Three fishermen were rescued tonight (Sunday 10 April) in gale force conditions by volunteer lifeboat crew from Kinsale RNLI. The 20 metre beam trawler was forced onto the rocks at Moneypoint, at the entrance to Kinsale harbour, around 1800hrs this evening. See Video below.

Kinsale RNLI was launched at 6.10pm and arrived on scene less than five minutes later to find the vessel on the rocks with three-metre high waves breaking over its deck. The experienced lifeboat crew, led by Helm Nick Searls, dropped anchor and veered down, getting within feet of the stricken boat. The three crewmen then entered the water individually and were pulled to safety on board the RNLI lifeboat.

They were brought to Kinsale RNLI station where they were shaken by their ordeal but uninjured. The RNLI lifeboat returned to the scene to monitor the vessel and to ensure the safety of members of the public who lined the shore to watch the incident unfold. With the arrival of the local Coast Guard on the shoreline, the RNLI lifeboat returned to the station.

Kinsale RNLI Helm Nick Searls said: ‘Our priority was to get the crew safely off the trawler, which was complicated by the breaking waves coming over the top of the boat. We needed to manoeuvre the lifeboat in as close as possible to the stricken trawler so that the three fishermen could individually jump into the water to be recovered immediately by the lifeboat crew. The fishermen were wearing lifejackets and the operation to recover all three of them onto the lifeboat was successful.’

The three rescued men lost all their personal belongings and RNLI volunteers issued an appeal to the local community in Kinsale for clothing and shoes for the men. The station also received several offers of accommodation.

With the leaders in both the Squib and Laser fleets away today the Kinsale Yacht Club Frostbite title was up for the taking. There was no wind at all on the course and so the AP was flown. At 11.25am the decision was made to start, wind was out of the West, about 4 – 5 knots. However it soon became apparent that what little wind there was had faded away, with only 1 boat near the windward mark after 20 mins PRO, John Stallard, called for the N flag and the race was abandoned. Thus began the wait...... It was bitterly cold on the water and the laser fleet decided to abandon the racing and the 4 headed back to shore. Not so the Squib Class – with at least two boats in the running they were anxious to get some racing in.
All marks were lifted and the N over A were about to be hoisted when John called “stop”. Eureka – the wind was filling in from the South East. Finally at 12.50pm – after over 2 hours on the water we got the racing underway. Viking Gold, Jeff Condell & Nigel Dann, were held down at the pin end allowing Sedition, Neil Prendeville & Dominic Falvey, and Fagin, Cian & Finbarr O’Regan, clean starts. Sedition sailed a great beat and got to the windward mark first, closely followed by Fagin and Viking Gold. However Fagin and Viking Gold took advantage of Sedition having to go around the spreader mark again and set off down the run. Viking Gold took a lower line than Fagin and had to gybe for the mark, this allowed Fagin to extend his lead. John Stanley & Alastair Christie in Bateleur passed Sedition at the first windward mark and managed to stay ahead to take 3rd place.
The wind was now a steady 8 – 9 knots out of the SE and so at 13.23hrs a second race, this time with 3 laps of the course, got underway. Both Fagin and Viking Gold got caught by tide at the line which slowed their starts. Fagin tacked under Viking Gold and went up the right side of the course while Viking Gold stayed more to the left. Bateleur got a clean start and was following Fagin up the right. Fagin made the windward mark in the lead, Bateleur and Viking Gold were very close but some tactical tacking by Bateleur secured him the mark and he started down the run ahead. Fagin was in clear command of this race and now Bateleur and Viking Gold were battling for 2nd place. Bateleur took the higher line on the run and gybed early, which paid off and he was lifting in to the mark on port at speed while Viking Gold was gybing. This ensured a 2nd for Bateleur and Viking Gold came in 3rd. Fagin had done enough to take the overall title, Allegro came 2nd and Viking Gold was 3rd .
Many thanks from the Fleets to Bruce and June Matthews for not only sponsoring the event but also providing the committee boat, Destiny. To all the volunteers, both on Destiny and on the ribs many thanks from all the sailors who thoroughly enjoyed the event. Looking forward to the season ahead.
The Irish Squib National Championships are on in Kinsale this year. See you all 19 – 21st August for some excellent racing in the waters outside Kinsale Harbour.

