Time was when the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race was promoted as a handy way to position your little old cruiser in West Kerry to be nicely placed to make her way in gentle hops back to her home port on the south or east coast, ambling in leisurely stages along one of the finest cruising grounds in the world writes W M Nixon.

It was envisaged primarily as a sort of enlarged club race, the club setting the tone being the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. There, enthusiastic members and Dingle race plotters Martin Crotty, Peter Cullen and Brian Barry added a further attraction when promoting the first race, as it drew nearer in 1993, by suggesting that real dyed-in-the wool cruising types might find the race of interest if they were thinking of continuing with a clockwise cruise on round Ireland.

Dingle Harbour makes for an attractive destination...

…while its marina is enticing for cruisers and racers alike

Lovely idea. But so far as I know – though it’s very much hoped that I’ll be rapidly informed otherwise – it is this goggle-eyed wordsmith focused on his ancient computer screen who is still the only cruiser-racer skipper who has completed the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, and then cruised on round Ireland.

We did it in handy stages, leaving the boat in Dingle for ten days after the race was completed to return home to the word-production coalface, then going on to leave her on a mooring we’d laid at Arbear at the head of Clifden Bay after we’d cruised the Aran Islands and Connemara in detail, followed by another return home for the manufacture of merchandisable verbiage. Then the third stage was home to Howth round the top, with Donegal doing its best to rival Kerry for dramatic scenery.

However, that was all a very long time ago. In fact, it was so long ago it was the first time I’d sailed with a proper pair of Dubarry Shamrock Goretex boots. I’d previously had an experimental leaky pair from a different manufacturer with which I’d persisted for years, so I can still remember the sheer joy of dry warm feet whatever the weather after the genuine Dubarrys had been deployed.

But enough of such ramblings - even if it does serve to remind us of the way the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race has become a much-loved part of our sailing world. And as for the reason for people not cruising on round Ireland when being in Dingle leaves them so handily placed for continuing the circuit - the answer is simple. The fact is that the course of almost 300 miles has taken them as swiftly as possible past some of the most glorious cruising places in Ireland, and the only way the skipper can keep his shipmates plugging on is by swearing on all that is holy that they’ll cruise gently back the same way in a much more civilised style.

In such circumstances, you’re whistling against the wind in trying to sell the coast of Connacht as the more interesting way to get home. Yet from an early stage, even the notion of the Dingle dash as having a strong cruising orientation hasn’t really held up for a significant part of the entry. People go into it with every intention of winning, and the talk of conveniently positioning the boat for a spot of cruising in Kerry and West Cork has only been smoke and mirrors.

The Yellowbrick record of the Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Race in 2015. Sometimes the fleet has been even more widely spread than this

The pace was set from the off in 1993, when the winner was Richard Burrows’ Sigma 36 Black Pepper. In subsequent years, she was cruised to Greenland and other Godforsaken spots in the ownership of fellow Malahide sailor Peter Killen, so Black Pepper has a boat history which must make her the best-used Sigma 36 ever. Certainly for the Dingle dash of 1993, skipper Burrows shipped aboard the formidable talents of Peter Wilson and Robert Dix as the main occupants of the driving seat, and Black Pepper had a wellnigh perfect race.

That said, at the riotous prize-giving afterwards – the Dingle prize-giving is always riotous, just relax and enjoy it – Black Pepper’s skipper gave a wildly funny speech which he rounded out by presenting Robert Dix with the Golden Blanket Award. As to what was meant by that I haven’t a clue, so you’ll have to ask Dixie himself. But as he has been winning major awards of every kind since 1970 when he became the youngest ever Helmsmans Champion, the Golden Blanket goes well in his trophy cabinet.

With the first race off to such a humdinger inauguration, the vision of the founders had been justified. Well, perhaps “vision” is overstating it. At this week’s launching of the 2017 staging, which will be on June 14th, longtime organiser Martin Crotty revealed that the idea of the Dingle Race came about almost by misadventure.

The founding Dingle Race organiser Martin Crotty reminiscing about the early days in 1993 at this week’s reception in the National Yacht Club. Photo Michael Chester

Peter Cullen was another of the inspired group who first thought of the race in 1992. Photo: W M Nixon

He and fellow owner Peter Cullen had been doing the 1992 Round Ireland Race with their hefty Sigma 41 Koala, and in slugging up the west coast into a particularly unpleasant northerly (I remember that one too), their mainsail went into several pieces on the latitude of Loop Head, so they retired and ran back to Dingle, a place they didn’t know at all.

They got to know it very well indeed over the next day or two, and the hospitality the little West Kerry port meted out to them – with the Dingle Skellig Hotel more or less providing open house – soon got them thinking that a race there rather than sailing all the way round the Emerald Isle would be an interesting alternative in the years when the biennial Round Ireland Race from Wicklow was not being staged.

