monday.com ICRA National Championships Round Up

On Friday 8th of September at the monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth Yacht Club (HYC), yachts gathered from around the country, including some of our lakes.

This was the main “on water” feature event for the Howth Maritime Festival which took place over the weekend. This attracted thousands of people into Howth who enjoyed a maritime and sailing experience which contributed hugely to the success of the festival.

On Friday, the light easterly winds failed to develop into a fair racing breeze for all fleets, but the J24 fleet out of the 70-strong fleet had great competitive racing.
Haze from early morning didn’t clear on one of the warmest days of the year and as a result, the south easterly forecast wind did not develop over all three race courses.
Race Officer Derek Bothwell and his team for the J24 course, which was the most northerly course area from the Club enjoyed a gentle east south east breeze in time to complete a successful windward leeward course of two laps. Kinsailor won it, Jade from Wicklow Sailing Club was 2nd and in 3rd place was Smugairle Roin. The other classes enjoyed a sociable, beautiful sunny day on the water with many crews taking in the sun and enjoying a swim and picnic. Mike Richards from the Royal Ocean Racing Club, reminded competitors ashore of their requirements to compete, he also completed inspections of boats both ashore and afloat which kept him fit for the day and competitors compliant with their IRC rating certificate. Mike Butterfield, World Sailing International Judge kept a sharp eye on the fleets racing afloat and heard and found on protests as required over the weekend. ICRA are most grateful to them to ensure the event was run to the highest international standards.

Saturday brought champagne sailing conditions with beautiful sunshine, flat water, and a steady east south east wind of between 8 and 14 knots. Have a look at this video clip for proof!
Or browse through this excellent gallery both of which were created by David Branigan during the event here. Also work checking out Cormac Farrelly’s video of the event.

Four races were completed on all three course areas, the racing was close and competitive in all fleets and none of the five divisions contesting their national titles had runaway leaders. All crews arrived ashore with a tanned smile on their faces to enjoy the warm welcome and reception provided by HYC. The Championship dinner was a very enjoyable event with Jill Sommerville as M.C. running speeches from Neil Murphy, Commodore HYC, David Cullen, Commodore ICRA, Brian Raferty Committee Member, IRCA and Mark Usher, Chairman of the J24 Class.
In a nutshell all speakers gave a very warm, welcome to the J24 fleet and all agreed that they brought in a fresh and fun dimension to the event. A lively impromptu sing song was led by Splashdance’s bow man and guitarist, Alan O’Brien who led a 2-3 hour session, where dozens of merry crewmembers enjoyed their favourite songs, all of which he knew, be there at the RIYC next year Alan, you run a great singsong!

Sunday morning the racing was postponed for an hour and in spite of determined efforts by the race management teams, there was no overcoming the weather that delivered near calm conditions and torrential downpours of rain that only allowed a race in Class Zero by PRO, David Lovegrove and his team. This was won by Paul O’Higgins and his crew in Rockabill VI, second was John Treanor and his crew in ValenTina and third was Pete Smyth and his crew in Searcher.

There were 27 clubs represented in the 70 strong fleet from all coasts and some of the lakes of Ireland. There was a healthy representation amongst the prize winners
which demonstrates the health in cruiser racing nationally. The prizegiving was well executed by Jill Sommerville and ICRA Secretary Denis Byrne, RCYC. Speeches from David Cullen, Commodore ICRA thanked HYC and their volunteers for running a great and memorable event. Fingal Co Co had part sponsored the event and Mayor, Adrian Henchy welcomed all competitors and
thanked the enormous voluntary effort that is required to run a successful event of this size.

Four races with all podium results in IRC Class 1 ensured a win in this class and for the overall event to John and Suzie Murphy’s Outrajeous at the monday.com ICRA National Championships, who will represent ICRA at Irish Sailing’s, Champions Cup next month.

