Cork Harbour's own Alex Barry finished on top in the All Ireland Sailing Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club today but not before an exciting duel for the coveted trophy with Rio Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy who finished second overall in the eight boat fleet writes Gail McAllister.

After a frustrating wait in dead calm conditions on day 2 of the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championships sailors were treated to a perfect 20–knots of breeze in the final races. It was thrilling to watch Ireland’s top sailors from each class compete in the latest National 18 dinghies.  

Annalise Murphy and crew gave an outstanding performance with 3 bullets in the final 3 races and the final winner was not clear until judges and race officer had done the maths on discards. RS400 sailor from Monkstown Bay Yacht Club came out top with 11 points, with Annalise Murphy only one point behind on 12 and Darragh O’Sullivan, who had dominated the board throughout the afternoon, came in at 3rd with an equal 3 points, because Annalise had 3 bullets to Darragh’s 2. Race Officer Peter Crowley completed a good series with 20 minute races and a fast turnaround between races keeping everyone on their toes.

This weekend’s top sailors came from a broad spectrum of classes RS400, Laser Radial, Laser Full Rig, National 18, ICRA 1, 2 & 3, 1720, IDRA14, RS200, J24, Mermaid, Shannon One Design and Flying Fifteen.

Top eight results are downloadable below.

Defending champion Anthony O'Leary must win one of two repechage places to earn a place in tomorrow's final of the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The six finalists confirmed for tomorrow are RS400 Sailor Alex Barry with crew Richard Leonard, National 18 Sailor Ewen Barry with crew Stanley Browne, 1720 Sailor Peter O Leary with crew Sandy Remmington, Laser Sailor Darragh O Sullivan with crew mark Hasset, IRC 2 Sailor John Swan with crew Ryan Glynn, Laser Radial Sailor Annalise Murphy with crew Seafra Guilfoyle.

Seeking two two repechage places tomorrow morning are 2015 Winner Anthony OLeary with crew John Durcan, IDRA14 Sailor Alan Henry with crew Simon Revill,  RS200 Sailor Neil Spain with crew John Downey J24 Sailor Cillian Dickson with crew Gordon Stirling, Flying Fifteen Sailor David Gorman with crew Stephen O’Shaughnessy, SB20 Sailor Stephen Hyde with crew Jerry Dowling, IRC3 Paul Gibbons with crew Killian Collins, SOD Sailor Mark McCormick with crew Nicky McCormick.

It has been a golden if sometimes very thin thread running through Irish sailing continuously since 1947. Despite the vagaries of the Irish weather and the increasing complexity of our sailing programme, absolutely every season for sixty-nine years now we’ve managed – occasionally with some difficulty – to create a viable come-all-ye-class-champions national event which rotated the venues and the boat types used. It’s an event which brings together multiple talents from many classes to produce a Champion of Champions after a hectic weekend of racing, and 2016’s edition starts this morning at the Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven. W M Nixon attempts to grasp the will-of-the wisp which is the ideal that was the Irish Helmsman’s Championship and is now the ISA All Ireland Championship, and finds it’s in a bit of bother.

It’s ironic that while the publicity machine beats the drum ever-faster for the annual Endeavour Trophy, the Helmsmans Championship’s British equivalent which is being staged in England in a week’s time, here in Ireland publicity had seemed almost muted in the run-up to this weekend’s All Ireland until the news broke this week that two GP 14 sailors – including the World Champion – had declined an invitation to enter on the grounds that the event has become too out of line with other dinghy events for participation in terms of entry fee and other costs.

It’s ironic that the British Championship should be on a roll, while ours is getting the kind of publicity any iconic event could well do without, because the Irish event was introduced quite a few years in advance of the British one. And when the Endeavour Trophy was up and running properly, didn’t we send over one of our best Enterprise crews to take part, and didn’t they win it overall when Robin Hennessy and Robert Michael of Malahide won the Endeavour Trophy in 1968?

