After a testing series with a full range of conditions, Anthony Gore-Grimes’ X302 DUX from Howth Yacht Club emerged the overall winner of the 2019 Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) National Championships sailed on Dublin Bay. This another class win and overall title taken by X-Drive sails — the third in three consecutive weekends. DUX bested Class 3, which was the largest fleet with 22 boats. She was crowned the overall winner in the 93-boat fleet made up of boats from 20 sailing clubs around Ireland. After seven races, DUX had four firsts and her worst scores were two thirds, one of which was discarded. DUX added three new sails this year to her full UK Sailmakers inventory: a Titanium Liteskin main, an X-Drive Heavy No. 1 and a new .75 oz Matrix spinnaker. UK Sailmakers Ireland’s Graham Curran helped with rig tuning and coaching after the new sails were delivered. A long time UK Sailmakers customer and a consistently good finisher over the years, this is the first time DUX has won a major event since 2013. While Anthony Gore-Grimes is the boat’s owner, his daughter Caroline has been campaigning the boat this year. About the new sails she said, “I have to stop taking to people about them so much; I’m practically dreaming about them.”
Third place in Class 3 was taken by a UK Sailmakers equipped boat, Brendan Foley’s Impala 28 RUNNING WILD as seen above.