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# CANOEING: Ireland took a creditable ninth place at the Olympic Games today when Andrzej Jezierski dominated the B Final of the C1 200 metres in the Canoe Sprint competition at Eton Dorney.

Jezierski, who had a poor start in his semi-final and missed out a place in the A Final, nailed it this time and led as he came into the closing stages. Vadim Menkov of Uzbekhistan came closest to catching the Cork-based competitor, but Jezierski won by .127 of a second.

Olympic Games – Canoe Sprint, Eton Dorney – C1 200m, B Final (places 9 to 16): 1 Ireland (A Jezierski) 44.041 seconds, 2 Uzbekhistan 44.168, 3 Hungary 44.466.  

Published in Canoeing

# CANOEING: A poor start cost Andrzej Jezierski dearly it the Olympic Canoe Sprint semi-finals this morning. A very tough draw in the C1 200 metres saw the Ireland competitor needing to finish in the first two of a top-class field to be sure of a final place, though the two fastest third-place losers of the three semis would also qualify. However, Jezierski struggled from the start and even his customary better second half could only secure fourth. It was the fastest of the three semi-finals. Jezierski  is now set for the B Final.

The top two places in the semi-final were taken by Ivan Shtyl of Russia and Alfonso Benavidez Lopes de Ayala of Spain.

Olympic Games

Canoe Sprint – Eton Dorney – C1 200m – Semi-Final (First Two to Semi-Finals): 1 Russia (I Shtyl) 40.346, 2 Spain (A Benavidez Lopes de Ayala) 40.619; 4 Ireland (A Jezierski) 42.012.

Published in Canoeing

# CANOEING: Ireland’s hopes in Canoe Sprint at the Olympic Games received a boost today when Andrzej Jezierski qualified for the A Final at the Canoe Sprint European Championships in Zagreb. The Cork-based athlete, who will represent Ireland in the C1 200 class in London 2012, finished second in his semi-final today in that class, having placed third in his heat.

Canoe Sprint European Championships, Zagreb – Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

C1 200

Heat One (First to final; 2-7 to Semi-Final): 3 A Jezierski 40.571. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final): 1 Belarus (D Harazha) 39.770, 2 Jezierski 40.198, 3 Slovakia (L Hagara) 40.514.

Published in Canoeing

# ROWING: Ireland's Sanita Puspure, who recently qualified for the Olympic Games, will compete at Henley Royal Regatta. The Old Collegians woman takes part in the World Cup in Munich this weekend.

Entries for Henley Royal Regatta (Irish interest)

Temple: Trinity

Remenham: UCD

Visitors’: Queen’s

Wyfold: Cork BC

Queen Mother: UCC/London RC

Prince Albert: Queen’s

Diamond Sculls: J Keohane (Lee Valley); C Williamson (Queen’s)

Princess Royal: S Puspure (Old Collegians)

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Sanita Puspure is the Afloat Rower of the Month for May. The 30-year-old gave Ireland a place in the rowing programme at the Olympic Games in London with a characteristically gutsy performance which placed her fourth in the single scull at the Olympic Qualifier in Lucerne. This was the final Olympic place on offer, and she won a battle in the closing stages with Iva Obradovic of Serbia to clinch the spot. She is the deserving and popular winner of the Afloat Rower of the MonthRower of the Month awards:

The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2012. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2012 champions list grow.

Published in Rower of Month

# ROWING: Ireland’s Mark O’Donovan and Niall Kenny missed out on the chance of Olympic Qualification when they finished fifth in their lightweight double scull semi-final at the Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne today. The race was won by Australia, but the three boats behind them finished so close together that there was a a long delay as the judges decided which two landed positions in the final. The verdict went to Austria and Bulgaria – credited with exactly the same time – with Spain losing out. Ireland had not looked likely to land one of the top three spots for most of the race.

Olympic Qualification Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland

Men

Lightweight Double Scull – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 Hungary (Z Hirling, T Varga) 6:31.46, 2 United States (A Campbell Jr, W Daly) 6:33.77, 3 Switzerland (S Zehnder, M Schmid) 6:38.01; 4 Poland 6:41.29, 5 Sweden 6:44.72, 6 Slovenia 6:45.28. Semi-Final Two: 1 Australia (R Chisholm, T Gibson) 6:33.03, 2= Austria (P Sieber, B Sieber) 6:35.66, 2=Bulgaria (Z Karaivanov, V Vitanov) 6:35.66; 4 Spain (A Bertran Sastre, D Sigurjorsson Benet) 6:36.09, 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, N Kenny) 6:39.18, 6 Czech Republic 6:53.74.

