Following Saturday's agm and prizegiving dinner at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, ISORA has published its 2019 fixtures calendar but it is in 'draft' form until matters at Holyhead can be settled following the break up of the Welsh marina earlier this season.
The full 2019 ISORA calendar is downloadable below.
The 2019 season will start on April 27th with simultaneous 40-mile coastal races sponsored by Viking Marine on either side of the Irish Sea at Pwllheli and Dun Laoghaire.
A week later, on May 4th, 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 still to be confirmed.
On June 12th, the fleet take in the Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race as part of their offshore fixtures with the 270mile race, a season highlight.
A month later, and as part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, ISORA will race on July 13th in a 35–mile Lighthouse coastal race.
The season concludes with race 16 Race and a Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire offshore 80-miler.
The impressive array of ISORA silverware goes on display Photo: Michael Horgan
The overall ISORA Champion, for the RDYC Wolf’s Head Trophy, must compete in four qualifying races and the best six scores of the 16 races will be used to decide prizes in Offshore, Coastal, Silver Class, 2-Handed Classes plus an overall Team Prize.
The AGM's key resolutions were:
- Return to Holyhead
- 16 Races
- Must compete in 4 Qualifying races to be eligible to win the Wolf’s Head – and best 6 races to count
- YB tracking to continue in 2019
The evening was attended by 160 guests and the National Yacht Club excelled in providing an exceptional venue which was enjoyed by everyone. The climax of the evening was the presentation of the RDYC Wolf’s Head to Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox for their overall win of the 2019 series.
The Wolfs Head Trophy was presented to overall winners, the 'Mojito' crew from North Wales Photo: GP Photo
The full 2019 ISORA calendar is downloadable below.
Stephen Tudor's report to the AGM:
The 2018 ISORA series started in April and racing concluded on Saturday 8th September.
There have been 15 races with 60 competing boats from 14 Clubs.
The fleet has visited seven ports including Dún Laoghaire, Pwllheli, Wicklow, Liverpool, Douglas, Howth, and Greystones. We are extremely grateful for the work an 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 schedule. We hope that we can return to Holyhead in 2019.
The ISORA Offshore Series for the Royal Dee Yacht Club’s prestigious Wolf’s Head was won again this year by the Mojito team for the best five offshore races, followed closely by Aurelia who collected most points in the season and consequently won the ISROA Points Series.
The two ISORA Coastal Series attract 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.
A 2018 ISORA race start off Dun Laoghaire Photo: Afloat.ie
The Club Team Trophy was won again this year by 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’ and all races have been scored with the progressive Irish Sailing and ISORA ECHO handicapping.
ISORA is affiliated to the governing bodies; ‘Irish Sailing’ IS and ‘RYA’ and ‘RYA Cymru Wales’.
We have embraced many modern technologies for race management with an automated online entry and payment system, a dedicated website with over 1,000 recipients of the ISORA e-newsletters. 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, Exposure Lights for both Night Races and, of course, our race sponsors.
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.
ISORA boats on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat.ie
The 2018 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 publishing of results as competitors finish and for all the different fleets and classes.
2018 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.