The 2016 Kinsale YC Frostbites finally got going today. Strong winds resulted in the cancellation of the first two weeks so the KYC Sailing Committee, under Race Officer John Stallard, were delighted to have three keenly contested races run today. Conditions were perfect for both the Squib and Laser Fleets, 12 – 14 knots of wind out of the north east and flat seas.
10 Squibs were on the start line. Race 1 saw Cian and Finbarr O’Regan in Fagin take line honours with Jeff Condell and Donal Small in Viking Gold 2nd. Viking Gold took the 2nd Race, in slightly more testing conditions with gusts of 22 knots, with Colm Dunne and Rob Gill in Allegro in 2nd place, while in the final race Fagin again excelled and Allegro came in 2nd. Denis and Brid Cudmore in Sensation put in a very solid performance and came in 3rd in all three races.
5 full rig lasers competed today. Daragh O’Sullivan took the first two races with Siofra Guilfoyle in 2nd and Fergal O’Hanlon in 3rd. However the third race saw Siofra pull ahead and he managed to stay ahead of Daragh to take line honours, Gary Horgan came downwind hot on the heels of Daragh. Daragh held his line and rounded the leeward mark ahead of Gary to come 2nd, Gary came in 3rd.

The SMA 60 recovered 100 miles off the Irish coast three weeks ago has been undergoing repairs afloat in the County Cork harbour of Kinsale. The team have been making the round the world yacht seaworthy again and despite of damage to its mechanical propulsion system, the 60–footer is ready to sail again with a new sail wardrobe.

Since Paul Meilhat was airlifted off SMA on 15th December, during the transatlantic Race in which Ireland's Enda O'Coineen finished third, the IMOCA class yacht drifted up from the Azores to Ireland over the past twenty days, during which the SMA team attempted several recovery operations, in spite of some horrendous weather.

The French led recovery crew plan to depart Kinsale for the French port of Port La Forêt next week.

#RNLI - The volunteer crew of Kinsale RNLI launched at 1.20pm on Sunday last (4 October) to assist a swimmer who got into difficulties in the water around Sandycove Island.

Valentia Coast Guard requested the crew to launch their inshore lifeboat after walkers reported a person in difficulty in rough seas. He was quickly brought to safety, assisted by another swimmer and members of the public.

The swimmer said he had been alone but two pairs of shoes were found on the slipway, leading to fears that a second person may be in the water.

Gardaí, the Old Head Coast Guard shore unit and Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 joined the search but no further casualties were found.

Speaking following the callout, Kinsale RNLI lifeboat operations manager John O'Gorman said: "Thankfully this swimmer was helped ashore and made a full recovery but we would urge everyone to pay particular attention to the RNLI's Respect the Water campaign.

"Irish waters are dangerously unpredictable, especially at this time of year. There are over 200 coastal drownings every year. The RNLI aims to halve that number by 2024 and the RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign will play a key role in achieving this.

"We still want you to enjoy the water, but we also want you to respect the water, acknowledge its dangers and never underestimate its power."

The RNLI urges anyone going on or in the water to let someone know where they are and when they will be back, and to carry a form of communication if at all possible.

If you do see someone in trouble, please do not enter the water to assist unless you are a trained lifesaver. Always dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

Only 3.5 points separated the top three sailors after the medal race of the of the junior All Ireland sailing championships off Kinsale this afternoon. Sailed in Topaz dinghies, Peter McCann of Royal Cork Yacht Club won the Championships with Optimist dinghy champion Peter Fagan of Skerries Sailing Club second. Defending champion Harry Durcan, also of Royal Cork Yacht Club, took bronze. Clare Gorman of the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire was crowned Junior All Ireland Girls Champion. Full results downloadable below.

Youth stars: Nicola Ferguson, Clare Gorman, Peter McCann and Jamie Venner

#sailability – The yachts going round Ireland flying the flag for Sailability are berthed in Kinsale, the half way mark, where a crew change will take place before heading west continuing to Galway, Killybegs and return to Greencastle on Friday, July 10.

Their journey to date has been a mixed bag of fair winds, gales, thunder and lightning! However, the sun came out in each of the stopovers where they were able to enjoy the hospitality and welcome at the Sailability centre in Carrickfergus, Carlingford and Dun Laoghaire.

A New Boat for Foyle Sailability
In Carrickfergus, Belfast Lough Sailability donated a Squip dinghy to Foyle Sailability. Bob Harwood of BLS, said, 'This was our first dinghy when we started 15 years ago. It helped us to get started and today we now have a fleet of boats which serve our purpose. We are thrilled that Foyle Sailability members took on this Round Ireland challenge to raise awareness of Sailability, and hope that this dinghy will serve them as well as it served us­.

'We are overwhelmed at this very generous gesture and appreciate the welcome we have received here today', said Garry Crothers, skipper of Kind of Blue, and Foyle Sailability member.

Garry, added, 'Our journey so far has been hard going but very enjoyable and meeting Sailability members in each of the centres has been the highlight. The welcome and hospitality we have received has been first class and each of us have made new friends and strong links have been established with other Sailability centres.'

The yachts will depart Kinsale today and continue to Galway.

#j109 – Perhaps the fact J109s race for IRC handicap honours as part of the ICRA national championships and separately for the class national championship title may have contributed to wires getting crossed at last weekend's Sovereign's Cup and ICRA Nationals event in Kinsale.

