The All Ireland Ruffian 23 Team Racing Championship 2024 took place under the burgee of the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) on the weekend of September 7th-8th. Four teams (North, South, East and West) took part in a closely fought and hotly contested event.
The event kicked off on Friday evening in the DMYC with briefings by Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly and Chief Umpire Eunice Kennedy (assisted by umpire Dave Sheehan). The draw for boats had taken place via Zoom the previous week. 9 Dun Laoghaire Ruffian owners (3 from the NYC and 6 from the DMYC), plus 3 Wicklow Sailing Club boat owners, generously gave their boats for the event.
Racing commenced on Saturday morning. The format (devised last year by Colin McMullen), consisted of 3 Ruffian 23s per team with 4 crew and an owner's representative aboard each boat. The course was a Box Course with 4 marks all to be rounded to starboard. There were 18 races scheduled for Saturday in 3 "Round Robins" of 3 flights each with every team competing against the other 3 teams. The crews swapped boats after each flight with the changes being carried out very efficiently by the three DMYC ribs.
After a 1-hour postponement on the water, the first flight of 2 races in Round Robin 1 was completed with the South (comprised of crews from Wicklow Sailing Club) winning 1 race and the East (with crews from the NYC, DMYC and SID) winning the other before the wind died prior to the sea breeze kicking in. A further postponement ensued before a favourable 7-12 knot NE'ly breeze set in and the serious business of team racing really began.
A further 14 races were completed on Saturday with some very close racing which kept umpires Kennedy and Sheehan busy. At the conclusion of racing on Saturday with 1 flight left to race, the South team were guaranteed a place in Sunday's final with a very impressive 8 wins. The East and West teams were tied on 3 wins each and the North, with 8 sailors from Lough Swilly Yacht Club (LSYC), 2 from Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club (RNIYC), and 2 from Sligho Yacht Club (SYC), completed the table with 2 wins. Saturday evening closed with a dinner for all competitors in the DMYC.
The Ruffian 23s rafted alongside at the DMYC for the class All Ireland Team Racing Championship
With 1 flight left to complete on Sunday morning before the Petit Final and Final, the fleet headed out into a brisk NW'ly 15-18kt breeze with gusts up to 20kts. Race Officer Donnelly aboard the committee vessel "Hawaiian Goose" called for 1 reef in mainsails and no. 2 genoas.
The East and West teams both won their final Round Robin races but it was the West that secured their place in the final on a tie-break with the better results between the two teams.
The Petit Final and Final were scheduled to be the best of 5 races. The East managed to overcome the North by 3 races to 1 in the Petit Final. The Final between the West (defending champions) and the South was a very hotly contested affair and went down the wire. Both teams were level on 2 wins after 4 very close races with both teams incurring several on the water penalties awarded by the umpires.
The Final race was won by the South by the narrowest of margins with the trophy deservedly heading South to Wicklow Sailing Club for the first time. On completion of the racing, all headed back to the DMYC for a BBQ and prize-giving. DMYC Commodore Ian Cutliffe presented the prize to team South, winners of the Ruffian 23 All Ireland Team Racing Championship 2024.
Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly and his Race Management team ran a total of 27 races over the 2 days. Once the breeze filled in on Saturday, racing ran like clockwork.
Thanks to Denis and Brian and all in the DMYC who put in a lot of work during the week leading up to the event preparing marks, flags, and ensuring that all the necessary personnel were in place both on and off the water.
Thanks to all aboard the "Goose" - Tadgh, Brian, Brendan, Trish, Shay, Ruth, Frank, rib crew/mark layers Liam, Cormac, Declan, Kealan, Bryan, William, David, Trish, Eavan, Aidan, Alan, and Roy, and umpires Eunice and Dave. Thanks to the boat owners for lending their boats for the event, and to boat reps David, Tony and Andrew (WSC), Michael, Eimear, Emmet, Frank, Brenda, Enda, Michael, Martin, Brian, Declan and Mark (DMYC, NYC, and SID), and to all the competitors.
Thanks to Lucy and the DMYC staff who had a busy weekend feedding and watering all involved, both on the water and ashore in the clubhouse. Thanks also to all the competitors for a great weekend on and off the water. The teams were as follows:
All Ireland Ruffian 23 Team Racing Championship teams
All Ireland Ruffian 23 Team Racing Championship teams