The other RCYC. The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham-on-Crough in Essex is hosting the Endeavour Trophy in a week’s time with the lineup including two Olympic medallists, and an event fee of 130GBP includes food and accommodation for the weekend, and the entry fee. The Endeavour Trophy was won by Ireland’s Robin Hennessy and Robert Michael in 1968. Photo courtesy RCYC

These days, the organisers of the Endeavour Trophy lay down the red carpet all the way to the RCYC in Burnham-on-Crouch in order to entice the stars of many classes to come and give of their best in the Endeavour Trophy, and said stars are treated well in the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club with an event fee of £130GBP which includes all food and accommodation in addition to entry.

But in Ireland, the RCYC – aka the Royal Cork Yacht Club - has been left out on a limb in staging the ISA All Ireland Championship 2016, so they’ve had to charge the entrants an entry fee of €220 plus an extra €1000 waiver for insurance requirement.

Now admittedly €90 of that entry fee is to cover for three at the All Ireland Dinner in the RCYC tonight, which seems to me a perfectly justifiable way to ensure that everyone is truly involved in the event in its totality. But nevertheless a modest sponsorship package would take disagreeable financial challenges out of the equation at a time of the season when many amateur sailors are just about cleaned out in the resources department. And though as we’ll see in looking down the list of participants, there are some distinctly top-end sailors involved, the essence of the All Irelands is that it should be a celebration of Irish amateur sailing sport at every level of boat expense to include the less affluent.

There was sponsorship of the event until five years ago, but once that had gone with the recession, costs for participation gradually rose. And this summer with Irish sailing attention at every level increasingly focused on the Olympics and the wonder of Annalise’s Silver Medal, it may well be that insufficient attention was being given to the fact that the up-coming All Ireland is an event which offers a very attractive and compact sponsorship package, particularly with the 70th Anniversary coming up next year.

Annalise Murphy and coach Rory Murphy immediately after winning the Olympic Silver Medal in August. Today she is testing herself in a very different environment – the bear-pit of the two-day ISA All Ireland Championship raced in the new National 18 Ultras at Crosshaven. Photo World Sailing

Let’s hope securing this particular sponsorship package is work in progress. Meanwhile, after a long and exhausting season of many events, your columnist found himself energised by the thought that the All Irelands 2016 are going to staged at Crosshaven in the new Ultra National 18s. This is the next stage in a success story which has its heart and soul in Cork Harbour, and the development of this remarkable class with affordable boats is a credit to all involved, not least the Royal Cork which came up with seed money just when it was needed to bring this new Phil Morrison creation to fruition.

We think we’ve become used to the look of the new National 18s, but the other day I came across this photo of Ewen Barry’s boat in light airs, and you see things you hadn’t noticed before. It’s a timely photo to use, as Ewen has been the tops in 2016, leading the charge to the outright win by a clear margin when nine of the new Cork boats went to the big championship at Findhorn in Scotland, so naturally he’s the National 18 representative in this morning’s all-Ireland lineup, sailing for Monkstown Bay SC.

They don’t have to pretend to be different. The new Phil Morrison-designed National 18s are very different . This is Ewen Barry’s champion D’Good, D’Bad and D’Blaster , and he is representing the class in this weekend’s All Ireland. Photo: Robert BatemanThus he must be a favourite. But National 18 favourites can be beaten when the All Ireland is sailed in the class at Crosshaven, as happened back in 1970 when the 17-year-old Robert Dix, crewed in a very positive manner by Richard Burrows, raced a National 18 to such good effect that he became the youngest-ever Helmsmans Champion, besting the likes of Somers Payne and Harold Cudmore to do so.

He’s still the youngest-ever winner, while the first woman winner was Laura Dillon way back in 1996. But in All Ireland Helmsmans Championship terms, 1996 is only the day before yesterday, for in a series going right back to 1947 when Douglas Heard won, the outstanding feature is the longevity of the winners. Senior of all those very happily still with us is Ted Crosbie who won in 1950, while doubly awarded and still playing around in boats is Neville Maguire, winner in 1952 and 1954. Between those two wins was the still active Johnny Hooper, then in 1955 and 1960 the winner was Clayton Love, who just three weeks ago played a starring role in the IDRA 14 Class’s 70th Anniversary.

