The Royal Irish yacht club in Dun Laoighre was the venue for the Irish cruiser national championships, with over 100 entries split into four classes. CUL8R and ALIG8R made the trip to compete against some of the best sailors in the country.

On Friday there were three windward/leeward races scheduled, Only two were completed due to weather conditions where one second it was 5 knots the next second it there was thunder and lightning and 35 knots of wind, In the first race saw CUL8R off to a good start with an 8th on corrected time, it was ALIG8R first outing with the new crew, they finished up 15th on corrected time, Race 2 saw a huge squall blow across the course taking many victims with it CUL8R was unfortunately one of these, forced to retire due to the fact James Mahon and Dave Switzer were practically standing on the keel. Somehow ALIG8R struggled on and finished 12th. Over night this left Alig8r lying in 13th with Cul8r in 17th and carrying a retirement.

DAY 2. Saw less wind and three trapezoid races were scheduled, RACE 1 was a force 2-3 and both boats had a great race finishing, unfortunately ALIG8R managed to wrap every halyard, the result being that the spiny wouldn�t come down and the jib wouldn�t go up, gear failure also played a big part in the race as everything Marty O�Leary touched on the boat broke (not his fault he pleaded to three very big McKernan brothers), CUL8R finished 8th and ALIG8R 13th, RACE 2 was very close with ALIG8R finishing 6th and CUL8R finishing 7th. RACE 3 saw ALIG8R finally get their act together and stamp their authority on the fleet by having a heart stopping race in which they finished 2nd on the water losing out on line honours by 11 seconds and winning the race on corrected time by miles, An amazing achievement as both boats are 3rd lowest ranked in the fleet and to beat all 31 boats who are bigger and faster across the water, This result left ALIG8R in 8th overall and CUL8R in 12th with still a discard to be counted. The result was celebrated by both crews into the small hours of the night or morning.

DAY 3. Lots in wind and lots of fragile bodies and minds, ALIG8R struggled all in both races especially in the heavy conditions as the First Class 8�s can be very unforgiving in lots of wind and finished 12th in both races, CUL8R thrived in these conditions, finishing 10th. The crews training and last years circuit was starting to shine through, Unfortunately the were caught over the line in the last race and had to count an OCS.

CUL8R finished up in 13th overall and ALIG8R finished in 11th, A brilliant weekend was had by all and both crews have come away learning a lot and knowing were work is needed, Courtown was well represented. Next up is the Kilmeichel regatta both boats are eager to take on Arklow, after that it�s numerous small one-day championships in Dun Laoighre and then Cork Week.

Team CUL8R
Joanne Hall, Martin Mahon, James Mahon, Dave Switzer and John Timmons

Team ALIG8R
Mark McKernan, Brian McKernan, Paul McKernan, Dara McDonagh and Marty O�Leary