The Royal Cork Yacht Club is bringing back mixed dinghy racing on Wednesdays this September.

Following the return of the mixed dinghy fleet earlier this year, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, the club is now looking to expand further beyond the 29ers, 420s and National 18s to welcome any mixed dinghy boat — raced by competent helms and crews — to join the PY racing format for the new September league coordinated by Andy Jenkins.

Royal Cork’s Read Admiral for dinghies, Maurice Collins tells Afloat.ie that the initiative is part of his overall strategy to reinvigorate double-handed sailing at the club.

Racers of double-handed boats such as Topaz, Mirror, RS200, Magno, RS400 and Fireball are actively encouraged to join — and single-handers are more than welcome too.

For more details see the RCYC website HERE.

After the high winds of Saturday’s opening day of the Royal Cork Yacht Club 'At Home' in Crosshaven, the second day made for a welcome change, with a flat sea and less wind.

Between cruisers and dinghies, the RCYC had 80 boats racing over the weekend in their annual ‘At Home’ regatta in Cork Harbour.

Saturday’s high winds and choppy waters made a testing day for cruisers and dinghies. Cruisers raced between the outer and inner harbours, registering up to 22 knots of wind gusts.

In the two races on Saturday, some boats reefed mainsails to manage the conditions. Others flew spinnakers, with a few challenging incidents.

In the cruiser classes, IRC Spin Division was won by Fiona Young’s ‘North Star.’

The IRC Spinnaker Division of Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' was won by Fiona Young’s Albin Express ‘North Star' Photo: Bob Bateman

Michael McCann’s ‘Don’t Dilly Dally’ second. David Dwyer’s ‘Swuzzlebubble’ third.

Michael McCann’s Etchells 22 ‘Don’t Dilly Dally’ competing in the IRC Spinnaker Division of Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' Photo: Bob Bateman

Ria Lyden’s ‘Ellida’ won ECHO Spin with North Star second and ‘T Bone’ (Tom Durcan/Clive O’Shea) third.

Ria Lyden’s X332 ‘Ellida’ won the ECHO Spinnaker Division of Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' Photo: Bob Bateman

Whitesail Division 1 IRC winner was Ian Hickey’s ‘Cavatina.’ Kieran O’Brien’s ‘Magnet’ second. ‘BigMc’ (McGrath Family) third. ‘Cavatina’ also won the ECHO handicap, with Mike Ryder’s ‘Freya’ second and ‘BigMc’ third.

Kieran O’Brien’s ‘Magnet’ was second in Whitesail Division 1 IRC of Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' Photo: Bob Bateman

Whitesail Division 2 winner in both IRC and ECHO was the MacSweeney Family’s ‘Scribbler’. Second in the ECHO handicap was Rob Foster’s ‘Clodagh’ and third was Eugene O’Loughlin’s ‘Kerensa’.

In the dinghy fleets, the Laser ‘passage race’ from Blackrock to Crosshaven on Saturday was a tough challenge for the single-handers. The ILCA 6 winner was Joe O’Sullivan, with Robert Jeffreys second and Eve McCarthy third. Laser 4 fleet winner was Craig O’Neill, with Liam Duggan second and Tommy Hiras third. The ILCA 7 winner was Richard McGlade. Liam Duggan won ILCA 4 in Sunday's racing, with Craig O’Neill second and Eve McCarthy third.

Fast sailing in a 29er dinghy during Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' Photo: Bob Bateman

Fevas raced from Monkstown to Crosshaven on Sunday, won by Cathal and Ruadhan Jackson, second Harry Coole and Chris Granby, and third Aifric Barry and Florence Dennehy.

Racing on the Curlane Bank, the Toppers winner was Lucy Moynan, second Kate Dean and third Ruby Foley. Optimists Class winner was Hugh O’Neill, second Charlie McKibben and third Ayda Bruen.

