The end of June meant the Irish Cruiser Racing Nationals (ICRA) Boat of the Year standings has begun to take shape.

As Irish Times Sailing Correspondent David O'Brien reported last Friday, as a result of class victory at the Irish Cruiser Racing Nationals on Dublin Bay last month plus a successful defence of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, also in June, Paul O'Higgins's Rockabill VI was the runaway leader of ICRA's reformatted Boat of the Year award at the halfway stage of the competition.

A national title and Irish Half Ton Cup victory have placed Mata (Wright Brothers) at number two on the rankings, whilst a national title and second place at the Sovereign's Cup is enough for white sails’ ace, Demelza to slide in at No. 3.

Mata Photo: Bob Bateman

A busy month for the J109 Outrajeous has placed them in fourth, narrowly ahead of national inshore champions Dux, Joker II, and Supernova, and D2D division winners Indian and Red Alert.

Outrajeous Photo: Bob Bateman

Demelza Photo: Bob Bateman

Dux Photo: Afloat

Indian Photo: Afloat

Red Alert Photo: Afloat

Download the current standings below

There’s a lot of racing still to go. July and early August, featuring the Dun Laoghaire Regatta, WIORA Championships and Round Aran race in the west together with the second counting ISORA offshore, before the autumn will bring results to count from the DBSC season, HYC Autumn League and RCYC October League. While Rockabill VI currently sits on top of DBSC Class 0 and will be a favourite for the ISORA race to Pwllheli if she enters, Demelza and Mata have the HYC Autumn League to go. All three are entered for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta and will be amongst the favourites for their divisions.

ICRA updated its Boat of the Year scheme this year to better reflect the national cruiser-racer picture. Now, instead of an annual committee decision, the points from a series of 12 regattas will be combined to identify the top performing boat on IRC across the season balanced between the east, south, west and offshore scenes.

The ICRA Boat of the Year is now awarded on a points basis with the top three places in an IRC division at National Championships. National regattas and regional events all count towards the rankings for the year. At the halfway point, no less than 58 boats have made their mark.

Download the current standings below