ISORA has announced the postponements of the first two races of the 2020 season. Both the Welsh Coastal Race and Irish Coastal Race scheduled for April 18th and 25th respectively have been scrubbed along with many other early sailing fixtures.

A week later, on May 2nd, the fleet, now totalling over a 60-boat entry, is slated to undertake the first of the season's seven offshore fixtures from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead but ISORA now says there will be further communication prior to these races taking place.

To cancel these will have an impact on ISORA's Sailing Instructions in respect of the number of qualifying races. Postponements require planning of alternative dates and venues. The ISORA Race management Team is now considering options for the Sailing Committee to consider.

Download 2020 ISORA Fixtures list here

Thousands of miles and 10 months of lead time are proving no deterrent for former ISORA Champions Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox of the National Yacht Club in Ireland but are based in North Wales and who are intent on ensuring their spot for their J109 Mojito in New York in one of the most anticipated sailing championships of 2020.

A second ISORA yacht, Andrew Hall's Jackhammer, a J121, will also be competing in the Big Apple.

In the few short weeks since entries opened as Afloat reported here, nearly 30 entries have registered for the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championships, exceeding organisers' expectations and laying a strong foundation for the regatta's triumphant return to the United States after a two-decade absence.

Click here to see the entry list.

Among the teams making an early commitment to travel to the regatta is the Teamwork crew (above), led by Robin Team from Winston-Salem, N.C.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to sail in the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championships," said Team. "It is a chance to race against the very best competition in a world-class venue run by the New York Yacht Club. They always run a great regatta, both on the water and shoreside."

The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will bring top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of three coveted world titles. The regatta will be scored using a combination of the two most popular rating rules in the sport, ORC and IRC, and racing will be a mix of around-the-buoys racing and longer, offshore courses. The competition will be held out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court from September 25 to October 3, 2020.

While the Teamwork crew will put in the miles to get its J/122 to Newport, there are many other teams committing to an even longer journey. Among the 28 entries to date are two each from Italy and Great Britain and one each from Germany, France and Canada. This geographic spread is crucial to the regatta as ORC championship rules state that the number of competitors plus the number of countries represented within the fleet must total 14 or greater for each class to confer a world title to its winner.

With an impressive surge of 12 entries from four countries, including Tilmar Hansen's TP52 Outsider from Kieler Yacht-Club in Germany, Class A has already met this requirement. This boat was brand new to Hansen at the last combined ORC/IRC Worlds in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2018, where he finished as runner-up to Karl Kwok's gold medal-winning TP52 Beau Geste from Hong Kong.

"We are very much looking forward to coming to Newport next summer," said Hansen. "The town is wonderful, the racing is always good, all the infrastructure is there, and we enjoy the great hospitality of the New York Yacht Club. Our plan is to race the RORC's Caribbean 600 in Antigua in February, then ship the boat to race in Newport all summer in preparation for the Worlds."

Outsider will have some strong competition in a brand-new Fox, Victor Wild's Botin 52 currently under construction, and Vesper, a competitive TP52 from Southern California skippered by David Team (no relation to Robin). All three boats should be among the fastest boats, according to rating, in Class A.

Another interesting development is the three IC37s that have entered Class B. This boat, created for one-design racing by the New York Yacht Club, has recently had some success under IRC, including an overall win in the Hamble Winter Series on the Solent. Another full season of one-design racing and, perhaps, some optimization for handicap competition could well make one or more of these IC37s a formidable competitor next fall. So far 10 teams have entered Class B.

And Class C is also shaping up well with six teams from three countries, including Kevin Brown's Farr 30 Notorious from Toronto and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. His plan includes IRC and ORC racing in Florida in the SORC offshore series this winter, and says his boat "is in top form, getting ready for the Worlds now."

While the Worlds will come at the end of the sailing season in Newport, two other major events earlier in the summer will provide teams from around the world with the opportunity to train, test their equipment and enjoy all that Newport, America's first resort, has to offer. The 166th Annual Regatta—North America's oldest annual sailing competition—and the 12th edition of Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex will provide an invaluable opportunity to preview the racing formats and the scoring system that has been confirmed for the world championship.

Outsider, Teamwork and Notorious all plan to enter one or more of these pre-Worlds events.