The crew of the National 18 Ball 'n' Chain is hit by a gust going downwind during Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home Regatta' Photo: Bob Bateman

National 18s Class was won by Charles Dwyer and crew sailing ‘Nacho Boat’. Second ‘ Aquadisiacs,’ Colin Chapman and crew. Third ‘Peaky Blinders,’ Ronan Walsh and crew.

Bob Bateman's RCYC 'At Home 2023' Photo Gallery (Day One)

Breezy conditions which had a strong northwesterly at times tested the fleets in action in the first day of this weekend’s Royal Cork Yacht Club ‘At Home’ regatta on Saturday (26 August).

Our own Bob Bateman reports that the proposed format change that would have seen some fleets racing from Blackrock did not happen, with ILCAs and Toppers spotted returning to the club.

The National 18 class had a sprint series which consisted of three races on the Curlane Bank, where they were joined by mixed dinghies, two 29ers, a few 420s and an RS 200.

Clear leader on the day was Nacho Boat, helmed by Charles Dwyer, with three bullets. Second and third on the leaderboard respectively are Aquadisiacs (helmed by Colin Chapman) and Peaky Blinders (Ronan Walsh), both on 10 nett points.

Bob Bateman's RCYC 'At Home' 2023 Photo Gallery 

Due to the poor weather on the South Coast at present, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has cancelled this evening’s (Thursday 6 July) opening race in the Thursday night July League for cruisers.

Royal Cork Yacht Club members Christian Zugel and wife Sonia Rohan took line honours in Cowes on Saturday (1 July) in this year’s Round the Island Race.

RCYC’s former Olympian Tom McWilliam also featured among the crew of their Volvo 70, Tschüss 2, which was the first monohull to finish in Saturday’s race — and was awarded the Gold Roman Bowl for first place under IRC.

The performance only adds to the pedigree of the boat, which won the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race as Wizard and the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 as Groupama.

The weather conditions could not have been better for Tschüss 2 — a strong breeze throughout the day and from the west enabling a spinnaker run from just before the Needles right the way to Bembridge.

Tschüss 2’s crew celebrate their line honours and award of the Gold Roman Bowl on arrival in Cowes | Credit: Royal Cork Yacht Club/Facebook

Tschüss 2 completed the course in four hours, 11 minutes and 18 seconds with the mini maxi Notorious crossing the line in second place finishing in four hours, 19 minutes and four seconds.

Christian Zugel, owner and skipper of Tschüss 2 said: “We are delighted with our race performance today and securing line honours is fantastic — what better way to start a new programme on our new boat! Great sailing, great competition and a fantastic welcome from the Island Sailing Club.”

Tschüss 2 had been training for more than a week on the Solent and a practice race around the Isle of Wight but they did it clockwise — like the original America’s Cup route in 1851.

The tactician onboard, Neal McDonald said: “I’ve competed in the race a number of times and can say it was perfect conditions for Tschüss 2 today. It’s such an iconic race in a wonderful setting.”

The Winter League for cruisers at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour will be for White Sails.

There will be six races, starting on Sunday, November 6 and concluding on Sunday, December 11, according to the Notice of Race issued by the club.

“All-in White Sail, results under IRC and ECHO, with the overall trophy awarded under IRC. One race scheduled each day, weather dependent,” the Notice says. “Daily prizes for 1st and 2nd only. Series prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

The League will be sponsored by O’Leary Insurances and is an open event, to include visiting boats.

Entry forms must be completed and are available on the RCYC website

The Royal Cork Yacht Club will host an evening of fine dining on Saturday 19 November with all proceeds going to support the club’s Paris 2024 Olympic 49er campaigners Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan.

Enjoy a six-course meal prepared by renowned chefs including Victor Franca, head chef at Nua Asador; Nascimento Nunes, head chef at Paladar Restaurant and recently The Barn Restaurant; Shauan Murphy, pastry chef at the Michelin-star The Oak Room at Adare Manor; and Leticia Miranda, chef at the Michelin-star Mae Restaurant.

Dinner is at 8pm on the night with a drinks reception from 7pm. The dress code is smart. Places at €300 per person can be booked on the Royal Cork YC website HERE.

