Irish Sea offshore supremos Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins) of the Royal Irish took the honours when eight boats from an expected fleet of 13 turned out for the first race of ISORA Golden Jubilee season this morning. 

Easterly winds of 16-18 knots kicked up some big waves for the first Dun Laoghaire Viking Marine Coastal Race of the 2022 season which meant it was always going to be a big boat day and an important shakedown for the season's Round Ireland Race highlight in just under eight weeks time.

With a crisp start close to the West Pier, the O'Higgins JPK10.80 took an early lead on the water as the fleet passed Dun Laoghaire Harbour and headed towards the Muglins Rock in a race that saw the fleet venture as far south as the Bray Outfall buoy.

A screen shot from the Yellowbrick ISORA tracker

The full course was:

• Usual Dun Laoghaire start at Dun Laoghaire Outfall Buoy 53 18.404N 6 8.348W
• Muglins (P) 53 16.515N 6 4.550W
• Bray Outfall (P) 53 13.254N 6 4.485W
• North Kish (S) 53 18.560N 5 56.423W
• East Kish (S) 53 14.343N 5 53.595W
• Bray Outfall (S) 53 13.254N 6 4.485W
• Muglins (P) 53 16.515N 6 4.550W
• Usual Dun Laoghaire Finish between the pier heads. 53 18.145N 6 7.619W

Race winner - the JPK10.80 Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins) Photo: Afloat

The three boat competition in Class Zero was between Rockabill, Robert Rendell's Grand Soleil 44 Samatom from Howth and Barry O'Donovan's new First 44 Black Magic. 

Rendell took line hours in an elapsed time of 3hours 46 minutes and 39 seconds but Rockabill's finish approximately eight minutes later sealed the IRC Zero and overall victory.

(Above and below) Robert Rendell's Grand Soleil 44 Samatom Photo: Afloat

Third on the water and in IRC Zero was O'Donovan's Black Magic. 

Barry O'Donovan's new First 44 Black Magic Photo: Afloat

In IRC One, Brendan Coghlan's well sailed Sunfast 3600 Yoyo from the Royal St. George Yacht Club took the division honours and third overall.

Brendan Coghlan's Sunfast 3600 Yoyo from the Royal St. George Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

Howth J99 Snapshot skippered by Mike Evans (and a recent entrant to June's Round Ireland race) was second in IRC one and fourth overall 

Howth J99 Snapshot skippered by Mike Evans Photo: Afloat

Sailing two-handed, John O'Gorman of the National Yacht Club sailing Hot Cookie was third in IRC one and fifth overall. 

John O'Gorman's Hot Cookie of the National Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

The winner of IRC Two was Joe Conway's Sigma 33 Elandra.

Joe Conway's Sigma 33 Elandra Photo: Afloat

ISORA Dun Laoghaire Viking Marine Coastal Race Photo Gallery

Saturday's weather forecast of 16-18 knots with gusts of 28, has led ISORA to choose a shortened course for its first Dun Laoghaire Coastal Race of the 2022 season, the golden anniversary year of the Irish Sea offshore body.

An expected fleet of 13 made up of some of the country's top offshore campaigners will have a staggered start: 10.00 BST start for Class 2. 10.30 BST start for Class 0 & 1. with an aim to bunch the boats at the finish.

In class zero, ISORA Champion Rockabill VI is in the lineup along with Howth's Samatom, the winner of the coastal division of last year's Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale.

Three Sunfast 3600s, Searcher, Yoyo and Hot Cookie will compete in a four-boat class one battle. Five will compete in class two including two Sigma 33s and two First 34.7s

ISORA's entry list for the first Dun Laoghaire Coastal Race on Saturday

The 30-mile course is expected to take the fleet out to the Kish Bank at the entrance to Dublin Bay and then into Wicklow waters to leave the Bray Outfall buoy to port.

