Cove Sailing Club in Cork Harbour is holding the Ballinacurra Race this Saturday (24th July) in conjunction with the National 18 dinghy class. 

The last race there was in 2019 but prior to that the 'Ballinacurra Cruising Club' would traditionally have an annual pilgrimage from Royal Cork in Crosshaven to 'Jacko's Bar'.

In part, the in-harbour cruise commemorated the fact that the Midleton pier was the final disembarkation point for the last commercial sailing ship in Cork Harbour.

The harbour channel for Ballinacurra is located near East Ferry but, say, harbour experts, it is slowly getting silted up and now limited to about five feet of draught.

Cove Sailing Club in Cork Harbour is holding the Ballinacurra Race to Midleton this Sat (24th July) in conjunction with the National 18 dinghy class. Photo: Bob Bateman

The channel to Ballinacurra is reportedly marked by plastic milk bottles and other similar buoyage.

Most boats venturing up that way go towards the top of the tide. But, say, locals, "you have to get out of it pretty sharpish or you can get caught".

The Cove Sailing Club race is an open event and Commodore Niall Hawes is keen to spread the news of the weekend fixture. 

The start time is 3 pm near to the harbour's Spit Bank.

There are three classes; class 1, Class Two (dinghies) plus local Rankin dinghies.

The prizegiving will be held outside Jacko's.

More here

Maurice Kidney's Rankin continues to lead the Wednesday Night Dinghy League at Cove SC in Cork Harbour on 7 points from Owen O'Connell.

The latter continues second in another Rankin on 9, with Joe Keenan making up the top trio in his Solo on 15 points.

There are 16 boats in the fleet.

While other clubs have found it a big enough challenge simply resuming sailing in a regulation-compliant way, the 101-year-old Cove Sailing Club in Cork Harbour has also been bringing its new marina on stream, and in addition to resuming club sailing, it staged the first open event of the delayed 2020 season, the Squib Southerns, on July 25th-26th. It has been a superb team effort, but all teams need effective leadership, and CSC Commodore Kieran Dorgan has been providing it in a family tradition - his father Barry was in the same role, while on the water Kieran himself is no stranger to the front of the fleet with his First 36.7 Altair.

Kinsale overnight leader Colm Dunne at the helm of Allegro held off a strong Northern Ireland Challenge to win the Squib Southern Championships at Cove Sailing Club this afternoon.

As reported earlier, 13 boats contested the championships in Cork Harbour but no one was able to overhaul Dunne who counted three race wins on the windward-leeward courses.

Second place after five races sailed in the one-design keelboat competition went to Royal North of Ireland's Gordon Patterson. Third place went to Patterson's Belfast Lough club-mate Peter Wallace, skipper of Toy for the Boys.

Results are here

Bob Bateman's Day Two Photo Gallery below

Colm Dunne and Rob Gill's Allegro from Kinsale Yacht Club leads the 2020 Squib Southern Championships after three races sailed in Cork Harbour yesterday.

Scroll down for Bob Bateman's photo gallery of Day one racing below.

The Cove Sailing Club hosted event is the first on design championships of the season and was sailed over windward-leeward courses on the Eastern Bank of the Harbour.

13 are competing including three Northern Ireland entries and a strong seven boat turnout from Kinsale.

Racing so far has been in light to medium westerly breezes.

Royal North of Ireland's Peter Wallace, on five points, trails Dunne by two points with Dunne's club-mate Ian Travers five points off the lead.

The Championship resumes this morning with a first gun at 10.55

Results are here

The first major Class championships this season and the first in Cork Harbour will go ahead at Cove Sailing Club next weekend. The Squib Southerns will be based at the new Cove SC clubhouse and marina at Whitepoint.

The event and the marina are a big boost for the harbour town. Cobh has long-needed facilities for visiting boats. Several previous attempts to build a marina there failed. Cove Sailing Club, which celebrated its centenary last year, undertook its own project. It was not without difficulties and financial pressures which did create some internal club difficulties. At one stage another club, the Great Island Sailing Club, was formed and organised cruiser racing while remaining club members devoted their attention to getting the marina built. They succeeded, the new marina is now in operation, the clubs have re-united, with Great Island ceasing activities and members back in Cove Sailing Club which is a busy place at present.

Race Officers get the first race away from Cove Island Sailing Club's new marina pontoons Photo: Bob Bateman

There is also a new clubhouse and dinghy sailing is resuming, with training courses also going ahead.

