The 2026 DMYC Regatta introduced a new development for the Dun Laoghaire dinghy fraternity – a two-day regatta rather than just a single day. This was a consequence of the very early discussions between the four Dun Laoghaire clubs in late 2025 and was endorsed at an early stage by both DMYC and the other three clubs.
Five dinghy classes put in an appearance for the event, with the ILCA 6s leading the way with 11 entries, followed closely by the Fireballs with eight. The Aero fleet mustered six entries while the IDRAs and the ILCA 7s managed four and three, respectively. There were no entries for the Melges, the single-handed PYs or the double-handed PYs. Actual numbers on the water varied somewhat from the entries received.
In total, six races were completed over the two days, with Saturday being more benign than Sunday. In truth, on the Wednesday morning when we were contemplating whether the Wags would get out that evening for their DMYC Regatta Race(they didn’t), neither Saturday nor Sunday was looking terribly hopeful. But between Wednesday evening and Friday night, the weather projections improved sufficiently to suggest that racing would be possible. Indeed, there was a chance that the wind would drop to 1–2 knots in the middle of the day. Met Eireann at midnight on Friday was equally hopeful.
Saturday saw racing for the dinghies conducted in 10–12 knots from 120 ° for the bulk of the day. The first race was too short, so the course was extended by moving the weather mark closer to the West Pier without entering the wind shadow of the wall, which produced a better-length race. By the time we needed to look at the third race, the wind had gone further East, which allowed a re-jig of the course, with the weather mark outside the West Pier line, giving a longer race again. However, in this third race, the wind started to fade to 5/6 knots, and as the later-finishing fleets made their way homewards, it died altogether before a brisk breeze came in from the West. All three races on the day were of the Olympic configuration.
The forecast (Met Eireann Saturday midnight + XCWeather) suggested that Sunday would be more robust with winds at 15/16 knots with gusts into the low twenties from a more southerly direction. With no other racing on the water, the race area was situated marginally west of North relative to the harbour and a more modest distance from the harbour
Some new faces appeared in this set of races.
The conditions led to some retirements after the first race – individual and fleet decisions.
A fourth Olympic course was signalled for the first race of the day, and in the brisker conditions, Winward/Leeward races were signalled, with the last race being shortened at the windward mark, leaving the competitors with a fast reach home to the mouth of the harbour. During the very final stages of the racing day, gusts exceeding 20 knots were recorded. Nobody seemed to have a problem with the early finish to the racing.
Fireballs
Frank Miller & Ed Butler (14915) won all but one of the six races to register a comfortable five-point winning margin over Jack McNaughton (15156), who scored five second places. Third went to Brian Maguire & Michael Keegan, sailing the latest model of the Fireball (modified cockpit and easy rig adjustment), who took the only race that Miller and Butler dropped.
Runner-Up Resolve — Jack McNaughton (centre) and crew receive their Fireball class second-place prize from DMYC Commodore Derek Gill after a consistent series that included five second-place finishes across six races. Photo: Frank Miller
ILCA 6s
Darren Griffin took Day 1 with three first places but Hugh Delap and Hugh Cahill shared the wins on Day 2. Failure to see the changed course for the fifth race saw the first two boats sail a third lap while Hugh Cahill did read the course card and claimed first place after two laps. He then backed that performance up with a second place in the sixth race. Griffin did enough to win the regatta on 7 points with Delap second on 9 point and Cahill third on 17points.
Class Act — Darren Griffin receives the ILCA 6 winner's prize from DMYC Commodore Derek Gill after topping the largest fleet at the regatta. Photo: Frank Miller
Aeros
The Aeros had a mixed fleet of 6s and 7s, so racing was undertaken on a handicap basis, but in reality, the 6s sailed the bulk of the races, and Noel Butler took the winning gun in all of them. Sarah Dwyer was the only other competitor to race all six races and she was rewarded with second place overall.
Top Aero — Noel Butler accepts the Aero class award from DMYC Commodore Derek Gill after taking line honours in every race of the regatta. Photo: Frank Miller
IDRAs
Three of the four boats raced the regatta, and of these three, two were visitors from the other side of the Bay, with Pierre Long the solitary entry from the host club. The regatta win went to Ryan Cairns & crew, who won four of the five races this class sailed – they collectively retired before the sixth race. Pierre and his son took the other race win to leave themselves three points behind the winners.
ILCA 7s
Another class collectively called it quits before the sixth race; only one boat sailed all five races – Gary O’Hare, who won three of the five races, the other two being shared by Sam Wilkinson and Ross O’Leary.
Winning Ways — Gary O'Hare receives the ILCA 7 class prize from DMYC Commodore Derek Gill after securing overall victory with three race wins. Photo: Frank Miller
As with all the other clubs, the DMYC Regatta can’t be hosted without drawing from resources outside the club and in that regard, as regatta co-ordinator for DMYC, I would like to thank all those who contributed to our regatta. In particular, I would like to thank the two other Race Officers on Courses A and B, respectively, Mairead NiCheallachain and John McNeilly and their respective race teams. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge that two DMYC members represented the club in each of the committee boats – Cariosa Power (Corinthian) and Michael Cutliffe (Freebird).
In preparing the (common) documentation for all four regattas, IRO Con Murphy was requested to get involved, and he brought to our collective attention that the World Sailing Templates for the Notice of Regatta and the Sailing Instructions had changed in tandem with the four-yearly review of the Racing Rules of Sailing and brought our documents up to date.
Scoring multiple handicap classes requires advance time to enter all boat details and to conduct the scoring on the day. Special thanks, therefore, go to Brian Mulkeen and Therese Tyrell, who undertook these tasks. The regatta documents made it very clear which handicaps would apply after challenges to these figures in 2024. In 2026, there was no repeat of these queries, and results could be published promptly, with recording sheets photographed and “WhatsApp-ed” to Therese for early processing.
Dublin Bay Sailing Club generously loaned their committee boats (by arrangement), Corinthian and Freebird, for the regatta, so thanks to Jacqueline McStay, Commodore, and her committee for this support.
With all the fleets returning ashore in good time, the DMYC Clubhouse was busy on Saturday afternoon, as competitors enjoyed the post-race ambience of the day’s racing. Everybody seemed to have enjoyed the day, and my thanks to those who supported the regatta. The dinghy fraternity was in on the Sunday for their prize-giving, and our staff managed the “feeding and watering” of both racing communities with aplomb. Thank you all.
See you back again in 2028!
