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ICRA Crown 'Nieulargo' as Boat of the Year 2021

25th October 2021
ICRA Boat of the Year 2021 - Nieulargo
ICRA Boat of the Year 2021 - Nieulargo Credit: Bob Bateman

With the completion of the RCYC Autumn League, the final results are in with Nieulargo claiming victory as ICRA Boat of the Year.

Her significant results for the year included winner of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race, second in class at the O'Leary Insurance Sovereigns Cup and second in class at the AIB Royal Cork Autumn League to finish on 11 points, just 0.5 points ahead of Frank Whelan’s Greystones J122, Kaya.

Frank Whelan’s Greystones J122, KayaFrank Whelan’s Greystones J122, Kaya

The leading Class 1 boat, the Evans brother’s Howth based Snapshot included 1st in class O'Leary Insurance Sovereigns Cup, 2nd in class at the Beshoff Motors Howth Yacht Club Autumn League and third in class ICRA National Championships in her results to finish on 8.5 points.

Evans brother’s Howth based J/99 SnapshotEvans brother’s Howth based J/99 Snapshot

Nigel Biggs’ Checkmate XVIII headed Class 2 finishing on 9 points whose results included winning Class 2 ICRA National Championships plus a win in Beshoff Motors Howth Yacht Club Autumn League.

Nigel Biggs’ Checkmate XVIIINigel Biggs’ Checkmate XVIII

Equally scoring on 9 points, was Courtown Sailing Clubs’ Class 3 Snoopy who claimed a class in at the ICRA National Championships and 2nd in class at the CD Environmental Calves Week.

Courtown Sailing Clubs’ Class 3 SnoopyCourtown Sailing Clubs’ Class 3 Snoopy

White Sail champion Prince of Tides whose scores included 1st in class CD Environmental Calves Week, 2nd in class O'Leary Insurance Sovereigns Cup & 3rd in class AIB Royal Cork Autumn League.

White Sail champion Prince of TidesWhite Sail champion Prince of Tides Photo: Bob Bateman

Commenting on the final results, Commodore Richard Colwell added “the final scores demonstrated that even though the sailing season was somewhat curtailed by COVID 19, it was fantastic to see so many boats taking part on the events that were held and I congratulate all of the Class winners and indeed Nieulargo for their 2021 successes.  We look forward to greater numbers next year and of course the 2022 ICRA National Championships will form part of Cork Week in July.”

The ICRA Boat of the Year will be presented at the forthcoming ICRA Annual Conference which will take place on 5th March at the National Yacht Club.

The final scores are downloadable below.

Downloads

Published in ICRA
David Cullen

About The Author

David Cullen

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Howth Yacht Club sailor Dave Cullen is the 2018 Half Ton Classic Cup World Champion. He is a member of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association National Committee.

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The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Information

The creation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) began in a very low key way in the autumn of 2002 with an exploratory meeting between Denis Kiely, Jim Donegan and Fintan Cairns in the Granville Hotel in Waterford, and the first conference was held in February 2003 in Kilkenny.

While numbers of cruiser-racers were large, their specific locations were widespread, but there was simply no denying the numerical strength and majority power of the Cork-Dublin axis. To get what was then a very novel concept up and running, this strength of numbers had to be acknowledged, and the first National Championship in 2003 reflected this, as it was staged in Howth.

ICRA was run by a dedicated group of volunteers each of whom brought their special talents to the organisation. Jim Donegan, the elder statesman, was so much more interested in the wellbeing of the new organisation than in personal advancement that he insisted on Fintan Cairns being the first Commodore, while the distinguished Cork sailor was more than content to be Vice Commodore.

ICRA National Championships

Initially, the highlight of the ICRA season was the National Championship, which is essentially self-limiting, as it is restricted to boats which have or would be eligible for an IRC Rating. Boats not actually rated but eligible were catered for by ICRA’s ace number-cruncher Denis Kiely, who took Ireland’s long-established native rating system ECHO to new heights, thereby providing for extra entries which brought fleet numbers at most annual national championships to comfortably above the hundred mark, particularly at the height of the boom years. 

ICRA Boat of the Year (Winners 2004-2019)