Such ideas seem marvellous over a pint or three as midnight draws on, then fade from the memory. But there was some special chemistry already at work between the can-do Dun Laoghaire sailors and the maritime-minded folk of Dingle. Perhaps it’s because both ports think they’re the hub of the universe…… Whatever the secret ingredient, by 1993 in Dingle Harbour, Master Brian Farrell was ready to welcome the fleet, a new marina was in the making, and Dingle was on the cusp of an entirely new era.

Dingle in the far west of Kerry has formed strong links with Dun Laoghaire in Dublin Bay, yet the two places could not be more different.

As for the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, we knew it was fully part of the scheme of things by 1995, as Denis Doyle turned up to compete with Moonduster. Once that happens, you know your race has arrived, and “The Doyler and The Duster” were honoured participants for many years, encouraging some very substantial boats to subsequently take part, with new heights being reached in 2009 when Michael Cotter’s handsome 78ft Whisper brought a touch of global glamour and a new record, though she missed the magic 24 hours by 43 minutes and 45 seconds.

As each race succeeded its predecessor, a bonus emerged when it was acknowledged that the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle would count as a qualifier for the Fastnet Race, which would as usual be staged about eight weeks later. By this stage the race had so much going for it that it seemed impervious to setback, but like everything else in Irish life, it went through diminished times during the recessionary years.

When “The Doyler and The Duster” (Denis Doyle and Moonduster) became involved from 1995 onwards, the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race was made. This is a page from the August 199 Afloat magazine, with Moonduster much in evidence in the race report. The winner that year was Donal Morrissey’s GK34 Joggernaut from Galway, and in those days the start was in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

But then came 2015, and the numbers were back up, and then some. Having seen his pet project through times good and bad, Martin Crotty had indicated that this 12th Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race would be the last he would personally administer, but already a strong successor was being briefed in the person of Adam Winkelmann. And in the 2015 race he had a vintage familiarisation to observe how it all worked, though as his mother Carmel was for many years one of the time-keepers, he started from a position of inside knowledge.

Over the years, the Dingle Skellig Hotel, which showed such generosity to the sea-battered crew of Koala way back in 1992 – leading to the inception of the race – has stayed on board as co-sponsor, and everyone’s longterm faith in the event was born out in 2015’s race, which was a classic. Before it, the atmosphere around the National Yacht Club was pure carnival, and while the start may have been slow, the winds soon filled in from the north and the fleet scampered down the east coast.

Out in front, the line honours battle was between Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50 Lee Overlay Partners from Dun Laoghaire and Anthony O’Leary’s Ker 40 Antix from Cork, and they went so well that for a while it looked like Antix might get the corrected time win. But holes in the wind at the Fastnet and beyond shook up the order, and by the finish it was glory day for J Boats, with the Shanahan family’s J/109 Ruth (NYC) winning by 20 minutes from her Pwllheli-based sister-ship Mojito (Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox), the first foursome being very complete for the Johnstone brothers as the J/122 Aurelia was third and the J/109 Dear Prudence was fourth.

Anthony O’Leary’s Ker 40 Antix crossing the finish line at Dingle in 2015

Overall 2015 winner Liam Shanahan at the helm of his J/109 Ruth with Skellig Michael put astern, and crewman Kevin Daly trimming the main for the final stage up Dingle Bay to the finish.

After a rugged race, there’s nothing like an al fresco party at Dingle

But in a fascinating contest, almost every boat was having her day at one stage or another, and for those who were doing the race as a Fastnet qualifier, it came up trumps. Irish Offshore Sailing’s 36ft Jeanneau Desert Star may have only been in the middle of the fleet in the Dingle results, but her crew were on a learning curve and on top form by the time they did the Fastnet Race, so much so that they won overall in the 33-boat fleet making up the Sailing Schools Division, a well-earned dream result for skipper Ronan O Siochru.

So Martin Crotty handed over a prestigious event in really good order to Adam Winkelmann after all the D2D business was done and dusted in 2015, and this week’s launching reception in the National Yacht Club for what is now the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race was one of those gatherings which ticked so many boxes that we could get a month’s worth of Sailing on Saturdays out of it.

The heartwarming sense of continuity was palpable. Not only was Adam Winkelmann taking over the D2D from Martin Crotty, but in the host club, Ronan Beirne had been barely a wet week as the new Commodore in succession to Larry Power. To say that the speeches were in tune with the mood of the evening barely gets the flavour of it. It was a time for nostalgia, a time for relishing the present, and a time for keenly anticipating the future, with all aspects covered.