The ISORA course

The full course is:

• Usual Dun Laoghaire start at Dun Laoghaire Outfall Buoy 53 18.404N 6 8.348W
• Muglins (P) 53 16.515N 6 4.550W
• Bray Outfall (P) 53 13.254N 6 4.485W
• North Kish (S) 53 18.560N 5 56.423W
• East Kish (S) 53 14.343N 5 53.595W
• Bray Outfall (S) 53 13.254N 6 4.485W
• Muglins (P) 53 16.515N 6 4.550W
• Usual Dun Laoghaire Finish between the pier heads. 53 18.145N 6 7.619W

The race is part of the ISORA Viking Marine Coastal Series 2022. Jack Ryan Whiskey is the race sponsor. There will be a Jack Ryan Whiskey prizegiving at the apres sail in the National Yacht Club after the race.

Pwllheli Coastal Race

On Saturday, there is also a coastal race from Pwllheli. Eight boats will be taking part from the Welsh Port.

ISORA Welsh coastal race – possible course: ODM – Madog Fairway – Eurwyn - St.Tudwal's – Plas Heli

The course is:

• Start (PSC line - ODM to Starboard)
• Pwllheli Fairway 52 53.000N 004 23.000W (S)
• Madog Fairway 52 52.70N 004 11.200W (S)
• Eurwyn 52 47.00N 004 22.000W (S)
• St Tudwals Island (both E and W including Carreg Y Trai buoy) (S)
• Finish (Plas Heli line - Pwllheli Fairway to Starboard)

The Sailing Instructions for both races are downloadable below

Getting involved in Offshore Racing can be tricky if you don't know where to start. There's a fantastic offshore racing programme offered by ISORA, the skippers are very welcoming and everyone aboard had to start at the beginning sometime, so why don’t more sailors join in?

To help, the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School is teaming up with the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association on Wednesday 6th of April to introduce their yacht course graduates, and other sailors, to ISORA racing, with an opportunity to meet a couple of skippers and ask the burning questions about starting off in offshore racing.

In addition to meeting skippers, there’ll be an introduction to what’s involved in ISORA racing and Kieran Tarbett will speak about his NCB Round the World Racing experiences.

Chief Instructor Kenneth Rumball says “it’s exciting to see the continued interest in offshore racing and this partnership with ISORA creates a route for more people to get involved”. Commenting on the reasoning behind the initiative, Kenneth describes how perceived barriers to getting involved can be broken down “We find that many newer sailors are simply not sure of what steps to take, this initiative lays out a pathway to follow for our graduates, and indeed any sailor interested in offshore racing”.

INSS course graduates and sailors with an interest in joining ISORA crews this year are invited to this event, taking place on Wednesday 6th of April at 8 pm.

Attendance is free, but you’re asked to contact the school on [email protected] to let them know you’re coming along.

The first of a number of pre-season offshore racing talks are scheduled for this coming Tuesday the 22nd of March 2022. The discussion, aimed at all levels of offshore sailing, is there to answer many of your questions and myths and provide solutions to questions you might have at whatever level you compete in offshore sailing.

The talk provided free of charge is given by Kenneth Rumball of the Offshore Racing Academy.

J109 Jedi competing in the Fastnet Race Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

Rumball has a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of offshore racing. Career highlights include a winning division in the Fastnet Race with Jedi J109, Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) wins as skipper of Keronimo Ker 40, three years and counting experience in the hardest racing of them all in the solo Figaro class in France, plus Round Ireland, Middle Sea and Sydney Hobart Races. Rumball was also awarded the RORC seamanship trophy for the successful recovery of a man overboard on Jedi in a 2018 Round Ireland race.

Below decks on an offshore racer

Topics for the first talk include;

• Basic boat preparation
• Crew preparation
• Safety considerations
• Managing sleep and watch systems
• Navigation and routing considerations
• New keel inspection requirements for 2022

The talk will be given via zoom as Kenneth is in France after a busy training event at the weekend. This talk is free of charge. Participants are encouraged to sign up on the Offshore Academy’s website to obtain access to the zoom link.

