Two races in plenty of wind got Royal Cork Yacht Club's Autumn League off to a great start in Cork Harbour today writes Bob Bateman

From a combined fleet of 53–boats, fleets were split into Spinnaker, White Sail and 1720 sports boats (who had three races).

The wind was northwesterly in direction and building so that by 1.30 pm there was over 20–knots.  

Windward-Leeward courses gave crews a chance to get to grips with unruly gennakers!

The Class 1and 2 start line in the first race

Entries for the series came from across the south coast including a Schull–based Sadler 32 and two boats from Waterford Harbour.

Robert Marchant from Dunmore East sailing Fulmar Fever

The spinnaker fleet had five classes with four boats in class zero, including Conor Doyle's new XP44 Freya while his cousin Frank is sailing a new J122E Cara.

Conor Doyle's Freya

Tom MacCarthy's Tony Castro designed Bataleur 88

It appears Alan Mulcahy has changed from Red Bus to a large Beneteau First and is now sailing in White sail. And Tom MacCarthy has gone from Whislin' Dixie to sailing Bataleur 88. An indication of the strengthening breeze was that MacCarthy tore his Genoa in the first race and changed to a smaller jib for the second.

Alan Mulcahy's Moondance

Peter Crowley was PRO with the White Sail Racing run by David O'Brien with Barry Rose in charge of the 1720s. Click here for overall results to date

With just over one week to go to the 2018 Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn Series, things are heating up with good entries from all the south coast clubs including Kinsale Yacht Club, the newly founded Great Island SC, Monkstown Bay SC, Waterford Harbour SC and Schull Harbour SC all with entries in so far.

This year's series will be raced over five Sundays starting on the 30th of September and finishing on the 28th of October, there will be a good mix of laid courses and coastal style courses across the series as well as racing for 1720's on their own course with 3 race per day for the 1720's.

"This year's series will be raced over five Sundays starting on the 30th of September"

The new U25 Academy will also have two boats entered in the 1720 class.

North Sails Debriefing Sessions

We will be running the North Sails video training sessions again this year, with Nigel Young and Maurice O Connell, they will be out on the water videoing the action and relaying their findings when we get ashore after racing, Last year this really helped people improve boat handling, crew work, sail trim and all aspects of race and time management. To allow time for the video to be edited properly and not to delay people after racing there will be no debrief on week one and RCYC will then be doing the first week's racing after racing on week two and so on.

This year will see the introduction of the weekly awards (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) these fun awards will be presented at the debrief sessions each week, based on the findings of the on–the–water coaches.

With three race areas and top quality race management with Race Officers Peter Crowley, Barry Rose and David O Brien, it promises to be another great series. Please get your entry in now to ensure you don't miss out.

Click here for online entry

Cork Week 2018 has been awarded Gold Certification by the International ‘Sailors for the Sea’ Clean Regatta programme with the event sustainability partners MaREI Centre for Marine & Renewable Energy and An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme.

The Clean Regattas programme is the world’s only sustainability certification for water-based events. The initiative helps people run more environmentally friendly events to protect local waters and beyond, raising the bar for ocean health around the world. “We are thrilled to support the Volvo Cork Week in their efforts to educate participants on environmental protection by serving as a model for responsible sailing.”– Robyn Albritton, Sustainability Director, Sailors for the Sea.

"The ocean is in crisis, every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from land"

The ocean is in crisis, every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from land and 40% of the oceans are heavily affected by human activity, including pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, and the loss of coastal habitats.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club implemented a range of Clean Regattas Best Practices to reduce our environmental impact, including the provision of reusable water bottles and hydration stations, compostable food and coffee containers, paper straws, energy conservation, online registration forms, and an information campaign on reducing single-use plastics and marine litter. 

Aoife Deane, Communications & Public Engagement Manager for MaREI commented “Our collaboration with Clean Coasts on supporting Volvo Cork Week in their efforts to run a cleaner, greener regatta represented an important opportunity for us to engage the sailors and members of the public on sustainability issues such as ocean degradation, marine litter and plastics”

A stiff southwesterly breeze with a cloudy sky was the order of the day for the annual Naval Race at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour writes Bob Bateman.