Speaking at the prize-giving John Murphy paid tribute to his crew on Outrajeous in a short and emotional speech where he revealed that after three years campaigning, he was close to calling it a day before this season. However, his friend and helmsman Neil Spain persuaded him to give it another year leading to this weekend’s joyous outcome.

The full 70-strong fleet representing 27 clubs from the coasts of Ireland plus inland venues saw Dublin and Cork boats win four of the six individual championship titles, whilst the fifth went to Courtown Sailing Club and the sixth to Bray Sailing Club.

Amongst the big boat entries of Class Zero, Brian Jones, Jelly Baby from the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) had a narrow one-point win on IRC rating over John Treanor’s ValenTina from the National Yacht Club. That result reversed under the ECHO Performance handicap, whilst Peter Syth and his crew were 3rd in both IRC and Echo.

In Class 1 in a fleet of 11 yachts, 1st was Outrajeous, 2nd was John Minnis and his crew onboard Final Call II, 3rd was John Maybury and his crew onboard Joker 2.

In Class 2 with a fleet of 10 boats, James Dwyer with his classic New Zealand halftonner Swuzzlebubble, RCYC won after Johnny Swan on Harmony from the host club couldn’t match the whole podium scoreline from Saturday’s four races, 3rd was HYC Mata with the Wright, Sheridan & De Neve partnership.

In Class 3 with 13 entries, Joanne Hall and Martin Mahon onboard Snoopy from Courtown Sailing Club were victorious, that counted two race wins and all podium results, 2nd was Nico & Caroline Gore Grimes crew onboard Dux and 3rd was Brendan Foley, RStGYC and his crew onboard ALLIG8R.

In the Non-Spinnaker Class with 7 entries, 1st was Dermot Skehan and his crew onboard Toughnut, 2nd was Demelza with Windsor & Steffi crew and 3rd was Andy George and his crew onboard Splashdance.

David Bailey and partners with Hard on Port from Bray Sailing Club won the J24 national championship title over five races in their 20-boat fleet, 2nd was Kinsailor and 3rd was Tadg Loingsigh and his crew onboard Janx Spirit from Tralee Bay Sailing Club. This fleet also comprised of many of the Under 25 crews that are emerging from a number of clubs around the country as a pathway event into larger cruiser racing.

The U25 trophy was won by the crew on Kinsailor hailing from the West Cork club who were also placed 2nd overall and just three points off the overall winner. All results are available at https://hyc.ie/icra-results

“Considering the challenging weather conditions that the race management team and competitors alike had to face, we’ve a super championship and Saturday’s racing must count as one of the most memorable Sailing days in Ireland of recent times,” commented ICRA Commodore David Cullen. “We’re already looking forward to next year’s championship to be hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire and we’re keen to receive feedback – good, bad or indifferent – to help deliver a great event.”

A huge thanks and appreciation go to the main sponsor https://monday.com/ and their representative, Martin McNamara for their generous support and sponsorship of this memorable and successful event. In addition, grateful thanks go to all the brilliant volunteers who made this event the success that it was. Jill Sommerville, the Championship Chairperson did an outstanding job in running the event, socially, it was a great fun event, whilst afloat Principal Race Officer, David Lovegrove and his three teams delivered excellent racing in challenging and frustrating conditions.

Boat owners, crews, participants and non-participants alike are welcome to contact the association by email here (info@cruiserracing.ie) or through social channels.

John Leech, ICRA Communications

Outrajeous overall victory at monday.com ICRA National Championships off Howth

The overall winning team of Outrajeous owned by John & Suzie Murphy celebrate their victory at the monday.com ICRA National Championships 2023 hosted by Howth Yacht Club. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

Four races with all podium results delivered the overall event win to John and Suzie Murphy’s Outrajeous at the monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth today (Sunday 10th September 2023)

In spite of valiant efforts by the race management teams, there was no overcoming the weather that delivered near calm conditions and torrential downpours of rain that only allowed a brief race by one of the six classes.

The result sees Murphy’s Howth team crowned IRC champion in Class 1 as well as the overall event winner in their ten boat division.