The link to sign up is here

Once signed up, participants will be emailed the zoom link two hours before the talk is due to start on Tuesday evening.

The Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School reports buoyant interest in training ahead of offshore ventures, including the Round Ireland Yacht Race. To help these crews get afloat, the school has launched two additional courses with the assistance of the chief instructor, and the Offshore Racing Academy’s Kenneth Rumball. There’s now an extra Sea Survival date in Dun Laoghaire, as well as a programme scheduled for Galway.

Speaking about the level of interest, Rumball says “before the pandemic we would have run one, maybe two courses per year, however, by the time we get to Galway it will have been the third full course of a busy pre-Summer season. It’s really encouraging on a personal level that offshore racing is becoming so popular and bodes extremely well for the future of the sport”.

The extra course in Galway will take place on Friday 1st April and Saturday 2nd April, spearheaded by a local crew, with the extra places opened to allow even more to train in time for offshore events this year.

Back in Dublin, national ambitions continue, albeit closer to home. The school is delighted to return to Malahide with a number of powerboat and sailing programmes later this year. Shore-based and advanced programmes will follow. The school say they’ll be able to announce more details very soon, but there’s excitement from the whole team about expanding services and the opportunity to get afloat.

Back in Dun Laoghaire, the school is delighted to announce that the initiative to help offshore racing experience get started is progressing well. “Dun Laoghaire is very fortunate to have an invigorated offshore racing scene thanks to ISORA, and we’re looking forward to announcing a new partnership with ISORA in the coming days,” says Kenneth Rumball.

Summing up the mode Kenneth Rumball describes it succinctly, “We’re Back!”

If you’re interested in the school’s Sea Survival Programmes there’s more information here

2022 promises to be a bumper year for offshore racing, especially in Ireland with the much-awaited Round Ireland Yacht Race undoubtedly the highlight of the year ahead for many offshore sailors in Ireland.

As detailed last year, the Offshore Racing Academy has been founded as a hub of advice, training and support for offshore racing. Its founder Kenny Rumball has been racing offshore professionally for over 10 years with notable successful campaigns in Ireland and abroad including Jedi’s (J109) Fastnet Race class win, a superb season as a skipper of the Fast 40 Keronimo and three years on the Figaro circuit in France. Not just one to rely solely on racing, Kenny also won the RORC Seamanship Award for Successful recovery of MOB in the Round Ireland Race.

Learning from these successful campaigns and the intense level of training and coaching in France, the Offshore Racing Academy is bringing this training and advice to Ireland and supporting ISORA where many successful young sailors have started their offshore racing campaign.

With some boat plans well in advance for 2022, the ORA has a number of talks planned to aid preparations for the season ahead. All sessions and events will be advertised on the Offshore Racing Academy website, and Facebook pages, likewise on ISORA with a reminder article on Afloat.ie one week out from each event!

The start of an ISORA race on Dublin Bay

Most events will be on Zoom as the providers for these talks and seminars are based outside of Ireland.

The talks are as follows;

Introduction to Offshore Sailing seminar/discussion for skippers and crew Tuesday 22nd March 2022 1900-2100.

All your questions answered as to how to prepare yourself and your boat for Offshore Racing! Topics include;

• Basic Boat Preparation
• Crew Preparation
• Safety Considerations
• Managing sleep and watch systems
• Navigation and routing considerations
• New keel inspection requirements for 2022

Weather Analysis/Windy briefing by Christian Dumard. Tuesday 5th April 2022 1900-2100 on Zoom.

Windy is the most complete source of weather information available on the internet. In two hours you will learn how to use all the features and combine the different data available to get a quality forecast, whether you are sailing for a day or a multi-day trip. The course material will be sent to you at the end of the course with a series of exercises to practice.

