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Royal Cork Yacht Club and Royal Cornwall Yacht Club Announce Revival of Falmouth to Cork Race

31st May 2022
The 180nm course will provide competitors with a mix of strategic coastal navigation and challenging open water sailing on the passage between Falmouth and Cork
The 180nm course will provide competitors with a mix of strategic coastal navigation and challenging open water sailing on the passage between Falmouth and Cork

The Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour and the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth, England are delighted to announce that the historic race between the two ports, most recently run in the late ’90s, is to be revived this summer, starting at 2100hrs on 7th July 2022 off Pendennis Point.

THE PRINCE OF WALES’S 300TH ANNIVERSARY TROPHY

In 2022, the overall race winner will be the inaugural recipient of a specially commissioned perpetual trophy donated by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, to the Royal Cork Yacht Club to mark its 2020 tricentenary and recognise the very close relationship between the sailing communities of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Kieran O’Connell, Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht ClubKieran O’Connell, Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club

Commenting on the announcement, Kieran O’Connell, Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, paid tribute to his counterpart at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Commodore Sarah Hancock and the members and volunteers at the RCYC in Falmouth who have been so generous with their support for the race.  He also expressed his deep appreciation to His Royal Highness for his commitment to the provision of an impressive trophy for the race, which will be delivered to Cork in time for the prizegiving.

His Royal Highness, The Prince of WalesHis Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales

Royal Cork Yacht ClubRoyal Cork Yacht Club

Commodore Hancock of the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club said “I am personally delighted to see the race reintroduced as I was on the winning boat in the Falmouth to Cork race in 1984 and I am particularly pleased that the Royal Cork Yacht Club has decided that the winner of the race on this occasion will be the inaugural recipient of the Prince of Wales’s 300th Anniversary Trophy” – noting that His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, is Royal Patron to the Falmouth based yacht club.

Royal Cornwall Yacht ClubRoyal Cornwall Yacht Club

THE COURSE

The 180nm course will provide competitors with a mix of strategic coastal navigation and challenging open water sailing on the passage between Falmouth and Cork.

The race is set to start at Falmouth at 2100hrs on Thursday 7th July and competitors are expected to reach Cork late on Friday night, where they will be welcomed by the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

VOLVO CORK WEEK 2022

It is anticipated that boats and sailors interested in the Falmouth to Cork race may also compete at Volvo Cork Week 2022, the latest edition of the biennial regatta run by the Royal Cork since 1978, which will be held in Cork Harbour from 11th to 15th July. Co-chairman of Volvo Cork Week 2022 and Regatta Race Director Ross Deasy commented that there has been strong interest from Volvo Cork Week entries in this exciting race from Falmouth and, given the attractions of a wonderful new trophy for the winner, he is sure that the standard of the fleet will be high.

Published in Royal Cork YC, Cork Week
Louay Habib

About The Author

Louay Habib

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Louay Habib is a Maritime Journalist & Broadcaster based in Hamble, United Kingdom

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Royal Cork Yacht Club

Royal Cork Yacht Club lays claim to the title of the world's oldest yacht club, founded in 1720. 

It is currently located in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, Ireland and is Cork Harbour’s largest yacht club and the biggest sailing club on the south coast of Ireland.

The club has an international reputation for the staging of sailing events most notable the biennial world famous Cork Week Regatta.

In 2020 RCYC celebrated its tricentenary under its Admiral Colin Morehead.

Royal Cork Yacht Club FAQs

The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world, and celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2020. It is one of the World’s leading yacht clubs, and is in the forefront of all branches of sailing activity. It is the organiser of the biennial Cork Week, widely regarded as Europe’s premier sailing event. It has hosted many National, European and World Championships. Its members compete at the highest level in all branches of sailing, and the club has a number of World, Olympic, continental and national sailors among its membership.

The Royal Cork Yacht club is in Crosshaven, Co Cork, a village on lower Cork Harbour some 20km south-east of Cork city centre and on the Owenabue river that flows into Cork Harbour.

