Royal Cork Yacht Club's Ross Deasy and Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Commodore John Leech presented the Cork Week 2026 and ICRA National Championship prizes at Crosshaven on Friday evening after the regatta concluded with another day of sunshine and light easterly winds.
Friday's final races were sailed in an easterly breeze of 5–10 knots under glorious sunshine and excellent visibility. On the windward-leeward course between Ringabella Bay and the shipping channel, the IRC 0, IRC 1 and Beaufort Cup fleets started together, followed by the combined IRC 2 and IRC 3 classes.
Race Officer Con Murphy said the opening race was sailed over three laps of a one-nautical-mile course in around eight knots of breeze. A second race, on a longer 1.5-nautical-mile course, was shortened after the first run when the wind disappeared from the lower end of the track, although all boats completed the race. Murphy said racing was completed on every course, providing "a nice day's racing in glorious sunshine and good visibility" and "a good end to a great week of racing".
Cork Week 2026 Prizegiving Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman
The favourable weather also allowed the prizegiving to be staged on the Royal Cork Yacht Club lawn rather than in the traditional marquee, providing a fitting finale to Ireland's flagship biennial regatta.
Among the headline winners was Sam Laidlaw's BLT, one of the regatta's standout performers. As well as winning IRC 3, BLT was named Best Overseas entry and received the prestigious Kinsale Kettle for Best Performance Overall.
Other principal winners included Michael and Richie Evans' The Big Picture, winner of IRC 0; Barry Cunningham's Chimaera, which topped IRC 1; James Dwyer's Swuzzlebubble, winner of IRC 2; and Anton Korshunov's Symmetry, which claimed the IRC 3 ICRA title and was crowned ICRA Overall Champion. Baltimore RNLI lifted the Beaufort Cup, while Trevor D'Arcy's Sheep Dawg won the Sportsboat division.
Below is the full list of Cork Week 2026 prize winners, followed by Bob Bateman's gallery from the prizegiving ceremony in Crosshaven.
Cork Week 2026 Prize Winners
| Fleet | Overall – 3rd | Overall – 2nd | Overall – 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort Cup | Cara Dem | Irish Defence Forces | Baltimore RNLI |
| Hugh Loane Trophy | Concours D’Elegance | Guapa — Niall McPhillips | |
| Carroll Cup | Spirit of the Regatta | Sovereign Sail Navy | |
| Sisk Corinthian Cup | Best Corinthian | Tuco — George Radley Jnr & Snr | |
| Coveney Wave Trophy | Best Royal Cork Boat | Big Mac — McGrath Family | |
| Cork Week Trophy | Best Overseas | BLT — Sam Laidlaw | |
| Non-Spinnaker IRC 2 ICRA | Luas — Sean Hanley | Cavatina — Ian Hickey | Shillelagh — John Twomey |
| Non-Spinnaker Echo 2 | Four Seas — Rob Foster | Cavatina — Ian Hickey | Boekanier — Brendan Egan |
| Non-Spinnaker IRC 2 | Boekanier — Brendan Egan | Shillelagh — John Twomey | Cavatina — Ian Hickey |
| Non-Spinnaker IRC 1 ICRA | Indulgence — Aidan Heffernan | Magnet — Kieran O’Brien | Big Mac — McGrath Family |
| Non-Spinnaker Echo 1 | Big Mac — McGrath Family | Magnet — Kieran O’Brien | White Pearl — David Greene |
| Non-Spinnaker IRC 1 | Indulgence — Aidan Heffernan | Magnet — Kieran O’Brien | Big Mac — McGrath Family |
| Sportsboats | Vixen — David McFarland | Sid — Ian Patterson | Sheep Dawg — Trevor D’Arcy |
| Coastal IRC 2 ICRA | Grin & Bear It — Denis Byrne | Maximus — Paddy Kyne | Tuco — George Radley Jnr & Snr |
| Coastal Echo 2 | Maximus — Paddy Kyne | Tuco — George Radley Jnr & Snr | Out of the Blue — Fergal Lyons |
| Coastal IRC 2 | Bateleur88 — Pat Tanner | Mallard — Kieran Collins | Tuco — George Radley Jnr & Snr |
| Coastal IRC 1 ICRA | CrisTina — John Treanor | Joyride — Tim McCarthy & Wan Waterman | El Syd — Frank Whelan |
| Coastal Echo 1 | Jalapeno — James Peter Donegan | Joyride — Tim McCarthy & Wan Waterman | El Syd — Frank Whelan |
| Coastal IRC 1 | CrisTina — John Treanor | El Syd — Frank Whelan | Jings — Robin Young |
| Class 3 IRC ICRA | Illegal — Colman Garvey / Kieran Kelleher | Hellaby Puffin — James Waugh | Symmetry — Anton Korshunov |
| Class 3 Echo | Symmetry — Anton Korshunov | Illegal — Colman Garvey / Kieran Kelleher | Hellaby Puffin — James Waugh |
| Class 3 IRC | Hellaby Puffin — James Waugh | Symmetry — Anton Korshunov | BLT — Sam Laidlaw |
| Class 2 IRC ICRA | Quattro — David Eddowes | Miss Whiplash — John & Ronan Downing | Swuzzlebubble — James Dwyer |
| Class 2 Echo | Miss Whiplash — John & Ronan Downing | Smile — Shane McGibney | Swuzzlebubble — James Dwyer |
| Class 2 IRC | Quattro — David Eddowes | Miss Whiplash — John & Ronan Downing | Swuzzlebubble — James Dwyer |
| Class 1 IRC ICRA | Tighey Boy — Tony O’Brien | Joker 2 — John Maybury | Chimaera — Barry Cunningham |
| Class 1 Echo | Chimaera — Barry Cunningham | Ejine — Mark Ivers / Donal Keane | Joker 2 — John Maybury |
| Class 1 IRC | Ctrl-J — Andy Williams | Joker 2 — John Maybury | Chimaera — Barry Cunningham |
| Class 0 IRC ICRA | La Veuve Noire — Mark Wilson / Nigel Moss | The Big Picture — Michael & Richard Evans | |
| Class 0 Echo | La Veuve Noire — Mark Wilson / Nigel Moss | The Big Picture — Michael & Richard Evans | |
| Class 0 IRC | Hero — Simon Britten | Whiskey Jack — Nick Southward | The Big Picture — Michael & Richard Evans |
| Etchells Irish | Best Irish | Knot on Call — Andrew Crosbie | |
| Etchells Corinthian | Best Corinthian | Knot on Call — Andrew Crosbie | |
| Etchells Europeans | European Champion | Exabyte — Shaun Fraulich | |
| Etchells Open | Knot on Call — Andrew Crosbie | Exabyte — Shaun Fraulich | Tango — Chris Hampton |
| Prince of Wales Cup | Best IRC Harbour Race | Chimaera — Barry Cunningham | |
| ICRA Overall Champion | ICRA Overall Champion | Symmetry — Anton Korshunov | |
| Kinsale Kettle | Best Performance Overall | BLT — Sam Laidlaw |