Christian is a professional router and has worked for many skippers, including the Mini Transat, the Volvo Ocean Race, the Vendée Globe, the Atlantic Back Cruising and many other events. He accompanies more than a hundred cruising yachts every year during their crossings. He has participated in numerous races (America's Cup, Tour de France à la Voile, Admiral's Cup, ...) and has more than 100 000 miles of cruising experience.

Adrena/Expedition weather routing basics and information Tuesday 12th April 2022 1900-2100

This introduction session aims to showcase the differences between the two most popular routing software providers and provide answers to some of the myths surrounding routings and routing software.

It is hoped to give participants the advice on what program will suit them best the price considerations for both and also the necessary hardware and backup information for these systems to work on one’s boat!

Getting the most from your racing. 1900-2100 on zoom on Tuesday 29th March 2022

This more advanced information evening is for more in-depth offshore racing thoughts and aims, which this session will aim to cover.

• Boat Preparation Cat 1 & Cat 2
• Interpreting Rules
• Managing Crew roles and rest patterns
• Spares and boat preparation to avoid necessary repairs
• Weight distribution and securing arrangements.
• Use of weather and navigation routing for optimal performance.

These talks will be followed up later in the season by pre-race weather analysis and post-race performance debriefings that Kenny Rumball provided last year.

These weather and post race de-briefs were hugely successful in allowing boats, crews and skippers to understand where some boats had made winning decisions and where other boats could have improved!

Wednesday morning saw some early 2022 season double-handed two boat tuning for a pair of Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 keelboats on Dublin Bay.

ISORA campaigners Searcher (Pete Smyth) and John O'Gorman's Hot Cookie enjoyed 10-15 knots north-westerlies for a fast reach from Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Searcher and Hot Cookie, both from the National Yacht Club, cut quite a dash crossing a deserted bay at speed under pink and red spinnakers.

The pair returned to the harbour after a two-hour session with Searcher sporting a ripped kite in conditions that had strengthened to over 20 knots in gusts.

ISORA celebrates its Golden Jubilee with a return to traditional Irish Offshore Racing in 2022 with the first fixture on May 28th with a 60-mile race from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead. All this, of course, is preceded by DBSC's Spring Chicken Series that begins on February 6th. 

A Welsh sailor with a longtime connection to offshore racing in the Irish Sea has been recognised by his home club with a lifetime contribution award.

Richard Tudor was presented with the accolade recently at a special function hosted by Pwllheli Sailing Club, which has posted a glowing tribute on its website.

A fixture on the ISORA calendar, most recently in the J125, Jackknife — and a former champion in the J109, Sgrech, too — Richard has been a part of Pwllheli’s club since its first clubhouse, after a childhood growing his love of the water under the tutelage of Gwyndaf Hughes.

Sailing also runs in the family, with his father Huw serving as Pwllheli’s commodore for a time and his brothers Andrew and Stephen also keen helmsmen.

Richard sailed his first ISORA in 1976, and his first Fastnet Race in 1977 — the beginnings of a decades-long connection with Ireland’s offshore sailing scene that continues to this day. Pwllheli Sailing Club has much more HERE.

Following its AGM, ISORA aims to run the full traditional offshore series including the Wolf’s Head overall trophy in what will be its 50th season. 

There are great plans for the 2022 season. We have proposed a separate Coastal Series on each side of the Irish Sea and an Offshore Series. We propose to move back to our traditional offshores by making them longer. We are proposing staggered starts for the races to ensure that as many boats arrive at the finish at the same time. This should revive the great social part of ISORA. We will be working with the host clubs to ensure that there will be “facilities” open for crew no matter what time they arrive at the finish. If sufficient interest exists, we would encourage cruising boast to follow the race fleet, as a “Rally”, and take part in the pre and post-race social events.