Irish J109 fans are currently on a high with Royal Corks' Jelly Baby winning the UK National Championships and the National Yacht Club's Ruth winning offshore in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race but after another good showing of the class last weekend (first and third for Js in ICRA Div one) there was confusion over the status of the Irish championship when Kinsale Yacht Club declared Joker II the winner of the J109 national championships. [See KYC press release HERE].

John Maybury's Joker II won the ICRA division one crown off Kinsale in fine style, but J109 class captain Martin Carey has been quick to point out the 2015 J109 National Championships – a season highlight – has not yet been sailed. The J109 Irish championships will be sailed next week as part of Dun Laoghaire Regatta. 'The Nationals are part of Volvo Dun Laoghaire, they always were going to be, as we get our own start,' Carey told Afloat.ie

#superyacht – No sooner has the ICRA Championships and Sovereign's Cup fleet departed Kinsale Yacht Club marina than Superyachts Ghost (35M), a return visitor and new arrival to Irish waters Clan VIII (45.3m) have taken a berth on the yacht club marina.

As it happens KYC was also hosting a party for The Yacht Harbour Association who are currently reviewing the five anchor marinas in Ireland. Strategically located in West Cork, the port of Kinsale offers deep water berths, a yacht club and nearby waterside town facilities.

In a presentation to the group Bobby Nash (KYC's Rear Commodore) explained the strategic importance of the marina for cruising yachts to the Irish coastline.

 

 

#sovscup – Counting four race wins Royal Irish Yacht Joker II (John Maybury) emerged as winner of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association's ultra–competitive division one fleet at Kinsale Yacht club today. It was one of five national championships decided at Kinsale that combined the Irish Cruiser Racing Association championship with the biennial Sovereign's Cup for the first time. Read more about the event here.

The Dublin Bay J/109 yacht with four time Olympian Mark Mansfield onboard was chased hard by May's Scottish Series winner, Fool's Gold (Rob McConnell). 

Maybury's Joker 2 was initially challenged by Ian Nagle's Royal Cork YC entry Jelly Baby and then towards the end of the series by Waterford Harbour Sailing Club's McConnell. It gave the Division 1 national championship title to Maybury as well as ICRA's J109 title.  In the end, McConnell came within a point of beating Maybury but had to settle for second. The J109s next big event is the Irish National Championships that will be sailed early in July as part of Dun Laoghaire regatta.

Howth Yacht Club's Ross McDonald and the crew on Equinox emerged winners of the Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale after an intensive eight race series in a full range of conditions. The Dublin 32-footer won the 17-boat Division 2 and became the ICRA National champions for the class in addition to the Sovereign's Cup at the four-day event.

McDonald's Equinox was part of a 15-strong flotilla from Howth that featured in the top places of half the racing divisions on the two race courses between the Old Head of Kinsale and the Sovereigns Rocks close to the coast.

 (Above and below) ICRA division 2 champion and Sovereign's Cup winner Equinox from Howth. Photo: Alan O'Regan 

Equinox won six of the eight races in Division 2, a factor that assisted the decision to award the Sovereign's trophy when Maybury had a matching score but with fewer race wins in a bigger class.

But there was more cause for Howth victory celebrations including Paddy Klyne's Maximus that won the Portcullis Trophy for the best boat on ECHO handicap.

 Maximus (Paddy Klyne) from Howth was the winner of the Portcullis Trophy for the best boat on ECHO handicap. Photo: Alan O'Regan

In a continued sweeping up of the results, Richard Colwell and Ronan Cobbes' Corby 25 Fusion - also from Howth YC - won the Division 3 national championship. Tim Goodbody of the Royal Irish YC came close the taking the title but the north Dublin crew recovered from two fifth places on the penultimate day and a race win and fourth place sealed the win.

Division 3 national champion Fusion of Howth (Richard Colwell and Ronan Cobbes). Photo: Alan O'Regan

A Howth YC-owned J24 Kilcullen with an Under 25 crew won Division 4 IRC and is likely to represent the fleet at the annual ISA All-Ireland sailing championships in the Autumn.

The Irish Quarter-ton championship was won by Tony Hayward's Blackfun from Cowes with fantastic scores throughout the event. This championship was held as part of the event with Barry Cunningham's Quest from the Royal Irish YC taking second overall in the five boat class.

ICRA class zero champion WOW. Photo: Alan O'Regan

Meanwhile, George Sisk's WOW from the Royal Irish YC became national champion for Class 0 after hitting form in the bigger breeze of the second half of the series. A win and second place on the final day deposed Norbert Reilly's Crazy Horse from Howth who had led the class for the opening half of the series.

