandedBarry Hurley
Powder MonkeyIRL 28892J109White1.028RacingChris Moore
Lula BelleIRL 3607Beneteau 36.7White1.019RacingLiam Coyne
OrnaIRL 532Grand Soleil 40CBlue1.043RacingPhilip Dilworth
AquelinaIRL 1281J122White1.088RacingSheila/James Tyrrell
Ocean BlueIRL 1352Pacific Seacraft 40Cream0.936CruiserFrancis Cassidy
Raging BullIRL 9666Sigma 400White RacingMatthew Davis
Emir HerrIRL 1118Beneteau 47.3Blue1.037CruiserLiam Shanahan
Something ElseIRL 29213J109Blue1.028RacingJohn Hall
Premier CruIRL 1152Beneteau 50Blue CruiserAlan Jackson
LisadorIRL 1295Dehler 36White0.959RacingHenry Hogg
JediIRL 8088J109White1.029RacingAndrew Sarratt
Galway HarbourGBR 7386RReflex 38White1.057RacingMartin Breen
Betty BoopIRL 285Puppeteer 330SBlue/White0.911RacingJohn Alvey
Tom Crean BreweryGBR 2750SJ320Light Blue1.008RacingYannick Lemonnier
MojitoGBR 1536LBavaria 39White0.988CruiserPeter Dunlop
Fortuna ReduxGBR 2568LFast 42White RacingSteve Kershaw
YahtzeeIRL 1068Beneteau 411White0.983CruiserRichard Mossop
English MickGBR 4771RBeneteau 47.7Blue RacingCarol Payne
RebellionIRL 6001Nicholson 58Blue1.059CruiserJohn Hughes
TsunamiIRL 4007Beneteau 40.7Grey1.061RacingVincent Farrell
Sailing West IntuitionGBR 9383RReflex 38Blue1.057RacingPaul Adamson
SgrechGBR 9319RJ109White1.021RacingStephen Tudor
Pride of Dalkey-FujiGBR 38Class 40Green1.251RacingAlan McGettigan
SunsariIRL 3201Sunfast 32iWhite0.945Two HandedTom Salter
Legally BrunetteIRL 4053X41White1.122RacingCathal P Doran
PersistanceGBR 8237TSigma 38White/Navy0.985CruiserJerry Collins
Saxon SenatorIRL 1447X37Blue1.039RacingWanfred/Eric Watermam
Published in Dun Laoghaire Dingle
The clean sweep made by Royal Irish Yachts in Cruisers One last Thursday (June 2nd) was short lived after Dublin Bay Sailing Club race organisers scrubbed the results for the class because no yacht had finished within the two hour time limit.

Results for Cruisers one were taken down the following day. All other results published are to stand, according to Race HQ.

Published in DBSC
Tagged under
Adrienne Jermyn's Helter Skelter was the Cruisers II winner on ECHO handicap in yesterday's Dublin Bay Sailing Club Saturday Series race writes our Dublin Bay Correspondent.

In a perfect sailing breeze that built steadily all afternoon the combined DBSC fleet of over 220 boats across 17 classes were treated to some stunning reaching legs as the breeze topped 15 knots.

The Jeanneau Sunfast 32i design beat the Corby 25 Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan) and third was another Corby design, a 26-footer, Cor Baby (Keith Kiernan).

But under the club's major handicap rule, the IRC rule, none of the ECHO winners featured. Instead it was the J80 Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke) home first. Second was the vintage half tonner Dick Dastardly (B.Cusack et al) from the DMYC. Third was the DB1 Red Rhum (J Nicholson).

In the one design fleets, Bruce Carswell's Ruffian 23 footer Diane II from the Royal St. George Yacht Club was first home. Second was Ann Kirwan's Ruff N Ready. Third was Derek Mitchell's Ruff Nuff.

Class Supremo Tim Goodbody of the Royal Irish took another win in the Sigma 33 class. Second was Paddy Maguire's Gwilli Two.

