Kerry Youth Sailors to Race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race

1st June 2019

Royal St. George's Michael Cotter is back to try to topple the record he set a decade ago with the 78ft Whisper (above) Credit: Afloat.ie

Two youth sailors from the race finish port of Dingle in County Kerry will be onboard two entries in this month's 320-mile Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race (D2D) as part of a race promotion to encourage more young people to try their hand at offshore sailing.

One of the boats taking the novice crew is the largest in the expected 45-boat fleet, Michael Cotter's Windfall, a SouthWind 94. Cotter of the Royal St. George Yacht Club will be looking to topple the course record he established with the 78ft Whisper in 2009.

Read the D2D race update in Afloat's recent blog by WM Nixon here.

The race will have approximately 45 boats racing varying in size between 30 and 100 feet long with crews of between 2 and 20 sailors on board. The first D2D race took place in 1993 and the race has grown to become one of the great mini offshore sailing challenges in the UK and Irish waters. Underlining this growth in status is the fact that the D2D race now forms part of both the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association's 2019 series.

"The race starts from Dun Laoghaire on June 12th"

The Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race starts from Dun Laoghaire on June 12th and is scheduled to arrive into Dingle Harbour over the weekend of June 15th and 16th. Volvo Car Ireland is the title sponsor of this offshore race that takes place every two years. They are supported by the Tralee based dealer Billy Naughton Motors who represents Volvo Cars in the region. The race has also had a long association with the Dingle Skellig Hotel where the gala prizegiving will take place on the evening of Saturday, June 15th.

The race will test crews’ skills in terms of fast sailing, accurate navigation and tactics and great teamwork. Crews include both male and female top sailors and there is a separate prize to encourage this growth of women in the race which mirrors the Volvo Ocean Race ethos. “We are delighted to be involved with and support the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race in 2019, as we did two years ago. We wish all participating sailors safe sailing and encourage all supporters to visit Dingle and enjoy the great atmosphere surrounding the finish in the town.”

The National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is the race organiser and provides the starting and finishing teams for the race management. The yachts can be tracked live online using the YB Tracking system which can be found both through the www.d2drace.ie or through www.afloat.ie from the start on Wednesday, June 12th.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Dingle

Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Live Tracker 2023

Track the progress of the 2023 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race fleet on the live tracker above and the leaderboard below

Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Live Leaderboard 2023

The 16th edition of the 280-mile race organised by the National Yacht Club starts at 2 pm on Wednesday, June 7th, on Dublin Bay.

Read the full 2023 race preview by WM Nixon here
Read all the D2D Race News in one handy link here
Listen to Lorna Siggins's interview with Race Chairman Adam Winkelmann on Afloat's Wavelengths here

WM Nixon will be posting regular race updates and analysis throughout the 2023 race here

Published in Dun Laoghaire Dingle

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Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race Information

The biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race is a 320-miles race down to the east coast of Ireland, across the south coast and into Dingle harbour in County Kerry.

The race is organised by the National Yacht Club.

It never fails to offer a full range of weather, wind and tide to the intrepid entrants, ranging from a 32ft cruiser to a 79ft all-out racer.

Three divisions are available to enter: cruiser (boats equipped with furlers), racing (the bulk of the fleet) and also two-handed.

D2D Course change overruled

In 2019, the organisers considered changing the course to allow boats to select routes close to shore by removing the requirement to go outside Islands and Lighthouses en route, but following input from regular participants, the National Yacht Club decided to stick with the tried and tested course route in order to be fair to large and smaller boats and to keep race records intact.

D2D Course record time

Mick Cotter’s 78ft Whisper established the 1 day and 48 minutes course record for the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race in 2009 and that time stood until 2019 when Cotter returned to beat his own record but only just, the Dun Laoghaire helmsman crossing the line in Kerry to shave just 20 seconds off his 2009 time.