Artful DodJer Dominates Kinsale's April Series

Congratulations to Finbarr O'Regan and the crew of Artful DodJer on a superb performance at the Axiom Private Clients April Series at Kinsale Yacht Club, winning all five races in Fleet 1 IRC for a clean sweep of the series.

Racing took place over April and early May in typically challenging Irish coastal conditions, with the opening double-header on 12th April sailed in a lively chop with winds swinging from 7 to 28 knots. Consistency through those shifting conditions is no small feat, and Artful DodJer delivered race after race.

Finbarr O'Regan’s J/109, Artful DodJer. Photos © Bob Bateman Photography.

Finbarr races his J/109 with a UK Sailmakers Ireland inventory, including Titanium mainsail and headsails and Matrix spinnakers. He puts the performance down to getting the setup right from the start: "Having our new UK J2 properly set up with correct rig tension we were able to change gears easily and found that we were very fast in a straight line compared to the other three J/109s racing."

Finbarr O'Regan’s J/109, Artful DodJer, racing with Titanium sails and Matrix spinnakers by UK Sailmakers Ireland. Photos © Bob Bateman Photography.

Downwind, the Matrix A2 spinnaker proved equally effective. As Finbarr explains: "Our A2 Matrix spinnaker allowed us to get very deep with good communication between the helm and trimmer."

Five starts, five wins — a fantastic testament to what the right sails and a well-tuned boat can do in competitive SCORA racing. Well done Finbarr and crew, we look forward to seeing what the rest of the 2026 season brings!

Full series results available here.