For the first time, the national championships of the Beneteau First 31.7 class will feature as part of this month's 2024 ICRA National Championships on Dublin Bay.
The Unio-sponsored national championships, hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club, will be the first of three late-season major regattas for the Dun Laoghaire club.
The event begins on 30th August and runs until 1st September, and up to 70 cruiser racers are expected.
Up to nine locally based 31.7s race regularly on the Bay as a class under the Dublin Bay Sailing Club burgee (captained by Roger Conan) and are expected to contest the championships with entries coming from the National YC, Royal St.George YC, and the host club.
The reigning champion is Chris Johnston, the skipper of Prospect, who successfully defended his title on the Bay last September.
The 31.7s will receive two sets of results and prizes—one based on 'Scratch' as One Designs and the other on ECHO handicaps.
As Afloat previously reported, many of the reigning Cruiser-Racer champions are returning to defend their titles, with the addition of a number of overseas boats at the weekend event.
Confirmed entries include returning class champions, the J122 Jelly Baby, a recent class winner at Cowes Week, campaigned by the Jones family from Cork.
"We are keen to promote the Non-Spinnaker class again with prizes for IRC and ECHO (bear in mind this year’s new ECHO Boat of the Year Trophy up for grabs), ICRA Commodore Denis Byrne told Afloat.
Titles will be up for grabs in IRC and ECHO in each class, and an overall winner will be crowned at the end of the event.
ICRA broadened the definition of a "cruiser" at our AGM earlier this year, so boats such as Cape 31s can now enter the event, Byrne added.
There is a generous discount for under-25 fully crewed entries.
