The three leading boats in the Viking Marine ISORA Irish Coastal Series will go head-to-head off Dublin and Wicklow tonight (Friday, August 21st) in a higher-scoring night race that will decide the 2026 series.
As Afloat reported earlier, Royal St George Yacht Club J/122 Aurelia, sailed by Chris and Patanne Power Smith, takes a six-point lead over National Yacht Club's JPK 10.30 ReQuest, sailed by Nathan, Justin and Darren Burke, into the 19:00 start from Dún Laoghaire.
Howth Yacht Club J/109 Indian, sailed by Simon Knowles, is third and also firmly in contention, with just 15.4 points separating the leading three under the revised best-three scoring system.
13 Boats for Friday Night Finale
Thirteen boats are listed for tonight's coastal finale, ranging from John Treanor's NMD 43 Cristina, the highest-rated boat in the fleet, to Barry O'Connor's Elan 31 Katanca.
The entry also includes Peter Ryan's First 40.7 Tsunami, Pat Hogan's Dehler 30 OD No Xcuse, Steve Hayes' Elan 333 White Lotus, David Townend's Archambault A35 Pillaban and John Malone and Emmet Sheridan's JPK 10.30 Loinnir.
Also listed are Frank Whelan's Sydney 43 GTS El Syd, Tom Murphy's Sun Fast 3300 Paradox and the Kerr 32 Hijacker.
22.5-Mile Coastal Course Set
ISORA has selected a 22.5-nautical-mile course designed to provide a longer upwind leg while keeping the fleet relatively close to the coast.
From the 19:00 start, the fleet will sail to the Muglins, leaving it to starboard, before heading south to Moulditch, also to starboard.
The course then takes the boats to the Bray Outfall, rounded to starboard, before the fleet heads back north to the Muglins, this time leaving it to port, and on to the finish.
Trackers are due to be collected at the marina podium by 17:30, while boats carrying their own trackers must have them activated by the same time.
Six Points Separate Aurelia and ReQuest
Tonight's race has assumed additional significance following Thursday's confirmation that scoring for the Irish Coastal Series has been updated so that each boat's best three races count.
After four races, Aurelia leads the 23-boat overall IRC standings on 197.6 points, with ReQuest second on 191.6 and Indian third on 182.2.
Aurelia currently counts scores of 68.8, 63.2 and 65.6, while ReQuest has discarded a 37.6-point result to count 56.0, 66.3 and 69.3.
Indian has discarded a 5.6 DTP and counts a particularly consistent 60.3, 60.0 and 61.9.
With tonight's finale carrying higher scoring, there is consequently still scope for the order at the top to change when the fleet completes the final Irish Coastal Series contest of 2026.
