Despite a jostling start, Royal Irish's Rockabill VI made it two from two in the 2025 Viking Marine ISORA Coastal Series with a win in the second race in light airs on Dublin Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Compared to last weekend's big wind and wave opener, Rockabill proved her worth throughout the wind range when the Paul O'Higgins skippered JPK 10.80 clinched another win, this time in sub-five-knot conditions in a four-hour race to and from North Kish to win line honours, IRC overall and IRC Class One with a corrected time of 3 hours, 14 minutes and 51 seconds.
Finishing second and third were the potent J109s, Indian (Simon Knowles of Howth) 3:21:18 corrected and Tom Shanahan's Ruth of the National Yacht Club on 3:23:18 corr.
A 13-boat fleet came to the line in less than ten knots of southerly breeze and the last hour of an ebb tide.
As expected, the fleet included all of the first race's top performers, and there was another pre-start fight to win the pin end of the start line, aka the Dun Laoghaire Outfall buoy.
In light southerly winds and the last hour of an incoming tide, and with 20 seconds to the start (from left to right) Rockabill VI, Aurelia and Coquine make their run-in for a pin-end start to race two of the Viking Marine Coastal Series Photo: Afloat
(Above and two below) With seconds to the gun...Request (IRL 53196) joins the pin end party....Photo: Afloat
.....which ends with Request completing a penalty turn...
Meanwhile, about ten boat lengths to leeward of the pin, defending champion Ruth (IRL 1383) makes the perfect clear air start in a line of slightly stronger breeze to lead the Dun Laoghaire ISORA fleet out of the Bay Photo: Afloat
The coastal course, which started and finished off the south Dublin harbour, featured a start at 11 am under Race Officer Barry MacNeaney at Dun Laoghaire Outfall, then to Muglins (S), Bray Outfall (P), North Kish (P), ISORA Virtual (S) and a finish between the pier heads.
Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia crosses Peter Ryan's First 40.7 Tsunami off Dun Laoghaire Harbour mouth Photo: Afloat
After the start, the fleet held to the bay's south shore and across the harbour mouth as they headed for the Muglins, with Ruth taking full advantage of her startline jump to lead Rockabill VI on the water.
The forecast ten knots appeared as the fleet closed on Dalkey Island and the Muglins with (from left) Coquine, Pillaban, Tsunmai and Request pictured Photo: Afloat
Ruth looks in command of Indian after the start, but by the finish of the 21-miler, the Howth J109 sistership had overhauled the 2024 ISORA champion Photo: Afloat
As per the forecast, the light rain arrived just after 2 p.m., as the bulk of the 13 boats were crossing Scotsman's Bay on a broad reach, spinnakers barely filling under a flood tide.
Alan Hannon's Royal Ulster JPK 10.30, Coquine competing on Dublin Bay in the second Viking Marine Coastal Race where she placed fourth on IRC Photo: Afloat
The initial results were provisional as per the YB tracker because the fourth-placed JPK 10.30 Coquine did not have a tracker onboard, but were later confirmed by ISORA in the official results (below)
The series continues on Saturday, April 27th, with the third of four races in the Viking Marine Coastal Series, part of the 2025 ISORA Musto Offshore Championships.