Kieran Dorgan is Cove Sailing Club’s Commodore and is my Podcast guest this week, discussing the developments and the economic boost which the marina will provide to the town of Cobh. I started by asking him about the Squibs Southern Championships next weekend, with racing on Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and 26:

Cove Sailing Club’S first evening league of the season was won by Commodore Dorgan’s Altair, a First 36.7 David Doyle’s Sigma 33, Musketeer, was second and Norman Allen’s Impala, Nadia, third. Twelve yachts raced.

The first cruiser race of the Cove Sailing Club season was started from the brand new Cove Marina in Cork Harbour on Friday, July 10.

Cove Race Officer Brian Curtis got 12 boats away using the marina and the flagstaff at the Naval Base on Haulbowline as a transit.

A downwind start saw most of the fleet hug the Spit Bank to dodge worst of the tide.

The course then featured a run down to Cuskinny 13 mark then out to harbour to 12 before a short beat and a fetch to the finish line.

As Afloat reported previously, Cove Saling Club’s new marina pontoons were put to immediate use with yachts and motorboats occupying the new berths since the opening up of sailing activity on 8th June.

First race photos by Bob Bateman below

Cove Saling Club’s brand new marina pontoons have been put to immediate use in Cork Harbour with yachts and motorboats occupying the new berths since the opening up of sailing activity on 8th June.

Coronavirus restrictions delayed the original expected completion date in April, but the berthing pontoons are fully assembled and connected to the gangway that was installed earlier this year.

New Cove Marina

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Cork Harbour club has also been working on upgrades to its dinghy park facilities including a new meeting room, office and kitchen at Whitepoint in Cobh.

Cove Sailing Club dinghy parking facilities Photo: Bob Bateman

Colm McDonagh has shared images of further progress on Cove Saling Club’s new marina pontoons in time for the opening up of sailing activity from tomorrow, Monday 8 June.

Coronavirus restrictions delayed the original expected completion date in April, but the berthing pontoons are now well into assembly before connection to the gangway that was installed earlier this year.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Cork Harbour club has also been working on upgrades to its dinghy park facilities including a new meeting room, office and kitchen at Whitepoint in Cobh.

What a fantastic addition the @CoveSailingClub marina will be. Really coming together now. @CobhTourism @CobhHarCham @CobhTidy @hashtagcobh2020 @AfloatMagazine @jonathanlee0312 @KENNYTCORK @CathalRasmussen @eucoolroute @royalcork @deshocks @PortofCork pic.twitter.com/cq6n8Gi2gJ

— Cobh Gifts by CMcDonaghPhoto (@C1McD) June 5, 2020

It’s expected the club will shortly provide an update on summer sailing events and courses upon the latest relaxing of restrictions — which allow members within the same county or 20km to visit, and for bigger groups to sail while observing social distancing.

The problem for resuming normal yacht racing is the current limitation on household crewing of boats only. Because the majority of yachts are not crewed solely by one household, racing is impossible under current restrictions. This is reflected in the intentions of two Cork clubs to resume limited racing, for household-crewed boats only, reports Tom MacSweeney.

Kinsale Yacht Club's limited form of club sailing

Kinsale Yacht Club is proposing to start what Club Commodore Mike Walsh describes as   “a limited form of club sailing next Wednesday (June 10) but only for family/ household boats living within 20kms of the club marina. This would include Squibs, Dragons, Cruisers.”

He has told members that this racing “will be limited to white sail only for cruisers.

“All activities are limited to household units. If there is sufficient interest we will continue this league or series of races until July 20. Starting and finishing will be from the club marina.”

The club intends to start its Junior Sailing/training course on July 6, which is likely to run to the end of August in a restructured schedule. The course is fully booked. Further applications will be put on a waiting list.

Loch Greine, owned by Tom, Donal and Declan O'Mahony sailing past Roches Point Lighthouse Photo: Bob Bateman

Cruiser racing in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

Cove Sailing Club's single-handed or single household sailing

Cove Sailing Club in Cork Harbour says it is aiming to resume sailing at the start of July, “assuming government restrictions are lifted at the end of June.”

This also will only be for “single-handed or single household sailing.”

Cove Sailing Club Headquarters Photo: Bob Bateman

The club says it will not be able to run “a full programme of training courses similar to the past 13 years, but will endeavour to plan for a return to sailing courses as soon as safely possible.”