Displaying items by tag: Investec Loyal

29th December 2010

Fleet Arrives in Hobart

Sean Langman and Anthony Bell's 100-foot super maxi Investec Loyal was the second yacht across the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, arriving last night just after midnight, three and a half hours behind the provisional line honours winner and race favourite Wild Oats XI.

Investec Loyal's sailing time to Hobart was two days, eleven hours and eleven minutes.

The yacht was on track to finish sooner; however as is often the case when arriving at the mouth of the Derwent River after dark, the breeze typically drops right off.

This was Langman's 20th Rolex Sydney Hobart race. Once across the line he congratulated the Wild Oats XI crew on being first to Hobart, only a few hours before. Asked whether he can challenge Bob Oatley's super maxi Wild Oats XI again and win, he responded, "definitely, there is more in this boat, more in the team."

"The first afternoon we were the faster boat, they were a slicker team. We'll change [that] though," Langman warned. "We sailed a seamanship race."

Later Wednesday morning, four more contenders crossed the finish line in Hobart: Lahana, Ichi Ban, Wild Thing and Rán.

The 30-meter fixed keel water ballasted Lahana, skippered by Peter Millard, completed the gruelling race in two days, fourteen hours, and nine minutes. Lahana arrived at the finish line at 3:09am 29 December. Like Investec Loyal crossing the finish line was frustrating as the winds on the Derwent River were all but gone.

The story was similar for Matt Allen's Jones 70 Ichi Ban. Allen and his crew sailed an inspiring race. The whole way they had been in the breakaway pack of four leading yachts, snapping at the sterns of their much bigger rivals and ahead of the remaining super maxi Wild Thing and the 72-foot mini-maxi Rán.

"Up to 2300 last night we had great running conditions. Our approach to Tasman Island was in a good northerly breeze," Allen said when he finally stepped onto Hobart's Constitution Dock after finishing at 0552 Wednesday morning.

"The breeze was still reasonable to Tasman Light, but then it got light at Cape Raoul. It picked up a bit later, but when we got to the Iron Pot it fell apart. There was no wind anywhere on the Derwent River. It didn't matter where you were on the River, there was nothing." Ichi Ban, veteran of five previous Rolex Sydney Hobarts, completed the race in a respectable two days, 16 hours and 52 minutes.

Grant Wharington's Wild Thing finished 23 minutes behind Ichi Ban at 0615 Wednesday morning while Zennstrom's Rán arrived seven minutes later at 0622.

Like Wild Oats XI, Rán also faces the same protest about the use of its radio from the event Race Committee. The International Jury will hear the protest at 1300 today at the Royal Yacht Club Tasmania.

This was Zennstrom's second Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Commenting on the race conditions they encountered this year Zennstrom said, "I think I have now definitely seen what the race is all about. It was tough crossing Bass Strait; 35 knots of wind and big seas. The whole experience has been fantastic."

At 1030 Wednesday, saw the arrival of Alan Brierty's Reichel/Pugh Limit and less than three minutes later, Stephen Ainsworth's Loki. Both boats were locked in a dead heat for most of the race. According to Limit's owner Alan Brierty, "First Loki got in front, then we got in front. It was back and forth. We finally got in front and stayed in front at Tasman Light. Speaking of the neck-and-neck battle with Loki, Brierty said, "It was a race within the race. For us, it was the race."

Stephen Ainsworth reflected about coming in behind Limit, "We had done everything right. Limit just got away and we couldn't catch them. He then jokingly said, "After a while we thought, we hate this race."

Asked how this Rolex Sydney Hobart race compared with others, tactician and former America's Cup competitor Chris Dickson, tactician onboard Limit reflected, "This race wasn't any better or worst than any other Hobart. We still saw 45 knots of breeze, big breaking waves—it's just the Bass Strait."

Most of the race fleet is across the Bass Strait and is spread out along the eastern Tasmanian coast. Their race is far from over as tacticians will be working hard to navigate through a very large area of light and variable breeze along the coast, in the shadow of the island.

Race organisers announced the 17th retirement, Matthew Prentice's Archambault 40 Nautical Circle, which dropped out with engine problems and was headed to Eden.

Nine yachts have finished, with 61 yachts still racing. Still up for grabs is the Tattersall's Cup for the overall handicap win. Currently leading is Darryl Hodgkinson's Beneteau 45, Victoire, which would need to finish by 0736 tomorrow (Dec 30).

The entries for this the 66th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race included six international entries from the USA, UK, Italy, France, as well as two partly crewed Russian boats, and entries from seven of the eight Australian states and territories.

Race Tracker: Race enthusiasts can go to http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/yacht_tracker.asp for a real time tracker of yachts and their position.

Official race website: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

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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

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

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.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

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.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

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.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

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.