Evening cruiser-racing concluded in Cork Harbour with the final race of the August/September Whitesails League at the RCYC.

Evening cruiser and dinghy racing has also finished at Cove SC. Monkstown Bay Sailing Club dinghy racing is moving from evenings to Saturdays for September.

The June/July and August/September Friday whitesail leagues at the RCYC were both won by SCRIBBLER (Tom and Cormac MacSweeney). The dual success of the Sigma 33 was helmed respectively by the young brothers Oisin (June/July) and Rowan (August/September). They are also both Laser sailors at the RCYC.

Second in August/September was John O’Connor and John Hanley’s Impala FAST BUCK, and third Clive Doherty’s PHAETON. Second in the June/July League was Peter Webster’s, THISTLE and third was FAST BUCK.

Bob Bateman's RCYC Whitesails League and Prizegiving 2022 Photo Gallery

At the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, the August/September evening league has had three races and is being led in the Spinnaker Division under both IRC and ECHO handicaps by Ria Lyden’s X332 Ellida.

She is followed under both handicap systems, IRC and ECHO, by Denis Byrne’s Trapper, Cracker and Wan and Eric Waterman’s Saxon. In IRC Ellida has nine points, Cracker 11 and Saxon Senator 12. Close racing there.

In ECHO Ellida leads on six points, with Cracker and Saxon Senator both on 11. Paul O’Shea’s Sun Odyssey, Elegance, leads the whitesails fleet in the league series in both IRC and ECHO, followed by Kieran O’Brien’s Magnet and John O’Connor’s Fast Buck in IRC. Derry Good’s Exhale is second in ECHO, with Fast
Buck third.

Friday Whitesails league under IHS handicapping

The Friday Whitesails league which is sailed under IHS handicapping has also had three races and is being led by the Sigma 33 Scribbler (Tom and Cormac
MacSweeney), with Fast Buck second and Clive Doherty’s Phaeton third.

After a two-year hiatus, the National 18 British and Irish National Championships were hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club from Sunday 24 to Friday 29 July, with the Irish fleet bolstered by 20 boats entered from England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The practice race had been scheduled for the Sunday to warm up the competitors and iron out any creases of fresh or reunited teams. Unfortunately, with gusts of 30 knots forecast, the risk of broken boats or crews was too much so the day was cancelled.

Looking ahead at the week’s light forecast, OD Ciaran McSweeney decided to aim for four races of the 12-race series on the Monday, to minimise the risk of missing out on races later in the week.

Monday’s racing was greeted by 16 to 20 knots of northwesterly wind. Race one saw the victory going to Nacho Boat, helmed by Charles Dwyer and crewed by William O’Brien and Irish Laser Radial legend Harry Pritchard, followed in second by King Penguin from the Isle of Man, helmed by Phil Hardisty and crewed by Chris Hill and Peter Richardson, with Puss 'n' Boots — with Tommy Dwyer at the helm and crewed by Willie Healy and Richie Lestor — in third.

Over the next three races Nacho Boat showed their dominance with a second, fifth and then a win in the last race by a staggering 2 min 30 sec. Rupert White of the Nacra British Sailing Team, sailing The Shadow with crew Mary Henderson and Ed Gibbons, was the event favourite. However, The Shadow suffered rudder failure and missed the first three races of the day, eventually returning to the course for race four and delivering a ninth place.

Race two was won by an Isle of Man team on Shotgunn, helmed by National 18 newcomer Ben Batchelor and crewed by Mike Wilson and Donald Edwards, who showed incredible form in the fresh breeze and also scored a fifth and sixth during the day. In race three Aquadisiacs, sailed by Colin Chapman, Eric Lyons and Morgan O’Sullivan, managed to control the race in the fluky breeze to win the race.

Overnight the championship was led by Nacho Boat with a seven-point lead, followed by Puss 'n' Boots (3, 2, 8, 3 for the day) and King Penguin (2, 6, 4, 4).