"It's really encouraging to see early entries from outside New England and across the Atlantic Ocean," said event chair Patricia Young (Jamestown, R.I.), who will be racing her Tripp 41 Entropy in Class B. "The previous ORC/IRC World Championship, in The Hague in 2018, set a high bar in terms of entries and while we're not sure we can reach that level—Europe remains the epicenter for both of these rating rules—we are that much more confident we'll have a very strong and diverse fleet of yachts for the regatta."

Scoring System Confirmed

While this big boat handicap championship has been a staple of World Sailing's regatta slate for many years, the concept of scoring it with two rules is quite new, having only been done once previously, in 2018 in The Hague. The scoring formula is a little more complex, but the end result is a competition that does a more consistent job of rewarding the best-prepared and most-talented teams regardless of the wind conditions.

"The system we agreed to we think will minimize differences in the two rule systems," says ORC Chief Measurer Zoran Grubisa, who is co-chairing the event's Technical Committee along with Jason Smithwick from IRC. "We believe this will be an improvement on what we did in The Hague two years ago."

The basic mechanics of the scoring scheme are fairly straightforward. ORC Results will be calculated using the Coastal / Long Distance time-on-time scoring model, while inshore races will be scored using Performance Curve Scoring with a constructed course. IRC Results will be calculated using each yacht's IRC time correction coefficient. Corrected times calculated for ORC and IRC will be shown as deltas to the winning boat. The winning boat in each rating system in each class will have a corrected time of 00:00:00, and all others will have a corrected time calculated as the difference in time to the winner.

Finally, a single corrected time to determine the finishing place is calculated by averaging a yacht's corrected times in ORC and IRC. That score alone will go on the team's score card. The official scoring language can be found

Irish offshore sailing's biggest social event of the year has traditionally been ISORA's annual dinner at the National Yacht Club and last Saturday night was no different with 160 guests gathering at the East Pier clubhouse in Dun Laoghaire to salute its 2019 champion Paul O'Higgins and his crew from the JPK10.80 Rockabill VI.

As Afloat previously reported, O'Higgins, from the neighbouring Royal Irish Yacht Club, came from behind in the last race of the season to lift the Wolf’s Head trophy at a sell-out night at the NYC.

Saturday's ISORA prizegiving at the NYC Photo: GP Foto

The full list of prizewinners on the night is downloadable below. 

The prizegiving dinner was preceded by the association's agm at which the 2020 ISORA calendar was published.

ISORA 2019 - Report on 2019 by Hon. Sec. Stephen Tudor

The 2019 ISORA series started in April and racing concluded on Saturday 7th September.

The 16-race series saw 63 competitors from 13 Clubs. The fleet has made use of 7 ports including Dún Laoghaire, Holyhead, Pwllheli, Dingle, Liverpool, Douglas, and Greystones.

We are extremely grateful for the work and input of all Club representatives who have made our visits possible. The devastation in Holyhead impacted on the number of competitors and a loss of a key port in the 2018 and 2019 schedules.

The ISORA Offshore Series for the Royal Dee Yacht Club’s prestigious Wolf’s Head was won this year by the Paul O’Higgins, Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club, for the best six offshore races, followed closely by Aurelia, Chris & Patanne Power Smith, and the Jackknife, Andrew Hall who collected most points in the season and consequently won the ISROA Points Series. The series was decided by the results of the last race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire.

The two ISORA Coastal Series attracts the largest fleets; The Viking Marine Series in Ireland and the Global Exhibitions Series in Wales. This style of point to point racing is very popular with competitors favouring the challenge of a longer race with the usual post-race social gathering.

The Club Team Trophy was won this year by the Royal Saint George team of Aurelia, Windjammer and YoYo. This is the first time in many years that the team trophy was not won by the Pwllheli Sailing Club team.

Prizes are awarded to all principal winners and to each race winner, overall winners in each of the three IRC classes and the restrictive class ‘Silver Class’.

ISORA is affiliated to the governing bodies; ‘Irish Sailing’ IS, ‘RYA’ and ‘RYA Cymru Wales’.

The Wolf's Head Trophy Photo: GP Foto

We have embraced many modern technologies for race management with an automated on-line entry and payment system, a dedicated web site with over 1,000 recipients of the ISORA e-newsletters. Race Committee and Race Management have been communicating with WhatsApp and this has proved successful in 2019 and enabled work load sharing in particular with Mark Thompson and Peter Dunlop. All races are viewed by the ISORA YB Tracking which has enabled the use of virtual waypoints and unmanned finish lines such as the finish line set in the middle of the Irish Sea following the start in Douglas; this enabled competitors to disperse to their home ports - brilliant!

