Victory For Royal Irish in Division One as Five ICRA Titles Decided off Kinsale

27th June 2015

#sovscup – Counting four race wins Royal Irish Yacht Joker II (John Maybury) emerged as winner of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association's ultra–competitive division one fleet at Kinsale Yacht club today. It was one of five national championships decided at Kinsale that combined the Irish Cruiser Racing Association championship with the biennial Sovereign's Cup for the first time. Read more about the event here.

The Dublin Bay J/109 yacht with four time Olympian Mark Mansfield onboard was chased hard by May's Scottish Series winner, Fool's Gold (Rob McConnell).

Maybury's Joker 2 was initially challenged by Ian Nagle's Royal Cork YC entry Jelly Baby and then towards the end of the series by Waterford Harbour Sailing Club's McConnell. It gave the Division 1 national championship title to Maybury as well as ICRA's J109 title. In the end, McConnell came within a point of beating Maybury but had to settle for second. The J109s next big event is the Irish National Championships that will be sailed early in July as part of Dun Laoghaire regatta.

Howth Yacht Club's Ross McDonald and the crew on Equinox emerged winners of the Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale after an intensive eight race series in a full range of conditions. The Dublin 32-footer won the 17-boat Division 2 and became the ICRA National champions for the class in addition to the Sovereign's Cup at the four-day event.

McDonald's Equinox was part of a 15-strong flotilla from Howth that featured in the top places of half the racing divisions on the two race courses between the Old Head of Kinsale and the Sovereigns Rocks close to the coast.

(Above and below) ICRA division 2 champion and Sovereign's Cup winner Equinox from Howth. Photo: Alan O'Regan

Equinox won six of the eight races in Division 2, a factor that assisted the decision to award the Sovereign's trophy when Maybury had a matching score but with fewer race wins in a bigger class.

But there was more cause for Howth victory celebrations including Paddy Klyne's Maximus that won the Portcullis Trophy for the best boat on ECHO handicap.

Maximus (Paddy Klyne) from Howth was the winner of the Portcullis Trophy for the best boat on ECHO handicap. Photo: Alan O'Regan

In a continued sweeping up of the results, Richard Colwell and Ronan Cobbes' Corby 25 Fusion - also from Howth YC - won the Division 3 national championship. Tim Goodbody of the Royal Irish YC came close the taking the title but the north Dublin crew recovered from two fifth places on the penultimate day and a race win and fourth place sealed the win.

Division 3 national champion Fusion of Howth (Richard Colwell and Ronan Cobbes). Photo: Alan O'Regan

A Howth YC-owned J24 Kilcullen with an Under 25 crew won Division 4 IRC and is likely to represent the fleet at the annual ISA All-Ireland sailing championships in the Autumn.

The Irish Quarter-ton championship was won by Tony Hayward's Blackfun from Cowes with fantastic scores throughout the event. This championship was held as part of the event with Barry Cunningham's Quest from the Royal Irish YC taking second overall in the five boat class.

ICRA class zero champion WOW. Photo: Alan O'Regan

Meanwhile, George Sisk's WOW from the Royal Irish YC became national champion for Class 0 after hitting form in the bigger breeze of the second half of the series. A win and second place on the final day deposed Norbert Reilly's Crazy Horse from Howth who had led the class for the opening half of the series.

That win came in part from the absence on Saturday of Conor Phelan's Jump Juice from the Royal Cork YC who suffered broken steering gear in race five and was out of action for the day. Second and first places in the final day was not enough to overcome Sisk's performance for the week.

In the two non-spinnaker classes, more boats competed under the ECHO handicap system than under IRC with Kinsale boats topping the standings in both divisions. Anthony and Brian McCarthys' Baccarat won Division 1 counting all top three places in the four race series. Howth's Colm Bermingham won the IRC fleet with three race wins.

In Division 2, straight wins took Windsor Laudan on Demelza from Howth to the podium to collect the overall trophy under IRC and though he led the ECHO stakes early in the series, Kinsale's Dermot Lanigan on Privateer won overall under ECHO, beating clubmate David Riome on Valfreya into second place.

