Frank Whelan's Sydney 43 GTS El Syd from Greystones won Friday night's final Viking Marine ISORA Irish Coastal Series race on IRC, while Simon Knowles' Howth Yacht Club J/109 Indian produced the result it needed to leap from third to first and win the 2026 series.
In a light-wind 22.5-mile finale from Dún Laoghaire, El Syd topped the IRC results with a corrected time of 4 hours 10 minutes 54 seconds, beating Indian by 8 minutes 34 seconds.
Grzegorz Kalinecki's Kerr 32 Hijacker took third on IRC in 4:22:20, followed just over a minute later by John Malone and Emmet Sheridan's JPK 10.30 Loinnir in fourth.
Hijacker Leads Away in Light-Wind Start
The fleet headed out from Dún Laoghaire on Friday evening in light winds and an ebb tide for the coastal course south towards Bray.
Hijacker made the most conspicuous start, powering away from the pin end ahead of El Syd and John Treanor's NMD 43 Cristina.
Pin-End Charge – Grzegorz Kalinecki's Kerr 32 Hijacker (left) gets away strongly from the pin end as the ISORA fleet sets off from Dún Laoghaire in light winds for Friday night's coastal finale with the series overall winner Indian (right) in the lee of El Syd and Cristina Photo: Afloat
The 22.5-mile course took the fleet from the start to the Muglins, Moulditch and Bray Outfall before returning north via the Muglins to the finish.
Light Airs – The ISORA fleet spreads across Dublin Bay under spinnaker after Friday evening's start, with light winds and an ebb tide setting the early challenge in the 22.5-mile coastal finale Photo: Stephen Tierney
Despite Hijacker's early advantage, it was El Syd that ultimately prevailed on IRC, with the Sydney 43's weighted race score of 89.2 also the highest awarded in the finale.
El Syd Takes Night Race Honours
El Syd completed the race with a corrected time of 4:10:54 to win IRC overall by 8:34 from Indian on 4:19:28.
Hijacker was third on 4:22:20, with Loinnir fourth on 4:23:25 and Cristina fifth on 4:25:35.
Pre-race series leader Aurelia finished sixth on corrected time in 4:27:40, ahead of Tsunami on 4:30:23 and ReQuest on 4:33:07.
Night-Race Rivals – John Treanor's NMD 43 Cristina and Frank Whelan's Sydney 43 GTS El Syd as the fleet leaves Dún Laoghaire. El Syd went on to win the race on IRC. Photo: Afloat
Indian Turns Third Into Series Victory
Behind the race winner, Indian's second place proved decisive in the battle for the Irish Coastal Series.
Knowles had started Friday night in third overall on 182.2 points, behind Aurelia on 197.6 and ReQuest on 191.6, and said the Indian crew knew exactly what was required.
“We knew we needed to win or [finish] second with the other two well down,” Knowles told Afloat. “It was a tall order but we got a great start on a tight reach which gave us a jump on Aurelia and ReQuest.”
With the championship within reach, Knowles said Indian's performance in the 10-knot conditions and the crew's concentration proved crucial.
“In 10 knots a J/109 is hard to beat both upwind and downwind, but our crew concentration was super, driven by knowing we were in with a shot of the overall,” he said.
Indian's second place earned a weighted 84.7-point score from the finale, transforming the standings once the series' best-three-results rule and two discards were applied.
The Howth J/109 finished the five-race series on 206.9 points, giving Knowles the title by 5.8 points from Chris and Patanne Power Smith's Royal St George YC J/122 Aurelia on 201.1.
Loinnir Surges Onto Podium
Podium Charge – John Malone and Emmet Sheridan's JPK 10.30 Loinnir races downwind in Friday night's ISORA finale, where fourth on IRC lifted her from sixth to third overall in the Irish Coastal Series. Photo: Afloat
There was another substantial change behind the new champion as Loinnir climbed from sixth before Friday's race to third overall.
Malone and Sheridan's fourth place in the finale earned 75.7 points and brought their series total to 200.4, leaving them only 0.7 points behind Aurelia.
The Burke family's National Yacht Club JPK 10.30 ReQuest, which had begun the night second overall and only six points off the lead, finished eighth on IRC. Its 57.7-point score left it fourth in the final standings on 193.3.
Hijacker completed the series fifth on 187.3, with Cristina sixth on 179.8 and Friday night's race winner El Syd seventh on 148.4.
Changing Fortunes – NJD Burke's National Yacht Club JPK 10.30 ReQuest heads out into the evening light. Second overall before the finale, ReQuest finished the Irish Coastal Series in fourth.
The higher weighting of the final night race ultimately allowed Indian to overturn both boats ahead of it going into Friday's contest and take the 2026 title.