Adam Winkelmann, chair of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle race Committee, reveals his hopes for 2017’s race and the races beyond. Photo: Michael Chester

It was Adam Winkelmann who summed it all up in a friendly presentation – he does it so painlessly that the word “speech” is way too pompous – effortlessly telling us about the new dynamic with the lineup with Volvo, the continued support from Dingle with the Dingle Skelligs Hotel joined by Crean Brewery – and the growing interest from the RORC with that club’s Janet Grosvenor – a very good friend to Irish offshore racing – planning to monitor the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race 2017 with a view to giving it greater recognition in the RORC’s 2019 programme.

Graham Fitzgerald of the Dingle Skellig Hotel, Patricia Greene of Volvo Car Ireland, Adam Winkelmann, and Jerry O’Sullivan of Crean Brewery, Dingle. Photo Michael Chester

As it is, the 2017 race will start on the evening of Wednesday June 14th, which research among competitors has show is reckoned as the most user-friendly time for those fitting the race into work breaks, as it means you can definitely do a three day week, yet have every chance of making the clock-in at the workplace first thing Monday morning.

Thus the prize-giving will be on Saturday night, and it is being moved beck to the Dingle Skelligs’ sister establishment, Benners Hotel in the heart of town. As for the bigger picture, the timing also allows a useful gap before the Sovereigns Cup series starts at Kinsale on June 21sr, but while the start time will be tight for anyone who also plans to also do the ICRA Nationals at Crosshaven from Friday June 9th to Sunday June 11th, in times past we’d have reckoned that’s it a logistical challenge which is do-able, you just draw lots for the three guys who are going to take the boat to Dun Laoghaire as soon as the last race at Crosser is over.

As if that’s not enough of a challenge, Ric Morris has lately been airing a suggestion that it’s time to think seriously about an Irish National Offshore Championship based around the many events already in existence. He reckons that with the Round Ireland and the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle races alternating at the peak of this annual season-long series, we’d have an intriguing setup which has the potential to involve many boats – and he means many big time.

Certainly the imprimatur of the RORC on the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race would give it turbo power, making it a serious points accumulator apart from being a superb race in its own right. Truly it has moved on a long way from being a handy little club-oriented event best used to position your boat in Ireland’s finest cruising ground. But we shouldn’t be surprised, when we remember that the Fastnet Race itself started in a very modest way in 1925. It was so shunned by the sailing establishment that it couldn’t get a starting line at Cowes, and had to be sent eastward out of the Solent from the start line of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club at Ryde.

Brian Farrell, Harbour Master of Dingle when the Dun Laoghaire-Dingle race was inaugurated in 1993, Ronan Beirne the newly-elected Commodore of the National Yacht Club, and Yannick Lemonnier, who will be racing a Minitransat 650 to Dingle. Photo Michael Chester

Presumably the RORC still sends the RVYC an annual Christmas card as a token of their appreciation of that display of faith way back in 1925, now that the hugely popular Fastnet Race is started from all the glory of the Royal Yacht Squadron line at Cowes.

And as for the Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Race in all its manifestations, while it has always been comfortably under the imprimatur of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, the developing positive attitude towards sailing at official levels in Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown was underlined by the official presence at Tuesday’s gathering of Councillor Cormac Devlin, Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council.

But while the new turbo power of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race was quietly in evidence at the party in the National YC this week, it was good to meet up with old friends from Dingle from the earliest days, particularly the former Harbour Master Brian Farrell whose enthusiasm for his job always went way beyond the call of duty.

There too were Brian Barry and Peter Cullen, both of whom did so much to put the show on the road and keep it there through times good and bad. But it was appropriate that also present was the one and only Yannick Lemonnier, who did the race in the two-handed division in 2015 (he was second to Howth’s Colm Buckley and Simon Knowles) but in 2017 will be doing it in a new special division which has been encouraged into the fray by the National’s Sailing Manager Olivier Prouveur.

Yes indeed – the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race will be providing a start for Mini 650 boats, and Yannick Lemonnier will be right in the thick of it all. They’ll get a separate prize and won’t be in the IRC Division, but it’s a new twist in a race which, in 2017, will also have a new old twist.

David Thomas, MD of Volvo Car Ireland, with Emma O’Carroll, also of Volvo Car Ireland, and Darryl Hughes, owner-skipper of Maybird, the first gaff-rigged entrant in the Dingle Race. Photo Michael Chester

For no-one has any recollection of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race ever having a gaff-rigged entry in its 24 years. Yet the madly enthusiastic Darryl Hughes has entered his beautifully-restored 1937 Tyrrell-built 43ft gaff ketch Maybird. He knows he’ll be doing quite well to make it to Dingle in time for the prize giving. And then he’ll have to think of further schedules, as he is also entered for the Classics Division in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta from July 9th to 12th. But in the National this week this week he was able to assure everyone that Maybird is already well n the way to being race ready. Sure hadn’t he and his mates scrubbed her and anti-fouled her – including a fresh boot-top – all on the one Spring tide at Poolbeg a couple of weeks ago? So the count-down is already well under way for the turbo-powered Volvo Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Race 2017.

