Kinsale’s top two-handers Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt with the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl seem to have already put in enough successful sailing in the season of 2022 to fulfil the ambitions of many crews for a whole year. And all that even if now - at mid-June - the Summer itself seems remarkably unenthusiastic about putting in an enduring appearance, whereas a cold and blustery Spring doesn’t realise that it has long out-stayed its welcome.

Back on the 20th May, when the new 240-mile Inishtearaght Race went off from their home port, the two shipmates and their fully-crewed rivals were sailing on what looked like a gloomy March day. And though they found some sunshine off the southwest seaboard while using rock-bound Inishtearaght for the first time as a race turning mark, by the time they got back to Kinsale the murk had closed in again. But the Cinnamon boys scarcely noticed, as they finished second on the water, took a good first on Corrected Time, and rounded out the month of May by becoming the Afloat.ie “Sailors of the Month”.

Job done. Cinnamon Girl back in Kinsale after being round the Blaskets, closing in on winning the Inish Tearaght race overall. Photo: Robert Bateman

But they were only getting going, for like all Sunfast 3300 crews, they’re campaigning the high-profile new boat whose public debut was most adversely affected by the pandemic. For sure, Cinnamon Girl and other hyper-keen Cork and Dublin Bay offshore boats did manage some sport with carefully restricted events like the Fastnet 450 during the easings of the lockdown. Yet these were almost under-the-radar happenings, not at all like the hell-for-leather competition you relish when putting a new boat of clearly great potential through her paces.

Thus this coming Saturday’s SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race from Wicklow has added appeal, with its sense of the last of the restrictions being thrown to the winds. And for the Cinnamon Girl and boys, this past weekend saw the buildup accelerating, with a record-breaking positioning passage from Kinsale to the East Coast in which they were whizzing along for hour after hour at speeds of 15 to 21 knots, even managing to see a sunset – albeit a rather watery one – as they made speed along the Wicklow coast.

(Above) Cinnamon Girl at the weekend, making 15-21 knots on passage from Kinsale to the East Coast

They’re a formidably experienced team. Cian McCarthy – having learned the ropes with Denis Doyle on Moonduster - has raced the Mini Transat. He got fourth in the first leg, but broke the forestay on week one of transatlantic second leg, yet raced on without a forestay for the rest of the crossing - perhaps a first Transatlantic crossing without a forestay. He also won the BT Global Challenge, raced open 40's as well as many Commodores Cup and Admirals Cup, and has five Round Irelands done previously - two of the double-handed.

Sam Hunt is also a Kinsale native, with broad background in dinghies and keelboats. He was the only civilian in the crew on the British Army boat for the last four Round Irelands. Additionally, he’d lots of wins in Match and Team racing, did a 470 Olympic campaign with Gerbil Owens in 2005 - 06, and has also raced with the Mumm 30's on Mammy, and the Melges with Team Barbarians, while logging successful experience in SB20s and 1720s, and racing the legendary Tiamat in IRC and Commodores Cup series.

While this will be Sam’s fifth Round Ireland, it will be his first double-handed, and he and Cian McCarthy seem to be melding as a formidable duo. They’ve optimised their prospects with in-depth input on sails from Nin O’Leary, and now all they need going round Ireland is more of the conditions they experienced this past weekend to made Cinnamon Girl even more of a force to be reckoned with.

Kinsale in the morning, Wicklow sunset in the evening – that’s the sort of passage-making the Sunfast 3300 can achieve when conditions suit.

The rescheduled Offshore Racing Academy Weather Routing Lecture will run this Wednesday 15th June 2022 at 7 pm, just two days before the Round Ireland Race from Wicklow.

Originally it was envisaged to run this programme focusing solely on Expedition and Adrena, however, with the upcoming Round Ireland Race on the 18th of June it has been decided to run this course with a focus on routings for this race and look at other apps and online programs that can also help you achieve superior performance in the Round Ireland race this year.

Kenny Rumball

Weather routing software to be accurate requires a combination of highly accurate computer-generated information including;

• Wind Data Models, know as GRIBS
• Tide and Current information
• Polars
• Accuarate Navigational Hazards

Not only will the lecture cover the software, but it is also equally important to discuss the pitfalls of some hardware options! Kenny will reveal the secret solutions that are tried and tested in the professional offshore sailing scene in France.

The seminar is free to those that have already signed up to this lecture in the past and also the lecture on ‘Getting the most from your Offshore Racing’ but the modest cost of €30 will apply to new sign-ups.

To sign up, please follow this link here

Ireland is among 70 teams from eight different nations that have entered this weekend's Royal Ocean Racing Club Myth of Malham Race.

Irish crews include Michael O'Donnells's team on the J121 Darkwood that are now officially entered for the Round Ireland Race in just over two weeks' time. 