ISORA will be working with the Irish National Sail and Powerboat School, INSS, in placing newly qualified crews onto appropriate ISORA Offshore and Coastal boats. ISORA will also be working with the newly formed “Offshore Racing Academy” to promote the technical aspects of offshore racing and to inform and update Skippers on appropriate offshore data. Kenneth Rumball gave a very useful series of pre-race weather and tactical briefings immediately before some of the major races this season. These were well received by Skippers. It is hoped as part of the Offshore Racing Academy, these briefings will continue next season.

Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race)

Obviously, the main offshore event is the Round Ireland Race. ISORA will be working with Wicklow Sailing Club and fully supporting and promoting this great race. ISORA have included this in their race schedule and will be preparing boats to qualify for this epic race. ISORA will also be providing tracker service to the race. The other great offshore race in 2022 will be the recommencement of the “Kingstown to Queenstown Race”, (K2Q Race), a 270-mile race that starts in Dun Laoghaire, rounds the Fastnet and finishes in Cork Harbour. It is run by the Royal Cork Yacht Club in conjunction with the National Yacht Club and ISORA.

Let’s hope that the 2022 season will see ISORA grow again, in its 50th Season, promoting offshore racing in the Irish Sea.

To mark this 50th season we hope to finish an offshore in Howth in June and run a celebratory party.

Some of the ISORA fleet in Howth after a cross-channel race in 1980, with the fleet including (at centre) Dai Mouse III (now Sunstone) and the McGruer yawl Frenesi, as well as the first Round Ireland Race winner Force Tension (Johnny Morris) on right. Despite the primitive facilities at most ports, more than a hundred boats regularly entered the ISORA Championship each season. Photo: W M Nixon

ISORA 50th

Afloat's Winkie Nixon wrote about ISORA's birth earlier this year: 

ISORA had its preliminary informal launching to emerge out of the North-West Offshore Association (formerly the Mersey & North Wales Joint Offshore Committee) in the old Howth YC on the West Pier at lunchtime on Sunday 29th August 1971, the day after the Abersoch-Howth Race (the James C Eadie Cup).

The main movers and shakers in making the up-grade were Dickie Richardson from Holyhead SC and Hal Sisk from the National YC. Among those present were Alan Stead and Bert Whitehead (both HSC and Tranmere SC, subsequently officers of ISORA) Ronnie Wayte of Setanta of Skerries, and myself, together with sundry others who were keen to get the business done so that the proper post-race party could progress at its usual ferocious pace.

The first season in 1972 had an awesomely busy and complex programme, by the mid-'70s there were 107 boats in the annual points championship, and it all reached a sort of height in 1976 when the biennial ISORA Week was staged in Crosshaven with a huge turnout which made the Corkmen wonder why they were going to all this effort for the benefit of a bunch of madmen from the Irish Sea, and thus Cork Week was born.

Read the full article on ISORA's Golden Jubilee

Significant changes to the ISORA 2022 fixtures schedule (downloadable here) on the Irish Sea will be discussed online at this year's Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) Annual General Meeting.

The offshore body promotes offshore racing on both side of the channel, principally from Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay and Pwllheli in North Wales.

As Afloat previously reported, it is proposed to hold two Coastal Series, one on each side of the Irish Sea. Points for the Coastal series will not count for the Wolf’s Head. The Coastal Series will have its own signature trophies.

The AGM will be held virtually by 'Zoom' on Saturday 4th December 2021 at 11.00 hours.

The meeting is for the transaction of the following business:-

• To approve the minutes of the previous AGM.
• To approve the accounts for the year to November 2021
• To elect Officers of the Association for the ensuing year.
• To elect members of the Committee
• To Agree the 2022 Race Management Detail and Proposed Race Schedule

The meeting is for the following categories:

• 2019, 2020 and 2021 Skippers, or their appointed representative
• 2022 prospective Skippers, or their appointed representative
• 2021 Committee Members
• 2022 Committee Members (proposed)
• Yacht/Sailing Club Representatives

Voting will be restricted to one vote per ISORA participating boat.  Questions for the AGM are required to be forwarded to the Hon Sec before 2nd December 2021