A fleet of 10 confirmed entries will contest Saturday's MUSTO ISORA Championship offshore race from Pwllheli to Greystones after competitors finalised their plans this week.
The 70-nautical-mile crossing is the seventh offshore race of the 2026 championship and carries a 1.2 series weighting. Starts are scheduled from Pwllheli on Saturday morning before the fleet heads via the PSC 1 turning mark across the Irish Sea to a finish off Greystones Sailing Club.
Several Irish front-runners expected to miss the race have now formally confirmed they will not compete. They include reigning ICRA IRC champion Frank Whelan's Greystones-based El Syd, Johnny Treanor's Cristina, Simon Knowles' Indian, Tsunami, with Welsh boats White Lotus and Darling XX both out.
The confirmed starters are:
- Aurelia
- Finally
- Hijacker
- Loinnir (double-handed)
- Mojito
- No Xcuse (double-handed)
- Pata Negra
- Prime Suspect
- Paradox (double-handed)
- Crackajack
Katanca remains doubtful, while Lightning has yet to declare but is not expected to alter the overall size of the fleet.
Despite the reduced turnout, the race still features several leading championship contenders. Overall series leader Pata Negra will continue its title defence, while Aurelia, Loinnir and No Xcuse are among the boats capable of making significant gains on corrected time.
The latest forecast suggests competitors could face a testing passage. Light winds at the start are expected to freshen steadily into west to west-southwesterlies of around 10 to 13 knots, with gusts approaching 20 knots during the afternoon.
That direction would leave much of the Irish Sea crossing hard on the wind after clearing Pwllheli, producing a markedly different tactical challenge from the fast reaching conditions seen earlier in the season. With the breeze forecast to build through the day, sail selection and timing of the shifts could prove decisive on the long beat towards the Wicklow coast.
Supporters will be able to follow the fleet throughout the race using the ISORA YB tracker system.