This year the organisers chose a central location in the Harbour close to Whitegate Jetty to start the race. This was to facilitate yachts from Monkstown, Cobh the Naval Squadron and the Royal Cork Yacht Club to participate.

Mo Ghile Mear from MBSC rounding number 8 buoy

Race officer Tom O’ Mahoney sent the eight spinnaker entrants to Number eight Buoy on to Ringabella, back into the harbour before going to East Ferry and finishing at the Signal Tower on the Base with finger food and refreshments served in the Mess on Haulbowline Island.

The White Sail start

The white sail fleet of 20 yachts had a similar course except the leg up to East Ferry was omitted.

Royal Cork's under 25 team

Pat Vaughan's Aramis

Ria Lyden's Ellida

Relativity from Cove Sailing Club

Photographer Bob Bateman captured the sailing cruiser and mixed dinghy action in Cork Harbour during Royal Cork's 'At Home' Regatta 2018 last weekend.

A nice southwesterly sea breeze filled in on Saturday for the opening day of the Royal Cork “At Home” sponsored by Mater Private.

RCYC Rear Admiral (Keelboats) Kieran O’Connell did the honours as race officer for the Cruiser classes.

Colin Morehead, RCYC Vice Admiral, sailing “Bene Baby"

Setting a windward mark off the entrance to Cork Harbour and using navigation buoys for the gybe and leeward marks and this, coupled with starting the white sail fleet first, meant that all the fleets were in close proximity to each other.

George Radley’s “Cortegada” off Roches Point

Meanwhile, on the Curlane Bank. the dinghies sailed and it was nice to see some of the younger competitors sailing their first 'real' race having completed the sailing courses during the summer holidays.

Brian Jones (Rear Admiral Dinghies) sailing his J109 “Jelly Baby”

Paul and Deirdre Tingle’s “Alpaca”

“Bad Company “ (Deasy Ivers Desmond) avoid a lone fisherman off Roches Point

The National 18s sailed their own course also on the bank. And it all provided a colourful spectacle.

National 18s on the Curlane Bank course

Sunday turned out grey and much windier.

The wind was very flukey and a large lop met the keelboat fleet. On the dinghy course some of the younger competitors were brought out on the Committee boat, from there they got to watch the RS 200s, Fevas and other classes at high speed with the occasional capsize of course.

On return to shore it was time to enjoy the Ladies Afternoon Tea, Crab Fishing, The Admirals “Boules” match and the hotly contested Tug of War. The under twelve girls won albeit with a bit of help from some large helpers used to grinding winches....

Scroll down his gallery of images below

Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour has been celebrating the homecoming of the long-lost portrait of John ‘The Magnificent’ Smith Barry which has been jointly acquired by both Fota House, in collaboration with the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) when it was auctioned at Chiswick’s auction house in London earlier this year.

“We at Fota House & Gardens are delighted to have collaborated with our friends at the RCYC in welcoming home this small but significant painting of John Smith Barry during National Heritage Week”, says Victoria Tammadge, General Manager, Fota House & Gardens. “It is John that we have to thank for giving us the house that we know today as he had a huge impact on Fota House. We look forward to sharing this wonderful piece of Cork’s history at Fota for everyone to enjoy,” she continued. 

Admiral Royal Cork Pat Farnan, Anne O'Donoghue CEO Irish Heritage Trust and Dermot Burns Club Archivist Royal Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

Dermot Burns Club Archivist Royal Cork, Anne O'Donoghue CEO Irish Heritage Trust Victoria Browne Irish Heritage Trust, and Victoria Tammadge, General Manager Fota House and Gardens Photo: Bob Bateman Gavin Deane General Manager of Royal Cork shares a joke with Victoria Tammadge General Manager Fota House and Gardens and Anne O'Donoghue CEO Irish Heritage Trust Photo: Bob Bateman

In the early 1800s, John Smith Barry (1793‐1837) extended Fota House from a hunting lodge with the help of architects Richard & William Morris into the stunning Regency mansion you see today on the magnificent estate on Fota Island. The painting was restored by fine art conservator Justin Laffan and will hang at both Fota House and the RCYC in Crosshaven on an alternate basis.

