Last week's Cork Week regatta incorporated the Irish Cruiser Racer National Championships for 2022 and produced a list of National Champions that reads like a who's who of the Irish cruiser-racer scene.

As previously reported, in IRC 2, the immaculate scoreline of John Maybury's Joker II from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the week's top performance across the six IRC classes. It made the Dun Laoghaire yacht the overall ICRA champion for 2022.

Joker II's crew at Cork were: Bow: Adrian (Jack) Mulligan, Irene Sorohan, and Sarah O'Callaghan, Mast and Nav: Ronan Verling, Pit: Michelle Fitzgerald, Trim: Brian Phelan and Nick Kelly Main and Tactics: Stefano Cherin and Helm: John Maybury.

Joker II on her way to one of nine podium finishes at Cork Week 2022. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Joker II's 2022 season started with a bucket list trip to the Caribbean, and it proved a good warm-up for the season with strong winds and fairly big seas every day.

Initially, Maybury didn't have enough crew available to do Wave Regatta in Howth in early June, but the last-minute availability of a good crew from another boat that had to withdraw made for a last-minute entry. Joker II took some early wins off Ireland's Eye to lead overall after day one, but a non-discardable DSQ in the Lambay Race put paid to any chance of a podium there.

J/109 Joker makes a neat job of the Cruiser One start on Howth Wave's opening day Photo: Afloat

Cork Week was on Maybury's agenda from the start of the season, and the week came together well for the Dublin Bay sailors. 16 IRC Two teams had windward-leeward and round the cans courses over the five days at Cork Week, and Joker II scored four race wins, and nine podium finishes in ten races.

ICRA Overall champions -The Joker II crew at Cork were Bow: Adrian (Jack) Mulligan, Irene Sorohan, and Sarah O'Callaghan, Mast and Nav: Ronan Verling, Pit: Michelle Fitzgerald, Trim: Brian Phelan and Nick Kelly Main and Tactics: Stefano Cherin and Helm: John Maybury Photo: Bob Bateman

The next big event for the Maybury crew is the defence of the J109 National Championship title in September; a crown Maybury has already won five times.

ICRA National Champions 2022 (at Cork Week)

ICRA National Championship Prizes laid out at Crosshaven Photo: Bob Bateman

ICRA Commodore Dave Cullen addresses the National Championship and Volvo Cork Week prizegiving Photo: Bob Bateman

The complete list of ICRA National Champions for 2022 are: 

IRC:

• Class 0 Samatom
• Class 1 Journeymaker II
• Class 2 Joker II
• Class 3 Headcase
• Non Spinnaker 1 Prince of Tides
• Non Spinnaker 2 Shillelagh

Class 0 Samatom

Class 1 Journeymaker II

Class 2 Joker II (and overall winner)

Class 3 Headcase

Non Spinnaker 1 Prince of Tides

Non Spinnaker 2 Shillelagh

Echo divisions:

• Class 0 Alpaca
• Class 1 Jellybaby
• Class 2 Bateleur 88
• Class 3 Illegal
• NS1 Hansemer
• NS 2 Shillelagh

Class 0 Alpaca 

Class 1 Jellybaby

Class 2 Bateleur 88

Class 3 Illegal

NS1 Hansemer

Next year's ICRA National Championships are in Howth from the 1-3^rd September.

A win for Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox's J109 Mojito in July's inaugural 260-mile K2Q Dun Laoghaire to Cork via Fastnet Race, followed by an overall win of the IRC Coastal Division of Volvo Cork Week, is a highlight of the season so far for the visiting North Wales crew.

The K2Q race was a collaboration between the Munster-based SCORA and the Irish Sea ISORA offshore racing associations. As previously reported, was a restaging of the first recorded Irish offshore race of 1860.

"The K2Q race was a real tough one for the crew, both physically leading to the rock and mentally coming away from it, according to Mojito co-skipper Cox. 

The Mojito crew on the K2Q were Peter Dunlop, Anthony Doyle, Dave Jackson, Garrett Kinnane, Sammo Jones, Charlie Hazelwood and Ben Cartwright. At the last minute, Cox was unable to race but rejoined the boat for the Cork Week Regatta.

Only four boats completed the long course version of the race, three of them from Wales.