Full DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 4 JUNE 2011 below:

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Powder Monkey (C.Moore/M.Byrne), 2. Contango (Barry Cunningham), 3. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al), 3. Powder Monkey (C.Moore/M.Byrne)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Helter Skelter (Adrienne Jermyn), 2. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 3. Cor Baby (Keith Kiernan et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke), 2. Dick Dastardly (B.Cusack et al), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Cacciatore (Anne O'Callaghan et al), 2. Pamafe (Michael Costello), 3. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 2. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 3. Supernova (K.Lawless et al)

DRAGON - 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Susele (Michael Halpenny), 3. Zu (P.Dee et al)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Hy5ive (D & S Gorman), 2. Deranged (C.Doorly), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 2. Hy5ive (D & S Gorman), 3. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge)

GLEN - 1. Glenshesk (L.Faulkner et al), 2. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 3. Glendun (B.Denham et al)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)

MERMAID - 1. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 2. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 3. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

PY CLASS - 1. P Keane (Laser 1), 2. F.Heath (Laser 1), 3. Desmond McCarthy (Laser 1)

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. P Keane (Laser 1), 2. Desmond McCarthy (Laser 1), 3. F.Heath (Laser 1)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 2. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath), 2. Malindi (B.Smith/A.Gray), 3. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr)

SQUIB - 1. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne), 2. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 3. Kookaburra (P & M Dee)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 2. Kookaburra (P & M Dee), 3. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo- 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Lucy O (Aonghus O hEocha), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 3. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer)


Published in DBSC
Tagged under
HOWTH YACHT CLUB. WEDNESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 01/06/2011 Class 1 IRC: 1, Tiger Hughes/Harris; 2, Trinculo M Fleming; 3, Makutu Doyle/Others; Class 1 HPH: 1, Trinculo M Fleming; 2, Makutu Doyle/Others; 3, Tiger Hughes/Harris; Class 2 IRC: 1, Sunburn I Byrne; 2, King One D Cullen; 3, Superhero Byrne/Banahan; Class 2 HPH: 1, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others; 2, Indigo Eadie/Ritchie; 3, Sunburn I Byrne; Class 3 IRC: 1, Gecko K Darmody; 2, Hard on Port F O'Driscoll; 3, Starlet Bourke/Others; Class 3 HPH: 1, Gecko K Darmody; 2, Midnight Sun Howard/Others; 3, Jibberish O'Kelly/Others; White Sails HPH: 1, On the Rox J & C Boyle; 2, Tantrum 3 O'Leary/Klimche; 3, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; White Sails IRC: 1, Alphida H Byrne; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; 3, On the Rox J & C Boyle
Published in Howth YC

In a fine turnout for the Laser class, the Royal St. George's Sean Craig outwitted club mate Theo Lyttle for line honours tonight in the Laser dinghy class on Dublin Bay.

Tonight was the last race in the first series of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club season.

The 13-boat Laser fleet – that race as part of the PY class – was double that of any other fleet tonight as 10–12 knot westerlies provided perfect dinghy sailing for the 30 dinghies competing. DBSC set triangular courses for all five classes.

It was ideal world championship practise for the six Fireballs now only ten days away from the world championships in Sligo. Continuing a theme Noel Butler and Steven Oram were winners again on Dublin Bay. Second was Winder (E.Butler/O.Laverty) and third Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller) of the DMYC.

In the PY race, Lyttle closed on Craig at the top of the second beat but downwind Craig extended again to take a comfortable margin by the line. Third was Paul Keane.

There is more good news for the Olympic single-hander in Dublin with reports that numbers for club racing are likely to increase as the DBSC Summer season progresses.

So far 21 Lasers are entered in total in a PY fleet of 28 boats.

The sailors involved in the rebirth of the Laser as a club boat include former Laser national class champion Chris Arrowsmith and tonight's race winner, the SB3 and Flying fifteen ace, Sean Craig. Former 420 champ Theo Lyttle is a regular as well as Gary O'Hare.

Full DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 31 MAY 2011 results are below:                                                                                                      
BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner)                                                          
BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner)                                                          
CRUISERS 2 - 1. Cor Baby (Keith Kiernan et al), 2. Free Spirit (John O'Reilly), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)                                              
CRUISERS 3 - 1. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey), 2. Grasshopper 2 (K & J Glynn), 3. Pamafe (Michael Costello)                                         

CRUISERS 4 - 1. Maranda (Myles Kelly)                                                                                                                 

FIREBALL - 1. nn (S Oram), 2. Winder (E.Butler/O.Laverty), 3. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)                                                           
GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Glenshesk (L.Faulkner et al), 3. Glencorel (B.Waldock/K.Malcolm)                                               
IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 2. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)                                          

MERMAID - 1. Tiller Girl (J.O'Rourke), 2. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)                                                      
PY CLASS - 1. Sean Craig (Laser), 2. T Lyttle (Laser), 3. P Keane (Laser 1)                                                                           
RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Golden Girl (Michael Carrigan et al), 3. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell)                                     

SQUIB - 1. Tais (Michael O'Connell), 2. Sidewinder (D.Croke/R.Bowen)                                                                                 

 

 

 

Published in DBSC
Sailing's Brian Craig (Royal St. George Yacht Club) was honoured by the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring T.D. at an awards ceremony this afternoon for his outstanding voluntary contribution to sailing.

