The Kinsale Yacht Club’s 2023 cruiser-racing season kicked off on Sunday, March 12th, with the first race of the Frank Godsell-sponsored March League.

On a damp misty day, five boats came out to race on a course set by Race Officer Denis Kieran.

The course largely raced in the harbour, factoring in the inclement weather and the desire to get back in time for the all-important Six Nations rugby match.

Denis Kieran was the Race Officer in the opening races of the Kinsale Yacht Club March League Photo: Dave Cullinane

Class Captain Brian Carroll on Chancer won both Echo and IRC in the cruiser fleet, and Alan Mulcahy’s Apache won ECHO and IRC in the White Sails fleet.

Alan Mulcahy’s Apache competing in the White Sails fleet in the opening races of the Kinsale Yacht Club March League Photo: Dave Cullinane

Two more weeks follow in the March League before the Axiom Private Clients Spring Series starts on 2nd April.

With no racing possible on the final day of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series, the overall win went to Ian Travers and Keith O'Riordan in Outlaw.

There were 15 races sailed and three discards in the 12-boat fleet, leaving Travers and O'Riordan with a 5.5-point winning margin. Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward were second in Allegro.

Third was Club Commodore Matthia Hellstern sailing with Colm Daly in third place.

Unfortunately, there was not enough wind to race on the final day of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Squib winners Keith O'Riordan (left) and Ian Travers in Outlaw were the overall winners of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Fiona Ward and Colm Dunne were second overall at Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Prizegiving Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman 

“Shindig is an old boat, very traditional, down-to-earth, you wouldn’t have the luxury of the super yachts around down here, some of which are massive cruising machines with every gadget known to man, but she suits us perfectly and makes good speed,” Alice Kingston says on the phone from Antigua in the Caribbean which herself and husband, Tony, a former Cork Harbour Pilot, have reached on their voyage from Kinsale.

“From here, we’re going to make our way to Fort Lauderdale. We’ll try and see as many of the islands as we can, probably stopping in St.Barts, St.Kitts and the British Virgin Islands, and we’ll take Shindig out of the water in Florida and then head for home in April sometime. Tony and Alice are members of Kinsale Yacht Club and left their home port a few months back, were crewed by family and friends to Barbados, from where they carried on by themselves.

Alice Kingston at the helm of Shindig in the Caribbean

They originally bought, Shindig, a Swan 40 that is fifty years old and sailed it from the USA back to Kinsale three years ago with their son and daughter. Tony and his brother, George, restored the boat in Kinsale Boatyard.

Apart from using the engine for an hour a day to charge batteries, it’s been all sailing for the couple, using the main and head sail. They have found some areas pretty crowded with boats.

Shindig anchored in Antigua

“At Martinique, there was an 800-berth marina which was full and wouldn’t have space for two weeks,” said Alice on my Maritime Ireland March Podcast, “but we prefer anchorages anyway, and we swim ashore from the boat because you’re advised if possible not to use the dinghy. We’ve used it only twice. We anchor close to shore and swim ashore with our dry bags when we need to, so we’re getting loads of swimming, but the water is warm, thirty degrees, so it’s no hardship. Many boats have water-makers. We are living very simply really on the boat, which is lovely to get back to that kind of living. It shows you can do with so much less,” Alice said.

Listen to Alice Kingston on the Podcast here

With nine races sailed in the Frostbite Series for the Squib Class at Kinsale YC, Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan sailing Outlaw continue to hold the lead on a total of eight points.

Three races, the seventh, eighth and ninth races of the series, were sailed on Sunday, two of which they won and were second in the other.

The top three placings of the 14-boat fleet haven’t changed, since the previous week, after Sunday’s third day of the series. Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro, are second on 14.5 points, having beaten the leading duo into second place in the second race on Sunday last. Still in third place overall are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades, on 23.5 points. In the third race on Sunday, Sean and Paul Murphy sailing Crackers got ahead of the second and third overall boats as they battled to the finishing line. Crackers finished second and is now placed overall on 29 points. Allegro and Fifty Shades couldn’t be separated and shared 3.5 points each at the finish. Two discards have so far been allowed, so the results of seven races are counted in the current results. The leading boat, Outlaw, has won six, been second in another and discarded a third place as its worst result, as well as a 15-pointer penalty when Travers and O’Riordan did not sail in the first race of the series. Racing will continue on Sundays until March 5.