Women

Single Scull – Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia (K Crow) 7:32.83, 2 Serbia (I Obradovic) 7:37.99, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:41.27; 4 Norway (T Gjoertz) 7:42.55, 5 Ukraine (N Huba) 7:52.73, 6 Britain (R Gamble-Flint) 7:52.90. Semi-Final Two: 1 Denmark (FU Erichsen) 7:36.13, United States (G Stone) 7:39.48, Estonia (K Pajusalu) 7:42.79; France 7:48.85, 5 Latvia 8:02.96, 6 Bulgaria 8:03.05

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Sanita Puspure is just a race away from qualifying for the Olympic Games. The Ireland single sculler finished third in her semi-final this morning behind Kim Crow of Australia and Iva Obradovic of Serbia to book her place in tomorrow’s A Final.

Olympic Qualification Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland

Women’s Single Scull – Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia (K Crow) 7:32.83, 2 Serbia (I Obradovic) 7:37.99, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:41.27; 4 Norway (T Gjoertz) 7:42.55, 5 Ukraine (N Huba) 7:52.73, 6 Britain (R Gamble-Flint) 7:52.90. Semi-Final Two: 1 Denmark (FU Erichsen) 7:36.13, United States (G Stone) 7:39.48, Estonia (K Pajusalu) 7:42.79; France 7:48.85, 5 Latvia 8:02.96, 6 Bulgaria 8:03.05

Published in Rowing

CANOEING: New Ireland star Andrzej Jezierski qualified for the B Final at the canoe sprint World Cup in Poznan in Poland. Jezierski finished fourth in his semi-final, just over three tenths of a second off the second place which would have put him in the A Final. Jezierski booked his place for the Olympic Games at the same venue in the Olympic Qualifier on Thursday.

Canoe Sprint World Cup, Poznan, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

C1 200 – Heat Three (1-7 and next best time to Semi-Final) 7 A Jezierski 48.652. Semi-Final (1-2 and next best time to A Final; 3-4 to B Final): 4 Jezierski 42.663.

K1 1,000m – B Final: 4 B Watkins 3:53.405

K2 200 – Heat Two (1-6 and next 3 best times to Semi-Final): 8 P Egan, M Majchrzak) 37.239. Heat Four: 7 S Marchetti, V Peirce 35.798

Women

K1 500m – C Final: 7 J Egan 2:10.730.

Published in Canoeing

# CANOEING; Ireland booked a place for a third canoeist at the Olympic Games as Andrzej Jezierski fought through difficult conditions to take second place in the Olympic Qualifier in Poznan in Poland today. The Polish man who lives and works in Cork came in just over half a second behind Hagara Lubomir of Slovakia.

 Jenny Egan failed to make the final in the K1 200 metres, but there are still hopes that she will make it through in the K1 500m in which she finished seventh earlier in the day.

European Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier – Day Two (Irish interest)

Men – C1 200m – A Final (First Two Qualify): 1 Slovakia (L Hagara) 42.518, 2 Ireland (A Jezierski) 43.034; 3 Czech Republic (M Fuksa) 43.522, 4 Germany (S Kiraj) 43.746, 5 Romania 44.186, 6 Latvia 45.202, 7 France 45.366, 6 Georgia 45.594, 9 Hungary disqualified.

Women, K1 500m – A Final: 1 Russia (Y Kachalova) 2:00.037, 2 Norway (MV Larsen) 2:01.281, 3 Poland (K Naja) 2:01.769, 4 Austria (AR Lehaci) 2:02.801, 5 Romania (R Borha) 2:03.317, 6 Spain (A Portela) 2:03.701, 7 Ireland (J Egan) 2:04.061, 8 Sweden (A Roger) 2:05.377, 9 Netherlands (E Haaze) 2:06.489.

K1 200 – Semi-Final: 1 Italy 45.253; 6 Egan 48.641.

Published in Canoeing

#CANOEING: Jenny Egan missed out on the automatic Olympic qualification places in the women’s K1 500 metres at the European Canoe Sprint qualification event in Poznan in Poland today. The Kildare woman finished seventh in the A Final, but only the top two are certain of places in London. Some more places may become available later in the summer. Egan goes in the K1 200 semi-final later today.

European Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier – Day Two (Irish interest)

Women, K1 500m – A Final (two automatic places for Lodnon 2012): 1 Russia (Y Kachalova) 2:00.037, 2 Norway (MV Larsen) 2:01.281; 3 Poland (K Naja) 2:01.769, 4 Austria (AR Lehaci) 2:02.801, 5 Romania (R Borha) 2:03.317, 6 Spain (A Portela) 2:03.701, 7 Ireland (J Egan) 2:04.061, 8 Sweden (A Roger) 2:05.377, 9 Netherlands (E Haaze) 2:06.489.

Published in Canoeing
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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

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