The three-day Irish J24 National Championships kicks off today (September 26th) at Lough Ree Yacht Club. 18 boats are entered in what promises to be a very competitive event. Nine races are scheduled, with boats travelling from Dublin, Foynes, Lough Erne, Sligo, Wicklow, Carlingford Lough, Tralee, along with four local Lough Ree boats.
This event marks the triumphant homecoming of Cillian Dickson and the crew of Headcase after winning the J24 World Championships in Plymouth two weeks ago. This is a huge success for an Irish keelboat and is a true testament to the hard work that the Headcase crew have put in over the last 5 to 10 years. Headcase won the last three European Championships, so it was fitting that they won the World Championships. Headcase will be joining a who’s who of sailing legends on the J24 World winners’ lists. Names like Kenny Read, Ed Baird, Chris Larson, John Kosteki and Vasco Vascotto are all previous winners of this prestigious event.
Nine Irish boats took part in the World Championships in Plymouth, and all nine are at Lough Ree this weekend. The forecast is looking favourable with 11 to 20 knots forecast for day 1 and lighter breeze forecast for the rest of the weekend. This is a big change from the very windy and bruising conditions in Plymouth two weeks ago. Headcase are naturally the boat to watch but three other Irish boats finished in the top 15 at the Worlds. David Bailey on Hard on Port was 7th at the Worlds, and Martin Mahon on Snoopy’s J was 11th, with Colm O’Flaherty on Blind Squirrel finishing 14th. These will definitely be the boats to watch over the weekend. JP McCaldin had three top ten finishes at the Worlds, so he can be expected to feature.
