The Dragon Eastern Championships witnessed a first for host club Kinsale Yacht Club on Friday (June 7th), when the club deployed robotic marks for the first time for the three-day event.

The move to the new marks follows their success at a rejuvenated Scotland Series last month, which was overseen by senior Irish Race Officer Con Murphy and robotic buoy agent Kenny Rumball.

Murphy is in charge in Kinsale this weekend, and using the high-tech marks will serve as a useful trial for when the West Cork club stages the prestigious 2024 Dragon Gold Cup on the same waters in September. Murphy will also be the Principal Race Officer then, so admits to having a vested interest in getting the best use out of the new technology that eliminates a lot of manpower in race course management.

"It’s about 40 metres deep where the Dragons will be racing off Kinsale, and having robotic marks should make course setting and changing much easier than at present!" he told Afloat. 

13 boats will contest the East Coasts, with four boats entered from Dublin Bay, gaining valuable practice time on the Gold Cup race track into the bargain.

A tie-break decided the six-boat Dragon Class season opener at Kinsale Yacht Club's O’Leary Keelboat Regatta on May 12th.

With close racing over two days, James Matthews, David Good, and Fergal O’Hanlon on TBD took the trophy after six intense races. Ghost, sailed by Colm Dunne, Daniel McCloskey, and Keith Reardon, finished on the same 12 nett points.

In third place on 13 points was Scarlet Ribbons sailed by Tomas O'Brien Donal Small Conor Hemlock.

One boat made the trip from Glandore with the remaining crews made up from the home club.

Results are below

Low tide was a little too low for one Kinsale yacht which listed over the adjacent quay on Wednesday afternoon (10 April).

As CorkBeo reports, a section of Pier Road in the West Cork town was closed to traffic after the incident in the interest of safety as harbour staff and locals awaited the evening’s high tide, when it was hoped the vessel would right itself.

Whether that was the case or a tow was required, the yacht’s owner won’t be too happy about the bill for repairs or even a new lick of paint that they’re bound to face.

CorkBeo has more on the story HERE.

The Spirit of Kinsale, which has operated cruises in Kinsale Harbour for over 20 years, is being sold.

Owner and operator Jerome Lordan has decided to retire. A former fisherman with experience in Ireland and overseas, he left that industry in 2003 and set up Kinsale Harbour Cruises, using the steel vessel he has now decided to sell.

“I’m 66, and it’s time to retire from the operation,” he said.

Owner and operator of the 'Spirit of Kinsale', Jerome Lordan

His family has, for generations, lived at the Old Head of Kinsale, and he has two books published about that coastal area – ‘No Flowers on a Sailor’s Grave’ about the shipwrecks of Kinsale and Courtmacsherry and ‘Peninsula People,’ a visual genealogy, social history of the area.

Dominic Daly, whose Cork auctioneering firm has experience in maritime sales - he has previously worked with State Agencies, including the Admiralty Marshall of the High Court, the Department of the Marine and other institutions on the disposal of vessels and marine assets - is handling the sale of the steel vessel.

The Frank Godsell March League 2024 for mixed cruisers at Kinsale Yacht Club was won overall on IRC on Sunday, March 24th, by Michael Carroll's Elan 40 Chancer.

The Carroll brothers entry won on four points from Stephen Lysaght's Elan 333, Reavra Too on seven. Cian McCarthy's Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl was third. The results were repeated on ECHO handicap.

The league concluded in miserable conditions, with low visibility and wind up to 25 knots in the doubleheader day with courses set around Sanycove and the Bulman by KYC Race Officer Michele Kennelly.  

Although raced under IRC and ECHO, the White Sails division attracted the most interest, with Alan Mulcahy's Albin Express Apache finishing top in IRC and ECHO in the six-boat fleet, according to KYC's provisional results below.

Alan Mulcahy (left), skipper of Apache, was the winner of the IRC and ECHO White Sail division, scoring three wins. He is pictured with and Frank Godsell, Sponsor (right) and KInsale Yacht Club Commodore Anthony Scannell Photo: Bob Bateman

In both, White Sails IRC and ECHO, Tony O'Brien's J109 Tighey Boy from Schull Harbour Sailing Club was second, with Patrick Beckett's Tofinou 8, Miss Charlie in third.

