A mix of English, Welsh, Dun Laoghaire, Howth and Cork yachts lead IRC divisions one to four after today's coastal fixture on the second day of racing at Cork Week. Although leaders have established a points cushion in IRC divisons one, two and three, there is still all to play across the near 100–boat fleet as the biennial regatta enters its half way stage tomorrow morning.

In IRC Zero, the TP52 Gladiator leads a three boat turnout by one point from Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix. In IRC One, the Swansea based Dubois 327 Dark Angel of Tony Ackland continues to lead from East Down's Forty Licks, a First 40 skippered by Jay Colville. Third but on equal points with the Northern Ireland entry is Royal Cork's Jump Juice (Conor Phelan).

There is no change either at the top of the 12-boat IRC 2 division where Royal Irish yacht Rockabill (Paul O'Higgins) now has a ten point lead over Rob McConnell's A35 Fools Gold from Waterford Harbour Sailing Club on 16 points. Third is O'Higgins's club mates Timothy & Richard Goodbody in the J109 White Mischief also on 16 points after four races sailed.

In IRC three, Royal Cork's Paul Tingle was smiling like a Cheshire Cat after today's Coastal Race, as was his wife Deirdre at the helm of X-34 Alpaca. After a race lasting six hours, Alpaca was the top boat in IRC 3 by under three minutes from John Swan's Half Tonner Harmony from Howth Yacht Club.

Home club challenge – Paul and Deirdre Tingle's X-34 Alpaca from the Royal Cork YC. Photo: Tim Wright

“It was fantastic absolutely brilliant, ten knots of breeze hugging the shore line after the start, rock hopping all the way against the flooding tide to Big Sovereign and then kite up all the way back but some rain showers came in and sucked away the wind, which was frustrating but not nearly as much as the finish. As we approached Roches Point the wind just died and we must have put in half a dozen tacks up tide to make the finish. The last hundred metres took over five minutes and we thought we might have lost it there. So to come in and find out we won is just amazing, we will be having a glass in the Royal Cork tonight.”

“The young Dublin lads racing Ireland's Eye Kilcullen are a handful, they never give it up"

In IRC four, Royal Cork's Paul Gibbons, racing the quarter Tonner Anchor Challenge, scored an impressive victory in the Coastal Race winning by nearly an hour.

Anchor Challenge, with Cork Olympian Mark Mansfield onboard, now leads IRC Four, which is proving to be extremely competitive as Paul Gibbons explains: “The young Dublin lads racing Ireland's Eye Kilcullen are a handful, they never give it up. Bad Company is always well sailed and the Sigma 33 SeaHawk will be a handful especially when the breeze picks up, so we are taking nothing for granted but we also have one eye on the IRC European Trophy. I believe that after a few more races, it will boil down to four or five boats that can win it and we want to be one of them. Today in the Coastal Race we knew we had to get a good start, if the bigger boats got in front, we would have found it hard to pass them. Beating up the shore was all about staying high and by doing that e avoided tacking, which slowed some of the other boats down. A big win today but we know we have to keep it up, if we are going to win our class and then who knows after that.”

Racing at Volvo Cork Week continues tomorrow with the Beaufort Cup teams joining the faster IRC boats on the Olympic Course southeast of Roches Point. IRC 3&4 and the Sportsboats will tackle the Slalom Course south of Roches Point, whilst all other classes will race in Cork Harbour.

A black tie Gala Dinner for the Beaufort Cup is being held tonight at the Naval Base. 

See full results here

Cork Week reporter: Louay Habib