Keelboat Champions' Head to RIYC for their Champions' Weekend
This weekend, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October, the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) in Dún Laoghaire will host the Keelboat Champions’ Cup, the second and final stage of the newly formatted Irish Sailing Champions’ Cup.
Following last weekend’s Dinghy Champions’ event at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, attention now turns to the J80 fleet, where Ireland’s top keelboat sailors will race for the coveted title of Champion of Champions.
The new split-format approach, separating dinghy and keelboat racing into two stages, has been well received. The Cork event featured high-level competition and earned strong praise from participants for the revised structure.
And 2025’s line-up proves no exception in terms of quality.
Among the favourites is Ross McDonald, 1720 National Champion and last year’s runner-up in Royal North YC, who returns hungry to go one better this time.
Also joining the competition is a World, European, and National Champion in the J24 class, none other than Cillian Dickson from the highly sucessful team 'Headcase' on the back of their outstanding year.
But the international talent does not stop there! Fionn Lyden, of Baltimore SC and the Team Racing Association, enters the event on becoming a World Sailing Team Racing Championship Bronze Medalist in Newport, Rhode Island earlier in the year. He is also joined by Michael O’Connor, also a Bronze Medalist at the SB20 European Championship's.
From the match racing circuit, Tom Higgins returns as the Match Racing Association’s representative, having won their National Championship for the second year running and placing fifth at the Dublin Match Cup, part of the Match Race World Tour.
Making her Champions’ Cup debut is and also representing IMRA is Emily Riordan from the Royal St George YC. A 29er sailor turned match racer, she brings fresh energy to the competition. Returning for a second year is Nicole Hemeryck, nominated by ICRA. Thanks to the new format, she’ll be joined by her crew from J112E Valentina, the team that helped her secure the nomination.
All racing will take place in identical J80 keelboats, supplied by the Irish National Sailing School, just as they were for the successful Dublin Match Cup two weeks ago.
For updates and results, follow the event webpage and catch all the action on our social channels.