We are pleased to announce that ISORA is now affiliated to ISA

The Results for the Avery Crest ISORA Race 3 is published here.

These results include the latest overall table (after 3 races) and the results for Silver Class, Class 1 and Class 2- and the Club Team Trophy points.

Race 3 Report

Provisional results from yesterday's 55–mile ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead reveal Royal St George Yacht Club J122 Aurelia (Chris & Patanne Power Smith) were winners in a bumper turnout for race three of the 2016 season. Second was former ISORA champion Sgrech skippered by Pwllheli Sailing Club's Stephen Tudor. Third place went to Peter Hall's First 34.7 Adelie of Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club.

The fleet for Race 3 of the ISORA Avery Crest Offshore Series was the largest assembled for many years. 28 boats took part. It is hoped that this number will increase for the next race when 29 boats are expected to return to Holyhead for the 100 mile return leg to Dun Laoghaire on the 28th May.

The weather forecast for the race was not good since the beginning of the week. All indications pointed to a “drifter”. However, a window was spotted by the Sailing Committee that showed easterly winds backing northerly 8-12 knots would prevail from the start to late into the evening. However the “drifter” conditions would form on the west side of the course from mid-morning. With this limited window of opportunity available, the Sailing Committee decided to shorten the course to go direct to Holyhead.

Read more: Race 3 Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead - RESULTS

The Course for the Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead Avery Crest 2016 ISORA (Race 3) race has been announced and is as follows:

• Start (as defined)
• Finish  (as defined)

The largest ISORA fleet since the 1980's is gathering in Dun Laghaire for the first cross channel race of the AveryCrest 2016 ISORA series.

The story is reported in AFLOAT here.

The race entry list extending to 28 boats is available below - over 200 crew!

The race will start at 0800hrs and can be followed on the YB tracker here.

PDF printable copy of the SI's also available here

Another blast from the past - remember some eof the boats in the report and results?

Or A pdf version is available here

Please provide us with copies of any articles or ISORA memorabilia

On the 29th April the National Yacht Club saw a gathering of NYC members who raced in ISORA in the 1980’s. The dinner was attended by over 40 members and guests, representing the Skippers and crew of 6 boats.

Represented there were:

•  “Lightening” – Liam Shanahan Snr
• “Emircedes” – Michael Horgan Snr & Peter Ryan
• “Humphrey Go Kart “- Vincent Farrell
• “Eliminator” - Peter Cullen.
• “Boomerang” – Paul Kirwan
• “Avanti “ - (Brendan Briscoe)

The night was organised by Anita begley who raced on “Avanti”, owned by the late Brendan Briscoe. Anita also raced on “Emircedes” and “Eliminator”.

The dinner was a great social event with amusing anecdotes of taking part in ISORA races being recounted in the many casual after dinner speeches.

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Present Chairman of ISORA, Peter Ryan , reiterated that is was great to see the keen and constant interest in ISORA by those members who sailed in races over 30 years ago. The memories of those incidents that occurred during and after the races years ago, as recounted by those after dinner speeches, was a testament to the future longevity and success of ISORA.

The evening was such a success that there were suggestions that the dinner could become an annual event and involve all previous skippers and crew who sailed in ISORA in the past.

Read more: “Order of the Ancient ISORA”.

Pwllheli P2P race and ISORA race 2   23/4/16
PSC2 – Ynysoedd Gwylan - Causeway Buoy - PSC2

A view from Aquaplane!

Read more: Pwllheli P2P Race and ISORA race 2 report

Race 1

- Dún Laoghaire to Wicklow
- The Results are published here

The provisional results are now published. These results were affected by a protest and a copy of the decission can be found here.

Race 2

- Pwllheli Day Coastal Race
- The results for the Pwllheli Day Race are available here

A great race starting from the traditional Pwllheli start line along the beach to PSC No.2 and then a coastal scenic course to Aberdaron Bay and around Gwylan Islands - then spinnakers up on the leg to Causeway Buoy. Then a hard beat back to PSC No. 2 and then to the new finish line using the Academy bridge.

Jackknife kept her early lead throughout the race for line honours and overall win.

A full race report will be published here when available.

Race 1

The first race in the Avery Crest ISORA Offshore Series 2016 takes place on the 23rd April with the day race from Dun Laoghaire to Wicklow.

As the first race of the season it is anticipated that the selected course will allow boats and crew to ease into the 2016 season while having enough time after the race to sample the hospitality of Wicklow Sailing Club while waiting for the north going tide.