As regular Afloat readers know, O'Donnell is sailing with Michael Boyd, Kenny Rumball, and a crew some of Ireland's top offshore sailors in the 700-miler from Wicklow. The crew first raced this season on Darkwood for last month's Cervantes Trophy. 

Also on Myth of Malham duty this weekend is Dublin Bay's Paul Bradley who swaps his berth on the Cruisers One Mills 33 Raptor for the somewhat larger V70 Telefonica Black, pictured below.

The first start is at 1300 BST from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line on Thursday 02 June.

The course mirrors the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, taking the fleet around notable headlands with complex tides, including Portland Bill and Start Point. The Eddystone Lighthouse, nine miles off the Cornish Coast, is the turning point for the 230-mile race with a finish just outside the Solent. This weekend, celebrations will take place all over the United Kingdom for Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. After IRC time correction, class winners and the overall winner of the Myth of Malham, will have their own cause for celebration.

IRC SZ & Zero

Lance Shepherd's Volvo 70 Telefonica Black will be making its first Squadron Line start for the RORC Season's Points Championship and on paper the pro-am crew have the fastest IRC rated boat. However, Racing in IRC Zero, the favourites for Line Honours must include the long-awaited debut for the Swedish CF-520 Rán 8. Niklas Zennström's Rán Racing team returns to offshore racing with the RORC with a stunning new design. RORC Commodore James Neville will be racing his HH42 INO XXX , a solid performance in the Myth of Malham will put INO XXX into the season lead for IRC Zero. VME Racing's CM60 Venomous is the largest boat in IRC Zero, skippered by James Gair.

IRC One

Jean-Eudes Renier & Rob Bottomley's MAT12 Sailplane and Michael O'Donnell's J/121 Darkwood with a top Irish crew, will both be in action. Both teams are challenging for the season lead in class. Ed Bell's JPK 1180 Dawn Treader returns to racing in the UK after a great performance in the RORC Caribbean 600. In form teams in IRC One include Astrid de Vin's Dutch JPK 1180 Il Corvo, overall winner of the North Sea Race, and Derek Shakespeare's J/122 Bulldog, class winner for the de Guingand Bowl Race. Four British First 40s will be in action including Ronan Banim's Galahad Of Cowes, the London Corinthian Sailing Club's Tango and two entries from Hamble based race training school, Sailing Logic: Lancelot II and Arthur.

Two top UK-based yachts expected to enter June's Round Ireland Race scored significant wins in the UK’s offshore season opener in a race across the English Channel on Saturday.

It's a weekend result that raises the stakes for overall honours in the biennial Irish ocean classic that gets underway in a little over six weeks' time with a quality fleet of more than 40.

The first race of the domestic season for the RORC Season’s Points Championship was a tricky light airs 100-mile dash across the English Channel to Le Havre. RORC Commodore James Neville, racing HH42 INO XXX was the standout performer scoring a hat-trick of wins: The Cervantes Trophy for first overall after IRC time correction, race line honours, and IRC Zero. 

The Cowes boat has declared for June 18s significantly longer 700-mile SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race and with the Cervantes Trophy in the bag, Neville is likely to be very much in contention for the Wicklow race that includes quality ISORA, RORC, Class 40 and Volvo 70 yachts.

Yet to enter the Round Ireland Race but sailing with a strong Irish crew for Saturday's fixture, Michael O'Donnell’s UK-based J/121 Darkwood was second overall and the winner of IRC One.

As Afloat reported previously, Dubliner O'Donnell was joined for the race to France by Irish offshore sailors Kenny Rumball, Michael Boyd, Barry Hurley, and Conor Kinsella.

The Cervantes Trophy Race is part of the 2022 RORC Season’s Points Championship Photo: Rick Tomlinson

The Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier, skippered by Henry Foster was the winner of IRC Two.

Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews racing Sun Fast 3200 Cora had a superb race, taking third overall, and winning IRC Three and IRC Two-Handed.

The Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier Photo: Rick Tomlinson

“It was hard work getting out of the Solent in light shifty conditions,” commented James Neville. “Taking a more easterly line offshore worked well for us, staying in better pressure, and making sure we weren’t swept west on the tide. The crew did a great job concentrating in the cold air. The reaching conditions really suited our four-sail set with the Fro, jib, staysail and main all in the air.”

After the finish of the race RORC racing teams arriving at Société des Regatés du Havre, received nothing short of a spectacular welcome with a carnival atmosphere laid on by the oldest yacht club in France, including a dancing girls cabaret and a sumptuous dinner at the renowned restaurant.

