K25 Team Secures 2nd Place at Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta

14 July 2025
K25 Team Secures 2nd Place at Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta

A New Team's Journey

Formed for the 2025 season, the new K25 team has been steadily building their skills through Wednesday night club racing at Howth, learning their J24 Kilcullen and developing as a cohesive unit. After successfully completing their first regatta at the challenging Lambay event in June – where they handled gusts exceeding 30 knots – the Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta marked their first major away event.

The team sailed Kilcullen across Dublin Bay and berthed at the Royal St George Yacht Club for the weekend, marking another milestone in their 2025 season.

The Crew

Core Team:

  • Fiachra Farrelly (Helm)
  • Archie Malcolm (Mast)
  • Aoibhin Farrelly (Trim)
  • Cian Kelly (Bow)
  • Ciara McMahon (Pit)
  • Ciaran Durnford (Bow)

Additional crew who joined for the four-day event:

  • Faolan Ni Mhurchu
  • Jamie Malcolm
  • Laura Collins

Racing to Win

Competing against nine boats in Class 3, the team demonstrated remarkable consistency and improvement throughout the six-race series. The racing was incredibly close – often decided by mere seconds on corrected time.
Going into the final race, the battle for second place was nail-biting. Kilcullen and Santoku were tied on points, making Race 6 essentially a match race between the two boats. Kilcullen needed to beat Santoku to secure second overall, and they delivered under pressure, finishing ahead of their rivals to claim the position on countback.
Final Results - Class 3 IRC:
  1. Jupiter (Conor Haughton) - 5 points
  2. Kilcullen (K25 Team) - 14 points (won on countback)
  3. Santoku (Daithi O Murchadha) - 14 points
The team's best individual race result was a second place in Race 2 and Race 6, showcasing their potential when everything clicked together.

Looking Forward

The team's next challenge will be the Eastern Championships in Wicklow on August 16-17. Drawing inspiration from their comparison with overall winners Jupiter, the crew has identified several small upgrades for Kilcullen, including lighter sheets for Jib and Spinnaker. To support these improvements, they'll be organizing a fundraising event in August – stay tuned for details!

Congratulations

This result represents a significant achievement for a newly formed team competing at their first major away regatta. The second place finish in such a competitive fleet demonstrates the quality of Howth Yacht Club's youth development program and the dedication of the K25 team.

Well done to the entire K25 team on this excellent result!