Tracking would not be possible without the support of our fantastic sponsors Viking Marine and Global Exhibitions for the Coastal Series and of course our Race Sponsors Avery Crest, Jack Ryan Whiskey, Hendricks Ryan and Tudor Estate Agents.

The impressive array of ISORA trophies on display at the NYC Photo: Michael Horgan

ISORA has been instrumental in providing shore bases for ‘Automatic Identification System’ (AIS), with support from Marine Traffic, providing better coverage of the Irish Sea area and making deliveries between ports safer.

The 2019 series was again scored using the ISORA High Points System with more points awarded for more challenging races and more reward in larger fleets. This complex system is possible by using the superb results program ‘Sailwave’ which also enables the publishing of results as competitors finish and for all the different fleets and classes.

2019 was another great offshore series seeing new boats, more competitors, challenging racing and fantastic shore time for social gatherings and the usual warm ISORA camaraderie.

Finally, our thanks and appreciation for the hard work, the dedication of our Chairman Peter Ryan – Thank you, Peter

The 2020 ISORA Race calendar will include a Dún Laoghaire to Cobh race in July as part of the official Cork300 celebrations. The full 2020 ISORA calendar of 13 races is downloadable below.

The 2020 season will start on April 18th in North Wales and April 25th in Dun Laoghaire with 40-mile coastal races sponsored by Viking Marine on either side of the Irish Sea.

A week later, on May 2nd, the fleet, now totalling over a 60-boat entry, will undertake the first of the season's seven offshore fixtures from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead, with the Welsh finish location still to be confirmed.

June's Round Ireland Race from Wicklow is not part of ISORA's 2020 schedule.

On July 9th, the fleet takes in a reenactment of a historic race from Dun Laoghaire to Cobh (Kingstown to Queenstown) as part of their offshore fixtures with the 150-mile race being a season highlight. The offshore race is designed to be an official feeder for Royal Cork Yacht Club's tricentenary celebrations in Cork Harbour. 

Race 8 on the 24th July Coastal Race will be a 40-mile night race.

The season concludes with race 16 Race and a Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire offshore 80-miler on September 5th

The full 2020 ISORA calendar of 13 races is downloadable below.

Paul O'Higgins is the first Royal Irish Yacht Club skipper in the 42-year-history of ISORA to win its overall Wolf's Head Trophy with previous winners (see list below) reading like a who's who of the Irish Sea offshore racing scene.

O'Higgins became 'top dog' of the Irish Sea following his overall win of the 2019 ISORA Championships beating the overall leader in the last race on Saturday.

Sailing the JPK10.80 Rockabill VI, O'Higgins is also the first Irish champion in three years after beating defending champions Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox's Mojito from Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales.

As Afloat reported earlier, O'Higgins overtook Welsh overall leader Andrew Hall 's J125 Jackknife in a thrilling three-boat climax to the series in the final race of 16 last Saturday afternoon.

The Wolf’s Head Trophy, initially presented as a Royal Dee Yacht Club race prize to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's 25th Jubilee Race in 1977, was subsequently repurposed and since awarded annually to the 'top dog' in Irish Sea racing and has been presented every year thereafter by ISORA.

The last Irish winner was Liam Shanahan's Ruth from the National Yacht Club in 2015.

ISORA's Wolfs Head Trophy - Photo: ISORA

The ISORA victory marks a stand-out season for the RIYC sailor who also counts wins in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, the ICRA Championships and Calves Week.

O'Higgins also currently leads the table in ICRA's Boat of the Year Award that will not be decided until after next month's Autumn Leagues conclude.

