Volvo Cork Week 2024 entries have been steadily climbing with a huge variety of boats and sailors from Ireland and all over the world expected to be competing at the Royal Cork’s famous regatta from 15-19 July.

The championship fleet boasts a fine array of race boats, including high performance carbon-fibre flyers to Quarter-Tonners.

Racing in sportsboats at Volvo Cork Week will be the 1720 class for the European Championship, the phenomenal Cape 31 class and, new this year, the RS21 keelboat class with boats available for charter.

For those new to racing, or for cruising boats that don’t want to bring a massive crew, the non-spinnaker/White Sail class offers an ideal programme to enjoy. For a unique experience, the Beaufort Cup provides offshore and inshore racing as an inter-services regatta within Volvo Cork Week.

The championship fleets are always a big feature of Volvo Cork Week, with a several well-known names and boats already entered for 2024. Quarter-Tonners already entered include Anchor Challenge, Panic and Diamond. Half-Tonners already entered include 2 Farr, with reigning ICRA Boat Of The Year Swuzzlebubble planning to enter soon.

Visiting boats such as Raptor, Flyover, Meridian, Allig8r and Valentina will have to get the better of local boats such as Ellida, Magnet and North Star if they are to lift the trophies.

There has been particular interest from the Welsh fleet, some of whom will also compete in the Kingstown to Queenstown race as part of the ISORA series. Entries include Impetuous, Faenol and Mojito — the former El Gran Senor. Several entries from Portishead have been received, including ScrumpyJ, Assassin and Ctrl-J.

The level of interest in non-spinnaker/White Sail classes is high, with many skippers keen to experience racing at Volvo Cork Week for the first time. Visiting boats will include Dreamcatcher, Apache, Hansemer and Calero. They will battle local boats including Sweet Dreams, Indulgence, Loch Greine, Morning After and Rosmarina for the silverware.

The RS21 keelboat class is set to make a splash at Volvo Cork Week 2024

Sportsboats

Notable entries for the 1720 European Championship include local boats Zing, Dark Side and Mini Apple, as well as visitors Mo and After Midnight.

The Cape 31 class previously attended Volvo Cork Week as a relatively new keelboat but is now firmly established as the most exciting one-design class in these waters. Volvo Cork Week is now part of the global Cape 31 2024 events circuit. The strong Irish fleet are expecting international competition from all over the world.

The RS21s will be keen to make a mark, as this is the first time the keelboat class will be part of the event. A unique element of this fleet is the availability of charter boats in ready to race condition for the week. These boats will be supplied by the class and managed at the event by Kenny Rumball of the INSS, making this a very attractive package for those that can’t bring their own boats to Cork. Contact [email protected] for more details.

Beaufort Cup

The Notice of Race for the Beaufort Cup has recently been published on the Volvo Cork Week website. The Beaufort Cup is a unique inter-services regatta, hosted by the Irish Defence Forces in conjunction with the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

A number of veteran teams from the USA have expressed interest in joining the competition, along with uniformed service teams from across Ireland and the UK. Any boat owner interested in chartering a suitable boat to one of the teams is encouraged to make contact by sending an email to [email protected].

Accommodation update

Additional local accommodation has been secured and more details are available on the Volvo Cork Week website. Competitors bringing campervans will be accommodated at the Crosshaven Rugby Club, which is provides appropriate facilities and is located around 1km from the Royal Cork Yacht Club. A regular bus service runs from Carrigaline and Cork City which stops directly outside the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Social update

Daily entertainment will be provided at the Royal Cork Yacht Club for all competitors after racing, along with various promotional events and sponsor activities. The Ladies Gala Lunch, which will be hosted in aid of the RNLI, is planned for Wednesday 17 July.

For more information including race documents, marina Facilities, accommodation and the superb social programme, visit www.corkweek.ie.

The ISORA Champion, the J109 Mojito (Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox), won Class One overall of the 23-boat IRC Welsh National Championships on Sunday (May 14).

After seven races sailed at Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Events Centre, the defending champions counted four race wins to be 11 points clear of Andrew Hall's J125 Jackknife, whose last race victory saw him overtake Wilhelmus Batist's Only Magic for the runner-up slot.