Laura Dillon was the first woman winner, in 1996

Ted Crosbie is the senior Champion Helm – he won in 1950. He is seen here with the Boat of the Year award at the Royal Cork in 2015. Photo Bob Bateman

Clayton Love (right) with Jim Lambkin left) and Sean Flood at the recent IDRA 70th Anniversary regatta. Clayton won the Helmsmans Chmpionship in 1955 and 1960. Photo: W M Nixon

So the message is clear and simple. If you want to live long and live well, win the All Ireland Helmsman’s Championship. Here’s the lineup for this morning’s start:

Defending Champion: Anthony O’Leary RCYC; National 18: Ewen Barry Monkstown Bay Sailing Club/ RCYC; RS400: Alex Barry MBSC/RCYC; SB20: Stefan Hyde RCYC; Mermaid: Sam Shiels Skerries SC; Laser Standard: Darragh O’Sullivan Kinsale YC; IDRA14: Alan Henry Sutton Dinghy Club; Flying 15: David Gorman National YC; RS200: Neil Spain Howth YC; Shannon One-Design: Mark McCormick Lough Ree YC; ICRA Division 1: Colin Byrne Royal Irish YC; ICRA Division 2: Jonny Swan Howth YC; ICRA Divison 3: Paul Gibbons RCYC; 1720: Peter O’Leary RCYC; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy NYC; J24: Cillian Dickson HYC.

If the weather predictions prove correct there’ll be an easing northwest to north breeze today after some early morning rain, then a rising southerly tomorrow with generally good weather, with the event ending before the next lot of wet and windy weather comes in tomorrow night. It could be an ideal mixture of conditions for a remarkable mixture of abilities, as the lineup ranges all the way from helms for the Mermaid and Shannon One Design Classes - Sam Shiels of Skerries and Mark McCormick of Lough Ree respectively – through several former winners including of course the defending champion Anthony O’Leary who is trying to make it three in a row, and on up to the exalted heights of Olympic Medaldom with Annalise Murphy.

Frankly, it’s very courageous of Annalise to let her name go forward, as the begrudgers will be looking for any slip–ups. But we know she’s a genuine sportswoman as her relaxation sailing is buzzing about in a foiling Moth which offers endless opportunities for making a holy show of yourself. So taking herself out of her Olympic Laser Radial comfort zone into a bearpit like the All Ireland race in three-person National 18s undoubtedly has class.

Peter O’Leary representing the 1720 Class, is expected to be among the front runners this weekend
But whether her name will be heading for the famous salver on Sunday evening is another matter altogether. You’d be inclined to expect the name O’Leary to feature in the reckoning, but which particular O’Leary is anyone’s guess. Former winner Stefan Hyde is also a force to be reckoned with when he’s on form. In fact there are maybe seven in that list who are in with a real chance. And if it is someone outside our list who becomes the All Ireland Champion 2016, we’ll be happy to let you know and admit we got it wrong.

Odyssey, the prototype for the new Phil Morrison-designed National 18 Ultra. The use of these fascinating boats for the All Ireland Championship this weekend is the latest stage in a remarkable class development story in which the Royal Cork Yacht Club has played a key role. Photo courtesy National 18 Class

Two invitees have declined their invitations to this weekend's Irish Sailing Association (ISA) All Ireland sailing competition at Royal Cork Yacht Club over an entry fee that the ISA says it is forced to charge in the absence of an event sponsor.

GP14 World Champion Shane MacCarthy says the 'entry fee is too expensive and not in line with dinghy entry fees'. 

Fellow GP14 helmsman Hugh Gill goes further and says the €220 charge is 'an indication of how the ISA is out of touch with how the majority of sailors manage their participation in the sport'. 

Neither sailor is attending the Crosshaven event that is to be sailed in National 18 dinghies.

16 sailors, including Rio Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy, have been invited to attend the annual end–of–season event organised by the national governing body.