That win came in part from the absence on Saturday of Conor Phelan's Jump Juice from the Royal Cork YC who suffered broken steering gear in race five and was out of action for the day. Second and first places in the final day was not enough to overcome Sisk's performance for the week.

In the two non-spinnaker classes, more boats competed under the ECHO handicap system than under IRC with Kinsale boats topping the standings in both divisions. Anthony and Brian McCarthys' Baccarat won Division 1 counting all top three places in the four race series. Howth's Colm Bermingham won the IRC fleet with three race wins.

In Division 2, straight wins took Windsor Laudan on Demelza from Howth to the podium to collect the overall trophy under IRC and though he led the ECHO stakes early in the series, Kinsale's Dermot Lanigan on Privateer won overall under ECHO, beating clubmate David Riome on Valfreya into second place.

"We were delighted with sailing conditions and competitive spirit in Kinsale Yacht Club over the past four days and many congratulations to all competitors, race management and countless volunteers on and off the water. Special thanks to Cork Co. Council, CH Marine, Anderco, Olimpic Sails and the Kinsale Good Food Circle for their sponsorship and support," said Regatta Director, Mike Walsh. Cork Co. Council was represented by Cllr. Joe Carroll, Deputy Mayor and ICRA was represented by Norbert Reilly.

Results – ICRA Nationals & Sovereign's Cup 2015 Day 4 after 8 races sailed (27th June 2015)

Division 0 IRC

1 WOW George Sisk,(Royal Irish YC)
2 Jump Juice, Conor Phelan (RCYC)
3 Crazy Horse, Norbert Reilly/Alan Chambers (Howth Yacht Club)

Division 0 ECHO

1 Godot, John Godkin (Kinsale YC)
2 Roxstar, Jonathan Anderson, (CCC)
3 Meridian, Tom Roche (KYC)

Division 0 Restricted

1 WOW George Sisk,(Royal Irish YC)
2 Roxstar, Jonathan Anderson, (CCC)
3 Forty Licks, Jay Colville, (East Down YC)

Division 1 IRC

1 Joker 2, John Maybury, (Royal Irish Yacht Club)
2 Fool's Gold, Robert McConnell (Wicklow Harbour SC)
3 Jelly Baby, Ian Nagle, (Royal Cork Yacht Club)

Division 1 ECHO

1 Adrenalin, Joe McDonald (National Yacht Club)
2 Indecision, Declan Hayes (RIYC)
3 Gringo, Tony Fox (NYC)

Division 2 IRC

1 Equinox, Ross McDonald, (HYC)
2 Checkmate XV, DaveCullen (HYC)
3 Harmony, Jonny Swan/James Freyne, (HYC)

Division 2 ECHO

1 Lisador, Henry Hogg, (Garrykennedy SC)
2 Equinox, Ross McDonald, (HYC)
3 Graduate, PJ Barron, (RIYC)

Division 3 IRC

1 Fusion, Richard Cowell, (HYC)
2 White Mischief, Timothy Goodbody, (RIYC)
3 Bad Company, Desmond, Ivers, Deasy (RCYC)

Division 3 ECHO

1 Maximus, Paddy Kyne (HYC)
2 Monkey, Liam Lynch, (Tralee Bay SC)
3 White Mischief, Timothy Goodbody, (RIYC)

Division 4 IRC

1 Kilcullen, (HYC)
2 Quest, Barry Cunningham (RIYC)

Division 4 ECHO

1 Seven Whistler, Rene Wubben (WHSC)
2 White Magic, Donal Harding (Waterford Harbour SC)
3 No-Gnomes, Leonard Donnery, (RCYC)

J109
1 Joker 2, John Maybury (RIYC)
2 Storm, Pat Kelly (Rush SC/HYC)
3 Jelly Baby, Ian Nagle (RCYC)

Quarter Tonner

1 Blackfun, Tony Hayward (Cowes)
2 Quest, Barry Cunnigham (RIYC)
3 Anchor Challenge, Paul Gibbons (RCYC)

White Sail Division 1 IRC

1 Bite the Bullet, Colm Bermingham, (HYC)
2 White Lotus, Paul Tully, (Dun Laoghaire Motor YC)
3 Baccarat, Brian & Anthony McCarthy (KYC)

White Sail Divison 1 ECHO

1 Baccarat, Anthony/Brian McCarthy (KYC)
2 Cimarron VI Dave O'Sullivan (KYC)
3 White Tiger, Tony O'Brien (KYC)

White Sail Division 2 IRC

1 Demelza, Windsor Laudan, (HYC)
2 Loch Greine, Tom O'Mahony (RCYC)
3 Guinness Khan, Caroline Forde (KYC)

White Sail Division 2 ECHO

1 Privateer, Dermot Lanigan (KYC)
2 Valfreya, David Riome (KYC)
3 Demelza, Windsor Laudan, (HYC)