Consistency and low discard scores proved decisive as the Dun Laoghaire Cup fleets completed their series at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Sunday.
Six races were completed in light to medium southwesterlies in the Dragon, SB20, Flying 15 and Melges 15 fleets, while the B211 class sailed four races. Several classes remained undecided until the closing stages, particularly the Flying 15 and Melges 15 fleets.
Dragon Fleet: Phantom Dominates Final Series
Neil Hegarty’s Phantom secured the Dragon fleet title with an impressive run of four race wins from six starts for the Royal St George Yacht Club crew.
After discarding an opening fourth place, Phantom finished the regatta on just six nett points and comfortably clear of the fleet.
Rui Ferreira’s Leia from Glandore Harbour Yacht Club finished second overall after maintaining a consistent top-four series throughout the regatta.
Third overall went to Ben Cooke’s Titan, which opened strongly with a pair of second places before adding another second in Race Four to secure the final podium position.
SB20 Fleet: Ted Holds Firm At The Top
Michael O’Connor’s Ted completed a commanding SB20 series victory with four race wins from six races sailed.
The Royal St George Yacht Club entry discarded a third place and finished on six nett points overall.
Ger Dempsey’s venuesworld.com secured second overall after adding another race win on Sunday to remain closest to the leaders.
Third place went to Tadgh Donnelly’s Leviathan from the National Yacht Club, whose steady run of top-four finishes proved enough to edge ahead of CARPE DIEM.
B211 Fleet: Beeswing Completes Near-Perfect Regatta
Bee Line — Pat Shannon’s Beeswing dominated the B211 fleet at the Dun Laoghaire Cup with three race wins from four starts at the Royal Irish Yacht Club.
Pat Shannon’s Beeswing produced one of the standout performances of the event in the B211 fleet.
Three race wins from four starts left the Royal Irish Yacht Club crew on just three nett points after discard.
Kieran Kingston’s Vamoose finished second overall with a remarkably consistent all-second-place scoreline across the series.
Third overall was Vincent Mulvey’s Plan B, which closed strongly with victory in the final race of the regatta.
Flying 15 Fleet: FARFALLA Edges Tight Contest
The Flying 15 fleet delivered the closest battle of the regatta, with just a single point separating the top two crews overall.
Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle’s FARFALLA secured the fleet win for the Royal St George Yacht Club after posting three top-two finishes in the final three races.
John Lavery and Alan Green aboard ffmf finished second overall for the National Yacht Club after ending the regatta with back-to-back race wins.
Third place went to Frank Miller and Cathy Booth’s Glass Half Full, which remained in podium contention throughout the series and sealed third with a final race placing of third.
Melges 15 Fleet: Fahy and Hyland Prevail
Jack Fahy and Adam Hyland emerged victorious in the highly competitive 16-boat Melges 15 fleet after a composed and consistent six-race series as Afloat reports here
Representing the Royal St George and Lough Derg Yacht Clubs, the pair recovered from fifth in the opening race to record two race wins and finish on ten nett points overall.
Second place went to Paddy Oliver and Diane Nelson aboard Billy Far Out, whose consistent run of top-four finishes kept them in contention throughout the weekend.
Third overall was Boost, sailed by Scotia Ryer and Mike Huang, after the Royal St George crew added two race wins on Sunday to move onto the podium.
Tim Norwood and Becky Lowney’s NonameO narrowly missed the podium on countback after finishing tied on 17 points with Boost.
Overall Picture: Close Racing Across The Fleets
The Dun Laoghaire Cup fleets produced tight racing across the weekend, with consistency proving more valuable than outright race wins once discards came into play.
The Flying 15 and Melges 15 fleets remained particularly competitive through the closing races, while Phantom, Ted and Beeswing each delivered dominant overall performances in their respective divisions.