As Afloat reported previously, this was the 42nd annual Frank Godsell League, representing the sponsor's long-time commitment. 

Frank Godsell Kinsale Yacht Club March League Prizegiving Photo Gallery By Bob Bateman

The Frank Godsell March League 2024 for mixed cruisers at Kinsale Yacht Club got off to an exciting start on Sunday. The fleet decided to round alternative turning marks after discovering that some of the prescribed buoys on the course were missing.

Although raced under IRC and ECHO, the White Sails division is attracting the most interest, with Alan Mulcahy's Albin Express Apache finishing top in IRC and ECHO, according to KYC's provisional results below.

In the spirit of sportsmanship, a competing crew member suggested the fleet sail onto Hake as Sandy Cove was missing. It was a suggestion that met with unanimous approval. The fleet then discovered that the Centre Point mark was missing, and the J109 Tighey Boy used two Black fishing pots, which were roughly in position. Again, the fleet all agreed to go around them, which meant the race continued without the need to discard it.

As Afloat reported previously, this is the 42nd annual Frank Godsell League, representing a long-time commitment of the sponsor. The league will run for three weeks, with two more races to follow Sunday's opening.

Kinsale Yacht Club's 'At Home' Regatta, sponsored by Victoria's Antiques, was held on Sunday, 17th September, and saw a great turnout despite the damp weather.

The event was a big success, with many sailors from the sailability, dinghy, and keelboat classes coming together to celebrate the Club's active year.

The Daunt Trophy was won by Albert O'Neill, skipper of the Sallybelle, while Patrick Beckett, skipper of 'Miss Charlie', was the White Sail Winner and Perpetual "At Home Trophy" winner.

The clubhouse and covered balcony were buzzing with excitement. The covered balcony connected the outside to the bar dining room and worked wonders in bringing people together. It was particularly impressive to see the sailability members, led by hard-working member Donal Hickey, come together with the dinghy and keelboat classes to celebrate.

The Club has had a very active year, with the Sovereign's Cup and Dragon National Championships under its go-ahead Commodore Matthias Hellstern, and it looks forward to the prestigious international Dragon Gold Cup, which promises to be a highlight of the 2024 Irish sailing season next September.

Patrick Beckett, the skipper of 'Miss Charlie', the White Sail Winner and Perpetual “At Home Trophy” winner at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta, is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

Mark Leonard, sailing Corrib Two, was a prizewinner at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

The 'At Home' Regatta Race Officer Donal Hayes was on the Charles Fort Line, while Race Officer Tim Cronin looked after Kinsale Yacht Club's Junior Fleets.

Padraig O’Donovan sailing 'Chameleon' was a prizewinner at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

The All-In Cruisers division began racing at 13.55hrs, followed by All-In White Sail, Dragon, and Squib one-design keelboats. Sailability sailors sailed in the waters between the Pier and Spit buoy.

Finbarr O’Regan's Artful Dodjer was the winner of the all-in Cruisers division at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

Brian Carroll, sailing Chancer, was second in the all-in Cruisers division at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

Richard Hanley, sailing Saoirse, was third in the all-in Cruisers division at Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and is pictured with KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) and regatta sponsor Frances Lynch of Victoria Antiques Photo: Bob Bateman

Despite the weather, everyone enjoyed the Kinsale Yacht Club's 2023 'At Home' Regatta and prizegiving.

Kinsale Yacht Club's 'At Home' Regatta Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman

The J109 Artful Dodjer, skippered by Finbarr O'Regan, secured the victory in the final race of the Eden Capital Mid-Week Series for cruisers at Kinsale Yacht Club, winning by a narrow margin of 9 seconds over the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl, helmed by Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt.

Artful Dodjer was formidable throughout the series, winning all six races. Stephen Lysaght's Reavra Too finished second overall in IRC, while Artful Dodjer and Cinnamon Girl claimed first and second place respectively in Echo.