Sutton Dinghy Club's Gill wrote to Afloat to say he had declined the invitation due to the insistence by the ISA that all entrants, despite being invited to participate, must pay an entry fee of €220. Gill says' Other participants have entered but have sent correspondence expressing their disappointment regarding the entry fee'.  He adds: 'The imposition of an entry fee is a recent change, maybe for the past 5 years, to what was always an invitational event attended by various Class National Champions and other sailors who had achieved success on the international stage. To impose any fee on this event let alone a charge of €220 for an event comprising a number of short races over two days for 16 invited sailors is another indication of how the ISA has lost touch with the reality of how the majority of sailors manage their participation in the sport'. 

In response, ISA Chief Executive Harry Hermon has described the withdrawal of both GP14 helmsmen as 'most unfortunate'. 

In a statement the ISA says: 'the background to the current situation is that up until 2008, the event was sponsored which enabled the host club to run it without an entry fee. Since that date there has been an entry fee paid to the host club, with the average being in the range of €120 - €150. Last year’s event had an entry fee of €130.

Each year, as part of a review following the event, we ask sailors how it can be improved. These questions produce mostly expected answers, namely dinghy sailors prefer the event to be in dinghies, while keelboat sailors prefer keelboats! In recent years the event has been run in J80 Keelboats, and this year we are delighted to be able to return to dinghies using the National 18’s thanks to the generosity of the National 18 Class in loaning their boats.

Last year, the feedback highlighted the fact, that while the on-the-water format was good, the social side was totally lacking, with a very low turnout for the Championship dinner. In fact, many of the sailors indicated in advance that they would be attending, but on the night very few appeared. This left the host club with a lot of uneaten food and a significant loss on the night. This year in response to the feedback received from the competitors, the ISA decided to try to make it a more sociable event and to promote the dinner as something worth attending, hence the cost of the dinner is included in the entry fee. The fee of €220, is made up of three dinners at €30 each and entry fee of €130, the same as last year. As all event organisers will concur, the costs associated with staging an event with only 16 entrants do not differ significantly from staging a larger event with more competitors enabling lower entry fees. It is also worth noting that the ISA sets the entry fee, but does not get any of the funds generated through the staging of the event.

All the other nominees accepted the nomination and the entry fee of €220. The two competitors who were subsequently invited to take up the slots made available by Shane and Hugh were delighted to accept. It is regrettable that two sailors, who should be sailing in the event have declined their invitation, however in the absence of a sponsor, we do not believe it is unreasonable to ask the competitors to pay for the costs associated with staging the event, and buying dinner for the person lending them their boat.

At this late stage it is not possible to change the format or pricing structure for the event, however the ISA will initiate a detailed review of the event following this year’s championship, and in the improving financial environment specific efforts will be made to attract a sponsor for future championships.

In closing I'd like to express our gratitude to Royal Cork Yacht Club for hosting the event and to thank the members of the National 18 class for facilitating this event by lending their boats, their generosity is acknowledged.

We wish all the contestants every success and hope that all the participants have a truly enjoyable event and a sociable evening' – Harry Hermon, ISA.

South coast youth sailors took to the podium in style at the ISA All Ireland Junior Sailing Championships prizegiving this afternoon securing the top three places overall in the 16-boat invitational fleet.

It is the third year in a row that Royal Cork sailors have retained the youth sailing trophy.

Despite much of the rest of the country being either battered by gales or beset by rain, on the West Cork Riviera they managed to find sailable conditions yesterday and today to put in eight good races rounded out by a Medal Race with the sixteen crew in competition in Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Centre’s special fleet of David Harte-devised competition dinghies.

Youth champions from left – 2nd place James McCann, Geoff Power Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, 1st place Johnny Durcan, Florence Lyden Royal Cork Yacht Club National Yacht Club, 3rd place Harry Durcan, Noah McCarfth Royal Cork Yacht Club3at Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Education Centre. Photo: ISA/Facebook

Crewed by Florence Lyden, the pair give allegiance to both Royal Cork Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire’s National YC, Johnny Durcan was on top of his form in Saturday’s moderate sou’sou’west wind and today’s more challenging gusty conditions.