The Cervantes Trophy Race is part of the 2022 RORC Season’s Points Championship, the world's largest offshore racing series comprising of 16 testing races. Every race has its own coveted prize for the overall winner and famous trophies for IRC class honours. The fifth race of the championship is the De Guingand Bowl Race, which is scheduled to start on Saturday 14th May from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line with an overnight race in the Solent and adjacent waters.

Additional race report by Louay Habib

Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Commodore James Neville has confirmed he will be back in Irish waters again this season and racing his Solent-based HH42 INO XXX in June's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race.

As Afloat reported earlier, Neville and his crew embark on their first offshore since the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race this weekend at the season opener to France for the Cervantes Trophy.

RORC Commodore James Neville at the Fastnet Rock Photo: Courtesy RORC

“We are excited to get back racing, it has been a long break, but we have had time to focus on this year,” Neville said. “We will compete in the RORC series including the Round Ireland Race and culminating inshore with the IRC Europeans in Breskens.

The Hudson/Hakes built 42’, a Judel/Vrolijk design, and took line honours and first place in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race IRC One Class.

A top UK-based offshore racer will race this weekend's Cervantes Trophy with a strong Irish crew, which will heighten prospects of a potent Round Ireland Race entry in June.

In a crew list seen by Afloat for Dubliner Michael O'Donnell's UK based J/121 Darkwood leading Irish offshore sailors Kenny Rumball, Michael Boyd, Barry Hurley, and Conor Kinsella are on board for Saturday's 160nm offshore race from the Royal Squadron Line in Cowes across the English Channel bound for Le Havre.

As Afloat reported earlier, over 50 teams are expected at the oldest yacht club in France, Société des Regatés du Havre on Sunday. The race is the traditional opening domestic race of the RORC Season’s Points Championship.

Although there is no entry received so far by Wicklow Sailing Club for Darkwood in the biennial Irish offshore race, Afloat sources say the same crew will also compete in June's RORC's Myth of Malham race before positioning to Ireland for the June 18 circumnavigation.

Michael O'Donnell's J/121 Darkwood was the 2019 Royal Ocean Racing Club Channel Race winner Photo: Paul Wyeth/RORC

As previously reported, Royal Irish Yacht Club skipper Boyd leads the race for a Volvo Car prize in this year's edition of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race, but only three points separate the top four skippers overall.

The prize was to be decided after the 2020 edition of the offshore classic, but that edition was cancelled due to COVID.

According to the race rules, the skipper who has accumulated the best overall points' results on corrected time over the three Round Irelands 2016, 2018 and 2020 will be presented with a brand new Volvo V40 or equivalent at the prizegiving for the 2022 Race.

As Afloat reported back in 2020, the current leaderboard shows Dublin Bay sailor Michael Boyd, a Round Ireland stalwart, who sailed the J109 Jedi in the 2018 race and the Beneteau 44.7 Lisa in 2016 on 16 points overall. Royal Cork skipper Ian Hickey on Cavatina is next on 19 points and shares the same points with Rob Craigie from the Sunfast3600 Bellino and 2019 ISORA Champion Paul O'Higgins, the skipper of the JPK10.80 Rockabill VI, also on 19 points. 

Bob Rendell's Grand Soleil 44 Samatom of Howth Yacht Club is the latest entry into June's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race from Wicklow.

The 2021 Sovereign's Cup Coastal division winner - that also competed in last year's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race -  is the 13th entry of an expected fleet of 60 for the 700-miler starting on June 18th. 

Other recent entries into the Category Two offshore fixture include Irish former round the world yacht, the Volvo 70 Green Dragon skippered by Enda O'Coineen and Conor Ferguson.

Also entered for the circuit is the first of the doublehanded International Class 40s, the Round Italy winners Andrea Fornaro sailing with Round Ireland speed record holder Pamela Lee of Greystones Harbour.

See the entry list here

 The hard work of Wicklow Sailing Club's 2022 Round Ireland Race committee is bearing fruit with the early entry for this summer's race of the new Class40 yacht Influence by Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro.

The VPLP design is the first such Class40 into the race since the 700-miler Irish ocean classic was added to the Class40 International calendar, just one of 25 world-class offshore fixtures on the list.

It's a feather in the cap for organiser Kyran O'Grady who has added the former Irish Volvo 70 Green Dragon last week for the Wicklow startline on June 18. 

It may well be that O'Grady's pioneering efforts at the Paris Boat Show in December 2018 and again earlier last month are finding favour on the continent.

Class40 Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro will race round Ireland

It brings the entry to 12 so far in a race where O'Grady expects over 60 boats given the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to COVID.

The accomplished Fornaro will have competed in April's RORC's Caribbean 600, and May's Normandy Channel Race before coming to Irish waters.

Fornaro is not the first Class40 to have completed the Irish course. As regular Afloat readers will recall, top Figaro sailor Nicolas Troussel in the Mach 40 Corum made a blistering start to the 2018 race. 