More information here

Race 2

The second race in the Avery Crest ISORA Offshore Series 2016 is the Pwllheli Bay Day Race also on 23rd April. This race will take the fleet along the scenic Welsh Coastline and out into the spectacular and World renowned sailing waters of Cardigan Bay. After racing the crews will retire to the new Sailing Club in the iconic Academy where there will be opportunities to discuss the 2016 offshore campaigns and the challenge to retain the ISORA Team Trophy again this year.

More information here

The time has come again to park all our interests in rugby and other winter sports and turn our attention to Offshore Racing. This year promises to be another great year for Offshore Racing, particularly with the highpoint in offshore racing taking place in June, the Round Ireland Race.

ISORA has always supported the Round Ireland race and this year is no exception. The ISORA race schedule allows boats to gain the experience required by the Round Ireland race organisers between the start of the season and the race itself. I am hoping that this will bring some new boats to take part in ISORA. We understand from the race organisers that there will be some “high profile” boats taking part in the race and there is even mention of a JPK 10.8???

With the help of our Main Sponsor, “Avery Crest”, all races in 2016 will be tracked using the “Avery Crest YB Trackers”. This tracking generates greater exposure of our sport by allowing those on shore to follow the race and get up to the minute information on the placings. We hope to expand the use of the trackers this season to give better coverage at “virtual” marks and more accurate finish times. The use of the YB Trackers has also given a huge boost to the safety aspects of our sport by providing up to the minute locations of every boats taking part. I am actively looking for a volunteer to manage the YB system for ISORA. This shore based work ideally would be carried out by someone who is interested in Offshore Racing but does not take part. If you are interested in this important position, please contact me as soon as possible.

As well as the main “Offshore Series”, there is also the four race “Coastal Series” that we run in conjunction with the Royal Alfred Yacht Club. This is very popular and allows those boats to venture out onto the “blue water” and gain valuable offshore experience. We hope that two of these races will also be run in conjunction with other regattas.

This season we are expecting some of our usual sailors at appear in new boats to the ISORA fleet. We know that there is another  First 40.7 and a Sigma 400 due to appear on the start lines. There are mention of even more J109’s interested in trying the knock our Champion, Liam Shanahan and “Ruth”, off his throne and prevent him from taking the Wolf’s Head for an unprecedented third time in a row.

On the social side, we will be working on providing our usual pre and après race get-togethers.

The main factor that limits boats taking part in ISORA is the inability of boats to crew up with sufficient experienced people. This should not be a problem as there are many very experienced people looking for berths. I would like to try again to provide introductions between Skippers seeking crew and the potential crew. Again, if I could get a volunteer to help me with this work it would be greatly appreciated.

Last, but certainly not least, ISORA needs sponsorship to run the YB trackers while still providing crew buses and social events. Although we have raised the race entry fees to cover some of these costs, they will not cover them all. I am hoping that our present race sponsors will continue but I am actively looking for new race sponsors. I am happy to talk to anyone who might be interested in being associated with this great racing organisation. Everyone can contribute in a small way by purchasing the “ISORA Avery Crest Offshore Series 2016” race series for the YB Tracker app.

I am working on our usual Pre-Season talk for next month. Dermot  Cronin – “Encore” has volunteered to give a talk on his great Rolex Middle Sea Race experience. I also hope to have a talk on the preparation and taking part in the Round Ireland Race.

If you require any information on ISORA please do not hesitate to contact me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Peter Ryan
Chairman ISORA

Volvo Round Ireland Message from Wicklow to ISORA

If it’s an even number year, then it’s a Round Ireland year! This year the Round Ireland Yacht Race is scheduled to start in Wicklow on 18th June at 13:00 hrs; and it’s looking interesting.

First up, Volvo is the title sponsor. The race has had some big sponsors in the past, Cork Dry Gin and BMW for example, but Volvo would seem to be a perfect fit. Allied to their big boat and ocean racing experience, they are also title sponsors for Cork Week and Dun Laoghaire regatta here in Ireland.

Read more: Volvo Round Ireland - Message for ISORA

ISORA 2016 Race Schedule The offshore racing in the Irish Sea just gets better and by working in partnership with our supporting clubs a great series of races has been designed for 2016 to provide something for everyone’s taste.
 
In addition to our traditional cross channel ISORA races we have shorter offshore day and night races on both sides of the Irish Sea.

All races are standalone races with good competition for IRC Class 1 and Class 2 boats. We also cater for the cruiser yachts in the keenly contested Silver Fleet and for the brave a two handed class.

Read more: ISORA 2016

L C Tyres - Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire

Amendment 2

The course has been published as follows:

Start - as defined in the SI's
PSC 2 (P) - 52º 52.400'N 04º 25.580'W This is a yellow racing mark.
Finish - as defined in the SI's