A list of Wolf's Head winners from 1977 - 2018 is below:

2018 - Mojito - Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox
2017 - Mojito - Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox
2016 - Sgrech - Stephen Tudor
2015 - Ruth - Liam Shanahan
2014 - Ruth - Liam Shanahan
2013 – Sgrech – Stephen Tudor
2012 – Sgrech – Stephen Tudor
2011 - Raging Bull – Matt Davis
2010 - Raging Bull – Matt Davis
2009 – Tsunami – Vincent Farrell
2008 – Galileo – Tennyson, Lemass & Kelliher
2007 - Gums 'n' Roses - John & Guy Rose
2006 - Gums 'n' Roses - John & Guy Rose
2005 - Galileo - NYC
2004 - Trinculo - HYC
2003 - Gums 'n' Roses - John & Guy Rose
2002 - Jackhammer - A Hall
2001 - Sigmagic - R Dobson
2000 - Sigmagic - R Dobson
1999 - Keep on Smiling - J T Little
1998 - Keep on Smiling - J T Little
1997 - Corwynt Cymru III - GF Evans
1996 - Jackhammer - A Hall
1995 - Jackhammer - A Hall
1994 - Megalopolis - U Taylor
1993 - Megalopolis - U Taylor
1992 - Grenade - HS & CS Morris
1991 - Megalopolis UC Taylor & N Biggs
1990 - Scenario Encore - A Fitton
1989 - Decibel - J Marrow, J Reynolds & P Watson
1988 - Checkmate - JM Biggs
1987 - Canterbury - AJ Vernon
1986 - Banga Wanga - CM Hill
1985 - Glider - L Kertesz
1984 - Demelza - N Maguire
1983 - Rapparee II - B Kelly
1982 - Rapparee II - B Kelly
1981 - Rapparee II - B Kelly
1980 - Swuzzlebubble -WB Lyster
1979 - Sundancer - GR Haggas
1978 - Dai Mouse III - DWT Hague
1977 - Jublilee Race - 'Andromeda' AL Stead

Source: ISORA

Paul O'Higgins' Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club is the 2019 overall ISORA champion claiming the overall title in the dying airs of yesterday's final race into Dublin Bay.

Provisional results published this morning (see below) confirm victory for the Dublin JPK 10.80 design after 14 races sailed with eight discards in the season-long series that began last May. 

In a thrilling climax to the 2019 offshore edition, Rockabill VI made substantial gains in the final miles of yesterday's 60-mile Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire race that saw Rockabill win the James Eadie Trophy for race 16 and jump from third overall to snatch victory. 

First overall - Catching the best of the breeze Rockabill arrives into Dublin Bay yesterday, third on the water, after the race across the Irish Sea from Pwllheli Photo: Afloat

Second overall - Chris & Patanne Power Smith's Aurelia (IRL 35950), a J122 from the Royal St George Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

As Afloat previously reported, three boats were able to win overall going into the final race that was, as predicted, a light air conclusion to 2019.

With six races to count and this last race counting for a 1.3 multiple, it was always likely that the overall winner would be counting their result in this race and so it was to be in the lightest of airs on the Irish Sea yesterday.

Andrew Hall's J125 Jackknife who had been leading dropped to fourth in the overall calculations, Chris Power Smith's Aurelia from the Royal St. George finished second and Paul O'Higgins's Rockabill VI went from third to overall victory.

Third - Andrew Hall's Jackknife (GBR 8859R), a J125 from Pwllheli Sailing Club. Photo: Afloat

Round Ireland 2020

O'Higgins adds the ISORA title to his overall win in June's Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race as well as victory in June's ICRA Coastal Class plus a Calves Week win in August. It sets Rockabill VI up as the top Irish offshore campaign for next year's top event, the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

The result confirms Ireland's first win of ISORA's Wolf's Head Trophy in at least three years with the RIYC Skipper deposing Peter Dunlop's defending champion, Mojito, the J109 from North Wales from 2018 and 2017.

ISORA Top ten - Results are provisional as of 0:34 on September 8, 2019 Class 0/1/2 IRC/ECHO. Sailed: 14, Discards: 8, To count: 6, Rating system: IRC, Entries: 63

Full results are here

Race 16 Race Report by Peter Ryan, Chairman ISORA

The 2019 ISORA Offshore Championship was decided in a tight contest between three boats – Paul O’Higgins “Rockabill VI”, Chris Power Smith’s “Aurelia” and Andrew Hall’s “Jackknife”. All any of those boats had to do to win the 63 boat, ISORA Offshore Series 2019, was to beat the other two boats in the last race.

The race was the annual James Eadie Race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire, a distance of 80 miles. There were 23 entries for the race but only 14 managed to get the Pwllheli for the start. The starters included a new to ISORA boat from Arklow Sailing Club, John Conlon’s “Humdinger”.

