Close competition at the IRC Middle East Championship in Dubai
by 42N Media 16 Dec 2025 10:42 PST
13-14 December 2025
The 4th annual IRC Middle East Championship delivered two days of hot competition and challenging conditions over the weekend of 13 & 14 December.
Hosted by the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) as the pinnacle event of its Winter Regatta, the weekend of racing attracted the best turnout yet, with 300 sailors racing in 85 boats, including 40 keelboats and multihulls, five SB20 sportsboats, and 40 dinghies.
Race Director Ard Van Aanholt commented: "It was a busy and exciting weekend on the water here in Dubai. The IRC Middle East Championship remains one of the highlights of our sailing calendar, and this year it was made even more special by sharing the race area with the XCAT Powerboating World Championship, adding an extra level of excitement.
"It was a very challenging weekend due to a variety of factors: shifty, inconsistent winds, some strong swell - particularly on Sunday - but the competitors pushed through."
IRC Champions crowned
IRC racing is becoming more and more popular in the UAE, and past competitors keep on coming back for more.
As the owner of Landmark 43, Ivana & Aleks, Chavdar Aleksandrov came to the event with high hopes and expectations. His team duly delivered, winning the IRC 1 division for the fourth successive year and taking overall victory in the IRC Middle East Championships.
"It was a pleasure to be part of the IRC Middle East Championships again, and we're delighted with the result," he said. "I want to say a big thank you to my crew, and I feel like I now have a responsibility to my team to continue the winning streak. The competition was very strong this year, and some interesting wind and wave conditions, with a lot of variation."
Runner-up in IRC 1 was the team on board Clair de Lune Jr, skippered by Gaetan Herve who finished five points clear of third-placed Matrix skippered by David Blackwell.
In IRC 2, first blood went to Mark Nolan's Bluey, but after a third place in that first heat, Kanaloa kicked into gear. Vac Hanemaaijer and his team only finished a matter of seconds ahead of Bluey on corrected time in the next two races, but it was sufficient for Kanaloa to take division victory. "As always, we enjoyed the event - everything was very well organised," said Hanemaaijer. "We're very happy to have won the IRC Division 2 title, finally taking it back after winning it in the first year of the event!"
Bluey finished second in IRC 2 with Chris Record's Rush Knot taking third overall.
Jolly Jumper rises to Coastal Challenge
IRC 3 sailed three short-course races and one long distance coastal course. Demos Stogiannidis and his crew on Jolly Jumper dominated the long distance race, with a winning margin on corrected time of almost 45 minutes in a race that took around three or four hours for most of the fleet to complete in real time. However, Sabien Rietjens' straight set of three wins in the shorter races - along with a second in the long distance - was sufficient to earn overall division victory for JustUs.
"The final deciding coastal race was one where we had to push right to the very end. Conditions became extremely tricky, with almost no wind, a big swell, and adverse currents," said Richard Rietjens, husband of skipper Sabien. "With an advantage of just 53 seconds on corrected time [on third-placed Tiki, skippered by Sally Fleming] after three hours of racing, we were delighted to once again secure the division win — something the entire team is very happy and proud of.
"A special shout-out to Tiki for keeping us company, and congratulations to Ivana & Aleks on their overall IRC championship victory. The IRC Middle East Sailing Regatta was excellently organised by DOSC, both on and off the water. Special thanks to the race committee, who did an impressive job overcoming new challenges in course setting following the introduction of new exclusion zones. It was fantastic to see such a strong overall turnout of boats and sailors on the water."
In the Cruiser Division, Ed Shiffner steered Al Awal to victory ahead of Wanderlust, co-owned by Jon Woodrow and Colin Campbell. Shiffner, Rear Commodore at DOSC and local IRC representative, was delighted to see such a strong turnout in Dubai. "The DOSC IRC Middle East Championship is a highlight of the sailing calendar in the UAE," he said. "It brings together the strongest IRC fleet in the region, pushing sailors to perform at their best and raising the standard of competitive racing across the Middle East."
Sunglasses and Sandstorm
Darren Sheppard, Deputy General Manager of DOSC, added: "With a large and highly competitive fleet across three divisions, the event brought out the very best in sailing skill and sportsmanship. Ashore, we were equally proud to put on a strong social programme. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsor, REVO Sunglasses, we were able to offer some excellent prizes for competitors.
"The evenings were packed with entertainment, featuring three live bands, including the well-known trad band 'Sandstorm', along with live cooking stations, creating a fantastic atmosphere throughout the weekend.
"Looking ahead, next year's championship promises to be even bigger and better, with growing interest already being shown by teams from outside the region."
The next big event of the winter season in the region is the Dubai to Muscat Race, a 360 mile adventure which starts on 31 January 2026.