(Dublin, Ireland)- The J/crews in Ireland continue to demonstrate their
extraordinary resilience sailing the wild & wooly Irish Sea. The
2015 season was yet another very successful one for the J clan simply
messing around their boats off Dublin, points north and west! Here’s a
report we just received from Maurice O’Connell of North Sails Ireland
about how the J/Navy is doing:“The all-conquering IRC-optimized J/109 fleet in Ireland is showing no signs of releasing it's grip on cruiser-racing in Ireland.
Firstly, the 300 miles offshore classic in June - the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race - was won by Liam Shanahan's J/109 RUTH. In fact, J/Boats took the top four places overall, triumphing against a super-competitive fleet that included Tony O'Leary's Ker 40 ANTIX.
At
the IRC Nationals in beautiful Kinsale on the southcoast in June,
J/109's took 1st, 2nd and 4th in the super competitive IRC 1 division-
led by John Maybury's JOKER II with quadruple Olympian Mark Mansfield
aboard.The J/109 Irish Championships were held during Volvo Dun Laoghaire Week. 12 boats contested the event under the one-design rules. JOKER II again triumphed after a last minute gate mark selection decision saw them take the title in the dying minutes of the last race from Pat Kelly's STORM II.
It was then out to the west coast in August for the annual WIORA inshore series, hosted by Galway Bay SC. Glenn Cahill's J/109 JOIE DE’VIVRE triumphed against the IRC 1 fleet in Galway Bay.
The
annual ISORA offshore series finished in early September in Dublin.
This is an offshore season-long series consisting of long day and
overnight races across the Irish Sea. J/Boats filled the first five
places overall under IRC. RUTH won the series for the second year
running, successfully defending her title after a strong challenge from
Andrew Hall's J/120 JACKKNIFE and Peter Dunlop's J/109 MOJITO. Liam
races with his family and friends and their latest win was celebrated
long into the night in the National Yacht club!The J/24 here continues to attract a loyal championship and IRC following, with the Under-25 "kids" from Howth YC winning the title for the second year running!
The J/80's are continuing to have fabulously close IRC racing on Dublin Bay.
2016 sees a new J112E arriving on our shores and some more J/109’s! Wow, they are multiplying like wild rabbits over here! Hopefully it will be the best season yet! Cheers, Big Mo”
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