Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A 'late' West Coast campaign won the prestigious Portcullis Trophy at the Sovereign's Cup for skipper John Gordon and the crew of his X332 X-Rated from Mayo Sailing Club last week. Afloat takes a look at how this 'no rockstar' boat…

The Greystones-based Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera (Frank Whelan) is a byword for enthusiasm, both for the dedication of her amateur crew in preparing the boat for the season, and in the way her owner/skipper and his top lieutenants lead them…

If Kinsale Port wasn't treated to enough on Saturday with the climax of the 95-boat Sovereign's Cup Regatta at Kinsale Yacht Club, the West Cork Town also had a visit from the Celtic Steam Engine Association writes Bob Bateman. It…

There was a packed clubhouse at Kinsale Yacht Club for the presentation of O’Leary Life Sovereign’s Cup prizes. Photos by Bob Bateman. As Afloat reported previously, with a superb string of six race wins in the four-day event, Frank Whelan's Eleuthera from…

The Sovereign's Cup Portcullis Trophy was awarded to John Gordon’s X-yacht 'X-Rated' from Mayo Sailing Club for the best overall performance under the ECHO handicap system. The X-332 entry won two races in the ECHO division of the Cup's biggest…

In the Sovereign's Cup non-spinnaker fleets, Waterford Harbour Sailing Club’s Shane Statham on Slack Alice won the overall White Sails trophy for his straight wins under IRC plus his counterpart victory on ECHO handicap, a feat only managed by Eleuthera…

Staging a major sailing event which best reflects the spirit of your beloved home port is not a challenge for the faint-hearted writes W M Nixon. When we consider the multiple factors involved in the completion of the complex four-day…

In an intense battle of the Half Tonners, Michael Wright's Mata briefly overtook Class Two overall leader Nigel Biggs's Checkmate XVIII in the closing races of the O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup in Kinsale today. As Afloat predicated here, Half Tonners dominated the 19-boat IRC Two…

Despite a disqualification (DSQ) in the penultimate race of the five-race series last night, Richard Colwell and John Murphy's new J109 campaign from Howth Yacht Club held the lead in Class One of the O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup to take overall victory…

George Sisk's new XP40 Wow sailed to success in the O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup today beating bigger sistership the XP50 Freya on her home waters off Kinsale in the Regatta's Coastal Class. The Royal Irish Yacht Club crew led the regatta from the…

With five wins from five races and discarding a first place in her overall score tally, the Greystones Sailing Club's Grand Soleil 44 'Eleuthera' made a clean sweep of Class Zero of the O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup off Kinsale today.   It marks…

The weather might have thrown four seasons at the O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup this week but it was no match for the organisers or competitors who successfully completed the penultimate days racing albeit in fog off Kinsale today.  It leaves…

Day Three of the Sovereign's Cup in Kinsale today started in the harbour for both of the White Sail fleets in low mist and drizzle. Former Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore and veteran Irish Paralympian John Twomey was the leader of Class 2 on Shillelagh…

Kinsale Yacht Club has cancelled today's second day of racing at its 2019 Sovereign's Cup regatta due to easterly winds forecast to gust to 40-knots by lunchtime writes Bob Bateman. The 95-boat fleet completed a full programme of racing in yesterday's opening day…

Day One - A three-way tie on four points overall makes it tight at the top of a 16-boat Dragon fleet competing at its first-ever showing in the O'Leary Life sponsored Sovereign's Cup off Kinsale.  After two races sailed, Martin Byrne's Jaguar Sailing…

It's turning into an early battle of the Half Tonners in Class Two of the O'Leary Life sponsored Sovereign's Cup off Kinsale writes Bob Bateman. Class Two is the Cup's biggest class with 19 boats competing and Half Tonners occupy five of the…