Irish Sailors Win IRC European Titles In Poole

25th May 2026

Afloat.ie Team

European Edge — Corby 37 Impetuous, formerly Ireland’s Blondie III, on her way to IRC 1 victory at the IRC Europeans in Poole Bay with Irish sailors Killian Collins and Lauren Donaghy aboard Credit: Paul Wyeth

Irish sailors featured prominently at the IRC European Championship in Poole Bay over the UK Bank Holiday weekend, with strong results across all three IRC divisions.

Corby 37 Impetuous, formerly Ireland’s Blondie III, claimed the IRC 1 European title after a dominant eight-race series at the International Paint Poole Regatta 2026. Irish sailors Killian Collins and Lauren Donaghy were part of the winning crew.

Collins, sailing his first regatta with the team, handled tactics aboard the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club entry. The boat posted four race wins and finished the championship on 14.5 nett points.

Selfie Success — The crew of IRC European champions Impetuous relax after racing in Poole Bay. Royal Cork’s Killian Collins and Irish sailor Lauren Donaghy were part of the winning IRC 1 campaign

The result also carried strong Irish offshore racing links. Under the ownership of the late Eamonn Rohan, Impetuous previously raced as Blondie III and represented Ireland in the 2006 Commodore’s Cup campaign.

There was further Irish success in IRC 2 where Frank 4 secured the European title with Irish offshore sailor Saoirse Reynolds onboard. The yacht is also well known on the Irish Sea circuit as the former ISORA campaigner Jedi.

Frank 4 finished the seven-race championship with four race wins and an 11-point nett score to take overall honours in a 17-boat fleet.

Double Delight — Team Frank 4 celebrate IRC 2 victory at the IRC European Championship in Poole. Irish offshore sailor Saoirse Reynolds, fourth from left, helped steer the former ISORA boat Jedi to class honours

Howth Yacht Club’s The Big Picture, sailed by Michael and Richard Evans with Shane Hughes onboard, finished fifth overall in IRC 1 as crews continued preparations for next month’s Round Ireland Race.

Pwllheli-based Mojito, another regular on the Irish Sea offshore scene, placed eighth in IRC 1.

In IRC 3, National Yacht Club sailor Gavin Doyle guided Cartoon to fourth overall in the 18-boat fleet.

Joe Griffiths (who came up through the ranks of the RORC Griffin offshore programme) from Baltimore Sailing Club was onboard Luna that took third in IRC 1.

The championship was raced in light winds and warm conditions as a high-pressure system settled over southern England for the Bank Holiday regatta.

Race Results

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Published in RORC IRC Europeans

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IRC Europeans Championships

Alternating between the North and the South of Europe (the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea), the IRC European Championship is a flagship event of the IRC season and typically aims to bring together more than 60 boats.

IRC is a World Sailing-recognised rating system and the principal yacht measurement system for the rating of racing yachts worldwide.

The event is open to all IRC-rated boats. Typically, it will consist of a minimum of four coastal or tactical races (coefficient 1) and a long coastal race (coefficient 2).

Following the inaugural championship as part of Cork Week in 2016, the event sailed in Marseille in 2017, Cowes in 2018, and San Remo in 2019; the event sailed in Hyères, France in 2021 before moving to Brekens, Holland, in 2022 and in Cannes, France last June.

The IRC rating rule is administered jointly by the RORC Rating Office in Lymington, UK and UNCL Centre de Calcul, Pôle Course du Yacht Club de France, in Paris, France.