Race preparation. Maybird gets completely re-antifouled and with a fresh boot-top a fortnight ago, all in one tide at Poolbeg

The Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) will trial the Irish based “Progressive ECHO” rating in all its races this season.

ISORA Chief Peter Ryan says the performance based rating will 'produce a greater spread in the results and prizes.

Most racing boats in Ireland have an ECHO rating issued with their IRC Rating for the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) but as part of the new move by the Irish–UK offshore body, UK boats are being encouraged to take part in the ECHO rating, ISORA have negotiated an initial fee for the ECHO rating of €10 for those UK boats competing in ISORA. 

Over the winter, ICRA rating guru Denis Kiely re-ran all last season’s results under the ECHO rating to ensure that those boats who have not used ECHO in the past will have their appropriate performance handicap for the first race, based on their last year’s ISORA performance.

Applications for the ECHO rating should be made through ISORA.

Conall Morrison, 35, from Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, has been named as one of the twelve professional Skippers who will lead a team in the next edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. It adds yet another Irish dimenson to the race with the north coast city confirming this week it will be part a host city for the fourth consecutive race. It also follows last December's news that the former Skipper Of the Irish entry, Mark Light has been named as Clipper Race Director. 

The Northern Irishman, who began sailing at age eleven on Lough Swilly and has watched the Clipper Race fleet arrive into Derry-Londonderry for all previous three editions, is relishing the upcoming mental and physical challenge. He says: “It’s always been a dream of mine to circumnavigate the globe.

“I’ve had many memorable experiences on the water, from sailing to kayaking, to surf lifesaving, but nothing that comes close to the feeling of competing in the Clipper Race. I feel my background in both racing and sailing instruction will help my team to gel and become better ocean racers.”

Conall is the second Skipper selected from the region, after Sean McCarter, who led the Derry~Londonderry~Doire team to a fifth-place finish in the Clipper 2013-14 Race.

“Being from Derry-Londonderry, I know exactly what the race means to the city. I was on the banks of the Foyle to see the fleet arrive in 2016 and it’s great to hear the Clipper Race will return to my home city next year. Sailing into Derry-Londonderry will be the proudest day in my whole career!”

Founded in 1996 by William Ward and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world, the Clipper Race is the only event which allows amateurs the opportunity to become ocean racers and face Mother Nature in the most remote locations on the planet.

Speaking on the Skipper selection process, Sir Robin said: “The role of Clipper Race Skipper is one of the toughest, but most rewarding jobs that exists in sailing. Not only do you have to be a highly capable sailor to be able to complete the relentless challenge of circumnavigation, you also have to be an excellent instructor and leader.

“I wish Conall and his team the best in their Clipper 2017-18 Race campaign and as ever we look forward to returning to Derry-Londonderry in 2018.”

Conall was previously the Skipper of Tectona for the ‘Voyage of Recovery’ in 2012, a twelve-week voyage around Britain to assist adults in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

The Morrison family is no stranger to global competition, as Conall explains: “My sister Aileen is a professional athlete [competed in the triathlon in the London 2012 Olympic Games] and my other sister Ruth was an Irish swimming champion. I admire their dedication and drive, and now it is my turn to make them proud!”

The eleventh edition of this unique biennial ocean race will visit six continents and include six ocean crossings. Almost 5000 novices have been turned into ocean racers throughout the past twenty years of the Clipper Race, though still more people have climbed Mount Everest than circumnavigated the globe.

The twelve Clipper Race teams compete on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts. Crew come from all walks of life and from all around the world, with over 40 different nationalities represented. Crew can complete the full circumnavigation, or one or more of the eight legs that make up the Clipper Race.

The next major event in the race preparations is Crew Allocation, at Portsmouth Guildhall, May 20, where all Skippers and crew will be assigned to their teams for the first time.

The Clipper 2017-18 Race will begin in the UK this summer and return almost a year later, once again including a stopover in Derry-Londonderry in summer 2018. The team with the highest total points at the finish wins the Clipper Race Trophy

The world's largest, most prestigious offshore sailing event will take place this summer off the Irish south coast with the 47th running of the Rolex Fastnet Race.

Some offshore yacht races struggle for entries, but the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial flagship event is not one of them. When the entry list opened on 9 January, spaces sold out faster than a Rolling Stones farewell concert; the 340 boat limit reached, incredibly, in just 4 minutes and 24 seconds. And this figure excludes the non-IRC fleets which will include a giant international turn out of Class40s and significantly, will be the first occasion the eight VO65s, set to compete in this year's Volvo Ocean Race, will line up in anger.

When the Rolex Fastnet Race set sails from Cowes on Sunday 6th August, close to 400 boats will make up the combined IRC and non-IRC fleets - the largest ever entry in the race's 92 year history and a significant step-up from 356 in the last race.