The cup of success was overflowing and then some for the Durcan family, as the Medal Race was won by Johnny’s twin brother Harry crewed by Noah McCarthy, but Johnny was second and could comfortably carry the double points of 4 as his scoreline in the preliminaries was 2,1,3,1,2,2,1.

Rising Waterford star Geoff Power of Dunmore East, crewed by James McCannn of Crosshaven, was second overall, but fetched up well down as he posted 29 points to the remarkable 16 of the new champion, while Harry Durcan was back at 33.

Kate Lyttle and Niamh Henry – 2016 All Ireland Womens Junior Champions

Overall Results 

1 Laser Radial Johnny Durcan Florence Lyden RCYC & NYC

2 420 Geoff Power James McCann Waterford Harbour Sailing Club
3 29er Harry Durcan Noah McCarthy Royal Cork Yacht Club
4 420 Kate Lyttle Niamh Henry Royal St George Yacht Club
5  Optimist Tom Higgins Henry Higgins Royal St George Yacht Club
6 Topper Jack Fahy Eoghan Byrne Royal St George Yacht Club
7  Laser 4.7 Peter Fagan Ross Morgan Royal St George Yacht Club
8  Laser 4.7 Clare Gorman Ella Hemeryck National Yacht Club
9 Optimist Harry Twomey Charlie Moloney RCYC & CHSC
10 Topper Sophie Crosbie Caoimhe Foster Royal Cork Yacht Club
11  RS200 Junior Toby Hudson Fowler Greg Arrowsmith Royal St George Yacht Club
12 Mirror Sarah White Eoghan Duffy Sligo Yacht Club / Lough Ree Yacht Club
13 RS Feva Henry Start Morgan Devine Royal St George Yacht Club
14 Topaz Adam Byrne Ciaran MacGearailt Dingle Sailing Club
15 Optimist Leah Rickard Luke Rickard National Yacht Club
16 Topaz Dylan Reidy Killian Reidy Foynes Yacht Club

Downloadable scoresheet below

Cove Sailing Club's own Beneteau First 36.7 Altair was the class one winner of yesterday's annual Cobh to Blackrock race writes Bob Bateman. The Cork Harbour fixture that was postponed due to bad weather a fortnight week ago set sail in light westerly winds yesterday with a good turnout of all sorts of cruisers and dinghies that included some local Rankin dinghy entries. 

The course was upriver from the start line at Cobh to the finish line at Blackrock Castle.

Cove Sailing Club Commodore Aidan Mc Aleavey, with support from the Naval Squadron's Soubrette from Haulbowline acting as comittee boat, sent the fleet off with a flooding tide and a beat up to Whitepoint then a reach onwards to Marino Point. 

The dinghy fleet started first then the white sail division followed by traditional craft with racing classes 1,2,3 last to start.

Second in class one was Ria Lyden's X332 Ellida with Paul Tingle's X34 Alpaca from Royal Cork third.

George Radley's Half tonner Cortegada was the class two winner. The race is part of CSC September League. Full results are here

The CH Marine Autumn Series at Royal Cork Yacht Club is rapidly approaching writes Kieran O'Connell. A highlight of the Cork Harbour sailing season the event attracts large numbers of sailors from a wide variety of clubs from around Ireland. Download the event Notice of Race and entry form below.

This year the CH Marine Autumn Series will commence on Sunday, October 2nd with the first two races and will follow with two races Sunday in October finishing on Sunday October 30th. Racing will commence each day at 1055hrs, and will be followed each day by food, music and daily prize giving. Notice of Race and Entry forms downloadable from CH Marine Autumn Series

Over the last few years there has been a great 1720 fleet building for the CH Marine Autumn Series, with 13 boats competing last year. This year is looking like the 1720 class will not disappoint with a large number of early entries.

