Class One competitor J109 'Mojito' (Peter Dunlop & Victoria Cox, Pwllheli Sailing Club) won Saturday's 90-mile cross-channel ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli.
This first win of 2023 for the Welsh is a continuation of last year's strong form, which saw the Mojito crew take the ISORA 2022 title as well as other key 2022 coastal and offshore victories, as Afloat reported previously here.
Saturday's 20-hour race over 90 miles attracted 11 starters, with six Welsh boats making the journey to Dublin Bay to join the local fleet for the first of the Musto offshore series.
Royal Irish yacht Rockabill VI (on starboard tack) heads out of Dublin Bay against a strong flood tide and on course for Pwllheli in North Wales, in the first cross-channel race of the ISORA 2023 season. Howth yacht Samatom (on port) was one of the first boats out of the bay but later retired from the light air 90-mile race Photo: Afloat
It turned out to be a productive journey for the Welsh, who took the top six places on IRC overall except for second place, which was won by the on form Royal Irish JPK 10.8 Rockabill VI, skippered by Paul O'Higgins.
Line honours winner Andrew Hall's J125 Jackknife, from Pwllheli, was third.
Line honours winner Andrew Hall's J125 Jackknife, from Pwllheli, was third on IRC overall in the first ISORA cross channel race of the year
Racing in light winds easterly winds, five of the fleet retired.
Howth's First 50 Checkmate XX (left) and Dun Laoghaire's Sunfast 3600 Searcher at the start of the ISORA Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli Race. Both boats retired from the 90-mile race Photo: Afloat
Yesterday's top three overall, and several others too, are all entered into next month's season highlight, the 40-boat Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle 260-miler on June 7th.
ISORA say results below are provisional pending declarations
