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Strong Fleet Building for Inishtearaght Skelligs Race

11th May 2026
“Offshore
Offshore Charge – Tony O’Brien’s White Tiger racing during the 2024 Inishtearaght Skelligs Race, the demanding offshore contest organised by Kinsale Yacht Club.

Interest is building strongly for the Kinsale Yacht Club Inishtearaght Skelligs Race sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald, with 18 boats already entered and less than 20 days remaining before the offshore start.

Several boats preparing for this summer’s Round Ireland Yacht Race have also entered the west coast challenge, using the race as a key opportunity to test crews and boats against fellow offshore rivals.

The race, organised by Kinsale Yacht Club and supported by both SCORA and ISORA, has become an important fixture on the Irish offshore calendar.

Among the entries are a number of experienced offshore campaigners and double-handed crews expected to feature prominently later in the Round Ireland fleet.

The demanding course takes competitors around the remote Inishtearaght and Skelligs marks off Ireland’s south-west coast, offering a major navigational and tactical examination ahead of longer offshore races later in the season.

Race organisers say the growing entry reflects strong interest in offshore racing around the Irish coast and continued momentum in double-handed competition.

The current entry list and sailing instructions are available below.

Kinsale Yacht Club Inishtearaght Skelligs Race Entries at May 11th 2026

Boat NameSail NumberBoat TypeClub
Aurelia IRL35950 J122 RSTGYC / RORC
Prime Suspect IRL5991 Mills 36 Custom KQBC
White Tiger IRL4477 Beneteau First 44.7 KYC
Katanca 31310 Elan 31 RIYC
Jalapeno IRL5109 J109 RCYC
Artful DodJer IRL1713 J109 KYC
Chancer IRL1583 Elan 41 KYC
Meridian IRL4076 Salona 45 KYC
Cinnamon Girl IRL1627 Sun Fast 3300 KYC
Reavra Too IRL3300 Elan 333 KYC
Blue Oyster IRL3852 Oyster 37 RCYC
Cristina IRL7887 NMD 43 RIYC / NYC
Loinnir IRL53308 JPK 1030 Lough Lee YC
Piper Sound IRL950 Sovereign 400 BBSC
Bateleur88 IRL5693 Castro 3/4 Ton RCYC
Pillaban IRL5880 Archambault A35 RIYC / Baltimore SC
Incorrect 2.0 IRL2025 Sun Fast 3300 SHSC
Magnet IRL9896 MG335 RCYC
Published in Inistearaght Race
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About Kinsale Yacht Club's Inishtearaght Offshore Yacht Race

To meet growing demand for offshore racing, Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern along with Dave Cullinane (SCORA Vice-Commodore) launched the inaugural Inishtearaght Race in Kinsale on Wednesday, December 23rd in 2021.

The race is a new south coast offshore race to be held biennially commencing in 2022.

 

The course will be approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular coast of West Cork and Kerry, round Inistearaght island and back to Kinsale. The first race start is scheduled for Friday, 20th May 2022 with a fleet of seven entries for the first race.

 

The Thuillier family have kindly allowed the oldest trophy in Kinsale YC to be presented as the line honours trophy for the race. The Thuillier Cup is 150 years old, having been originally presented by the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers in 1871 and won by Michael Thuillier. The cup was presented to Kinsale YC by the Thuillier family to acknowledge the long tradition of yacht racing in Kinsale.