The Mojito crew on the K2Q were Peter Dunlop, Anthony Doyle, Dave Jackson, Garrett Kinnane, Sammo Jones, Charlie Hazelwood and Ben Cartwright. Cox was, at the last minute, unable to race but rejoined the boat for the Cork Week Regatta Photo: Afloat

K2Q winners - In 1860, It is reported that the race's winner was paid a £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, with sixteen boats racing. In 2022, Mojito was awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world. Photo: Bob Bateman

Mojito's Cork Week Coastal campaign

"I must admit Cork Week has always been a favourite, and there was absolutely no hesitation from our crew when we said we would do it as they all enjoyed the fun there in 2018", Cox told Afloat. 

Twenty-one teams raced in the Coastal Class, which proved to be one of the most competitive classes of the Week. In the early stage, Robert Rendell's Grand Soleil 44 Samatom from Howth YC led the class after winning the Harbour Race by just 32 seconds. Jamie McWilliam's Royal Hong Kong YC team racing Ker40+ Signal 8 was also on the pace. 

In Afloat's Cork Week 2022 race reports, WM Nixon referred to Mojito as the 'Steady Eddy of the Coastal IRC Class' and how the crew upped their game a tiny bit for the final and closest race of the class's Week by bringing their immaculately-maintained ISORA offshore star in first on Corrected Time, which in due course gave Mojito the scoreline for winning the overall title. 

Mojito (GBR9047R) under spinnaker in Cork Week's predominantly light airs Photo: Rick Tomlinson

 "It was amazing to compete against the bigger boats such as Signal 8 and Pata Negra, but as soon as they left the start line, we could barely see them, making it difficult to gauge how we were doing in the race", Cox says. "All we could do was sail as best we could, and amazingly we won the first race".

"A third place on Wednesday, and we realised we were up against an amazing crew on Signal 8, so we'd really have to push to get a good result. We really have to thank our crew for the results as every eye was looking out for wind shifts, wind holes and the inevitable sea breeze", she told Afloat.  

Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox on the podium in Cork Week as Coastal division champions Photo: Bob Bateman

What's Next for Coastal Champion Mojito? 

Mojito continues her busy season, heading back to Dun Laoghaire at the end of the month, racing in the next ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli.

Once back in her home port, she'll compete in the Welsh IRC National Championships (5th to 7th August), followed by Abersoch Keelboat week at the end of August and an ISORA Welsh coastal race. That then sets Mojito up nicely for the last ISORA race of the season, the famous James Eadie trophy race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire.

At the end of the ISORA series, Mojito returns home to Pwllheli Sailing Club to compete in the popular Autumn and Winter series and the Pwllheli Challenge. "We really find that series a great place to train for offshore, especially when the strong south-westerlies kick in on the jet stream', Cox says.

A blaze of Dragons raced at Cork Week with entries from Kinsale YC, Royal St. George YC, Royal Irish YC, and Glandore Harbour YC.

Races were held on the Windward Leeward Course off Roches Point. Cameron Good’s Little Fella from Kinsale YC scored three race wins in a huge variety of conditions to win the Dragon Class.

Cameron Good was the Cork Week Dragon class winner

Peter Bowring’s Phantom from the Royal St. George led after the second day but finished the six race series as runner up. Daniel Murphy’s Whisper from Kinsale YC is third by just a point from Phantom.

Volvo Cork Week Regatta came to a close in Crosshaven on Friday evening. 192 boats took part in the biggest Week for many years, which incorporated the ICRA National Championships.

As Afloat reported this week, racing was held on five different courses for 14 different classes. The 2022 edition of Volvo Cork Week lived up to its billing as a huge celebration of Royal Cork Yacht Club’s signature regatta to celebrate their tricentenary.

See all of Afloat's coverage in one handy Cork Week link here and scroll down for the prizegiving gallery below.

Close to two thousand sailors took part and the Royal Cork’s clubhouse in Crosshaven was buzzing after racing and into the evening.

As predicted, British visitors took their fair share of the IRC silverware, winning Coastal, IRC One and IRC Three divisions. Irish crews, however, topped the podium in IRC Two. Crosshaven RNLI won the Beaufort Cup Inter-Services Cup and there were local victories too in the Dragons, 1720 Europeans and inaugural Cape 31 National Championships.