Speaking at the prize-giving John Murphy paid tribute to his team on Outrajeous in a short but emotional speech where he revealed that after three years campaigning he was close to calling it a day before this season. However, his friend and helmsman Neil Spain persuaded him to keep going for the 2023 season leading to this weekend’s happy outcome.

The full 70-strong fleet representing 27 clubs from all coasts of Ireland plus inland venues saw Cork boats win two of the five individual championship titles.

Amongst the big boat entries of Class Zero, Brian Jones Jelly Baby from the Royal Cork Yacht Club had narrow one-point win over John Treanor’s ValenTina from the National Yacht Club. That result reversed under the ECHO Performance handicap result, spreading the prizes as expected.

In Class 2, James Dwyer with the classic New Zealand half-tonner Swuzzlebubble, also from the Crosshaven club won after Johnny Swan on Harmony from the host club couldn’t match the all podium scoreline from Saturday’s four races that comprised the championship for the bulk of the fleet.

David Bailey and partners with Hard On Port from Bray Sailing Club won the J24 national championship title over five races in their 20 boat fleet that also comprised many of the Under 25 crews that are emerging from numerous clubs around the country as a pathway event into cruiser sailing.

The U25 trophy was won by the crew on Kinsailor hailing from the West Cork club who also placed second overall and were just three points off the overall win.

With no further racing apart from Saturday’s four races, the Class 3 championship went to Snoopy from Courtown Sailing Club owned Joanne Hall and Martin Mahon that counted two race wins and all podium results in their scoresheet for this, the largest class after the J24’s with 13 entries.

“Considering the challenging weather conditions that the race management team and competitors alike had to face, we’ve a super championship and Saturday’s racing must count as one of the most memorable Sailing day’s in Ireland of recent times,” commented ICRA Commodore David Cullen. “We’re already looking forward to next year’s championship to be hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire and we’re keen to receive feedback – good, bad or indifferent – to help deliver a great event.”

Boat owners, crews, participants and non-participants alike are welcome to contact the association by email here  info@cruiserracing.ie

Full day of racing completed at monday.com ICRA National Championships off Howth

At the monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth, clouds cleared to allow a perfect sea breeze to develop with four races completed on all three course areas today (Saturday 9th September 2023).

None of the five divisions contesting their national titles have runaway leaders and much depends on Sunday’s final day and whether weather conditions allow completion of the full programme of races.

“Today worked out as it should have done, it was just slow to come in,” said David Lovegrove, International Race Officer. “I have two forecasts for tomorrow and I would hope to get two races in but if a third is possible then that would complete the series.”

With 27 clubs represented throughout the 70 strong fleet from all coasts of Ireland, there is a wide representation amongst the overnight leaders with just one class held by a Dublin boat.

Amongst the big boats of Class Zero, Brian Jones Jelly Baby (Royal Cork YC) had a consistent day with two races wins and two third places opening the prospect of an overall win to make the trip from Crosshaven all the more worthwhile.

It’s a similar story for clubmate James Dwyer on the classic half-tonner Swuzzlebubble leading Class 2 with Johnny Swan of the host club close behind on Harmony.

Courtown Sailing Club’s Joanne Hall and Martin Mahon on Snoopy are leading Class 3, again with a Howth boat in pursuit as Nico and Caroline Gore-Grimes’ Dux who are in second place in this, the largest IRC class with 13 boats.

Of all four classes competing on the IRC rating system, Howth’s John and Suzie Murphy’s J109 Outrajeous has the strongest lead by six points in Class 1 over John Minnis’ Final Call II from the Royal Ulster YC.

Meanwhile, in the J24 national championship where 20 boats are competing, Bray Sailing Club’s Hard On Port has a narrow lead after some very close racing. The one-design class was the only fleet to get a single race completed on Friday so now has five results with any of six boats all in the hunt for the title.

