Entries are building to Ireland’s biggest team racing event, the Elmo Trophy, held at the Royal Saint George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, on Dublin Bay.
This year’s event, which will be held on August 26th and 27th, will feature 32 youth teams from around the country, enabling 192 sailors to compete for the trophy.
Six flights of Firefly dinghies will be provided for competitors meaning that there will be 36 brightly coloured dinghies racing around the starboard ‘S-shaped course over the weekend.
Waiting to team race in Firefly dinghies at the Royal St. George Yacht Club Elmo Trophy in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
This year’s event will see a Swiss league format being used, where teams of equal standards will race, with the results of each race determining what teams race in the next round. An innovative computer programme will carefully manage this process supplied by West Kirby Sailing Club, which has been crafting and refining its efficiency over many years at the Wilson Trophy.
Firefly dinghies prepare for a start at the Royal St. George Yacht Club Elmo Trophy in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The new competitor bib design for this August's Elmo Trophy team racing event at the Royal Saint George Yacht Club
As always, the event dinner will take place on Saturday night, where over 200 hungry sailors and volunteers will be fed, with the club's dining room and upper decks overflowing with tales of mark traps and conversions from the day's racing.
Elmo Trophy competitors waiting for a changeover at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
One hundred twenty-eight races is the target for Saturday.
With entries closing on August 18th, interested teams can enter here
