The warning-shot has been fired for the future of ICRA National Championships

Last weekend’s annual championship for cruiser racing yachts ended up being a memorable series for mixed reasons that have prompted national organisers to launch a fact-finding exercise in the coming months.

Book ended by fog and near calm conditions on Friday and Sunday, the one day of full racing saw the 70-strong fleet enjoy glorious conditions off North Dublin’s Fingal coast for four good races that for most comprised their series.

With five class champions decided, it was John and Suzie Murphy’s Outrajeous from the host club that ended up being declared the overall winner of the event for their class one national champions.

Weather aside as being beyond anyone’s control, there were many positive takeaways from the Monday.com sponsored regatta organised by Howth Yacht Club.

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The fleet represented some 27 clubs drawn from all coasts of Ireland plus inland lakes also making for a good nationwide cross-section.

While many of these were accounted for by smaller boats on road-trailers, plenty also sailed to the venue by sea.

The J24 class that held its national championship accounted for 20 boats and of these a significant number were part of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) and Irish sailing Under-25 programme that assists clubs in buying the popular keelboat to start programmes for younger crews.

Bigger boats were able to return to their marina berths at low water without running aground, defying predictions about the harbour silting though – certainly the clock is ticking down for dredging work to begin sooner rather than later.

The racing itself was as well organised as ever under international race officer David Lovegrove and his teams and there were positive reports from ICRA officials about quality rather than quantity at the event.

And it is that measure of the turnout that has led to some head-scratching and analysis.

At previous pre-Covid Dublin-based ICRA nats, fleets easily in excess of 100 boats would be the norm. Excluding the J24 fleet this year, 50 actual cruiser racers is a significant drop.

“ICRA is urgently seeking feedback from participants and non-participant alike as to what and when this event should be,” said David Cullen, Commodore of ICRA. “We’re an owner led organisation and we have to respond to what our members are looking for.”

Cullen reckons that this year’s championships typify an overall decline to participation at events that are longer than two days.

However, he also notes that not every event is facing decline and points to healthy turnouts for the Volvo Dún Laoghaire to Dingle Race and Sovereigns Week in Kinsale, both in June.

The ICRA committee have asked Irish Sailing staff to conduct analysis of key data such as Sail number registrations, class bands and participation levels over the past 10-15 years to determine any changes or obvious trends.

Members and crews will also be surveyed to find any nuances in what is generally quite a complex challenge; managing a boat, equipment, crew and competition programmes can be massively demanding.

Previous surveys showed clear support for moving the national from early season to late season but in practice, as the 2023 championships demonstrate it may not be as straightforward a task, mainly because family commitments, annual leave and other factors impact on turnout when only the keenest crews are able to take part.

In turn, with all the other options from more local events on offer earlier in the season, the question of demand for a stand-alone national championship also raises its head.

“Maybe that’s a question that also needs to be answered as well,” says Cullen ahead of the consultation phase in the weeks ahead.

What changes and fixture changes lie ahead remain to be seen. The 2024 venue remains confirmed for the Royal Irish Yacht Club and with a larger Dún Laoghaire fleet more readily available, a return to 100+ boat fleets is more likely.

However, if fleet size is to be the most important measure of an event’s popularity, the warning-shot has been fired.