The event incorporated the Celtic Championships, IRC 1 and 2 inshore and cruiser racing.

As regular Afloat readers will recall, Mojito won Saturday's 90-mile cross-channel ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli on May 6th and now adds the Welsh IRC title to her 2023 early successes.

In the eight-boat Class 2 fleet, Adam Kyffin's Eazitiger won by two points after eight races sailed from Ian McMillan's Checkmate on 11. Third was Chris Seal's Brainstorm.

Class three, sailing on NHS handicap four, sailed Suspicious Minds, skippered by Gavin Nicholas, won the six-boat fleet sailing on NHS handicap.

All results here

The ISORA Champion, the J109 Mojito (Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox), leads Class One into the final day of racing at the 23-boat IRC Welsh National Championships on Sunday (May 14).

After three races sailed at Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Events Centre, the Pwllheli crew are four points clear of Wilhelmus Batist's Only Magic on nine. Third in the nine-boat fleet is Mike Crompton's Xpletive on ten points.

As regular Afloat readers will recall, Mojito won Saturday's 90-mile cross-channel ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli on May 6th. 

In the eight-boat Class 2 fleet, Adam Kyffin's Eazitiger leads after four sailed from Ian McMillan's Checkmate. Third is Gary Ward's Altima.

Class three, sailing on NHS handicap four, sailed Suspicious Minds, skippered by Gavin Nicholas, leads the six-boat fleet.

After a successful Irish campaign that included wins in the 260-mile K2Q race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour and a Cork Week coastal win in July, the top Welsh J109 returned home to dominate the IRC Welsh National Championships.

The championships were again held at Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Event Centre, with race management by Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club and the Royal Dee Yacht Club. They enjoyed excellent sailing conditions over the three days.

The three-day championship consisted of an IRC class competing for the Welsh National Champion title and a cruiser class racing under the progressive NHC rating system.

The event got underway with a Commodores reception on the deck at Plas Heli on Thursday and a great BBQ party with the Jac Dobson a'r band on Friday evening.

The IRC class enjoyed three days of racing various courses, managed by the RDYC from the Royal Dee committee boat Bacardee, in mainly light north westerly winds.

In form Mojito, fresh from an IRC Coastal class win at Cork Week Regatta, started with a win in race one and continued to win five more races out of the nine races sailed.

Second place was last year's winner Imposter (Richard Fildes), with Darling XX (Stephen Williams) third.

The NHC class enjoyed six races, managed by the PSC race management team from the PSC bridge, around the club's fixed marks and St Tudwals Islands. This class had very close racing with the progressive handicap system working well. Quattro (Avril banks) and Crud y Awel (Pete Driver) tied the class going into the last day, with Quattro (Avril Banks) winning the NHC cruiser class after a fine win in the previous race.

The final day's prizegiving was conducted on the deck at Plas Heli with prizes and trophies presented by PSC Commodore Gerallt Williams and RDYC Commodore Charlie Jones.

The successful Welsh J109 Mojito (Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop) that was crowned K2Q and Cork Week Coastal Class Champion earlier this month on the south coast returns to the east coast of Ireland for the last offshore fixture of July as the favourite in ISORA's for Saturday's ISORA cross-channel race from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli in North Wales.

Up to 11 starters from a pool of 21, including and six from Wales, are expected for Race No. 10 in the Musto ISORA 2022 Series and ISORA's sixth offshore race.

Royal St. George Swan 60, Lee Overlay Partners is expected to make her ISORA debut and the Northern Ireland yacht Excession from Belfast Lough is also slated to compete.

Samatom, the Grand Soleil 44, owned By Bob Rendell from Howth is racing to Pwllheli

From 0800 hours, starting from Dun Laoghaire Harbour the fleet will sail to South Arklow to finish off Pwllheli. 

The course is approximately 120 miles long.

The course is as follows: STARTING LINE at Dun Laoghaire, Muglins Island (S) ISORA Dublin Bay Virtual Mark N53o17.110 W6o00.100 (P), South Arklow Cardinal Buoy N52o40.234’ W 5o58.767’(P) FINISH LINE – at Pwllheli 

Winds are forecast to be westerly at 10 knots with gusts up to 16  at start time.

Entrants for Race No. 10 in the Musto ISORA 2022 Series