ACE, helmed by Ollie Houseman

On day two (Tuesday) the breeze had dropped considerably, with the forecast for light and shifty winds. Out of the start line, The Shadow took a solid lead with their rig in as far forward as possible. With their solid lead they looked unstoppable — until the young team of Chris and Olin Bateman, sailing Blacklist, found their stride with their slightly older wireman Stefan Peretti.

They put the pressure on the The Shadow and showed their talent as the future of Irish sailing but narrowly missed out on catching them and had to settle for second in race five. The two boats were followed by Aquadisiacs in third and Herbie 2.0 (Colin Barry, Paul Cotter and Ronan O’Driscoll) in fourth.  

The forecast for day three looked very similar to the previous day with a 4-6 knots northerly swinging to the south over the middle of the day. There was some surprise as the OD instructed the fleet to launch, only for them to be met by a decent easterly of 10-12 knots outside the harbour.

Day three (Wednesday) managed to produce two races before the breeze dropped completely. Race six delivered another bullet for The Shadow followed by #3 with Paddy Crosbie at the helm, Ewen O’Keefe and Conor Kelly crewing. Team #3 was managed by Conor Kelly Jr for the week which proved instrumental as the week progressed.

Nacho Boat struggled for the day due to the loss of their middleman and secret weapon, Harry Pritchard, to a mild illness. With only seven races, no discard was yet in play. Nacho Boat was still leading followed closely by #3 lying second and Herbie 2.0 in third.

Day four (Thursday) kicked off with a bullet for #3 in a nice 10-14 knots breeze outside the harbour, followed by The Shadow and Herbie 2.0, helmed by Colin Barry and crewed by Paul Cotter and musician Ronan O’Driscoll, who recently released his new single Cages, named after the harbour channel mark with the same name.

Blacklist representing the home club

Race nine was won by The Shadow with Nacho Boat in second and #3 in third. Race 10, the final race of the day, gave The Shadow another victory with #3 finishing second. Herbie 2.0 and King Penguin battled it out for third, with Herbie 2.0 taking it at the finish.

At the end of day four (races eight, nine and 10 and all discards now in play) the championship was still wide open, with #3 on 24 points and Nacho Boat on 26 points, both with a mixture of results and discards.

The Class Dinner Dance was held on Thursday night with a special presentation to Jeremy Vines who is still racing 18s in his 85th year.

On day five (Friday) the breeze picked up and came in from the south, clocking slightly right over the course of the day to a solid southwesterly of 13-16 knots.

Race 11 started down towards the shore by Cuskinny House. Nacho Boat and #3 started the race in close proximity and headed towards the left side of the beat. Nacho Boat lead at the first mark followed by #3 and The Shadow. Downwind #3 took the lead only to lose it again up the next beat. As the race continued, Nacho Boat held the lead to the finish and The Shadow pipped Crosbie to put the two leaders on 27 points each going into the final race.

Race 12 started with #3 and Nacho Boat needing to finish in front of each other or with poor results to carry earlier discards. Again, the boats were glued to each other and headed for the left side of the beat.

As they tacked back to join the fleet the leaders came in from the right, leaving Nacho Boat and #3 mid-fleet. With unfortunate timing, #3’s main dropped a couple of metres only for Nacho Boat to tack directly on them as they resolved the issue and got back racing. Down the next run Nacho Boat took #3 away from the leeward gate to drag the pair down the fleet.

By the finish #3 had crept ahead of Nacho Boat but could only manage a ninth place and after applying new discards, Team Nacho Boat won the Nationals for the second year in a row — not counting the pause in 2020 and 2021 — on 33 points.

• Overall 1st: Nacho Boat; 2nd #3; 3rd: The Shadow; 4th: Aquadisiacs; 5th: Herbie 2.0 (full results attached below)
• Cock of the North – Nacho Boat
• Medway Bowl – The Shadow
• Family Trophy – Misfits, Stephen & Jonathan O’Shaughnessy and Mark O’Donovan from RCYC
• Youngest Team – Blacklist