Class 40 is a monohull sailboat primarily used for short-handed offshore and coastal racing.

In other Round Ireland race entry news, French skipper Laurent Charmy has signed up the J111, SL Energies Groupe Fast Wave.

The Round Ireland Race is one of 25 world-class offshore fixtures to make it onto the 2022 International Class40 calendar.

Class 40 is a type of monohull sailboat primarily used for short-handed offshore and coastal racing. 

It may well be that SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race Organiser Kyran O'Grady's pioneering efforts at the Paris Boat Show in December 2018 and again earlier this month may yet bear fruit with a bumper international Round Ireland fleet.

The Wicklow race is also on the RORC calendar and as O'Grady is predicting, there is pent up demand for the 700-miler after the 2020 cancellation.

As regular Afloat readers will know, Class 40 are no strangers to Irish waters or Round Ireland itself over the years with top Figaro sailor Nicolas Troussel competing off Wicklow four years ago.

Ireland's varied sailing waters are proving a popular testing ground for the international Class 40 fleet and a burgeoning Irish Mini class too. Evidence of this was in the 2018 Round Ireland Race fleet where the top French double-handed sailing duo were in action. International stars Troussel and Mini Transat Winner Ian Lipinski teamed up to race the brand new Mach 40 'Corum'. They were not the only Class 40 on the Irish race track that year either as three other international entries also lined up.

The 2022 calendar is here

Class 40 Champion Antoine Carpentier crowned

Antoine Carpentier

Meanwhile, Antoine Carpentier (46), a native of South Brittany, has been crowned 2021 Class40 Champion, rounding off what has been a remarkable season. Having scored a number of victories and podium results over the years on the Class40 circuit, Antoine has now taken the overall title for the first time as skipper of his own project on his Mach40.4 Redman, taking over the mantle from 2019 Champions, the Franco-Italian team of Catherine Pourre / Pietro Luciani (the title was not awarded in 2020 due to the lack of races).

The Swiss team of Valentin Gautier - Simon Koster (Banque du Leman) finished second in the overall standings, ahead of third-placed Franco-British sailor Luke Berry (Lamotte Module Creation).

Online entry for the 704-nautical miles SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race will open at midday (UTC 1200) on Monday 24th January 2022 organisers at Wicklow Sailing Club have confirmed.

After cancelling the 2020 race due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 21st edition of this classic offshore event is being planned with relevant precautions in place to ensure a safe experience.

"We were anticipating a fleet of close to 80 boats when we had to cancel our 2020 plans," said Kryan O'Grady, Commodore of Wicklow Sailing Club. "Now that we are learning how to live with Covid-19, there is pent-up demand on top of a surge of interest in offshore racing so a strong turn-out is on the cards."

The course follows the traditional route first contested in 1980 that states "leave Ireland and its islands to starboard" while starting and finishing at the scenic port of Wicklow on the East coast of Ireland.

The Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) is working with Wicklow and fully supporting and promoting the race. ISORA have included the race in their 2022 schedule and will be preparing boats to qualify for the circumnavigation. ISORA will also be providing the tracker service to the race. 

Kryan O'Grady, Commodore of Wicklow Sailing Club

Berthing facilities at the pier and quays close to Wicklow Sailing Club's base will be available while the Royal Irish Yacht Club in nearby Dun Laoghaire will once again act as a second club base for registration and inspection.

The race itself offers both competition and personal achievement for boat owners and crews alike. Growing popularity with sail training centres has already seen many pre-entry enquiries.

Race-winning navigator from 2018 and 2004 Ian Moore has likened the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race as the "Mount Kilimanjaro of Sailing" - a bucket-list opportunity and one of the few full circumnavigation voyages of significant but achievable duration in the world.

"This is a unique race and special in many ways," said Michael Boyd, a regular competitor and past-Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. "It's like a series of races within a race and always a twist or two.

"Aside from the racing, the course itself sails past spectacular coastlines as well as stages into the Atlantic before turning for inshore waters heading to the finishing line."

Starting at 1300 hrs on Saturday 18th June 2022, the event is also well-timed to allow completion of the race in good time to deliver to Crosshaven on the South coast for the biennial Cork Week and special celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Royal Cork YC, the world's oldest yacht club.

Round Ireland Race day at Wicklow Harbour

Entry will be open to IRC-rated yachts of at least 9.15m/30 feet overall and MOCRA-rated multihulls of 9.0m/29.53 feet with prizes awarded in a variety of categories including overall winner under IRC along with line honours trophies for first monohull and first multihull. Two-handed entries, Sailing school and Services entries will also be amongst the prizes.

Full details will be included in the official Notice of Race document that will be published in mid-December 2021.