Displaying items by tag: Vice Admiral’s Cup

22nd May 2022

RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup 2022 Concludes with 'Stunning' Final Day at Cowes

Cowes: Sunday 22 May, 2022: Today had a change in wind direction to an east-southeasterly that progressively strengthened to 10-11 knots, along with more glorious sunshine for the 50 teams competing at the RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup.

The Quarter Tonners enjoyed close competition, with many places changing and just 7.5 points separating the five boats in places four to eight. However, at the front of the fleet the overall lead of Sam Laidlaw’s BLT was never threatened and he won the eight-race series counting seven points, having discarded his sole second place. Victory for Julian Metherell’s Bullit in the penultimate race saw him take second overall on 13 points, while Louise Morton Bullet took third on 21 points.

The new Grand Prix Zero class was one of the three dominated by one boat, in this case Niklas Zennström’s FAST40+ Ràn, which won every race, despite being pushed hard at times by Ian Atkins’ GP42 Dark N Stormy.

“We had great weekend, with a better forecast than expected,” says Joy Fitzgerald, a long-standing team member who runs the pit this weekend. “We thought we were coming to a light wind regatta, so to have the conditions we’ve had over the past few days has been really beneficial for us.”

Despite two disappointing results today, RORC Commodore James Neville’s HH42 Ino XXX held onto third overall on count back, having finished the regatta tied on points with Harmen Jan de Graaf’s Ker 43 Baraka Gp.

Overall winner in the Quarter Ton class - Sam Laidlaw’s BLT Photo: Paul Wyeth

Julian Metherell’s Bullit Photo: Paul Wyeth

A third place for Louise Morton's Bullet Photo: Paul Wyeth

Success for Niklas Zennstrom's Fast40+ Rán in the newly formed Grand Prix Zero class

Grand Prix Zero class start Photo: Paul Wyeth

Enjoying the inaugural event for the new IRC Racing Class, Grand Prix Zero (GP Zero)

In the J/109 class David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish won all but the final race, a result he was able to discard. However, the fight for second place could not have been closer, with John Smart’s Jukebox and Mike Yates’ Jago tied on 12 points at the end of the regatta. The tie break was resolved in Jukebox’s favour thanks to their win in the final race.

By contrast, the Cape 31 fleet was one of three classes that went to the wire. A win for Russell Peters’ Squirt in today’s first race left him as a strong contender against Michael Bartholomew’s Tokoloshe 4 for the overall title.

However, Squirt had a disappointing third race, finishing eighth, while two consistent third places for Tokoloshe 4 were enough for her to take an overall win with a six point margin, while Tony Dickin’s Jubilee took third overall, a further three points adrift. For most this was a high scoring regatta, yet there were many closely-fought individual battles throughout the fleet, including three pairs of boats that finished the regatta tied on points.

“It was awesome,” says Tokoloshe 4 helm Dave Bartholomew, “brutal and stressful but fun and really, really hard work. The race management was brilliant – we were lucky with conditions, which combined with good race management to make eight absolutely amazing windward leeward races over the three days. It was hard work, with lots of position changes and lots of fun.”

J/109 class win for David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish Photo: Paul Wyeth

John Smart’s J/109 Jukebox and Mike Yates’ Jago tied on 12 points at the end of the regatta Photo: Paul Wyeth

Michael Bartholomew's Tokoloshe 4 was overall winner of the 13-strong Cape 31 fleet Photo: Paul Wyeth

Cape 31 Tokoloshe 4 Photo: Paul Wyeth

Cape 31 start on the final day of racing Photo: Paul Wyeth

In the HP30s Jerry Hill and Richard Faulkner’s Farr 280 Moral Compass held an overall lead at the end of each of the first two days of racing. However, Chris Townsend and Richard Powell’s Gweilo got faster and faster during the regatta, finishing with three consecutive race wins.

“We had the joy of Graham Bailey driving for us in the windy conditions on Friday,” says Powell, “when Jerry Hill’s boat handling was superb and for us sailing downwind at 16-17 knots with water cascading across the deck was spectacular.” Other team members on board include Sophie Heritage, recently returned from working with the British SailGP team in Bermuda, Ben Vines who was driving on Saturday, plus America’s Cup and SailGP chief umpire Craig Mitchell.

Powell also echoed the thoughts of many competitors in saying: “…it was marvellous to see PRO Stuart Childerley back on the water – he and Paul Jackson (who ran the second committee boat) gave us eight cracking races in three days.”

Winner of HP30 class - Chris Townsend and Richard Powell’s Gweilo Photo: Paul Wyeth

HP30 start action - Photo: Paul Wyeth

The J/111 class produced some of the most intense racing, despite being one of the smaller fleets. The final results were decided in the final race, which Tony Mack’s McFly and Chris Jones / Louise Makin’s Journeymaker ll started the race on five and six points respectively

Both boats circling repeatedly in match-race style in the pre-start. Journeymaker then made the dash for the line first, followed by McFly on her windward quarter, and was first to tack onto port, heading towards the stronger favourable tide south of the Hill Head plateau. Unsurprisingly, McFly was quick to cover, but both boats were still almost neck and neck at the windward mark. They arrived at the leeward gate almost simultaneously, rounding opposite marks just three seconds apart.

However, McFly was on the advantaged side of the gate and therefore reached the stronger stream first, helping her pull ahead into a lead at the final windward mark that proved unassailable. She went on to cross the finish with an 18 second advantage at the end of a full-on 41-minute race.

For more action-packed and intensive close, short course racing, the IRC Nationals, hosted by RORC are on June 10-12, 2022.

Tony Mack’s McFly saw intense racing and overall victory in the J/111 class Photo: Paul Wyeth

Chris Jones / Louise Makin’s Journeymaker ll Photo: Paul Wyeth

Results here

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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.