#sigma33 – Not even a judge from the 'Dragon's Den' TV show could stop a Scottish crew from claiming the class Sigma 33 title on Dublin Bay at the weekend. SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL RESULTS SHEETS AND PHOTOS BELOW.
Sailed in a range of both heavy and light conditions defending champion (and the championship host) Tim Goodbody of the Royal Irish Yacht Club lost his title but finished top Dublin Bay boat in third place as Clyde visitor Donald McLaren's Sigma 33 'Sigmatic' emerged as the clear winner.
Fifty knot gusts cancelled Friday's opening two races but Race officer Brian Mathews completed the schedule by setting four races still in blustery conditions on Saturday. A further three races were held yesterday.
Regular Sigma 33 sailor Bobby Kerr, a judge on the TV Business show Dragon's Den, was one of 24 boats competing in what was the biggest Sigma 33 event for a decade.
'Leaky Roof', Alan Harper also from the Clyde was second.
The overall winner Sigmatic
Goodbody's White Mischief also won the Irish Sigma Championships with Sula from Bangor in second place.
Sunday dawned a lovely clear day with steady westerly winds of 15 knots gusting 20 making a difficult choice as the whether a No 1 or No 2 was the correct headsail choice with the fleet evenly divided.
TV's Dragon's Den and Sigma sailor Bobby Kerr in action at the Sigma 33 Nationals on Dublin Bay. Photo: Afloat.ie
Race Officer Jack Roy set perfect starting lines of the correct length with a first windward leg of 1.3 miles and so the faster yachts had time to benefit from any speed advantage and they came to the front consistently. Most results came down to establishing an overlap at the last leeward mark with the top 5 or 6 boats crossing the finishing line closely packed followed by the rest of the fleet competing for their places.
The "Silver" fleet was won by Dick Lovegrove's Rupert with Dermot Clarke and Paddy Maguire's Gwilli Two in second place.
This was a competitive weekend's racing in Dublin Bay and the willingness of competitors to take penalty turns demonstrated a knowledge of the rules and desire to abide by them. This all added to achieving a competitive and friendly regatta which was enjoyed by all.
A gallery of photos from Saturday afternoon's Sigma action is below