The Volvo Cork Week Prize Giving was opened by Royal Cork Admiral Kieran O’Connell who commented to huge applause: “On behalf of the Royal Cork Yacht Club and our sponsors and partners, I would like to extend the biggest thanks to every single competitor from near and far that gave their time money and effort to attend one of the most iconic sailing events of 2022. As a competitor, I would offer thanks to all of the seasoned race officers and their teams on all five race courses, which in difficult conditions pulled off an outstanding display of race management.”

Royal Cork Admiral Kieran O’Connell Photo: Bob Bateman

The prizegiving had a number of important speakers not least Una May, the new CEO of Sport Ireland and ICRA Commodore Dave Cullen as well as sponsor David Thomas of Volvo Car Ireland. 

ICRA Commodore Dave Cullen Photo: Bob Bateman

Teams from Ireland, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States enjoyed a full five-day programme of racing both inside and outside of Cork Harbour. Established in 1720, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has an enthralling history as the oldest yacht club in the world.

Una May, CEO of Sport Ireland Photo: Bob Bateman

Bob Bateman's Cork Week Photo Gallery 2022

17 high-performance racer-cruisers had eight races on a mixture of longer round the cans courses and shorter technical windward leeward racetracks during Cork Week 2022 for ICRA National Championships honours.

On Day two, the British J/112 Happy Daize was not even in the top three. However, four bullets and a second propelled the team to the top of the leaderboard. James Chalmers and his Knight Build team racing Happy Daize will be cutting some shapes on the dance floor tonight! Louise Makin and Chris Jones’ J/111 Journeymaker II from the Royal Southern YC finished in second. Nick Burns Royal Hong Kong team racing Mills 39 Zero II, scored their second race win on the final day to secure the final podium position.

The Happy Daize crew Photo Rick Tomlinson
“This is amazing to be honest,” commented James Chalmers, skipper of Happy Daize. “This event has always been on my calendar since I was a kid, so to come here has been just stunning. The team did so well, and our tactician had to be brave in the light airs and make tough decisions. The best thing about the boat is that it is good in all conditions and excellent in others, and this week we have been very lucky with the weather.”

The third edition of the Beaufort Cup attracted teams from Ireland, UK and the United States for the Service Sailing Regatta with the winning crew taking home the Beaufort Cup.

The schedule kicked off with a 120nm race around the Fastnet Rock, followed by three exhilarating days of inshore racing. The top three teams all received thousands of euros in prize money for their chosen charities. The winning team, Crosshaven RNLI, together with funds raised on the Ladies’ Day Lunch at Volvo Cork Week, made over 20,000 euros for RNLI Ireland.

The Nieulargo crew at the Beaufort Cup prizegiving Photo: Rick Tomlinson

The Crosshaven RNLI won the 2022 Beaufort Cup on Annemarie Fegan and Denis Murphy’s Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo. Despite taking line honours in the Fastnet Race, Nieulargo corrected out to fourth after IRC tie correction. However, inshore four wins gave the team victory for the series. Second is the British Royal Navy team racing J/109 Jolly Jack Tar, skippered by David Warwick. In third for the series is the US Marines Team skippered by Peter Quinn on First 40.7 Escapado. Tom Roche’s Defence Force Ireland team on Salona 45 Meridian is fourth. A special mention to the British Army team that won the Fastnet Race in Trojan with a Royal Engineers team skippered by Rob Duke.

The Crosshaven RNLI won the 2022 Beaufort Cup on Annemarie Fegan and Denis Murphy’s Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo Photo: Rick Tomlinson

“It is wonderful to have the teams from Ireland, America and Great Britain all racing together at the Beaufort Cup,” smiled Dennis Murphy. “We can actually see the RNLI Lifeboat from the Royal Cork Yacht Club and we are delighted to have won this, it is a fantastic event.”

Meridian with Minister for Defence Simon Coveney onboard Photo Rick Tomlinson

Irish Defence Minister, Simon Coveney was racing again this year with the Irish Defence Forces team on Meridian. “We started the Beaufort Cup eight years ago; the idea was to bring people in uniform together. Bringing teams together and building friendships through sailing and competition. It has been a great success and we want to keep building it internationally.”