So why is the race so successful? "It is within easy access for the largest fleets of offshore-capable yachts anywhere in the world," succinctly explains Nick Elliott, Racing Manager of the RORC.

The Rolex Fastnet Race is one of the world's oldest offshore races, but the 605 mile course represents much the same challenge today as it did to competitors 90+ years ago: Typically an upwind westbound slog along the south coast of England, then full exposure to the open Atlantic Ocean on the crossings to the Fastnet Rock (lying four miles off southwest Ireland) and back, before leaving Bishop Rock and the Scilly Isles to port, en route to the finish off Plymouth.

However today, the standard of yachts and their equipment have improved immeasurably, as have the safety and qualification requirements for competing yachts and crews. This, combined with weather forecasting becoming a more exact science are all designed to prevent a repeat of the 1979 race, when a storm of un-forecast severity devastated the fleet and cost 15 crew their lives.

The modern day Rolex Fastnet Race fleet is also the most diverse, with yachts of every conceivable type represented. These range from the 100ft long Ultime trimarans, the fastest offshore race boats in the world, to the Volvo Ocean Race one designs, to the IMOCA 60s, used in the Vendée Globe singlehanded non-stop round the world race, while, with thirty four boats entered, the Class40s will be by far the biggest non-IRC class.

Meanwhile some of the world's most prominent grand maxis will be competing in the main IRC fleet. The longest is the Judel Vrolijk 115 Super Maxi, Nikata, while Ludde Ingvall is bringing his radical DSS-equipped 100 footer CQS all the way from Australia and one of the race favourites will certainly be George David's Rambler 88, that just missed out on line honours in 2015.

But making up the bulk of the IRC fleet are the Corinthian entries. Nick Elliott explains: "The Rolex Fastnet Race has that 'challenge appeal' which people are looking for more and more at the moment. It's something people can tick off their 'list'. Also, there are lots and lots of boats available for charter and spaces available for individuals who want to do it. Generally instead of people going racing every weekend, these days they'll cherry pick, they'll choose to only do bigger, more special events."

A lot are crewed by families and friends or yacht club teams, many of whom come back year after year.

For example Tony Harwood is returning for his sixth race and his fourth on board Volante, a 1961 Camper & Nicholson 38 footer, in her day a Morgan Cup winner. In 2009 Volante claimed the Iolaire Block for being the 'oldest yacht to complete the course', while this year she is the lowest rated boat in the race (IRC TCC of 0.855).

So what is the attraction of the Rolex Fastnet Race? "It's like 'why climb Everest?' Because it's there, I suppose," explains Tony Harwood. "We are heavy old crew in a heavy old boat, but we do about 5,000 channel miles a year. I like competitive sailing, even though the starts frighten the life out of me."

It is also a 'father and son' affair, although son Simon races their Prima 38 Talisman. "It's never the same," says the younger Harwood. "It is different every time and you always try to do better than last time. About half of the times I've seen the Fastnet Rock in daylight - two years ago it was thick fog and in 1999 there was the solar eclipse. Also it is a talking point. 'Did you do the Fastnet?' 'How was it?' That all brings me back every couple of years."

When his father last competed aboard Volante in 2009, she finished in just under six days, while Talisman made it round in four days 7 hours and 46 minutes in 2015. A boat that in 2015 was comfortably finishing in Plymouth at roughly the time Talisman was still outbound to the Fastnet Rock and slower Class 4 boats were just passing Land's End, was Tony Lawson's Concise 10. The MOD70 trimaran class completed their race in a mere 2 days 17 hours 35 minutes, although this was slow, way off the multihull race record of 1 day, 8 hours and 48 minutes.

"That was the first big offshore race we did with the boat," recalls skipper Ned Collier Wakefield. "It was pretty light, so we'd like to do a faster race. We should be able to do it in 26 hours if the conditions are right. The Rolex Fastnet Race is a prestigious race, it's one of the big ones for us and it is nice do a 'home race'."

Concise is also planning on entering its Class40.

The 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race sets sail from the Royal Yacht Squadron line to the north of Cowes at 1200 BST on 6th August.

#Piracy - The body of a German sailor held hostage by militants in the Philippines late last year has been found, as RTÉ News reports.

Seventy-year-old Jurgen Kantner was murdered last week by terror group Abu Sayyaf after their ransom demands of more than half a million euros were not met, according to the Philippine government.

Kantner had been captured in November by the IS-aligned militant group, who killed his companion Sabine Merz when their yacht Rockall was boarded off the southern Philippines in an kidnapping blackspot, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The incident came eight years after the couple had been held hostage for 52 days by Somali pirates at the Horn of Africa.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

A record fleet of 80 yachts will be competing in the 9th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 starting from Antigua this morning.

This year's race will see the most spectacular line-up of high performance boats and crews racing from 30 different countries.