"We were delighted with sailing conditions and competitive spirit in Kinsale Yacht Club over the past four days and many congratulations to all competitors, race management and countless volunteers on and off the water. Special thanks to Cork Co. Council, CH Marine, Anderco, Olimpic Sails and the Kinsale Good Food Circle for their sponsorship and support," said Regatta Director, Mike Walsh. Cork Co. Council was represented by Cllr. Joe Carroll, Deputy Mayor and ICRA was represented by Norbert Reilly.

Results – ICRA Nationals & Sovereign's Cup 2015 Day 4 after 8 races sailed (27th June 2015)

Division 0 IRC

1 WOW George Sisk,(Royal Irish YC)
2 Jump Juice, Conor Phelan (RCYC)
3 Crazy Horse, Norbert Reilly/Alan Chambers (Howth Yacht Club)

Division 0 ECHO

1 Godot, John Godkin (Kinsale YC)
2 Roxstar, Jonathan Anderson, (CCC)
3 Meridian, Tom Roche (KYC)

Division 0 Restricted

1 WOW George Sisk,(Royal Irish YC)
2 Roxstar, Jonathan Anderson, (CCC)
3 Forty Licks, Jay Colville, (East Down YC)

Division 1 IRC

1 Joker 2, John Maybury, (Royal Irish Yacht Club)
2 Fool's Gold, Robert McConnell (Wicklow Harbour SC)
3 Jelly Baby, Ian Nagle, (Royal Cork Yacht Club)

Division 1 ECHO

1 Adrenalin, Joe McDonald (National Yacht Club)
2 Indecision, Declan Hayes (RIYC)
3 Gringo, Tony Fox (NYC)

Division 2 IRC

1 Equinox, Ross McDonald, (HYC)
2 Checkmate XV, DaveCullen (HYC)
3 Harmony, Jonny Swan/James Freyne, (HYC)

Division 2 ECHO

1 Lisador, Henry Hogg, (Garrykennedy SC)
2 Equinox, Ross McDonald, (HYC)
3 Graduate, PJ Barron, (RIYC)

Division 3 IRC

1 Fusion, Richard Cowell, (HYC)
2 White Mischief, Timothy Goodbody, (RIYC)
3 Bad Company, Desmond, Ivers, Deasy (RCYC)

Division 3 ECHO

1 Maximus, Paddy Kyne (HYC)
2 Monkey, Liam Lynch, (Tralee Bay SC)
3 White Mischief, Timothy Goodbody, (RIYC)

Division 4 IRC

1 Kilcullen, (HYC)
2 Quest, Barry Cunningham (RIYC)

Division 4 ECHO

1 Seven Whistler, Rene Wubben (WHSC)
2 White Magic, Donal Harding (Waterford Harbour SC)
3 No-Gnomes, Leonard Donnery, (RCYC)

J109
1 Joker 2, John Maybury (RIYC)
2 Storm, Pat Kelly (Rush SC/HYC)
3 Jelly Baby, Ian Nagle (RCYC)

Quarter Tonner

1 Blackfun, Tony Hayward (Cowes)
2 Quest, Barry Cunnigham (RIYC)
3 Anchor Challenge, Paul Gibbons (RCYC)

White Sail Division 1 IRC

1 Bite the Bullet, Colm Bermingham, (HYC)
2 White Lotus, Paul Tully, (Dun Laoghaire Motor YC)
3 Baccarat, Brian & Anthony McCarthy (KYC)

White Sail Divison 1 ECHO

1 Baccarat, Anthony/Brian McCarthy (KYC)
2 Cimarron VI Dave O'Sullivan (KYC)
3 White Tiger, Tony O'Brien (KYC)

White Sail Division 2 IRC

1 Demelza, Windsor Laudan, (HYC)
2 Loch Greine, Tom O'Mahony (RCYC)
3 Guinness Khan, Caroline Forde (KYC)

White Sail Division 2 ECHO

1 Privateer, Dermot Lanigan (KYC)
2 Valfreya, David Riome (KYC)
3 Demelza, Windsor Laudan, (HYC)

Published in Sovereign's Cup

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