“We were all delighted to see the breeze arrive – eventually – though we didn’t have to wait too long,” commented David Cullen, Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association. “The race officers made a very good decision to run four races and we’re looking at a lot of sunburnt and smiley faces ashore so a great success.”

Fleet becalmed off Howth on opening day of monday.com ICRA National Championships

Howth, Co. Dublin, 8 September 2023: Youth Under 25 crews waiting for wind on their J24 class boats at the monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth Yacht Club. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

At the monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth, light winds failed to develop into a racing breeze for the bulk of the 70-strong fleet gathered from around the country.

Just the J24 class competing for their national championship secured a brief two lap course under principal race officer Derek Bothwell.

Haze and fog from early morning didn’t clear despite one of the warmest days of the year which might have allowed a sea breeze to develop.

The schedule continues on Saturday with the possibility of similar conditions though the balmy weather is forecast to break by Sunday.

“There’s nothing anyone could have asked of the race management teams today that would have made a difference,’ commented David Cullen, Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association. “After four hours at sea waiting for wind, the correct call was made and everyone was happy to head back to Howth Yacht Club.”

ICRA National championships is expecting an Indian Summer

The Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA), David Cullen, has reported strong entries for the Monday.com ICRA National Championships incorporating J24 National Championships with six weeks to go.

ICRA and Howth Yacht Club are very encouraged to see entry numbers at 40 boats with six weeks left to go before the event.
Even more encouraging is to see several notable visitor boats attending including the highly fancied Jelly Baby and Anchor Challenge from Cork, together with Hijacker and Final Call II from Northern Ireland.

Defending 2022 ICRA Overall National Champion, John Maybury’s successful “Joker II” is also entered having recently had huge success in Kinsale during Sovereign’s Week, whilst a number of local hot shots including Snapshot, Dux, Checkmate XX and Storm are ready to fend off all visitors whilst providing a very warm welcome at Howth Yacht Club.

The J24 fleet will provide a strong presence with up to 25 boats expected including a number of Under 25-year-olds, K25 boats were part funded by ICRA.
Howth Yacht Club is hopeful that the rain will run out and an Indian Summer has been ordered for 8th -10th September.

Howth Yacht Club have arranged camping and campervan facilities at Deerpark nearby in order to offer accommodation options for those traveling from around the country.
The Howth Harbour Master has been very accommodating to the fleet offering temporary berthing in the Fishery Harbour thereby delivering safe and comfortable facilities to all competitors during the spring tides over the weekend.

Entry can be made for the monday.com ICRA National Championships below.

ICRA Nationals 2023 Venue Website is now live

This Years Monday.com ICRA National Championships are being Hosted by Howth Yacht Club. The Club are looking forward to greeting some 500-600 sailors and 80+ boats from the ICRA fleets. Howth Yacht Club plan to provide the best racing possible for the ICRA National Championships. A large team of volunteers from HYC and other clubs has been assembled to make sure that you have a great time afloat and ashore. Keep an eye on the Event Website for details of trailer parking and other information to make your event as easy as possible for you. The club officers and staff are very excited about the event. If you have any questions or queries, get in touch.

monday.com ICRA National Championships 2023 Incorporating J24 Nationals Event Website is now Live. All relevant racing documents are available here.

14th March 2023

ICRA Nationals 2024 Venue Announced

ICRA last week announced at it’s annual conference that it is delighted to announce that the 2024 ICRA Nationals would be held at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on September 6-8^th.

Commodore David Cullen spoke highly of the team in  the Royal Irish who undoubtedly will put together a very attractive and professionally run event.

He also added that ICRA were now inviting expressions of interest from Clubs wishing to host the ICRA Nationals in 2025 and asked anyone interested to formally send their interest to info@cruiserracing.ie before May 1^st.

Save the Date

ICRA National Conference & AGM

Saturday 4th March 2023

Royal St. George Yacht Club,
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

The 2023 ICRA National Conference will take place on Saturday the 4th of March in the Royal St. George Yacht Club, Dun Laoighaire. It will start in the morning at 10:00am, followed by the AGM and will close at 13:00.