The 'National Awards to Volunteers in Irish Sports', held at the Aviva stadium celebrated the contributions of volunteers to Irish sport.

There are over 400,000 people throughout the country who voluntarily dedicate their time every year through their involvement with sports clubs and organisations. 250 volunteers were shortlisted, and Dun Laoghaire's Brian Craig was one of only eleven to receive the award from the Minister.

The national awards are an initiative of the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport in conjunction with the Federation of Irish Sports, which represents some 68 sports in Ireland. The scheme is also supported by the Community Foundation of Ireland and the Irish Sports Council.

Attending the ceremony with Brian and his family was Irish Sailing Association (ISA) President, Niamh McCutcheon.

The award winners were selected by a committee chaired by Olympic Gold Medal Winner, Ronnie Delany, alongside representatives from the Federation of Irish Sports, Irish Sports Council, The Irish Times, RTÉ and the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport.

Speaking at the presentation of the awards Minister Ring said. "The contribution of volunteers in supporting Irish sports people at every level, from when they first engage in sporting activity right through to developing elite athletes, should not be underestimated. Indeed, the army of volunteers who dedicate their time and commitment to each sport in Ireland assist in building strong and healthy communities, while giving everybody the opportunity to be the athletes they are."

"In presenting these awards today I wish to not only congratulate the 11 volunteers who truly deserve their honours, but I would also like to acknowledge all of the 400,000 people who help to ensure Irish sport is in such a healthy state. Quite simply sport in Ireland wouldn't function without their incredible efforts, and as a nation we would undoubtedly be worse off."

Published in News Update
Raging Bull charged back to the top of the ISORA fleet in a race across the Irish Sea. The offshore focus now is on the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race. Adam Hyland won the Oppy Leinsters and visiting Kinsale sailors took the Dragon Easterns, both events were held on Dublin Bay. Dick Dastardly won Class 2 at the same venue in DBSC's Saturday race. Abroad Irish Olympic hopes were making the headlines at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland but no medals just yet.

Royal Cork's Anthony O'Leary is racing at the Scottish Series and better weather is promised tomorrow. ICRA has arranged craneage for next month's national championships and there are less than two weeks to the first gun of the Fireball World Championships in Sligo. 58 are entrered from nine countries.

All this and much more in Monday's Afloat ebulletin. Direct to your inbox  Sign up here for free. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter too!

dinah

 Barry Hurley and Mick Liddy prepare for the ISORA start in Wales on Saturday. More photos by Cathy Mullan on our ISORA post here

 

Published in Racing
A strong, unstable and blustery airflow produced exciting, and at times marginal racing conditions at the week end for the East Coast Dragon Championship hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Despite Race Officer Jack Roy's skill and patience only four of the six race series was completed as a full gale swept through the bay on today.

In winds gusting up to 30 knots on the Friday and Saturday the tricky conditions produced four different winners, but Cameron Good and his team from Kinsale showed the most consistency to take the championship. Richard Goodbody from the host club was a close second, with Royal North of Ireland's Simon Brien third.

The Dragon focus now turns to Kinsale for the Nationals in August, and the last chance for visitors to check out the venue for the the Dragon Gold Cup in 2012'

Dragon East Coast Championship 2011 Results

1st Cameron Good, Simon Furney, Henry Kingston KYC
2nd Richard Goodbody, Rick Johnson, Rob Johnson RIYC
3rd Simon Brien, Mark Brien, David Good RNIYC
4th Andrew Craig RSGYC
5th Martin Byrne RSGYC

Published in Dragon
After a quarter of a century of voluntary service, Ken Robertson is to retire as station coxswain with the RNLI at Dun Laoghaire from the end of May.  Mark McGibney has been selected as his successor from a panel of coxswains at the station.

Ken is a well-known local businessman, notably through his newsagents shop on Marine Road in Dun Laoghaire, a location that allowed him to respond quickly whenever the all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was called out.

Initially, he was appointed 2nd coxswain in 1986 and subsequently in 1989 became the successor to the late Eric Offer who was best known as the coxswain of the 'John F. Kennedy' lifeboat that was stationed in Dun Laoghaire from 1967 until 1990.