In Class 2, Mathilde Dingemans and Gerard Campbell's Cirrus dominated in IRC, winning three races and placing second in two others. They also secured first place in Echo. Sammy Cohen's Gunsmoke 11 placed second in both IRC and Echo.

In IRC3, Apache, helmed by Alan Mulcahy, claimed first place with an impressive five race wins. Richard Hanley's Saoirse finished second overall. Meanwhile, Padraig O'Donovan's Chameleon took first place in Class 3 Echo, closely followed by Martin Hargrove's Deboah, which secured second place overall by just one point.

Tom Dolan, the Irish solo sailor who won the first leg of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, has made a solid start in the second stage of the competition. The leg, which covers over 500 miles from Kinsale in Ireland to Roscoff on the Bay of Morlaix, promises to be a light winds affair with plenty of opportunities for the fleet to expand and contract in the strong tidal currents.

Despite not having a boat-on-boat dinghy racing background, Dolan has been proving himself on the longer courses. He made a good start in the second stage, finishing tenth out of the bay in good company just behind some of his closest rivals. However, after 30 miles of racing, he had dropped into 20th place and was two miles behind the early leader Romen Richard of France.

Before leaving the dock in Kinsale, Dolan said, "The leg looks tricky. I feel good now. The start looks quite clear, we will be sailing downwind along the coast in the sea-breeze. Tonight there could be a big split. Some of the weather models are sending us offshore, others are telling us to hug the coast, there are two extremes."

The course will take the solo sailors up to a mark in the Irish Sea, most likely to be offshore of Dun Laoghaire, and Spanish sailor Pep Costa, who is weather adviser to some of the international sailors, has described it as "a very tricky leg." Costa added, "It is going to be mostly a light winds leg with thermal winds today transitioning into a very very light winds zone before coming into a light north to north east wind for later tonight. So they will be very close to the coast under spinnakers. Downwind it is very close to VMG and then tonight into a NE to E wind. They will go offshore and tack in the NE’ly maybe a few tacks to Tuskar rock. The breeze will fill in around 10-15 knots but the current is quite strong so they need to be close to the shore when the current is against them and offshore when it is with them."

Gaston Morvan of Région Bretagne CMB won the Paprec Trophy for the first around the short, departure circuit, just as he also led away from Caen a week ago.

Standings after Stage 1

• 1 Tom Dolan, IRL, (Smurfit Kappa-KIngspan) 3d 19h 16m 46 s
• 2 Nils Palmieri, SUI, (Teamwork) 3d 19h 23m 13s + 6 min 27 sec
• 3 Robin Marais, FRA, (Moi Chance Moi Aussi) 3d 19h 23m 13s + 8 min 17 sec
• 4 Benoit Tuduri, FRA, (Capso en Cavale) 3d 19h00m 25s (+30 mins penalty) +13 mins 39 sec
• 5 Basile Bourgnon, FRA, (Edenred) 3d 19h 31m 05 s +14 min 18 secs
• 6 Romain Le Gall, FRA, (Centre Excellence Voile Secours Populaire) 3d 19h 32m 52s + 16m 06s
• 7 Alexis Loison, FRA, (Groupe REEL) 3d 19h 32m 55 s + 16 m 09s
• 8 Elodie Bonafous, FRA (Queguiner La Vie en Rose) 3d 19h 33m 07s +16m 21s
• 9 Lois Berrehar, FRA, (Skipper MACIF 2022) 3d19h 33m 16m +16m 30s
• 10 Guillaume Pirouelle, FRA, (Region Normandie) 3d 19h 33m 32s +16m 46 sec

The Commodore of Kinsale Yacht Club, Matthias Hellestern, has congratulated the club's Under 25 team on another success. 

As Afloat reported, the Under-25 Kinsale team competed at the J Cup Ireland in the J24 division and managed to stay in the top spot, scoring a total of 10 points across the two days of competition.

In his message, the Commodore said: 'Kinsailor U25 team won the J Cup and East Coast Champions. Congratulations to the team on once again a fantastic achievement."

KYC members support the team's campaigns in their J24 'Kinsailor', which club members bought for the young sailors and arrange to transport the boat to and from championships around the country.