As well as main speakers, the event will include the sailors forum (where you have your chance to discuss and debate the big issues in our sport), updates from the major events planned in the year, an update of ICRA activities, and will be followed by the AGM.

The full agenda will be released later in the month.

3rd December 2022

The 2022 Season Aboard Headcase.

This summer past we had the pleasure of racing in the J24 European Championships, which were hosted by Howth Yacht Club. This was the first time since 2013, when the same venue hosted the World Championships, that Irish waters have held a major international J24 event. The 2013 Worlds were a feat of excellent organisation and produced stellar racing but, despite some excellent race results, no Irish boat made the top 18. Nine years later and the Irish are a driving force at the top of the rankings. Going into the final race of the 2022 European Championships, more than one home team could have taken the title, with the crew on Kinsailor missing out by just one point in the end. Rather than the class wilting in the wake of hosting a major event, it seems like 2023 will be an even bigger year for Irish J/24s.

In this article we reflect on the incredible 2022 season for the class and for us aboard Headcase.

After two years of lockdowns, we approached 2022 with an abundance of enthusiasm and energy. We put together a bucket list of events, with the first stop being Kieler Woche in Germany, one of the world’s largest regattas.

Thanks to Brexit and some good luck, we managed to borrow a van and put the boat on a Dublin-Rotterdam ferry. Flying into Amsterdam, we then picked up the boat on the Monday morning and spent a day travelling to Kiel. A full day of boat prep followed, while we waited to lift in. The scale of Kieler Woche was in sharp contrast to the Irish events we had done previously, and we were pleasantly surprised to go out on the first day and win all three races. It was clear we had a speed advantage over the local boats, many of whom were hitting the water for the first time that season. Our spring training sessions in Lough Ree, Howth and Malahide meant our boat handling was crisp and we had a marginal speed advantage on the upwind. Once we got ahead, it was very difficult for other boats to reel us in. While we didn’t maintain that dominance over the next few days, as the cobwebs were being blown off the Germans and Swedish, we managed to close out the event with a victory.

Coming into Kieler Woche we had the advantage of relative anonymity, as we hadn’t yet competed outside of Ireland with the boat. With the UK Nationals two weeks later we had a target on our backs. However, after three days of mostly light wind racing, we emerged as winners of the event and the first Irish crew to win the UK nationals since Philip Watson in the inaugural event in 1978. It was also clear that the Irish fleet could hold their own against their UK counterparts. The crew on Janx Spirit from Tralee were unfortunate to miss out on a top three spot, finishing fourth, and it wasn’t until the final race of the event that a UK boat got a race win.

With a victory in the UK nationals under our belt there was no time to waste. The fleet becalmed on the last day of the eventand the race committee sent us home as the 2pm time limit for running a race approached. That left us with about 21 hours to get the boat and crew to the start line of Cork Week. With very little sleep we arrived in Cork at 7am on Monday morning and managed to rig and launch for the first start. Tiredness doesn’t begin to describe how we were feeling by the end of the week, however we were happy to have won the ICRA national title on IRC, despite being soundly beaten by Sam Laidlaw’s BLT for the class prize.

There was again very little rest between Cork Week and our next event which was the Irish National Championships in Foynes. Here we experienced some of our closest racing of the season yet. With the Irish fleet already having the Northern Championships under their belt, everyone was trying to build momentum for the Europeans. The score line of 6 first places in 8 races definitely flattered us, as often we were waiting for the last mark rounding or final boat handling maneuver to pull into the lead. By the end of the event we realized that we had overextended ourselves in the early season. Even though we had planned to bring the boat to Howth and start training for the Europeans, we decided it was best to take some time off and recoup some energy before the event.