The crew list reads like the 'Who's Who' of international sailors with hundreds of round the world, America's Cup, Olympic and Volvo Ocean Race professionals rubbing shoulders with passionate corinthian sailors on the same 600 mile race course around 11 Caribbean islands.

Check out the pre–event video below with an interview with RORC Commodore Michael Boyd of Dublin Bay. 

 

The Offshore World Championship 2018, a World Sailing sanctioned event, will take place in the Hague, specifically from the port of Scheveningen, in July 2018. An innovative solution will be used for the first time to unite the two largest offshore racing fleets. Confirmation of the championships follows news of the story breaking in the Irish Times Sailing Column by David O'Brien last November here.

Baltic, North Sea, Mediterreanean, Atlantic and English Channel-based yachts along with rated offshore racing boats based everywhere else in the world, will have the chance to compete for the 'best in the world title' in a World Sailing-sanctioned offshore World Championship.

There are many handicap and rating systems in use around the world but the two most successful in terms of numbers of subscribers are ORC and IRC. Together the two have rated over 15,000 boats in over 50 countries worldwide in 2016.

There have been World Championships run since 1999 for yachts handicapped under the Offshore Racing Congress' IMS and ORCi rating systems, while for the first time since being sanctioned as an International Rating system by World Sailing in 2003, IRC scoring will be used in a World Championship.

A pragmatic and innovative solution now opens the door to allow an offshore fleet derived from ORCi and IRC-rated boats to assemble and compete for their discipline's ultimate title, 'World Champion'. By using a combined scoring system, this combined fleet will, in 2018, be able to compete on the water against each other for the first time using both systems.

The compromise reached at the sport's international federation (World Sailing) conference in Barcelona last November calls for each boat entering the world championship to have a measurement certificate from each of the two systems, ORCi and IRC. ORC had previously approved the proposal bid from organizers from The Hague to be hosts for the World Championship based on the ORC's standard week-long championship format, however the details of format and scoring will be re-examined by a Working Party formed from IRC and ORC to examine the options.

Stan Honey, chairman of World Sailing's Oceanic and Offshore Committee said: "It was really important to come up with a solution to find a way for the two most important fleets of offshore yachts to compete for a world title. By using both systems conjointly for the event's scoring neither group is compromised and both groups benefit from the dual system solution that we agreed upon in Barcelona last month. I'm looking forward to the return on experience from this event in 2018. I'm sure it will be a popular and successful event."

Based on the experience from this exciting new cooperation between these two systems, further evolutions and convergence are envisaged in the future.

#Piracy - Offshore cruisers are urged to be vigilant as the latest figures show a rise in sea kidnappings despite a global decrease in piracy.

Practical Boat Owner has more on a recent report from the ICC’s International Maritime Bureau identifying a number of zones and shipping routes where sea pirates are known to operate.

West Africa in the Gulf of Guinea and the waters around Malaysia and Indonesia are the biggest hotspots for kidnappings, which tripled worldwide in 2016 on the previous year’s figures.

Only weeks ago a German sailor was abducted and his companion killed off the southern Philippines, eight years after the couple were held hostage by Somali pirates.

The Royal Yachting Association urges cruisers in vessels “which are slow and low remain vulnerable from opportunistic attacks and hijackings” to steer clear of such danger zones.

This video clip (below) of Dagmar Aaen was shot during an Ocean Change expedition, while enroute from Ushuaia, Argentina to Piriapolis, Uruguay.

Dagmar Aaen is a sturdy old time vessel originally built to be a fishing cutter in 1931. Though recent, the footage is a great reminder of the boats and sailors of yesteryear.

Ireland's contribution to world offshore sailing has been great, but, is in need of constant support and ambition writes Northern Ireland Offshore sailor Andrew 'Hammy' Baker. Here the solo sailor oultines the sailors and the events in the 2017 Irish offshore sailing scene

In the words of Andre Gide; "man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore" and I guess in a lot of ways that is the point offshore racing. The new places and experiences shared are the same for amateurs and professionals alike. No two races are ever the same, calm drifters giving a welcome break from a hellish week of work as you enjoy the sunset before a star-filled night sky, others become a marathon style fleet race where boats can find themselves only a few feet apart for miles on end. Even those wet, windy and miserable ventures bring a sense of satisfaction when you finally make it to the sanctuary of the destinations local pub.

Offshore sailing worldwide is on the increase. Fully crewed we still have big name races such as the Sydney Hobart, Fastnet and Caribbean 600. However, it is now being embraced in new regions with events like Sail Arabia the Tour showcasing fleet racing port to port around the Gulf of Oman. Even ocean crossing is becoming common place with increasing number of Transatlantic races. Still at its panicle, of course, is the Volvo Ocean Race. Ireland has played a big role here with leading offshore crew such as Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery both victorious in editions of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Shorthand and Solo Sailing too, are proving more popular. Now most fully crewed offshore races will host a double handed class and this year we witnessed the first Solo Offshore Racing Club (SORC)'s Solo Fastnet letting competitors take on the challenge the full course single handily within the relative safety of the race. Howth Yacht Club's Conor Fogerty was the sole Irish entry.