On the final day of racing the CH Marine Autumn Series dinner and overall prize giving will be held at the club commencing at 19.30hrs. 

Subject to availability, complimentary berthing on swinging moorings or marina berths will be provided to yachts visiting. For berthing arrangements please contact Mark Ring at Royal Cork office +353(0)214831023

Royal St. George Yacht Club Optimist sailor Tom Higgins continued his successful season at last weekend's Munster Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. The Dublin Bay youth sailor finished the six race series on 14 points, three–points clear of the National Yacht Club's Charlie Cullen.Third in the 35-boat senior fleet was Royal Cork's Rory O'Sullivan. In the junior fleet, Higgins's clubmate Moss Simmington was the overall winner. IODAI Results below.

After a successful Irish National Championships this month at Royal Cork Yacht Club, the National 18 Class Association is exhibiting the new Morrison designed National 18 (known as the Ultra) at the Southampton Boat Show from 16 to 25 September 2016.

The National 18 class has undergone a hugely successful period of change and development over the last two years and is now taking a breather and enjoying learning how to get the best out of sailing the fantastic new boats. This means that after two full seasons the boats have been fully tested and developed to meet all the expectations and requirements of the Class members and no more changes are planned in the foreseeable future.

Since the Phil Morrison designed hull was adopted in July 2014, sixteen boats have been built, two more are underway, and a new sail plan has been introduced incorporating a laminate square top mainsail and 21sq m spinnaker, along with twin spinnaker poles. Fifteen Ultras took part in the 2016 National Championship held at Findhorn near Inverness and produced incredibly close and hugely enjoyable racing.

On show at Stand A106 in the Arena will be 'The Shadow' (412) from Blackwater Sailing Club, whilst two National 18s will race in the 'Battle of the Classes' on Sunday 25 September.

The National 18 is available from the Class builder, White Formula of Brightlingsea, at an on-the-water sail away package price of £16,995 including VAT.

The Morrison designed National 18 has, as intended by the Class, created a performance three-person dinghy with one trapeze that is fast and capable of being handled by crews of varying ability, age, and experience; she is not an extreme boat and many people commented that she looks a "proper boat."

The National 18s are renowned for their companionship and great social scene both and on and off the water, as well as for outstanding high performance racing; the Autumn is an ideal time to place an order with the builders to have your new boat ready in good time for next year's racing programme and for the National Eighteen Championships which are to be held at Hayling Island Sailing Club in August 2017.
For further information about the National 18 ClassThe original idea was that of Frank Knowling of Whitstable YC (later to be known as the father of the class) for an 18-foot sailing dinghy, suitable for day sailing, yet fast enough to be of interest to racing sailors and at a reasonable cost. (The first rather hopeful restriction of the original class rules was "Price not to exceed £125 complete with spars, all equipment and designer's fee but not including sails"). The plan was to produce an affordable national alternative to the many local one-designs of about this size to be found right round the coast of the British Isles. Many of these local estuary classes survive today, for example the Mermaid in Dublin, Thames Estuary OD, Chichester Harbour 18 etc.

The well-known designer Uffa Fox won the competition (over the Laurent Giles submitted version) with his 'Ace' design for a clinker-built wooden boat. National 18' number 1, 'Hurricane', was owned by Stanley Beale and sailed at Whitstable, with No.2 'Gust' and No.3 Foam''.

Initial enthusiasm was held back by the effects of World War II but a good deal of 18' building got underway soon afterwards, when mahogany was again available for boat-building and the class became active especially in the Thames Estuary area. By 1950, fleets had appeared at clubs dotted all around the British Isles and Ireland, the Class Association having been formed in 1947.

Although most boats were built to the 'Ace' design, the class had always been 'restricted' rather than 'one-design' and boats with a reduced number of wider planks were built when glued plywood construction was adopted and even one moulded carvel boat was built (252 'Sabon').
Several of the wooden 18's, now called 'Classics' are still in commission, and regularly race, principally at Bosham SC. They include No15 Tinkerbell, built in 1938 and still very competitive.