Two Lasers and a 420 formed a mixed dinghy fleet which joined the Frostbite series on Sunday. They sailed three races, all won by Harvey Matthews in a Laser Radial. Four Topper dinghies also began racing. Caoimhe Corkery won all three of their races.

Cinnamon Girl, the two-handed cruiser crew of Sam Hunt and Cian McCarthy, sailed the Squib, Breakaway, to first place in the first race of Sunday’s Custom Rigging Frostbite Series at Kinsale Yacht Club.

This was the second day of racing, but the duo were outpaced in the next two races of the day by Outlaw, sailed by Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan, which has taken over leadership of the Custom Rigging Frostbite Series.

The Breakaway crew finished in fifth and third places in those two races.

With one discard applied after six races, Outlaw leads the league with a total of just seven points.

Second overall are Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro. They had a hat-trick of second places in Sunday’s three races. and now have a total of twelve points. Behind them, placed third on eighteen points, are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades.

The Breakaway crew are placed 9th overall on a total of 37 points.

Last week’s league leaders, Michael O’Sullivan and Micheál O Suilleabháin, did not race on Sunday. Carrying a points penalty applied for not competing, have dropped to 7th of the thirteen boats racing in the league, which continues until Sunday, March 5.

Second overall are Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro. They had a hat-trick of second places in Sunday’s three races. and now have a total of twelve points. Behind them, placed third on eighteen points, are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades. The Breakaway crew are placed 9th overall on a total of 37 points.

See a photo gallery of the series here

2022 was a special year for Kinsale Yacht Club’s St. Stephens Day race for the Gunsmoke Bell Trophy. This year marked thirty years of race sponsorship by long-standing club member Sammy Cohen.

For the nine boats that took part this year, they were lucky enough to sail in perfect sailing conditions for this time of year with blue skies and a steady southwesterly breeze which died at the end, leading some boats to struggle to get to the finish line.

The Race Officer, Denis Kieran, laid a course outside the harbour, and Tom Roche’s Meridian led the fleet out of the harbour and around the course.

Stephen Lysaght, skipper of Reavra Too, accepts the  Gunsmoke Trophy from Sammy Cohen

As the wind died close to the finish off the marina in Kinsale, three boats (Meridian, Reavra Too and Chancer) battled it out for line honours, with all three being just over a minute apart.

In the end, it was Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too that won the trophy on Echo, with Chancer in second place and Meridian in third place.

Maeve Cotter will act as the regatta director for Kinsale's staging of the Dragon Gold Cup in 2024.

Cotter is a former Commodore of Glandore Harbour Yacht Club and the current Rear Commodore of Kinsale YC. She takes up the role with an experienced committee acting alongside her.

The event will run from 6th to 13th of September 2024.

Matthias Hellstern, Commodore of Kinsale Yacht Club, welcomed Maeve commenting, “I have worked with Maeve on a Management Committee level for over 4 years, and I have seen first-hand her ability and dedication that I have no doubt she will apply to this role. As an experienced Dragon sailor, Maeve also understands the class and what is required to make this an exceptional event.”

Kinsale Yacht Club is a long way into its planning of the 2024 event with Astra Construction already on board as the headline sponsor. The Gold Cup is the pinnacle event of the dragon season, and excitement is already mounting in Kinsale following the disappointment of having to the cancel the event in 2020 due to covid.

Dragon racing at Kinsale Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Asked for her thoughts on the role and regatta, Maeve added “I have sailed Dragons since I was a teenager and love the boat and class. My brother Michael campaigned Dragons for many years and my two sons, Daniel and Sean will be racing in the event on our boat “Whisper” so no doubt I will have plenty of suggestions and feedback! We are lucky that Kinsale is such a destination town, with the yacht club located in the heart of it, coupled with the phenomenal race area at the beginning of the wild Atlantic way. It’s really exciting for the Irish class to have such a big event to look forward to ”.

In the time-honoured tradition at Kinsale in West Cork, the end of the season at Kinsale Yacht Club is marked by the Laying Up Dinner. This event allows members to come together to celebrate the season passed and look forward to the upcoming season. This year broke all records with tickets selling out in under three hours, such was the demand from members to attend.

2022 was a very successful year for Kinsale YC, including the inaugural Inishtearaght Race, three boats competing in the Round Ireland Race, two new National Champions this year, and the extremely successful Under 25’s Kinsailor J/24.

