The Frank Keane BMW Royal St. George Yacht Club Regatta brought to a close June's Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Regatta weekends with yet another stunning set of sailing conditions for the two-race racing festival on the first Saturday in July.
Full results in all 28 divisions are downloadable below in a PDF file.
A 10-14–knot south-easterly gradient produced T-shirts and shorts sailing conditions for most of the crews in the cruiser classes and for some of the one design classes too as the heatwave continues across Ireland. Race officer Eddie Totterdell ran the cruiser divisions from DBSC's Mac Lir Committee Boat, Barry O'Neill was in charge of the One Design keelboats onboard DBSC's Freebird and Suzanne McGarry ran the dinghies, Flying Fifteens and Squibs in Seapoint Bay.
Double wins for Frank Whelan's Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera from Greystones Harbour gave the County Wicklow helmsman the Royal St. George Yacht Club Class Zero title. In a hat-trick for the former pedigree racer 'Holmatro', Whelan adds this to similar victories achieved at the National Yacht Club Regatta (NYC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) Regatta last weekend. Paddy McSwiney's Royal Irish Yacht D-Tox (X35) was second in the four boat fleet with the National Yacht Club's Beneteau 40.7 Tsunami (Vincent Farrell) third on IRC.
Class Zero winner – Frank Whelan's Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera from Greystones Harbour. In a past life, the Judel Vrolijk design was a Cowes Week 2003 winner, a Rolex Fastnet 2003 class winner, an Antwerp Race 2003 and a Gotland Rund Sweden race winner too Photo: Afloat.ie
A first and a third was good enough for Tim and Richard Goodbody to wrap up an impressive 19-boat class one IRC fleet. The first five places went to J109s who dominate one of the Bay's most competitive classes. Second was another father and son combination, John and Brian Hall from the National Yacht Club in Something Else who scored a five and a one. Third was the Howth Yacht campaigned J109 Indian (Simon Knowles and Colm Buckley). Knowles will take up a role next month in The Round Britain and Ireland Race with co-skipper, Conor Fogerty, the Irish Sailor of the Year.
Finishing Fourth overall was the East Coast J109 Champion, HYC Wave Regatta winner and DMYC King of the Bay, Andrew Algeo's Joggerknot. The RIYC boat, helmed for the George regatta by Mark McGibney, took fourth overall. Missing from today's potent class one line up was J109 national champion Storm, the Kelly family's Howth based boat, that is contesting Bangor Town Regatta.
Class One winner – The J109 White Mischief (Tim and Richard Goodbody) took race one by a fine margin after an early tack on to port after a black flag start paid dividends Photo: Afloat.ie
J109 Juggerknot (white spinnaker) and Dear Prudence (black spi) prepare for a gybe and a tight second each (below) in race one Photo: Afloat.ie
John and Brian Hall from the National Yacht Club in Something Else Photo: Afloat.ie
J109 Indian Simon Knowles and and Colm Buckley from Howth Yacht Club Photo: Afloat.ie
The Kirwan Family's Beneteau 36.7 Boomerang (pink spinnaker) takes on a downwind challenge from Paul Barrington's J109 Jalapeno. The pair finished ninth and eighth respectively overall in class one. Photo: Afloat.ie
The First 35 Prima Luce (Patrick Burke) of the RIYC was the Class one ECHO winner Photo: Afloat.ie
Jonathan Nicholson's DBII Red Rhum from the Royal St. George YC. Photo: Afloat.ie
The 12-boat class two division was wrapped up again this month by Howth entries. Wave Regatta Champion David Cullen (Afloat's Sailor of the month for June) sailing his Half–Tonner Checkmate XV took both wins to claim the Royal St. George prize from clubmate Mike Evans in The Big Picture. Third was Anthony Gore-Grimes' Howth-based X332 Dux.
David Cullen's Half–Tonner Checkmate XV from Howth rounds South Bull mark Photo: Afloat.ie
Mike Evans' Half Tonner The Big Picture Photo: Afloat.ie
Nigel Biggs' new Checkmate XVIII Dillon Photo: Afloat.ie
Anthony Gore-Grimes' Howth-based X332 Dux Photo: Afloat.ie
In Class three, and in another regatta haul, Ken Lawless and Sybil McCormack's Cartoon from the RIYC was the winner of a five-boat fleet. Royal St. George's Peter Richardson was second in Dubious with clubmate Starlet (K Byrne) third.
The Beneteau 31.7 race one start Photo: Afloat.ie
Frank Heath and Ivan Schuster in Crazy Horse of the RIYC were the scratch winners in the Beneteau 31.7s with a one and a two scored. Royal St. George National Champion Jean Mitton in Levante was second with two thirds. Chris Johnston's Prospect from the NYC was third.
The Beneteau 21 Chinook (A. Bradley) crew celebrate an RStTGYC regatta class win Photo: Afloat.ie
A. Bradley's Chinook won the eight boat scratch battle in the Beneteau 21 class from P. Kingston's Plan B. Third was Greystones Sailing Club's Pete and Anne Evans in Anemos.
A close finish in the Shipman class Photo: Afloat.ie
Justin Burke (3717) to weather of a bunch of SB20s moments after the start of the second race Photo: Afloat.ie
After the disappointment of fifth overall scored in the SB20 National Championships last weekend on the Bay, Michael O'Connor and his Sin Bin crew were the winners of their own regatta yesterday. The 2017 Corinthian World Champions took the Regatta prize with two straight wins in the eight-boat class that will host its European Championships at the RIYC on the Bay in September.
The Troy McNamara skippered Royal St. George Yacht Club U sail 1720 was third in the Sportsboat class Photo: Afloat.ie
Merlin (I Cummins) from the RIYC was the Sportsboat winner in a seven-boat contest that included some of the waterfront's club-owned 1720s. Andrew Sarratt's Jheeta was second with the RStGYC's Usail 1720 skippered by Troy McNamara third.
The NYC's women on water crew in the club's 1720 Photo: Afloat.ie
Tom Murphy's Flying Fifteen 'fFlagella' from the NYC Photo: Afloat.ie
On the dinghy, Flying Fifteen and Squib course, Niall and Nicky Meagher were winners of a reduced 12-boat Flying Fifteen fleet. Second was DMYC's Neil Colin and Cormac Bradley in Deranged. Third was Chris Doorly's Frequent Flyer.
Howth's David Quinn was the winner of the 11-boat Laser fleet, Ronan Wallace was second and Eoin Delap third.
Masters Radial Champion Sean Craig of the host club was the Radial class winner.
Sean Craig of the host club was the winner of the 8-boat Laser Radial division Photo: Afloat.ie
IDRA 14 Dinghy No 122 (Ascoop & Henning) Photo: Afloat.ie
In the five-boat IDRA 14s, B Murphy was the winner from Ascoop & Henning in the distinctive yellow-hull number 125. Frank Hamilton was third in 140, Dunmoanin'.
Full results in all 28 regatta divisions are downloadable below in a PDF file.