For those taking things into a professional light, there is La Solitaire du Figaro. Known as the unofficial world championships of solo sailing this French run event is the proving ground for up and coming talent. Many of whom who have gone on to win the Everest of our sport, to sail non–stop around the world in the Vendée Globe, before then returning to have another crack at the Figaro.

Ireland's contribution is in my opinion, has been great, but, is in need of constant support and ambition. The emerald isle has produced many very successful offshore sailors. Damian Foxall first non-French to win a leg of the Solitare in 1998. He and Justin Slattery were both key crew members aboard Volvo Ocean Race winning teams, to name but a few.

ISORA competitors such as the Irish National Sailing School's Lynx boosted Round Ireland numbers in 2016. Photo: Afloat.ie

Last year's Volvo Round Ireland Race brought signs of a lift for offshore racers. 63 boats set off from Wicklow, almost double the 35 in the 2014 race. This increase is seen further when the Irish Sea Offshore Sailing Association (ISORA) reported 54 boats raced its 10-race 2016 series.

So what prospects have we to look forward to in 2017?

Locally, or at least within a day's sail, the ISORA race series is a fantastic way to get into offshore sailing. This season will consist of 14 races ranging from 35-mile coastal courses and 6 offshores races averaging around 70 miles. The highlight of this series has to be Dun Laoghaire to Dingle staged over 270 miles on the 14th of June, and so, promising great weather.

For those willing to travel a little further, seeking some longer distance racing or fancy mixing it up with some of the top French sailors we have the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC). 15 races are scheduled, the majority of which starting of the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of White.

Fastnet Rock – One of the most appealing aspects of this 600-mile race is that first timers and Corinthian sailors can sail bow to bow. Photo: Rolex

Key Offshore Sailing Events for 2017

Rolex Fastnet Race
The biennial Rolex Fastnet Race will depart the Solent toward the end of the summer season. A classic offshore race, this testing event can have you racing tight up against the rocks around famous headlands of England's south coast before pushing out into the Celtic Sea to reach iconic Fastnet Rock. A quick wave to the lighthouse keeper as you round before the dash back across to finish in Plymouth. One of the most appealing aspects of this 600-mile race is that first timers and Corinthian sailors can sail bow to bow with the world top teams and professional sailors. With an entry list boasting over 300 boats including Volvo Ocean Race teams and 100-foot trimarans this race has to be ticked of the bucket list for any sailor worth his salt.

Some offshore events worth keeping an eye on this coming season:

Vendée Globe
The Vendée Globe is in its final stages with the leaders set to finish within the next couple of weeks. There are many other stories still to unfold as the competitor's venture on round cape horn and up the Atlantic to finish in Les Sables D'olonne, France.

Solitaire du Figaro
Solitaire du Figaro has confirmed itself with new sponsors Urgo. This year's race will begin in Bordeaux and visit Guon and Concarneau before finishing in Dieppe. With a fleet of over 40 boats and 24hr tracking / live race feeds its great way to learn more and gain some insight into this form of racing.

Clipper
The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the Clipper is a race that anyone can take part in with no prior sailing experience the Clipper is a record breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on 70-foot yachts.

Divided into eight legs and 14 to 16 individual races, you can choose to complete the full circumnavigation or select individual legs. Organisers supply a fleet of twelve identical racing yachts, each with a fully qualified skipper to safely guide the crew. We even have an Irish entrant in Derry-Londonderry-Doire.
Think you're up for the challenge of a lifetime? Why not apply now?

Transat Jaque Varbe (Ocean masters)
Transat Jaque Varbe is a qualifying race for the Vendée Globe and counts towards the ocean masters championship. Probably one of the hardest events to win in world sailing as even if you are continuously winning you still need to endure over 40,000 miles of sailing collectively.

Open to four classes of boat, Class 40's, IMOCA's, Multi 50's, and big fast and downright crazy Ultum Trimarans. is a double handed race that follows the historic coffee trading route between Le Harve, France and Itajai, Brazil.

The Future for Irish Offshore Sailing…

KEY PEOPLE
Ireland has and still is producing some fantastic sailors but here are a few I know and warrant a mention.

Enda O'Coineen
A man who needs little introduction and was the sailor of the Month for December just past. Enda has done a lot of sailing in Ireland. On shore, he has been involved in Galway's Volvo Ocean Race stopover, President of the Atlantic Youth Trust and is always somewhere in the background driving projects along.