In 1995, Ken Robertson and the Dun Laoghaire station took delivery of the current station ALB, the RNLB Anna Livia, a state-of-the-art vessel that cost almost €2 million that is capable of reaching a casualty ten miles offshore within 30 minutes and has a range of 250 miles.

In the course of his long career with the RNLI, Ken has been responsible for many notable services including the rescue of a swimmer in Killiney Bay who was saved just yards from a rocky shoreline in gale force winds in 2007.  One of the longest calls ever was a 14-hour operation following the tragic loss of four sailors when their yacht, the Debonair collided with a ship close to Dublin Port in 2001.

Mark McGibney will be the new station coxswain effective 1st June.  A volunteer crew member and a coxswain since 2002, he is the Sailing Manager at the nearby Royal Irish Yacht Club and lives locally with his wife and two children.

"Ken Robertson is retiring after a long-career as station coxswain during which he saved dozens of lives and rescued hundreds more," said Stephen Wynne, lifeboat operations manager.  "All of us at Dun Laoghaire RNLI wish him well in retirement and also extend our gratitude to his wife Margaret who has been fully supportive in spite of the disruption to normal family life that voluntary lifeboat service brings."

During the course of Ken Robertson's service with the RNLI, the Dun Laoghaire ALB launched on service 535 times and saved 60 lives in addition to the rescue of many others.  In 2007, he received the Thanks of the Institution for the rescue of the swimmer at Killiney.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Tagged under

After missing the last ISORA race the 2010 Champion Raging Bull charged back to the front of yesterday's 7-boat fleet in a blustery offshore race across the Irish Sea from Pwlhelli in Wales to Wicklow harbour on the Irish East coast. Second to Matt Davis's Sigma 400 was the Welsh J109 Sgrech and third the Royal Irish A35 entry Aztec III skippered by Peter Beamish.

The bad weather before the race and difficulties with delivery as well as a general poor forecast (and a rugby match) for the race was the
main reasons for a very disappointing turn out for what is normally a very popular race.

Some of the fleet – now moored in Wicklow harbour – are sailing in this morning's Round the Turbines race from nearby Arklow Sailing Club. Provisional ISORA results from the Pwllheli to Wicklow race are below.

ISORA interests now turn to the big offshore fixture of the season, the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race on Saturday, June 11th.

Scroll down for Race start pics by Cathy Mullan
Boat NameSail No.TypeIRC RatingIRCFinish TimeTime elapsedTime elapsedCorrected Corrected PlacePlace
   (provisional)No Spinnaker   TimeTimeClassO/A
English MickGBR4771RBeneteau 47.71.127IRC18:43:203770010:28:204248711:48:0727
Quite CorrectIRL 5405DS541.095IRCDNS------
African ChallengeIRL 2649Fast 421.077IRCDNS------
TsunamiIRL 4007First 40.71.061IRC18:54:193835910:39:194069811:18:1815
LancastrianGBR 7682TStarlight 14.5m1.059IRCDNS------
RebellionIRL 6001Nicholson 581.054IRCDNS------
OrnaIRL 532 1.042IRCDNS------
Aztec 3IRL29832A351.034IRC18:59:143865410:44:143996811:06:0833
JediIRL 8088J1091.029IRC19:04:013894110:49:014007011:07:5044
Raging BullIRL 9666Sigma 4001.027IRC18:57:473856710:42:473960811:00:0811
Miss ScarlettIRL 4763Sunfast 40.31.025IRCDNS------
SgrechGBR9319RJ1091.021IRC19:03:003888010:48:003969611:01:3622
Lula BelleIRL 3607First 36.71.019IRC19:51:464180611:36:464260011:50:0058
First of SeptemberIRL 8581First 43.51.016IRC20:47:594517912:32:594590112:45:01712
DinahIRL 3508JOD 351.016IRC20:04:314257111:49:314325212:00:5269
WindshiftIRL 37737SF370.992IRCDNS------
AdelieFRA 9631First 34.70.988IRC20:52:024542212:37:024487612:27:56210
MojitoGBR 1536LBravaria 390.988IRC19:52:144183411:37:144133111:28:5116
Mistral of St HelierK 8337Sigma 380.984IRC21:08:394641912:53:394567612:41:16311
YahtzeeIRL 1068Oceanis 4110.983IRC21:35:254802513:20:254720813:06:48413
SarniaIRL 2260 0.891IRCDNS------
Published in ISORA
Page 74 of 103

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