DUBLIN’S yacht clubs made the 2015 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta a homegrown success as Ireland’s biggest sailing event came to a thrilling end after an exciting four days of racing in Dublin Bay.
Over 400 boats and almost 3,000 sailors competed for the top prizes with local clubs sharing the bulk of the overall gongs awarded at the official prize giving in the National Yacht Club.
Altogether they took 22 of the 29 prizes in the various classes including the coveted
‘Boat of the Week’ Trophy.
Regatta Chairman Tim Goodbody’s reminder that the Volvo Dun Laoghaire is
“a fun regatta, not a championship
? did little to stem the fierce competition for the coveted Volvo prizes in 29 classes as the last race of the event concluded in the lightest winds of the series.
George Sisk’s Farr 42 WOW from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was named top boat after winning three of four challenging coastal races in a 25-boat offshore fleet.
In a summer of achievements for the veteran campaigner, his Volvo trophy follows the IRC National Championship victory in Kinsale last month.
The premier award for top visiting boat went to Scottish Sigma 33 Alan Harper sailing Leaky Roof 2. The best IRC yacht award went to Paul Colton’s quarter tonner Cri-Cri from the Royal Irish. The best one design keelboat award went to the Ruffian 23 Diane II skippered by Chris Helme of the Royal St George YC.
Three national championship titles were decided as part of the regatta programme. Rush Sailing Club’s Storm (Pat Kelly) took the 11-boat J109 Irish title and the Clyde Cruising Club entry, Leaky Roof 2 won the Sigma 33 championships.
The Beneteau 21 title also went to Scotland with Stuart Spence taking the win in the 13-boat fleet.
The biennial regatta is being hailed an enormous success both afloat and ashore for a combined fleet of 415 boats, the biggest on the Irish Sea. Over 250 races on five different courses were staged in a range of light to very heavy conditions since racing began last Thursday week.
Although 180 visiting boats made up nearly half the fleet, yachts from outside the bay area took away only seven trophies. The bulk of the silverware, 16 titles, have stayed on Dun Laoghaire’s waterfront.
Trophies were awarded in each of the 29 competing classes, bringing the curtain down on one of the most successful stagings of Ireland’s biggest sailing event.
Scotland’s Clyde Cruising Club took wins in Beneteau 21 and Sigma 33 classes. Howth Yacht Club also took wins in IRC three, the Howth 17s, J24s and the Water Wags but outside of that there was only single wins for Belfast Lough in the RS Elite, and Rush Sailing Club in the J109s. Cullaun Sailing Club in County Clare won the Wayfarers.
In Dun Laoghaire, the Royal St George YC topped the leaderboard winning seven classes of one designs from Beneteau 31.7 keelboats to GP14 dinghies. The National Yacht Club had five victories; White Sails one, Flying Fifteen, SB20, Shipman and Moth.
The Royal Irish also had five: IRC One, IRC Four, White Sails Two, Dragon and Mermaid.
The next Dun Laoghaire regatta will be held mid July 2017.
For a full selection of the final Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Results and other details on this year’s event, go to www.dlregatta.org