With the advent of GRP and the rising costs of hard woods, the Class asked Ian Proctor in the late '60's to design a fibreglass hull that would not outclass the existing boats. In this he was successful and it was some time before a Proctor hull won the championships. The first new Proctor, 'Genivieve' was exhibited at the Crystal Palace Dinghy Show of 1970 when a bare hull cost £153. Since then the Class has progressively reduced minimum hull and centreboard weight, and introduced a single trapeze. Also a restriction which requires all new hulls to come from the class mould so they are in effect one-design. Rigs have been optimised and more recently carbon spars introduced.

These changes produced a boat known in the Class as an 'Ultimate' which is fast and exciting to sail and which has provided close and competitive racing for fifteen or so years, both locally and at the annual National Championships. The Royal Cork Yacht Club has the largest fleet.
The class strives to be inclusive in providing heathy competition for all generations of 18s through handicaps and separate starts. Thus though the major trophies at National Championships are awarded in the Ultimate class, there are trophies also for the Pen-ultimates (heavy GRP) and the Classics.

In 2012 the class mould was declared unservicable, and there was much debate about what to do next. This culminated in a request to Phil Morrison to design a hull that was sleeker, lighter, faster and safer, and in so far as reasonably possible within the existing measurement restrictions.

The Morrison prototype was financed by supporters of the Class and built at The Boatyard at Bere in 2013. Named 'Odyssey' and trialled extensively, she ticks all the boxes, is a pleasure to sail and has proved a great success. This development will undoubtedly give the Class a new lease of life, and production of new boats is already under way at White Formula in Brightlingsea.

The One Ton Cup owned by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris and presented by Hamble Yacht Services is just a few days away.

As Afloat.ie previously reported, the Cup is considered to be one of the most prestigious trophies in yacht racing. The One Ton Cup dates back to 1899 and was last competed for in 2002. The golden era of the One Ton Cup was when IOR Racing dominated the world of yachting, countries from all over the world competed for the One Ton Cup, where reputations were made and lost. The last winner of the One Ton Cup in the IOR era was Justine, owned by Frank Woods and skippered by Harold Cudmore. Justine won the cup for the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1981, racing in home waters, the team were unbeaten in every race. The only time that the feat has been achieved before or since.

Justine won the cup for the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1981, racing in home waters, the team were unbeaten in every race. The only time that the feat has been achieved before or since. Photo: John McWilliam

Anthony O'Leary will be racing Ker 40 Antix, this September, flying the burgee of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. “The One Ton Cup is part of yacht racing history and the Royal Cork was immensely proud to host the competition and to have a home win” commented O'Leary. “As always, Antix will be coming to win, we are up against a magnificent fleet of well-sailed boats, and the winners will have to be at the very top of their game. I can't see anyone running away with it.”

Peter Morton's Carkeek 40+ Girls on Film leads the FAST40+ Series, having won the the first three rounds. However, the One Ton Cup counts for double points towards the series, adding even more importance in deciding the season champion. For Peter Morton, winning the One Ton Cup is still a personal ambition.

“So far, we have had good results in most races this season, consistency has been the key.” commented Peter Morton. “ We have a really good team and they all work together well, the communication and the moding of the boat works well and gives everybody confidence. The fleet is definitely compressing, we are all very close, even during long races we are often overlapped after hours of racing. Over the last 30 years I have won the Quarter Ton Cup, the Half Ton Cup and the Three Quarter Ton Cup, on various boats. I have only come second in the One Ton Cup. It is something that is a bit of unfinished business for me, so yes, I would love to win it".

Joining the FAST40+ fleet for the first time at the One Ton Cup, will be Heinz Peter Schmidt's GP42 Silva Neo. The young German team won the German National ORC title four times and won the ORC Euros in 2011, and made the podium for the ORC Worlds in 2014.

The One Ton Cup owned by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris, presented by Hamble Yacht Services and organised by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, will take place between 16-18th September in the Solent, UK. Nine races are scheduled with a mixture of windward-leeward and weighted points factor longer races.