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Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

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Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet of the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the overall IRC winner of Saturday's shortened ISORA Viking Marine Coastal Race from Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Second on IRC was sistership, the Greystones Harbour-based Magic Touch skippered by Steve Hayes.

A six-boat fleet set out on a 26-mile course in very light winds at 10 am, but a flood tide meant it took three hours even to reach Muglins Rock on Dublin Bay's southern tip.  

As a result, Race Organiser Peter Ryan shortened the race to finish at the Bray Outfall buoy in Killiney Bay. 

After five hours of racing, five boats finished within seven minutes of each other. One retired. It was, at least, a result on a day that otherwise saw no racing on the Bay due to the light winds.

The line honours winner was John O'Gorman's Hot Cookie. Third on IRC was Howth's J109 Indian, skippered by Simon Knowles.

ISORA's last Irish coastal in 2023 is the night race on the 18th of August which will decide the winner of the Vincent Farrell Trophy.

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ISORA has announced Saturday's Race 13 course of its Viking Marine Coastal Series off the Dublin and Wicklow coasts, but a morning of race notice from Race Organiser Peter Ryan warns the course may be shortened.

"The forecasts are most unusual. The race may have to be shortened", Ryan told competitors on Whatsapp at 8 am.

A fleet of six (Nigel Ingram's Farr 30 Wild Haggis withdrew overnight) will sail 26 miles from Dun Laoghaire to Bray via North Kish as follows.

ISORA Course for Race 13 is:

  • Start
  • Muglins (P)
  • Bray (P)
  • North Kish (P)
  • Bray (S)
  • Muglins (P)
  • Finish

There will be one all-in start at 10 am. The aim is to have all boats finished by approximately 4 pm at Dun Laoghaire's East Pier head.

Live Dublin Bay webcams may pick up the boats at the start and finish

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Seven boats will contest this Saturday's (July 22) ISORA Coastal Race 13 from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, part of the association's 2023 Musto Offshore Series.

The fleet's smaller size this weekend is likely a result of the clash with Saturday's record-breaking Rolex Fastnet Race start that has already led to the cancellation of July 28th's SCORA Fastnet fixture from Kinsale on the south coast.

The UK-based Farr 30 Wild Haggis joins the fleet that includes Howth regular Simon Knowles in the J109 Indian and the National Yacht Club's John O'Gorman in the Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie.

Two Beneteau First 34.7s are also entered with Magic Touch from Greystones Harbour and Leslie Parnell's Black Velvet from the Royal Irish Yacht Club, both coming to the West Pier line.

There will be one all-in start at 10 am. The aim is to have all boats finished by approximately 4 pm.

The course will be published on Friday. All boats sail with YB trackers.

The ISORA Coastal Race 13 fleet entriesISORA Coastal Race 13 entries

 

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The Pwhelli Sailing Club, J109 Mojito of Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop, were the winners of the Royal Dee (RDYC) Offshore Championship series raced for as part of this weekend's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

As regular Afloat readers know, the first race was from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, the first of five in the Royal Dee (RDYC) Offshore Championship series. The other four were coastal races as part of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. 

The Royal Dee Offshore Champions, the Mojito crew with Peter Ryan of ISORA at Dun Laoghaire Photo: Michael ChesterThe Royal Dee Offshore Champions, the Mojito crew with Peter Ryan of ISORA at Dun Laoghaire Photo: Michael Chester

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Royal Irish Yacht Club's Paul O'Higgins sailing Rockabill VI won Saturday's 12-hour Lyver Trophy Race from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire. 

The line honours winner in the tough test across the Irish Sea was Andrew & Sam Hall's J125 Jackknife.

The fixture was also Race 12 in the Musto ISORA 2023 Offshore Series.

Andrew & Sam Hall's J125 Jackknife was the Lyver Trophy Race line honours winner Photo: AfloatAndrew & Sam Hall's J125 Jackknife was the Lyver Trophy Race line honours winner Photo: Afloat

The course took the eight competing boats northwest out of Holyhead before turning towards Wicklow. The course was selected to avoid the overfalls at the South Stacks.

Due to the strong westerly winds, the course to Wicklow was upwind and in large seas. The final leg north, along the coast, was a reach.

Throughout the race, there was a three-way tussle between Jackknife, Rockabill VI and Keith Miller's Prime Suspect from Kilmore Quay Boat Club.

Although finishing in that order, Rockabill VI won the race, the Lyver Trophy and RORC medallion.

The race is the first of five in the Royal Dee (RDYC) Offshore Championship series. The other four are coastal races as part of next week's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. However, Rockabill VI has elected to race in Cruisers 0 in the regatta, so the RIYC crew won’t take any further part in the RDYC championship series.

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Saturday's 85-mile course for the Lyver Trophy Offshore Race across the Irish Sea has been confirmed.

The 18 entries will race from Holyhead at 0930 am, and organisers expect the first boats to finish around 9 pm off Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The fleet will be heading on a short leg northwest from Holyhead before turning southwest towards Wicklow. They will then follow the coast north to Dun Laoghaire.

As Afloat reported previously, the race is the 12th fixture in the season-long ISORA points series.

The weekend fleet includes the reigning ISORA champion, the J109 Mojito from Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales.

