Peter McConnell and Aaron Goodman-Simpson’s Karaboudjan, racing under the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club burgee, scored four race wins to take the J/109 UK National title at Dartmouth.
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club’s Karaboudjan, owned by Peter McConnell and Aaron Goodman-Simpson, has won the 2026 J/109 UK National Championship at Dartmouth.
The championship was sailed as part of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week, with seven races completed for the 14-boat J/109 fleet.
Karaboudjan finished on 10 points after discard, three points clear of John Smart’s Jukebox on 13, with Oliver Love’s Frank 4 third on 14.
Four-midable – RNIYC’s Karaboudjan, owned by Peter McConnell and Aaron Goodman-Simpson, won four of seven races on the way to the J/109 UK National title at Dartmouth.
Four Wins in Seven Races
McConnell and Goodman-Simpson’s crew put together a notably consistent series, with their discarded third place equal to their worst result of the championship.
After third places in the opening two races, Karaboudjan took consecutive victories in Races 3 and 4.
A third in Race 5 was followed by two more bullets as the RNIYC entry won Races 6 and 7 to seal the championship.
The resulting scoreline of (3)-3-1-1-3-1-1 gave Karaboudjan four victories from seven starts and no counting result outside the top three.
Irish Crew at Dartmouth
The winning crew included Peter McConnell, Nick Meadow, Rory Comeford and Conor Galligan among its Irish contingent.
Karaboudjan was racing under the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club burgee, bringing the J/109 national title back across the Irish Sea.
Jukebox was the closest challenger and won Race 5, but a retirement in the final race was discarded as Smart's crew finished three points behind the champions.
Frank 4, helmed by Oliver Love, was another consistent performer, taking the Race 2 victory and finishing a further point behind Jukebox to complete the championship podium.
Results here