John was one of five children to his hugely wealthy father James Hugh Smith Barry and mother Ann Tanner (whom James never married). John inherited Fota, however, due to his illegitimate status he could not inherit the title of Earl of Barrymore. John was a very keen sailor and joined the soon to be Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1812. He was made Vice Commodore in August 1833 and Vice Admiral in 1834. His 90-ton yacht Columbine won the King’s Cup at Cowes Week in 1835. In the painting, we can see John in the library of Fota House wearing the RCYC uniform of the time with Columbine in near full-sail in Cork Harbour sporting the RCYC pennant on her main mast.

Admiral Pat Farnan, Royal Cork, Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Thomas Maloney and Anne O'Donoghue CEO Irish Trust.

Since 2007, Fota House is owned and managed by the Irish Heritage Trust, an independent charity, and all proceeds are invested back into the upkeep and restoration of the property. Fota House operates guided tours from 10:00 – 17:00 daily (including Sundays and bank holidays). In 2017, Justin Laffan expertly restored five works from the Fota collection and will restore three more paintings live at Fota House during Heritage Week thanks to the Heritage Council’s MSPI Caring for Collections Grant scheme 2018. 

Royal Cork Yacht Club's 300th anniversary flag bearing the inscription 'where it all began' was hoisted for the first time in Cork Harbour last night during the celebratory black-tie gala dinner for the Beaufort Cup Services competition, underway this week as part of Cork Week Regatta.

Photo gallery by Bob Bateman below

At a 170-guest gala dinner hosted by the Irish Naval Service on Haulbowline Island, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney TD was joined by a second Government Minister, Minister of State Paul Kehoe at the Dept of the Taoiseach and Defence, to launch the celebrations that will see Cork Week 2020 Regatta as an important part of the year-long celebrations in two years time.

The 300th RCYC anniversary flag is hoisted by the Navy Photo: Bob Bateman

Patricia Greene of Volvo (left) with Commandant Barry Byrne, skipper of the defence forces entry in the Beaufort Cup and guests Photo: Bob Bateman

The RNLI Baltimore Beaufort Cup crew Photo: Bob BatemanGuests attend the flag hoisting ceremony Photo: Bob Bateman

The Royal Cork's 300th Anniversary flag flying in Haulbowline Photo: Bob Bateman

With a year to go to Cork Dinghy Fest 2019, the Royal Cork Yacht Club Organising Committee is reaching out to 'all classes' to get in touch and express their interest in hosting a regional event at Dinghy Fest.

While dates are currently being finalised, July 5th - 7th is the current proposal for the multi-fleet week.

This will be the third running of the event which, says organiser Alex Barry, has proven to be 'a big hit both on and off the water'.

As a former All Ireland Sailing Champion, Barry wrote previously on Afloat.ie about the need to inject more fun into dinghy sailing, especially for youth sailors. 

The Cork Harbour dinghy ace said in December 2016, 'friendship is key to keeping Ireland’s youth dinghy sailing classes alive'.

He noted that more needed to be done for over-16s “who just want to have a bit of fun, go to a few events camping, and be with their friends. Read more on this here.

Meanwhile, classes should contact Alex Barry [email protected] or Kieran O’Connell [email protected] for Dinghy Fest 2019 details.

There were two separate starts in Royal Cork Yacht Club's July League sponsored by Ronan Enright Solicitors tonight on the club's course 96 in fine sailing conditions in Cork Harbour writes Bob Bateman.

Sailing as crew on the Half Tonner, Miss Whiplash, the race sponsor Ronan Enright, a former Rear RCYC Admiral, was on board one of 26 boats competing in the light air race.

Two 1720s sportsboats (below) taking part in the in-harbour race are part of an RCYC under 25 development squad and in training for this month's Cork Week Regatta.

A foiling Moth, National 18s, 505s, RS100s, International 14s, made up a wide range of dinghy classes for Royal Cork Yacht Club's Dognose and Miss Betty Trophy races ran jointly on Saturday for all Cork Harbour Clubs.

The Dognose Trophy is open to monohull dinghies with a PY number of 1142 (Laser Radial) or less and the Miss Betty Trophy is open to dinghies with a PY higher than 1142 ­class.

A great day out for both sailors and supporters, after racing the fleet came ashore at Aghada for prizegivings and refreshments.

Bob Bateman photographed the action in our gallery below