It was in the Easterns, which was seen as a warm-up event for the Europeans, that we first got a taste of what to expect from the team on Kinsailor. While many U25 teams have been set up in the last 10 years, the team on Kinsailor have really proven how successful the model can be. A pairing of good dinghy sailors with a fast boat and good kit made waves on the Irish and International scene. Despite breaking their mast in Race 2, they managed to source a replacement and push us all the way to finish second. This was a sign that they meant business for the Europeans. Indeed they put in a fine display in the Europeans and in what was an uncharacteristically high-scoring event they could have walked away as European Champions in their first year in the class.

Our Europeans were plagued by inconsistency. While we felt quick, we had several big things go against us, finishing 5thoverall despite being in with a shot of winning going into the final race. We take great heart from the season and realistically we know we have the potential to win big in the future. With the Europeans in Hungary next year, followed by the Worlds in Greece, we have big plans for a transcontinental road trip with Headcase.

While we have had a great season on Headcase, it is excellent to see the other Irish boats stepping up. The great performances of Janx Spirit and Kinsailor have already been mentioned, but Hard on Port’s victory in the Northern Championships in their first season as owners of the boat is also noteworthy. The current strength and depth in the Irish fleet doesn’t stop there, with the likes of Il Riccio, Jibe and the Usher’s new boat Hedgehog always pushing hard.

Looking at the current success of the Irish J24 class it could be said that it has some of its origins in the disappointing 2013 season. As a member of the Howth Yacht Club K25 programme, I got a start in J24 sailing aboard Kilcullen at that time. The youth team concept was new to Ireland at that point but had strong success in Germany and other places. Since then, the class has benefited by from new U25 teams adding numbers to the class. They also provide a steady stream of capable sailors who continue on in sailing, and always seem to come back to the J24 class. Ultimately the various programmes have improved the level of racing, as well as the comradery and social scene.

8th November 2022

Yacht “Snapshot” is crowned the ICRA Boat of the Year for 2022

Following a busy and successful racing season of ICRA events nationwide, the J99 yacht Snapshot in Class 1, owned by Mike and Richard Evans of Howth Yacht Club was deemed the clear winner for this prestigious Annual Award. She claimed victory by 1.75 points from her nearest rival Samaton in Class 0. The season was blessed with good weather for most of the events, which added greatly to the enjoyment of the 109-boat fleet that competed for this award. Snapshot had a great season overall, she finished 1^st in her Class in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race, she finished 1^st in her Class during CD Environmental Calves Week, 1^st in the Beshoff Motors HYC Autumn League and 2^nd in her Class during the HYC WAVE Regatta.

The top 3 boats in each class were as follows:

Class 0

1. Samatom (14.75 points)
2. Rockabill VI (13 points)
3. Darkwood (10 points)

Class 1

1. Snapshot (16.5 points)
2. Storm (8 points)
3. Final Call II (6.5 points)

Class 2

1. Lambay Rules (6.5 points)
2. Pyxis (6 points)
3. Bad Company (4.5 points)

Class 3

1. Dux (5.5 points)
2. Maxims (4.5 points)
3. Blue Oyster (4 points)

Class 4

1. Headcase (6 points)
2. Relativity (4.5 points)
3. Janx Spirits (4.5 points)

Non-Spinnaker 1

1. Prince of Tides (10 points)
2. Magnet (6.5 points)
3. White Pearl (4.75 points)

Non-Spinnaker 2

1. Shilleagh (6 points)
2. Demelza (4 points)
3. Roaring Forties (4 points)

The ICRA Committee is pleased with the keen competition and participation in the ICRA events over the season and look forward to 2023 where we hope to see more cruisers compete in these highly competitive events. The 2023 National ICRA Championships will be hosted by Howth Yacht Club on 1^st – 3^rd September.

The ICRA Boat of the Year Award will be presented by Commodore David Cullen, at the forthcoming ICRA Annual Conference, which will take place on the 4^th of March in Dun Laoghaire. All cruiser sailors are welcome to this event which promises to be interesting, engaging and helpful, especially to new members that want to give that team spirit of sailing a go and enjoy the sociability, they will receive a warm welcome to ICRA from our committee and members.

To view the full set of results please click on this link BoTY 2022