The forecast for the race was moderate North-Westerly winds veering North-Easterly and eventually going very light. The weather for the race was as forecast.
Due to the light forecast in the evening, it was decided by the race committee to select a direct course. The course was:

Start at Pwllheli Bridge – PS2 (Racing buoy) (S) – ISORA Dublin (Virtual Mark) (P) – Finish between the pier heads in Dun Laoghaire. The course was approximately 82 miles.

The race started at 07.30. The starter on the Pwllheli Bridge was Robin Evans. The north-westerly wind provided a tight reach from the start line and “Jackknife” and “Rockabill” were fast off the start line and reaching west along the beach towards PS2. After rounding PS2, the fleet headed south-west towards St Tudwal’s Islands under spinnaker.

At this stage, the format for the race was being set. The three contenders for the Wolf’s Head, “Jackknife”, “Aurelia” and “Rockabill VI” split from the fleet and were racing together in close contact. This was to last for the entire race.

Rounding the headland at St Tudwals the leg west to Bardsey Sound was a fetch but with a foul tide against the fleet, the route to and through Bardsey Sound had to be selected carefully.
Exiting Bardsey Sound the tide was ebbing south. The wind at this stage was still north-westerly providing a 60 mile beat to the finish but this soon changed as the wind veered to the North, liftin the fleet closer to the rhumb line.

It soon became apparent that the forecast was proving correct and the fleet would be close fetching toward Dun Laoghaire. This eliminated most of the tactical options, so boat speed was the main concern.

“Jackknife” led the fleet into Dublin Bay and was the first boat to succumb to the failing winds. This allowed the following boats for close the gap. At one stage, it was looking like a small boat race as all the lead boats slowed and the smaller boats compacted the fleet.

The last 7 miles were tricky for the leaders due to the light fickle winds in Dublin Bay. “Jackknife” managed to inch across the finish line under spinnaker to take Line Honours but only managed a 4th Overall. “Aurelia”, followed closely by “Rockabill VI” and Peter Dunlop’s “Mojito”, managed to cross the line in the failing breeze. Unfortunately, at that stage the tide was stating to ebb south, stopping the remainder of the fleet as they entered the bay. All of the remaining fleet struggled to cross the line, with some boats retiring late in the evening.

Cigar Smoke on board Jackknife is barely dispersed so light were the winds on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

After this challenging and frustrating race, “Rockabill VI” managed to stay close enough to the other two contenders to win the race Overall and the James Eadie trophy and to take the ISORA Offshore Championship 2019. They also won Class 0.

Joe Conway's Elandra won the Silver class division but overall Grzegorz Kalinacki’s “More Mischief” takes the ISORA Silver Class 2019 Championship.

“Mojito” took Class 1 with Mark Thompson’s “Jac Y Do” taking Class 2. Full results, as well as the YB tracking of the race can be found on the website: www.isora.org

The traditional end-of-season party took place at the National Yacht Club after the race, where crew from all boats gathered to exchange stories and socialise together. The party extended early into the morning with Charlene Howard’s “AJ Wanderlust” crossing the finish just after 02.00. Finish time were recorded automatically using the YB trackers fitted to every boat.

Prior to the race, on Friday evening, a pre-race get-together took place in Plas Heli (Pwllheli Sailing Club)

This race ended the ISORA Offshore 2019 Series and the following boat are the Series and Class Winners:

• Overall ISORA Offshore Champion – Paul O’Higgins “Rockabill VI”
• Overall ISORA Offshore Sliver Class Champion - Grzegorz Kalinacki’s “More Mischief”
• Overall ISORA Offshore Class 0 - Paul O’Higgins “Rockabill VI”
• Overall ISORA Offshore Class 1 – Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox “Mojito”
• Overall ISORA Offshore Class 2 – Lindsey Casey “Windjammer”
• Viking Marine Irish Coastal Series 2019 - Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox “Mojito”
• Global Display UK Coastal Series 2019 – Andrew Hall “Jackknife”

Prizes for the season will be presented at the Annual ISORA Dinner to be held in the NYC on 9th November. That afternoon the ISORA AGM takes place where the race schedule for 2020 is discussed and agreed.

ISORA is set to crown a new Irish Sea offshore champion this weekend with three boats able to win overall going into tomorrow's final race that looks set to be a light air conclusion to 2019.

