National Yacht Club sailor Chris Johnston has won the 2026 Beneteau 31.7 Irish National Championships on Dublin Bay after a dominant four race wins from five starts in Prospect.
Johnston finished the five-race championship on four nett points after discarding his retirement from Saturday's third race. He won the opening two races before adding two more victories in Sunday's concluding races four and five.
The championship attracted 12 boats and was hosted by the National Yacht Club at Dún Laoghaire over Saturday and Sunday, September 19th and 20th.
Four Wins for Prospect
Prospect opened the championship with back-to-back victories on Saturday, with Brian Geraghty's Camira taking second in both races.
Johnston's only setback came in race three when Prospect retired. Michael Blaney's Royal St George Yacht Club entry After U2 took the win, ahead of Camira and Michael Bryson's Bluefin Two.
With four or more races completed, the championship sailing instructions provided for each boat's worst result to be discarded, allowing Prospect to drop the 13 points from the retirement.
Johnston returned to the front on Sunday, winning race four ahead of Blaney's After U2 and David Eddowes' Quattro.
Prospect then completed the championship with another bullet in race five, with Bluefin Two second and After U2 third.
The four wins gave Johnston a nett score of four points, five clear of his nearest challenger.
After U2 Takes Second
Blaney's After U2 finished runner-up on nine points after scores of 3-5-1-2-3, with the fifth discarded.
Geraghty's Camira completed the championship podium for the National Yacht Club on 10 points. Camira had been particularly consistent over Saturday's three races, recording three successive second places before fourth and fifth on Sunday.
Eddowes' Quattro was fourth on 13.5 points, with Bryson's Bluefin Two fifth on 14.
Paul Wafer's Attitude from Greystones Sailing Club took sixth overall, followed by Eoin O'Driscoll and Karl Flannery's Kernach and Nick Holman's Extreme Reality, which finished level on 25 points.
Five-Race Dublin Bay Championship
Five races were scheduled for the championship, with three on Saturday and two on Sunday, all on windward-leeward courses in Dublin Bay.
This weekend's championship followed the postponement of the planned 2025 nationals at Greystones Sailing Club. Strong winds forced the original championship weekend to be postponed, with a possible September date subsequently identified but not confirmed at the time.
The 2026 championship therefore ended with an emphatic performance from Prospect, winning four of the five races sailed and finishing five points clear at the top of the 12-boat fleet.
Top Five — 2026 Beneteau 31.7 Irish Nationals
- Prospect — Chris Johnston (NYC) — 4 pts
- After U2 — Michael Blaney (RStGYC) — 9 pts
- Camira — Brian Geraghty (NYC) — 10 pts
- Quattro — David Eddowes (SCYC) — 13.5 pts
- Bluefin Two — Michael Bryson (NYC) — 14 pts