More recently however it his exploits offshore that is catching people's attention for he is Irelands first ever entrant into the Vendée Globe on his IMOCA 60 ‘Kilcullen Voyager’. Apart from being on his bucket/feck it list, he is using his media exposure to promote and publicise the Atlantic Youth Trust: a project close to his heart.

I have been involved in his campaign as a reserve Skipper, sailing on-board during the latter part of 2016 preparing him and the boat for the start of this epic race, including a month in Les Sables d O’lonne prior to the start last November. The procession along the famous ‘canal’ being cheered on by thousands of people lining the shore on the way to the start area was an awesome experience impossible to imagine beforehand.

This race is incredibly challenging with an attrition rate of close to half and unfortunately on New Year’s Day we received the sad news that, Enda was forced to join the growing list of retirees when he dismasted south of New Zealand. He has done Ireland proud and should hold his head high; to race over half way around the planet single handed is still an incredible achievement. I look forward to what 2017 may have in store for this, unsinkable O'Coineen.

Dave Kenefick
Afloat's Irish Sailor of the Year in 2013, Kenefick is not new to the offshore game. Two-time veteran of the Solitaire du Figaro Dave still has his heart set on a career in Sailing and when he is not sailing Maxi Yachts in Palma he is flying around on his moth. I have it heard he is actually pretty good at it now but I’d need to see is for myself. Dave was also involved in Ireland's first Vendee Globe campaign and we spent many weeks days working with Enda in the ‘Kilcullen Voyager’.

Joan Mulloy
Up and coming Joan from Westport has been actively racing on the Irish and UK Offshore scene for years. After working as a fleet captain for the Artemis Offshore Academy she has caught the Solo Sailing bug and has now launched her own 2018 campaign in the Solitaire du Figaro. Based in Cowes she will spend the season training and in search of the ever elusive sponsorship required. In the meantime, she hopes to content herself by competing in the Double Handed Fastnet and Tour de Bretagne a Voile.

Gregor McGuckin
Gregor is a lad with a serious old-school offshore ambition aiming to compete in the 2018 Golden Globe race. Originally held in 1968/69 the race is a non-stop single-handed race around the planet, very similar to the Véndee Globe. The similarities stop there. This modern-day take on the iconic race will put competitors back in time using only the same type, or similar equipment and technology that was carried on board Robin Knox-Johnston's winning yacht Suhaili

Next year's plan is to secure a boat by February. Spend a month or so to ready her for solo sailing before a summer spent training and travelling around Ireland to promote the race and major winter refit.

County Meath's Tom Dolan competes in the Mini 650 class. Photo: Simon Jourdan/Facebook

Tom Dolan
After a successful 2016 season in the Mini 650 class. County Meath's Tom will return to the Atlantic scene in his trusty Mini 910 whereupon attaining the necessary funds will compete in the Mini Transat next October.

Sean McCarter
Sean McCarter is a skipper with dozens of national and international sailing achievements. He has already skippered two circumnavigations around the world including as Skipper for the Clipper and has been awarded the "Rod Stephen's Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship". He is currently involved with Team Maverick, the Infinity 46 DSS foiler. Having just won their class and coming 2nd overall in the Transat they plan on racing in the RORC season including the Caribbean 600 and Fastnet before heading down under for Sydney – Hobart.
Rumour has is there are plans being made for a larger version of this boat in the near future so which this space.

Andrew Baker from Strangford Lugh kicks off 2017 at the Sail Arabia Tour

Andrew Baker
Finally myself, though I love to talk and share my views on today's sailing world with this article, I will admit, I hope it will help me build my profile.

2017 is undecided as yet, largely due to still seeking instead the funds needed to afford any campaign. The Ideal year would consist of Figaro racing in the beginning of the season building up to and including my third participation of the Solitaire du Figaro. Following this my main goal for the year is to compete in the Transat Jaque Varbe.

I will be continuing my training and racing with Whitecap Ltd on board the Artemis IMOCA 60. This programme is designed to train Britain’s top offshore talent and provide the platform to run professional, competitive campaigns.

First up though I will kick off the year with a month in Oman where I will compete for a second time in the Sail Arabia the tour. This time as Skipper for Team Averda. We have posted 2nd overall in 2014, 3rd in 2015 and hopefully this year we can push for the top spot.

All of these campaigns are great individual feats of sailing and great determination is required to even get to a start line, never mind the racing. They are however even more reliant on the support and funding of sponsorship. Gone are the days of Cigarette and Alcohol companies throwing money at projects to get results. These day’s sponsorship is much more elusive and with new laws and legislation sometimes even sponsors who want to get involved can’t do so because of various restrictions. There is however opportunities for those who are looking for an investment. Corporate days, media return, shared brand values, sailing being the target demographic… I won’t go into my full campaign proposal now but I do believe to keep achieving these great stories we need to support and get behind our sailors. The support really does make a difference. If anyone is looking for a sponsorship opportunity, please do get in touch.