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Irish J80 Sailboat News & Regatta Results
Alan McClernon's Jezebel from Carrickfergus SC competing at the East Antrim Boat Club Regatta Weekend
Despite a smaller than usual turnout at Larne last weekend for the East Antrim Boat Club Regatta, racing was keen, and on Saturday, the fleet enjoyed perfect conditions, with the breeze picking up for the second race on the Sunday.…
Irish success in Denmark. The J80 Danish Champions are (from left) North Sails sailmaker Shane Hughes, Ryan Glynn, Pat O'Neill and Jakob Nybo
Pat O'Neill with a Howth Yacht Club crew and a local foredeck man has won the Danish J80 Championships at the Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub this afternoon. The sole lrish competitors in the 23-boat fleet sailing 'Mojo' ended the eight-race series with…
File image from the 2019 Women at the Helm regatta
Women on the Water J80 crews are back in action in Dun Laoghaire from tomorrow, Tuesday 25 May, the National Yacht Club has announced. Sailing will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons, in two series of one…
The J80 National Championships will race at Howth Yacht Club this October
The J80 National Championships returns this autumn to Howth Yacht Club. A fleet of 14 boats contested the 2020 Championships at Dun Laoghaire with Howth's Pat O'Neill emerging as Irish Champion. Previously the fledgeling championships sailed at Howth in 2019 and 2018…
File image of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The National Yacht Club is seeking expressions of interest from all members aged 16 to 25, regardless of class or experience, in the prospect of forming an U25 J80 squad. The rough plan is for a five-person team (with one…
Winning MoJo team (L-R) Conor Cleary, Aaron Jones, Pat O’Neill, Shane Hughes
With the current Covid restrictions and other protocols in place, credit must be given primarily to the RstGYC, Jonny O'Dowd and the Irish J80 class for putting the event together and running it in compliance with these regulations. A fleet…
J80s contesting National honours on Dublin Bay
Howth's Patrick O' Neill and the crew of Mojo were crowned J80 Irish National Champions at the Royal St. George Yacht Club this afternoon after a closely fought seven-race series on Dublin Bay.  14 boats competed from four different Dublin…
Notice Of Race & Entry Form For Next Month’s Dun Laoghaire Regatta Now Online
The Notice of Race and entry form are now available for next month’s Dun Laoghaire Regatta, celebrating the National Yacht Club’s 150th anniversary. This special event, an initiative of all five Dun Laoghaire waterfront clubs, will take place over the…
Stolen National Yacht Club J80 is Rescued on Dublin Bay
A J80 keelboat stolen from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour was the centre of a Dublin Bay rescue story last week that made headlines in The Irish Daily Star!  A thief took the yacht and outboard engine…
The J80 class will join Wave Regatta this September for its national championships in the latest details just announced by Howth Yacht Club. Given the seismic shake-up to the sailing calendar this year, Wave Regatta will certainly be a focal…
Jonny O'Dowd competing in the UK J80 National Championships
The J80 UK National Championships was hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club from 24th to 26th August with racing taking place in Christchurch Bay rather than the Western Solent writes Shane Hughes of North Sails Ireland. The tides are more…
J80 racing at Royal Lymington
Were it not for a 'DSQ' in race three, Dublin Bay helmsman Jonathan O'Dowd of the Royal St. George Yacht Club may well have been further up the podium when racing was cut short at the J80 UK National Championships…
Royal St. George's O'Dowd in Contention for UK J80 Title
After seven races sailed at the UK J80 National Championships Jonathan O'Dowd is six points off the overall lead with two races left to sail today. Racing in Christchurch Bay at Royal Lymington Yacht Club in 5 - 8 knots…
The Irish J/80 Championships will be run over three days and as part of the ‘Sportsboat Cup’ which incorporates racing for other one-design keelboat divisions, including 1720s and SB20s
This year’s inaugural J/80 Irish National Championships will run back-to-back with Howth Yacht Club's Wave Regatta, Ireland’s largest keelboat sailing regatta this year. Some convenient scheduling at HYC means that the Irish Championships take place at the North Dublin club…
The Flying Fifeens are invited to Howth Yacht Club next May for 'Ireland's Premier Sportsboat Regatta'
15 boats are expected to enter the inaugural J80 National Championships when it features as part of the line-up of Howth Yacht Club's Sportsboat Cup next May. The event will run over three days at the end of May, Friday the…
Irish Sailing's J80 fleet has been purchased by the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire
A group of Royal St. George Yacht Club members have 'joined together' to purchase Irish Sailing's ten-year-old J80 fleet on behalf of the Dun Laoghaire harbour Club. The Royal St. George Yacht Club was one of several bidders for the…

About J/80 Sailing

Easy to handle the J/80 is said to be less intimidating, safer and better suited for sailing offshore than other modern sport boats. 

It even has a full-length V-berth and 12-foot-long cockpit.

Thanks to its combination of stability, speed, durability, low maintenance and age-friendly deck layout, the J/80 has proved to be a great club boat around Irish yacht clubs with fleets popular in Dublin on both sides of the Bay at Howth and Dun Laoghaire. 

The key to a racing keelboat is that it holds the attention and interest of many types of sailors, young and old.  The J80 does it all, with thrilling 15-knot rides under spinnaker or relaxed sunset cruises with mainsail only. 

The Irish J/80 Class Association was formed in 2017 to represent owners, sailors, associated clubs and to help develop J/80 racing in Ireland.