16 teams had windward leeward and round the cans courses over the five days at Cork Week. John Maybury’s J/109 Joker 2 with a team from the Royal Irish YC, is the ICRA class champion.

Joker 2 scored four race wins and nine podium finishes in ten races. Second is Pat Kelly’s J/109 Storm with a team from Howth YC & Rush SC. Third is Barry Cunningham’s J/109 Chimaera with his Royal Irish team.

“We are absolutely delighted, we have had a ball all week,” commented Joker’s John Maybury. “I could not ask for more from my team, they have been brilliant, everyone did their bit. The weather was fantastic, the competition was tough, this has been an absolutely memorable regatta. Thank you so much to the organisers.”

A tightly bunched section of Cork Week's IRC Two division Photo: Mary Malone

21 teams enjoyed nine races on windward-leeward and round the cans courses at Cork Week.

Sam Laidlaw’s Quarter Tonner BLT from the Royal Yacht Squadron Cowes scored seven race wins out of ten to rocket to the class title.

Marcus Ryan’s youth team racing J/24 HeadCase is runner-up just five points ahead of Fiona Young’s Royal Cork Albin Express North Star.

Marcus Ryan’s Irish youth team racing J/24 HeadCase Photo: Bob Bateman

It’s not unreasonable to suggest that there will have been no other skipper in Cork Week sailing to final race victory in a boat designed and built by an ancestor back in 1902 at his family’s own home port, but that was the very clear distinction recorded by Simon O’Keeffe of Schull Harbour SC, racing the gaff cutter Lady Min created in Schull by Maurice O’Keeffe in 1902.

In fact, Lady Min was flying, taking line honours overall in Race 5 ahead of the shiny Dick Carter Tina designs from France – mere striplings of the late 1960s – and the Cork Harbour OD Elsie (Patrick Dorgan).

J J Olu’s 1966 Tina Bilou- Belle Photo: Bob Bateman

Overall, however, the kick-in of the discard enabled J J Olu’s 1966 Tina Bilou- Belle to win on 7pts while Elsie was second on 9, and third on 10 was Dafydd Hughes from Aberaeron with the S&S 34 Bendigedig with Lady Min fourth on 11 in an astonishingly varied lineup of boats.

The Cork Harbour One Design Elsie (Patrick Dorgan) Photo: Bob Bateman

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Back at mid-week at Cork Week, we referred to Peter Dunlop with the J/109 Mojito from Pwllheli as the Steady Eddy of the Coastal IRC Class, and he upped his sold game a tiny bit for the final and closest race of the class’s week by bringing his immaculately-maintained ISORA offshore star in first on Corrected Time, which in due course gave him the scoreline for winning the overall title. 

Peter Dunlop's J/109 Mojito from Pwllheli Photo: Bob Bateman

Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox of Pwllheli Sailing Club are co-skippers of the J109 Mojito Photo: Bob Bateman

As usual, Jamie McWilliam’s flying saucer, the Ker 40 Signal 8, took line honours, but this time the other biggies were looking at his distinctive dished stern (the boat’s, that is) from a much closer distance. 

Jamie McWilliam’s Ker 40 Signal 8 Photo: Bob Bateman

Their performance was such that Michael O’Donnell’s J/121 Darkwood (of more clubs than we could possible list) finished Race 5 second, with Robert Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 Samatom third for Howth with clubmate Checkmate XX, the First 50 campaigned by Dave Cullen and Nigel Biggs, finally getting in the limelight in fourth.

Robert Rendell’s Grand Soleil 44 Samatom third for Howth Photo: Bob Bateman

Checkmate XX, the First 50 campaigned by Dave Cullen and Nigel Biggs to windward of Samatom Photo: Bob Bateman

Paul & Deirdre Tingle’s Alpaca the first RCYC boat in the Coastal Class at fifth on 20 pts Photo: Bob Bateman

Overall it was good for visiting boats, with Mojito 1st (10 pts), Signal 8 second (13 pts), Samatom third (16 pts), Darkwood fourth (18pts) and Paul & Deirdre Tingle’s Alpaca the first RCYC boat at fifth on 20 pts.