The Kinsale initiative is reviewed by Afloat's WM Nixon in an article entitled; Kinsale’s Pace-Setting In Nurturing Ireland’s Young Sailing Talent

Kinsale Yacht Club's inaugural Inishtearaght Race in May Photo: Bob Bateman

Squib Champions

Ian Travers was the Regatta Director for the Squib National Championships, and the event saw 55 Squibs from across the UK and Ireland competing in Kinsale. Ian, along with Keith O Riordan took the Squib Irish National Champion title and now joins Kinsale’s list of National Champions.

Irish Squib National Champion Keith O Riordan (left) and Ian Travers of Kinsale Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Irish Squib National Champion Ian Travers (left) and KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern

Dragon Champions

Former Commodore Cameron Good, along with current Commodore Matthias Hellstern and Henry Kingston took the title of Dragon National Champion at the event in Dun Laoghaire, which had eluded Kinsale YC for 32 years.

Cameron Good, along with current Commodore Matthias Hellstern and Henry Kingston on their way to Dragon class victory at Dun Laoghaire Photo: Afloat.ie

Irish Dragon National Champions Cameron Good, Henry Kingston and Matthias Hellstern with KYC Vice Commodore, Tony Scannell

Under 25’s Kinsailor project

The Kinsailor Under 25 crew from Kinsale Yacht Club had a fantastic year afloat Photo: Bob Bateman

The Club Member of the Year was awarded to former Commodore, Dave O’Sullivan. This award is made annually to someone who has gone to exceptional lengths to further the goals of Kinsale YC. This year’s recipient was given a suggestion which he ran with, putting a lot of time and effort into it. He used his power of persuasion to get others involved and very quickly Dave O’Sullivan had the Under 25’s Kinsailor project up and running and he agreed to be the mentor for the developing team.

Kinsale Yacht Club's Dave O’Sullivan - the under 25’s Kinsailor project mentor Photo: Bob Bateman

With an enthusiastic youthful squad, many of whom attended the Laying Up Dinner, Dave set up a training schedule and fundraising events to be carried out by the squad who he said had to take ownership of the project.

A squad of 14 was put together and training began.

The Kinsailors competing at the J24 European Championships in Howth in late August where they took third overall Photo: Christopher Howell

The boat and crew performed well enough in the midweek series but it really took everyone’s attention at the J24 European Championships in Howth in late August. Despite technical difficulties with a broken mast, the boat finished overall third in Europe separated from first by a single point and the best-performing Irish boat. They certainly left their mark, and hopefully, this was the first successful year of many to come.

David Riome’s Valfeya won Saturday’s third race of the McCarthy Insurance October/November White Sails League at Kinsale Yacht Club in Fleet 1, both IRC and ECHO from John Stallard’s Siboney.

Overall, Valfreya is on six points in IRC, one ahead of Siboney on seven. Michael Carroll’s Chancer is third on nine. 

In ECHO handicap, the same trio tops the league - Valfreya on 5 points, Siboney 8 and Chancer 12.

Fleet 2 IRC leader is Patrick Beckett’s Miss Charlie on 5 points from Sallybelle (Albert O’Neill) 6, with Dominic Falvey’s Swift on 10.

In ECHO, Sallybelle (6 points) leads from Swift and Miss Charlie who are both on 10.

Kinsale skipper Conor Doyle is lying third in class four after the first 24 hours of the Rolex Middle Sea Race. 

The Irish XP-50 Freya from Kinsale Yacht Club was 30 minutes behind the Podesta family’s Maltese First 45 Elusive 2 through the Strait of Messina and is ranked third in class.

On board Freya – the sole Irish boat in the race – is a high-powered crew that includes Kelvin Harrap, Rory Harrap, Will Byrne, Barry Hurley, Nick Jones, Malcolm McCormick, Cian Guilfoyle, James Lyons, Conor Doyle and Nin O'Leary.

The Ireland Freya crew skippered by Conor Doyle from Kinsale ready for the start of the 2022 Middle Sea Race this morning in Valetta harbour includes Kelvin Harrap, Rory Harrap, Will Byrne, Barry Hurley, Nick Jones, Malcolm McCormick, Cian Guilfoyle, James Lyons, Conor Doyle and Nin O'Leary

This time last year, the race reporting was struggling to keep up with the pace of the frontrunners. The Maxi Multihulls had scorched 450 nautical miles of the 606nm course. What a difference a year makes: same or similar boats, polar opposite conditions. The story so far of the 43rd Rolex Middle Sea Race is one of determination and true grit, grinding out the miles one by one, sometimes taking more than hour to do so. Accepting pats on the back and slaps on the face from the wind is par for this edition. The fleet is currently spread between the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily, 220nm along the track, back to just north of Syracuse, a mere 83nm into the race. If it makes for hard watching from the shore, imagine life onboard.