The final race, for the James Eadie Trophy, is the high-scoring Hendrick Ryan sponsored 60-miler from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire that looks set to be on the nose with south-westerlies (less than 10-knots) from North Wales across the Irish Sea to Dublin Bay.

This will be the deciding race for the 2019 Championship Winner for the Wolf's Head Trophy, Class Winners and Silver Class Winner and any number of competitors could win.

Results to date are here

With six races to count and this last race counting for a 1.3 multiple, it is likely that the overall winner will be counting their result in this race. So if you only take the best results so far, the results are Andrew Hall's J125 Jackknife leading on 561.2 points, Chris Power Smith's Aurelia on 554.3 and Paul O'Higgins's Rockabill VI on 550.6. Any of these three can win and it also appears that the defending champion Mojito, currently in fourth overall, cannot overtake Jackknife, even if the J125 does not compete tomorrow.

Aurelia - in second overall

Rockabill VI - in third overall

Interestingly too, tomorrow's result may also impact ICRA's revamped Boat of the Year Award. It's not entirely clear from the ICRA website how much ISORA's final race counts towards these overall points in the new Boat of the Year calculations, but if they do then O'Higgins' Rockabill VI, who is top of the ICRA table, might well be able to wrap it up too with a win in ISORA. It's all to play for on the Irish Sea this weekend.

Conditions couldn’t have been more glorious for a bank holiday weekend of ISORA races in Pwllheli writes Vicky Cox. The last two races of the Global Displays three-race Welsh Coastal series.

The first race of the weekend, the Global Displays Day race, was a 30nm coastal race taking in Pwllheli Sailing Club (PSC) Mark 10 off Penychain, the Causeway buoy and the Tudwal islands before heading back to the finish via the Tom Buoy. Given the winds forecast (none!), some felt the course was a little ambitious but with a steady 6-8kts at the start, all boats got away cleanly and steadily along the beach.

Andrew Hall’s Jackknife rounded PSC10 first, closely followed by Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox’s Mojito and once their kites and code zeros went up they progressed at a steady 6-7 knots down to the causeway cardinal buoy. Meanwhile, back at Penychain, it looked like the wind had dropped and Peter Ashworth’s ZigZag, Mark&Jo Thompson’s Jac y Do rounded 30 -40 minutes after the leading boats.

As the wind died further offshore, boats had the added problem of waves close to the bar. For Keith Greenwood’s Hullabaloo Encore, who rounded the PSC10 last, progress was painfully slow at less than 2kts and they were forced to eventually retire.

Meanwhile, at the causeway buoy, Jackknife managed to get some wind and sped away at an impressive 7-8kts leaving Mojito to round in the dying airs now 3 miles behind. It certainly looked like Jackknife had the race in the bag.

In consideration for the slower boats, the course was shortened - straight to the finish from the Tudwal islands but that’s where Jackknife ran into trouble and appeared to be heading west along the headland rather than east through the sound. An hour later they were joined by Mojito who soon realised the problem - barely any wind and significant tide against them.

Much merriment ensued in the deathly quiet of the sound and Jackknife were heard hailing from a distance ‘Starboard!’ Both boats erupted in laughter. Trying all tactics to get through, they both ended up close inshore next to Bear Grylls island where a gentleman appeared at the edge of the cliff asking ‘Are you alright?’, ‘Do you need any help?’, ‘Do you need any fuel?’. ‘We could do with some beer!’, was the reply.

Jackknife tacked away to try the other side of the sound while Mojito floated past hoping for more wind being funnelled through the islands.

Now joined by ZigZag and Jac y Do two hours after they had arrived, Jackknife appeared to be parked for the night under the cliffs of the headland so put up their kite in a desperate attempt to get the boat moving. Mojito appeared to be in a worse position as they were floating backwards between the two islands watching the slightest of zephyrs on the water, all frustratingly too far out of reach. The discussion onboard was a debate on how Bear Grylls managed to keep the flag flying on his island with such vigour while all around there was no wind to be seen. Boredom started to set in, so up went Mojito’s kite - at least it would dry it out after a heavy 10days of sailing.

Jac y Do watched as Mojito slowly disappeared between the islands, with just their masthead showing and then witnessed them being catapulted back out at speed. The zephyr had arrived! A desperate attempt to tack the kite meant it was wrapped in the very moment it was needed - of all the times!! But they managed to get it free and it filled. After over 3 hours of floating it was such an uplifting moment, almost worthy of a cheer. Off they shot smartly at 6kts.