The course for the race is as follows:

  • Start line at Holyhead Pier lighthouse to Clippereau Buoy
  • Langdon (P) 52⁰ 22.754N 4⁰ 38.646W
  • Wicklow Outfall (S) 53⁰ 59.545N 6⁰ 1.286W
  • Muglins (P) 53⁰ 16.515N 6⁰ 4.550W
  • Finish between Dun Laoghaire Pier Heads

Forecasts indicate strong westerly winds for a windward leg across the Irish Sea.

The race marks the arrival of competitors from across the Irish Sea for next week's 350-boat Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

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Saturday's Lyver Trophy Race Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire Offshore Race marks the arrival of competitors from across the Irish Sea for next week's big one, the 350-boat Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

With a declared entry of 18 boats, the weekend fleet includes the reigning ISORA champion, the J109 Mojito from Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales.

The race starts at 9 am, and early forecasts indicate strong westerly winds for a windward leg across the Irish Sea, with the final course to be confirmed on Friday.

The JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club Photo: AfloatThe JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

In collaboration with Irish Sea clubs, the race is organised by Liverpool Yacht Club & Royal Dee Yacht Club with the assistance of the National Yacht Club and the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA).

The race counts as race 12 of the 2023 Musto ISORA Offshore Race series and the Royal Dee Offshore Championship Series.

Entries for the RORC Lyver RaceEntries for the RORC Lyver Race

As ISORA's Peter Ryan explains, "The race is also the first of five races in the Royal Dee Offshore Championship series, with the four coastal races in next week's VDLR".

The race is a qualifying race for August's Fastnet Race. Winners will be eligible for RORC medallions.

"As well as the Lyver Trophy, the winner will be presented with an ISORA trophy. The prizegiving is to take place at the ISORA dinner in November, Ryan told Afloat.

The National Yacht Club's Sunfast 3600 Searcher Photo: AfloatThe National Yacht Club's Sunfast 3600 Searcher Photo: Afloat

"Separate entries are not required for the Championship series. As there will be no discards, the boats that compete in all five races are the only boats that can win. The winner of the series will receive a trophy at the VDLR prizegiving. RDYC prizes will be presented to 2nd and 3rd place in the series", he says.

Alan Hannon's Coquine after rounding the Ailsa Craig, is an entry in the Lyver race. Photo: Hammy BakerAlan Hannon's Coquine after rounding the Ailsa Craig, is an entry in the Lyver race. Photo: Hammy Baker

"There are no day prizes in the VDLR, but as part of the RDYC offshore series, there will be day-class prizes for boats in the VDLR coastal class. These will be presented every evening in the NYC, " Ryan adds.

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Paul O'Higgins's JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI took line honours, first in IRC overall and first in Class Zero in Saturday's 23-mile race ten of the ISORA Series.

In a southerly 15-18 knot breeze, the six-boat fleet started off Dun Laoghaire Harbour under Race Officer Michael Horgan at 10 am.

The fleet left Muglins Rock at the southern tip of Dublin Bay to starboard, sailing down the coast to round  Moulditch buoy off Greystones Harbour in County Wicklow before returning to the Bay, leaving the Muglins to Port and a finish off Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Royal Irish line honours winner completed the course in four hours, 24 minutes and 31 seconds.

Second in IRC overall was Leslie Parnell's First 34.7, which was sailed double-handed. Third place in IRC overall, and the IRC Class One winner was the Shanahan family's J109, Ruth from the National Yacht Club.

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A seven-boat ISORA fleet is considering a course proposal from Race Officers for this weekend's coastal race from Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race competitors are back on the water for ISORA's Race 10. Saturday's proposed 23-mile course to Wicklow is very similar to the opening stage of the 270-mile race a fortnight ago.

2023 D2D veterans Paul O'Higgins's JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI and Tom Shanahan's J109 Ruth are racing. 

Leslie Parnell's Royal Irish 34.7 Black Velvet will be racing double-handed.

ISORA numbers for race ten are reduced due to the weekend clash with the conclusion of the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale.

ISORA Race Ten competitorsISORA Race Ten competitors

Starting on flood tide at 10 am, with a 15-18 knot southerly breeze, the proposed course from the Dun Laoghaire start is Muglins S - Moulditch S - Muglins P - Dun Laoghaire Finish.
23 miles. Breeches buoy instead of Moulditch would extend the course to 28 miles.

The course will be confirmed on Friday.

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ISORA regulars and Pwllheli Sailing Club Commodore Mark Thompson sailing with Phil Jackson, compete in the AZAB race this Saturday.

The pair are sailing Jac Y Do, a Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200, in Class 3.

" We are now all prepared and ready for the start, the category 1 offshore inspection was very stringent and took a lot of preparation, but now completed. We are in good shape and looking forward to our adventure, " Thom,pson said before the off.

There are five AZAB classes and a total of 50 entries in the 2023 race.

Mark Thompson sailing with Phil Jackson (holding a bottle of Jack Ryan Whiskey)Mark Thompson sailing with Phil Jackson (holding a bottle of Jack Ryan Whiskey)

The AZAB is a 2,400-mile ocean regatta starting in Falmouth and going to the port of Ponta Delgada, on the Azores Island off São Miguel. Leg two returns to Falmouth.

Competitors have time on the island for some R&R before racing back to Falmouth.

The race destination, Ponta Delgada, is the capital of São Miguel, one of nine Azores Archipelago Islands in the Eastern Atlantic, approximately 750 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal and some 1220 miles from Falmouth.

“Most yachts participating in the race take between 7 and 10 days to reach the Azores, allowing a week or so to relax and prepare for the return passage,” Thomson said.

 

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

© Afloat 2020