Three former ICRA champions in class one title fight at Howth

Yesterday’s confirmation of divisions at next week’s Irish Cruiser

Racing Association (ICRA) National Championships at Howth Yacht Club underlined its 19-boat class one as the hottest fleet of the 73-boat event.

No fewer than three previous champions are lined up for the class one title fight being sailed off Ireland’s Eye for a record fifth time. Paul O’Higgins brand new JPK10.8 makes its ICRA debut as one of eight Royal Irish boats that include defending champion John Maybury’s Joker II, a J/109 design that makes up almost half the class one fleet.

Also entered is John and Brian Hall’s J/109 Something Else, class winners at this week’s Scottish Series on Loch Fyne.

The cruiser racing action kicks off in Howth tomorrow for the annual Lambay race where upwards of 100 keelboats are catered for over a variety of courses.

Lough Derg sailors aiming to compete at July’s WIORA regatta at Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary have been thwarted as a stretch of the river has been closed to navigation.

Flooding

This year’s West Coast Regatta is marking its 40th year. With just four weeks to go, the fleet stands close to reaching its 40-boat target with 31 competitors entered so far. The Shannon, however, has been closed to navigation from Parteen Weir to Limerick in mid-March by

Waterways Ireland

due to flooding and related “infrastructural deficiencies” on the waterway following this winter’s storms.

As well as the Hall’s class win on the Clyde on Monday, an expat sailor from Co Mayo carried off an overall win of Scotland’s top sailing event with a near-perfect scoreline in the Hunter 707 class. Dara O’Malley (40), who is from Westport, Co Mayo, now sails under the burgee of Port Edgar Yacht Club on the Firth of Forth.

Tonight’s 80-mile ISORA race from Dún Laoghaire to Douglas in the Isle of Man is the fifth in the 2016 series and follows a light air marathon last weekend when a bumper fleet of 29 sailed from Holyhead into Dublin Bay in near windless conditions.

Wide open

The spread of wins and the size of the fleets for this season has left the overall series wide open. After four races defending champion Ruth leads with just four points separating them and Stephen Tudor’s Sgrech and only three points separating Sgrech from Peter Hall’s Adelie. Tonight’s race starts at 8pm and is the last offshore before the Volvo Round Ireland race on the 18th June.

After more success for Ireland at youth level in the Laser Europa Cup, the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire has announced 345 sailors from 45 countries have entered July’s KBC Laser Radial Worlds on Dublin Bay.

Top Irish youth radial sailor Ewan McMahon emerged as the winner of May's Belgium round of the Europa Cup. The Howth YC sailor, who is one of Ireland's leading hopes for the KBC championships, topped a 50-boat fleet in Nieuwpoort. Johnny Durcan of Royal Cork Yacht Club was third overall.

Royal St George Dragons Phantom and Jaguar shared equal points and were well ahead at the top of the leader board at last weekend's East Coast Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club. Phantom helmed by Neil Hegarty took the overall title by virtue of his accumulation of three first place finishes. Martin Byrne in Jaguar was second overall.

A Royal Cork Yacht Club team led by Fred Cudmore were second at a 2K team racing event in Anzio, Italy. The crew was only just beaten after three days of racing. After 42 races it came down to the last match between a Dutch Match crew and their great Royal Cork rivals which went in favour of the Dutch.