But it was short lived, the wind had gone in the shadow of St Tudwals East. They could see wind at a flag on a lobster pot up ahead. Did they have enough momentum to get there? Yes, they did! And they managed to stay in it all the way to Pwllheli leaving the rest of the fleet to float at 0.5kts for another hour at least.

Mojito finally finished at 2133 taking 1st overall and class 1, Jackknife finished an hour later taking class 0 and Jac y Do an hour and 15 mins after that took 2nd overall and class 2 1st. Tremendous perseverance saw ZigZag finish at 0122 in the morning, taking 2nd in class 2.

After the struggle in the day race, there was little appetite for a lengthy Global Displays Night race in similar wind conditions, so it was kept short - PSC start, St Tudwal islands, and back to the finish. St Tudwals again?! Hadn’t we learned?! This time the fleet were sent through with the tide, rounding St Tudwals East, St Tudwals West and the bell buoy all to port.

Mojito got a good start along with Jackknife and managed to keep with them on the beat all the way to the islands, playing the shifts. Jackknife rounded St Tudwals West, up went the kite and off they went. Luckily the 6-7kts breeze was steady, with puffs of 8kts coming from the east. Mojito managed to capitalise on the wind bend with fewer gybes managing to finish just 10 minutes behind Jackknife to take 1st overall again. While Stephen Williams’s Darling xx were visibly closing the gap they were unable to beat Jackknife on handicap and had to settle for 3rd overall.

Mojito missed the first of the Global Displays three race coastal series in Pwllheli by taking part in the Irish coastal series sponsored by Viking marine. All the talk was of Mojito potentially winning the coastal series on both sides of the water. Had they compromised their lead in the Viking Marine series on the Irish side by being in Pwllheli?... As results came in from both sides of the Irish Sea it was evident that Mojito had brought back some Irish luck that weekend, and by a fluke of events and results, they had won the Viking Marine series overall without doing the last race. But with no discards on the Welsh side, they had to settle for 3rd overall in Pwllheli despite taking top spot in the last two races.

Jackknife had done enough to take the Global Displays series in Pwllheli with a 1st, 2nd and a 3rd, meaning that they retained the Midland Punch bowl. In time-honoured tradition, the bowl was filled by the two coastal series-winning skippers with vodka & tequila sunrises and the party continued well into the early hours.

Full results for both coastal series and ISORA offshore series can be found here

Pwllheli Sailing Club will welcome the ISORA skippers back on the 7th September for the last and deciding race of the overall ISORA series for the Wolf’s Head.

Racing then continues inshore in Pwllheli, with the very popular Autumn and Winter series, starting on the 21st September and every other weekend till Christmas.

Race 14 of the ISORA Offshore Series 2019 took place from Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, 24th August 2019 writes Peter Ryan. 

As Afloat previously reported, the race was a Coastal Day Race with a 10.00 start. The race was part of the ISORA “Viking Marine” Irish Coastal Series and also a feeder race to the Greystones Regatta. 

The race was the last race in what was to be a five-race series for the Viking Marine Coastal Series. However, one of the earlier races was cancelled due to severe weather. The discard was still to be applied after this race. It was hoped that this could open the challenge for the series. Peter Dunlop’s “Mojito” was leading the series into the last race followed by Lindsay Casey’s “Windjammer” and Paul O’Higgins' “Rockabill VI”.

Of the 24 entries, 14 boats came to the start line at DBSC “Pier” mark and were sent on their way by Barry MacNeaney and Larry Power. The race organiser for the race was Grainne Ryan and the Safety Officer was Anita Begley.

The series leader “Mojito” was not to be seen. It was back home in Pwllheli taking part in the ISORA UK Global Communications coastal series taking place the same day. Just prior to the start Rupert Barry’s “Red Alert” developed steering problems and retired.

The forecast for the day was for SSE winds 10-15 knots and possibly reaching 20 knots. The winds were very local with very light winds in all other parts of the Irish Sea. To ensure that the fleet finished in Greystones in sufficient time to take part in the “Taste of Greystones”, a 33 mile course was selected by the Sailing Committee

The course was:

• Start at DBSC “Pier Mark”
• Muglins (S)
• North India (S)
• Wicklow Outfall (S)
• Finish at Greystones

As the boats exited Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the start the winds were SSE 14-18 knots. However, soon after the start, the wind dropped to 10 knots.