The MOD 70s Zoulou skippered by Erik MARIS and to leeward Snowflake skippered by Frank Slootman in the Rolex Middle Sea Race Photo: Kurt Arrigo

Currently, the MOD70 Mana, just north of Filicudi, is doing just over 7 knots, 2nm ahead of Maserati Multi70. Meanwhile, Zoulou, another MOD70, looks to have dived south towards Snowflake, perhaps to stay in or find better pressure. All four are well north of the rhumb line. The leading monohulls are right among them. The monohull maxi Bullitt, sailing parallel with Maserati at a similar speed, leads the larger Leopard 3 by about 3.5nm. According to the tracker, the French Ker 46 Daguet 3 – Corum – at Stromboli - is leading overall in the battle for the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy under IRC time correction, but this is really just an indication with so much of the race still to run.

Yesterday’s start from Grand Harbour was a foretaste of the 24 hours that would follow. The wind continually dropped in and out. Some boats were able to make fast progress out through the breakwater into open water. For others it was more miss than hit. The 55nm passage north to Capo Passero, on the southeast corner of Sicily, followed a similar pattern among all classes: head northeast out of the harbour for about 20nm before choosing the right moment to turn north to Sicily. Boat speeds went up and down with the wind strength until about halfway across the channel when the five racing trimarans took off, posting speeds in excess of 20 knots. The Maxi Monohulls did their best to keep pace hitting mid to high teens (at least according to the tracker). Mid-size boats also profited from this welcome respite from the light airs.

The relief did not last. While the multihulls kept in good breeze all the way to the beginning of the Messina Strait, which they reached around midnight, the wind dropped across the rest of the fleet as the leading monohulls reached Etna. In the darkness spotting what wind there was from signs on the water became nigh impossible. Sailing into traps seems to have been frequent and being the lead boat on the water was not always the best position.

Chocolate 3, for example, had sailed exceptionally off the start and Bouwe Bekking reported in during the early evening: “It’s a beautiful sunset, and up to now we’ve been sailing a very good race. François (Bopp) did a very good job at the start, wiggling ourselves through that, the crew work was good and, right now, Bullitt, one of the biggest in the fleet, is only one and a half miles ahead of us, so we can’t complain.” A few hours later at 0300 CEST, after making solid progress up the eastern seaboard of Sicily in line abreast with her IRC 2 class competitors, the Swiss boat looks to have hit a hole and had reason to complain. The boats further offshore just kept on moving, leaving Chocolate 3 behind. It has taken much of the day to get back on terms, and the crew will shortly be rounding Stromboli in a pack of other IRC 2 yachts.

Life onboard the fastest yachts in the fleet was easier until halfway to Stromboli. Having negotiated the narrow Strait in relatively good shape, exiting at 0130 CEST on Sunday morning, Paul Larsen reported in at dawn on the approach to Stromboli: “It’s oily calm conditions. We are holding on by our fingernails to a very tentative lead on the good ship Mana. The sun is just rising and behind us we can see Zoulou, Maserati and Snowflake. We are trying to hang on to every little gust we can get, as we glide along at 3.5 knots which, believe me, is hard fought for and very much appreciated.”

Christopher Sherlock's Leopard 3, a Farr 100 is competing in ORC: X, IRC: Class 1 in the Rolex Middle Sea Race Photo: Kurt Arrigo

For a long time, Leopard 3 looked to have the legs on the slightly shorter Bullitt. Their passage up the coast of Sicily was harder than for the multihulls, but easier than for many yachts behind. Reaching the beginning of the 20nm strait at about 0300 CEST, the two did well to get through it in two hours. Then shortly after exiting the Strait of Messina at around 0500 CEST on Sunday morning, Leopard appears to have got into difficulties, coming to a near standstill and losing 5nm to her Italian rival, a gap which has not changed greatly in the intervening hours.

The fight at the front of IRC 3 has been no less intense, with Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard on Maltese yacht Artie eking out a lead over Tonnerre de Glen from France and sistership Ino XXX from the United Kingdom. Just before midnight, off Syracuse, Artie and Tonnerre appeared to get stuck in glue while Ino XXX further offshore kept moving. Artie made better work of the conundrum than Tonnerre, but lost significant ground to Ino XXX. While these two have stretched away from the rest of their class, Artie has not yet been able to claw back lost ground as they approach Stromboli. Ripard and Satariano have done the race enough to know it is not over and if the forecast wind ahead of them is as tricky as it looks, there will be plenty of opportunities.