The club was founded as The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork in 1720, in recognition of the growing popularity of private sailing following the Restoration of King Charles II. The monarch had been known to sail a yacht on the Thames for pleasure, and his interest is said to have inspired Murrough O’Brien, the 6th Lord Inchiquin — who attended his court in the 1660s and whose grandson, William O’Brien, the 9th Lord Inchiquin, founded the club with five friends.Originally based on Haulbowline Island in inner Cork Harbour, the club moved to nearby Cobh (then Cove) in 1806, and took on its current name in 1831. In 1966 the club merged with the Royal Munster Yacht Club and moved to its current premises in Crosshaven.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club today encompasses a wide variety of sailing activities, from young kids in their Optimist dinghies sailing right through the winter months to the not-so-young kids racing National 18s and 1720s during the remaining nine months. There is also enthusiastic sailing in Toppers, Lasers, RS Fevas and other dinghies. The larger keelboats race on various courses set in and around the Cork Harbour area for club competitions. They also take part in events such as the Round Ireland Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race. In many far off waters, right across the globe, overseas club members proudly sail under the Royal Cork burger. The club has a significant number of cruising members, many of whom are content to sail our magnificent south and west coasts. Others head north for the Scottish islands and Scandinavia. Some go south to France, Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean. The more adventurous have crossed the Atlantic, explored little known places in the Pacific and Indian Oceans while others have circumnavigated the globe.

As of November 2020, the Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is Colin Morehead, with Kieran O’Connell as Vice-Admiral. The club has three Rear-Admirals: Annamarie Fegan for Dinghies, Daragh Connolly for Keelboats and Mark Rider for Cruising.

As of November 2020, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has approximately 1,800 members.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club’s burgee is a red pennant with the heraldic badge of Ireland (a stylised harp topped with a crown) at its centre. The club’s ensign has a navy blue field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and the heraldic badge centred on its right half.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. The club also hosts many National, European and World Championships, as well as its biennial Cork Week regatta — widely regarded as Europe’s premier sailing event.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has an active junior section with sailing in Optimists, Toppers and other dinghies.

Charles Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club regularly runs junior sailing courses covering basic skills, certified by Irish Sailing.

 

The Royal Cork hosts both keelboats and dinghies, with the 1720 Sportsboat — the club’s own design — and National 18 among its most popular. Optimists and Toppers are sailed by juniors, and the club regularly sees action in Lasers, RS Fevas, 29ers and other dinghy classes.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club has a small fleet of 1720 Sportsboats available for ordinary members to charter.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Club House office can provide phone, fax, email, internet and mail holding facilities for a small charge. Club merchandise and postcards may be purchased. Showers and toilet facilities are available 24 hours a day, free of charge. Parking is plentiful and free of charge. Diesel and petrol are available on site. Marina berths are generally available for a fee payable in advance; arrangements must be made before arrival.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Club House has all of the usual facilities, including bars and restaurant, which are open during normal licensing hours. The restaurant provides a full range of meals, and sandwiches, snacks etc, are available on request.

Normal working hours during the sailing season at the Royal Cork Yacht Club are 9am to 9pm daily. For enquiries contact the RCYC office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club caters for all types of events rom weddings, anniversaries, christenings and birthday celebrations to corporate meetings, breakfast meetings, luncheons, private dinners and more. For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

New members are invited to apply for membership of the Royal Cork Yacht Club by completing the Nomination Form (available from www.royalcork.com/membership) and returning it to The Secretary, Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven Co Cork. Nominations are first approved by the Executive Committee at its next meeting, and following a period on display for the members, and are reviewed again at the following meeting at which any objections are considered.

No; while ordinary members of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are usually boat owners, there is no requirement to own a boat when submitting an application for membership.

The annual feel for ordinary members (aged 30+) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is €645. Family membership (two full members and all children aged 29 and under) is €975, while individuals youth (ages 19-29) and cadet (18 and under) memberships are €205. Other rates are available for seniors, associates and more. All fees quoted are as of the 2020 annual subscription rates.

Memberships of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are renewed annually, usually within 60 days of the club’s Annual General Meeting.
For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

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