IRC Welsh National Championship 2025 - Preview

Spinlock IRC Welsh Championships 2019 © Andy Green / www.greenseaphotography.co.uk

Boats are being prepared for the 2025 season, discussions are now about when the boat will be in the water, first sail, testing new sails, organising crew and boat training.

Well, please remember to add to your itinerary the dates for the IRC Welsh National Championships 2025, hosted by Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club, Royal Dee Yacht Club, and the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Event Centre, here at Plas Heli.

2nd to 4th May 2025 - It is a Bank Holiday weekend!

See Notice of Race

Racing will be for the IRC Welsh Champion title in the two IRC classes.

We welcome the Sonata class, who will race within IRC 2, with those who hold IRC ratings competing for both the IRC title and the Sonata Welsh Championship.

The Championship will also incorporate the IRC J70 Welsh Nationals Championships. So many events in one!

IRC classes will race using our new committee boat, with both windward/leeward and fixed mark courses planned set by our Race Officer Nigel Biggs from HowthYC.

We also have a popular cruiser racer class, racing under the YTC rating system and utilising the club marks and geographical waypoints, managed from the new Pwllheli bridge start line at Gimlet organised by our very popular Race Officer,Robin Evans.

Jury and Results will be with our Event Principal Race Officer Michael Butterfield.

Enter now at www.ircwelshchamps.com/index.php/notice-board/entry-form2025

There will be three days of great racing, daily prize-givings, and shore-side entertainment - we are planning on something special with our sponsor, Gimblet Rock Holiday Park.

We are also hosting a windsurfer event on the same weekend, so the venue will be rocking! There will be something for everyone!

With thanks to our generous sponsors - North Sails, Partington Marine, Rowlands Marine, Firmhelm - there will be amazing prizes.

Berthing

Visiting yachts will be allocated a berth, if requested on the entry form.

For the J70 and Sonata's the craning in will be on Wednesday or Thursday and haul out on Sunday afternoon. This is by prior arrangement and for boats with centre point lift and certified strops.

The code for the bridgehead gate and the free parking areas will be set and circulated prior to the event. Please do not share this code beyond your crew. This is a strict condition of entry and is for the security of your kit.

Please be careful not to leave sails, or kit, on the pontoons and cause a trip hazard for other users, we are able to offer a storeroom over the weekend for life rafts/delivery sails etc - please contact any of the team for further information.

Irish Sea Nations Cup

The IRC Welsh Championship is one of four events counting for the Irish Sea Nations Cup 2025, the new sailing competition that promotes regional engagement.

Organised by the founders of prominent events like the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, the IRC Welsh Championships and the Scottish Series, this cup aims to foster participation across the Irish Sea.

Scheduled for May and July, the Nations Cup will coincide with several major regattas. After the IRC Welsh Championships, the Scottish Series is in Tarbert, Scotland from 23rd to 26th May. The spotlight then shifts to the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta in Ireland from 10th to 13th July before concluding with the IRC Northern Ireland Championships in Bangor on 19th and 20th July.