Yves Grosjean’s French Neo 430,NeoJivaro, also in IRC 3, gave a flavour of the experience so far for most of the crews: “It’s been a long night, we have been done a lot of sail changes… spinnakers, genoas, really everything. There isn’t a single sail we have not tried.”

The night to come does not look any easier, with a light easterly wind forecast for much of the hours of darkness, patchy throughout and diminishing over time. There will be no respite for any of the crews as they work hard to harness every puff and gain any advantage.

DAY 2 CLASS UPDATE 1700 CEST

IRC 1 AT STROMBOLI TRANSIT (12 YACHTS AROUND)
All but two of IRC 1 have passed the northernmost transit. Hungarian entry, Marton Jozsa’s Wild Joe is ahead of Jean Pierre Barjon’s French Botin 65, Spirit Of Lorina, on corrected by only 22 minutes, with Niklas Zennstrom’s CF520 Rán from Sweden a further five minutes back. On the water, Andrea Recordati’s Wally Yacht Bullitt from Italy holds a 3.5nm lead over the Spanish Farr 100 Leopard 3 led by Chris Sherlock, which in turn is 7nm ahead of Wild Joe. All are now sailing west from Stromboli at between seven and eight knots.

IRC 2 AT STROMBOLI TRANSIT (3 YACHTS AROUND)
The German TP52 Red Bandit skippered by Carl-Peter Forster, Eric de Turckheim’s French NMYD 54 Teasing Machine… and Gerard Logel’s French IRC 52 Arobas2 hold the top three spots separated by an hour on corrected time. Meanwhile Hagar V (ITA), Daguet 3 – Corum (FRA), Maverick (AUS) and Chocolate 3 (SUI) are close behind very near to passing the Stromboli transit.

IRC 3 AT MESSINA TRANSIT (5 YACHTS THROUGH)
Only five yachts have made it past the Messina transit. James Neville’s British HH42 Ino XXX holds the lead from Maltese entry Artie, co-skippered by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard, by 23 minutes. Gilles Caminade’s Ker 40 Chenapan 4 (FRA) is in third, three hours off the current pace. Tonnerre De Glen (FRA) and Mahana (FRA) are the other two through. Ino XXX and Artie are approximately 22 nautical miles from their next transit at Stromboli.

IRC 4 AT MESSINA TRANSIT (3 YACHTS THROUGH)
The leading boats on the water in IRC 4 were registering over nine knots of boats speed on exiting the Strait of Messina, but slowed as they entered the open water north of Sicily. The Podesta family’s Maltese First 45 Elusive 2 has made it through the narrow strait and is ranked in pole position after time correction. Philippe Frantz’s French NMD 43 Albator was the first in class to exit the Strait of Messina and is ranked second. Conor Doyle’s Irish XP-50 Freya from Kinsale YC, was 30 minutes behind Elusive 2 through the Strait and is ranked third in class.

IRC 5 AT MESSINA TRANSIT (1 YACHT THROUGH)
Gianrocco Catalano’s Italian First 40 Tevere Remo Mon Ile is the first boat in the class to exit the Strait of Messina and is likely leading by a substantial margin after IRC time correction. According to the tracker, second in class and on the water is Ed Bell’s British JPK 1180 Dawn Treader. Johnathan Gambin’s Maltese Dufour 44 Ton Laferla lies in third in class. A special mention for Beppe Bisotto’s Fast 42 Atame racing two-handed with Catherine Jordan, which is currently fourth in class.

IRC 6
It has been slow going in IRC 6 with most of the fleet due east of Etna having raced less than 100 miles in the first 24 hours. However, a leading pack of four boats has made a significant gain after finding good breeze at around midday. Massimo Juris’ Italian JPK 1080 Colombre leads the class on the water, about 10 nm from the exit to the strait. Maltese J/99 Calypso, skippered by Seb Ripard, is about two nm behind Colombre, but according to the tracker is ranked first by about an hour after IRC time correction. The double-handers Ludovic Gérard’s French JPK 1080 Solenn for Pure Ocean and the American Sun Fast 3300 Red Ruby, raced by McKee and Strum-Palerm, are in a close-fought duel. Solenn is just ahead on the water, but appears behind Red Ruby after time correction.

See live tracker below