At the start, there was still two hours of south going tide. The first leg to the Muglins was a beat with the fleet splitting, some heading inshore and the remainder staying out in the tide offshore.

Frank Whelan’s “Eleuthera” led the fleet from start to finish followed closely by Chris Power-Smith’s “Aurelia” and George Sisk’s “WOW”. The second leg down the coast started with a fetch but the veering wind to South headed the fleet inshore and produced another beat. The fleet made landfall at Greystones but had to keep going another 8 miles to North India. Close tacking along the beach to avoid the tide, paid off.

Eventually, the fleet had to strike out into the tide for North India. As the leaders arrived at North India the wind dropped to 3-5 knots making rounding the buoy very difficult for all boats. The leading Class 0 boats managed to round North India before the tide became too strong in the light winds to make any progress to the mark. Many of the boats retired at this point, unable to reach North India.

The ISORA course for race 14

Those boats that managed to round North India crabbed their way against the tide in the zephyrs for the 6 miles fetch to Wicklow Outfall. Once Wicklow Outfall was rounded, good progress was made in a dead run towards the finish in Greystones.

Finish times were recorded automatically using the YB trackers and results were displayed immediately a boat crossed the finish line.

“Eleuthera” took line honours, Class 0 and the Overall IRC. “Windjammer” took Class 2. Grzegorz Kalinecki’s “More Mischief” took Silver Class. Full results are on the ISORA website www.isora.org

The Greystones Regatta committee presented prizes for 1st and 2nd Overall in the ISORA Race.

The results in this race, after the discard was applied, did not knock “Mojito” off the top, despite not even taking part. “Mojito” won the Viking Marine ISORA Coastal Series and Class 1. “Windjammer” took 2nd Overall and Class 2 while “Rockabill VI” took 3rd Overall and Class 0. “More Mischief” took Silver Class.

The next race is the final offshore to take place on the 7th September from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire. It will be the decider race for the Overall ISORA Championship with Andrew Hall’s “Jackknife” leading the series. A weighting of 1.3 will be applied to the results of this race. This weighting with an anticipated large fleet taking part could topple “Jackknife”, “Aurelia” and “Rockabill VI” are in position to challenge for the coveted Wolf’s Head trophy and Overall ISORA Offshore Championship.

To encourage ISORA boats to take part, the entry fee for the race is been waived for any boat that has raced in ISORA in the past. A complimentary Crew Bus is also being organised to bring crew taking the afternoon ferry, from Holyhead to Pwllheli.

To further encourage boats to take part, an end of season party has been arranged in the National Yacht Club after the race, no matter what time the boats finish. This is always a great social event where the new ISORA Champion will be toasted.

Entries for any of the remaining ISORA races are welcomed. Online entry can be made on the ISORA website 

Greystones Sailing Club yacht Eleuthera (Frank Whelan) was the winner of Saturday's final Viking Marine ISORA Coastal Series Race from Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay to Greystones Harbour in County Wicklow.

Only eight of the 14 starters finished the 40-mile race that started at 0955 am in perfect 10-knot southerly breezes at DBSC's Pier Mark. 

The Wicklow Grand Soleil 44 was impressive from the first tack out of Dublin Bay but Whelan was too eager at the start arriving too early for the pin end and having to gybe around.  

Second was the Royal St. George's Aurelia, Chirs Power Smith's J122 who beat off Wow (George Sisk's XP44 from the Royal Irish) and Paul O'Higgins's JPK10.80, Rockabill VI, also of the RIYC.

The boats are now positioned for today's BJ Marine Taste of Greystones Regatta. More here. 

Results are here

With approximately 20 seconds to go, the 14-boat fleet lines up for the start off the East Pier...

...but Eleuthera arrives too early.....

and bears away from the line....

....also early was overall contender, the J97 Windjammer 

but timing the start to perfection was Chris Power Smith's Aurelia

....who nailed the pin end right on the gun

Windjammer made a port tack start as did Eleuthera below her and headed into the Dublin Bay shoreline

Aurelia - second

WOW -third

Rockabill VI - fourth

Lively Lady - sixth