Only the bravest hoisted spinnakers in the somewhat reduced fleet that took part in today's heavy weather outing of the O'Leary Insurance Royal Cork Yacht Club Winter League from Crosshaven writes Bob Bateman.

The forecast proved correct in Cork Harbour because while conditions looked benign at 10 am the breeze soon averaged 27 knots with gusts of 37 in squalls from the south-west.

Strong gusts from the south-west for the second race of the Winter League

In what is turning out to be a series of contrasts, this race followed last week's opener in light airs.

The Committee Boat set Course 7o for the second race

Race Officers Clem and Wendy McElligott started the race from the Committee Boat at Grassy Walk and used Course 70 with a running start and took in an area from start to Corbeg to Number 7 buoy and then on to number 13 off Cuskinny, with several rounds totalling about 12 miles in total.

Kinsale Yacht Club's Alan Mulcahy now leads Echo overall

Kieran Collins' Coracle get to grips with the kite

Pat Vaughan’s Aramis in the sunshine after a rain squall

See more in Bob Bateman's photo gallery from race two below:

Coracle helmed by Mel Collins got off to a good start and led across Cork Harbour followed closely by Anthony O’Leary sailing the modified 1720 Antix Beag in the first races of the O’Leary Insurance Group’s sponsored Winter League at Royal Cork Yacht Club today writes Bob Bateman.

There was just a trickle of breeze at the start of the race but winds increased somewhat during racing, just as well with a 3.9m flood tide.

Light winds prevailed for the first RCYC Winter League Race

Having put their Sigma 33 Sea Hawk to bed for Winter, Clem and Wendy Mc Elligott, took up their annual role as race officers for the series. They set a course from The Committee boat /Cage across to the Eastern shore of the Harbour to Corkbeg back to round Cage take Number 7 to port round number 13 and finish between the Committee Boat and Number 9.

Despite her early lead, Coracle (Olsen 30) had to give way to an outward bound Gas Carrier and this allowed Antix Beag through on the water.

Corrected results are here.

A 15-knot northwesterly breeze brought the 2018 Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn League to a close today writes Bob Bateman. 

The series attracted entries from all the south coast clubs including Kinsale Yacht Club, the newly founded Great Island SC, Monkstown Bay SC, Waterford Harbour SC and Schull Harbour SC.

This year's series was raced over five Sundays with a good mix of laid courses and coastal style courses across the series as well as racing for 1720's on their own course.

After seven races sailed, Conor Phelan's clean slate in a four-boat class zero fleet meant the Ker 37 did not have to sail the last race. Second overall was Frank Doyle's J122 Cara. 

Jump Juice

In the 14-boat Class one and two fleet, Annamarie and Denis Murphy's Grand Soliel 40 Nieulargo was the overall victor after seven races by four points from Kieran Collins' Olson 30 Coracle IV. Third was the Jones family J109, Jelly Baby.

Fulmar Fever

Visiting Westerly Fulmar, (Robert Marchant) from Waterford Harbour Sailing Club was the overall winner by four points after seven races sailed. Second was Richard Leonard's Bolero 26, Bandit. Third was the Trapper 250 Cracker (Denis Byrne). 

Nieulargo

In the 1720 sportsboat class, after 12 races sailed and two discards, Tom Durcan and Clive O'Shea's T-Bone emerged as the overall winners by three points from Anthony O'Leary's Evolution Racing.

1720 T bone

For full results see here 

With another win yesterday, Conor Phelan's Ker 37 Jump Juice has a clean sweep in class zero IRC of Royal Cork Yacht Club's Autumn league.

Second in this class is Frank Doyle's J122E Cara on 11 points with Tom Roche's Meridian from Kinsale Yacht Club one point behind on 12 points.  Four are competing

In class one and two IRC, Annamarie & Denis Murphy's Grand Soliel 40, Nieulargo has a three-point margin over Finbarr O'Regan's Elan 333 Artful Dodger on 11points.Third overall after five races sailed is Kieran Collins' Olson 30 Coracle IV.

Full results are here. 

In contrast to last Sunday where Royal Cork Yacht Club's Autumn League featured the heavy weather drama of broken spars, a grounding and a crew in the water, today's race was an airless one and racing for classes 1,2,3 and 4 (the spinnaker fleet) was abandoned writes Bob Bateman.

The white sail fleet got a start inside Cork Harbour with a first beat along the Eastern Shore.

Royal Cork Yacht Club finished fourth in the silver fleet at the Global Team Race Regatta in Newport, R.I., USA at the weekend.

With steady sailing across a full range of conditions and against a fleet of determined opponents, the Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, U.K.) claimed the championship at the inaugural Regatta, a two-on-two keelboat team race hosted by the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court from October 5 to 7. The octet of sailors from the historic London yacht club won 18 of 21 races over the course of three days. The team representing the host New York Yacht Club finished second with 16 wins and five losses. St Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco) was third at 15-6 and Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo (Rome, Italy) fourth with a 14-7 record.

A dozen teams from 10 countries, including Japan, Argentina and Australia, travelled to Newport for a frenetic weekend of sailing at the very end of the northeast sailing season. They were rewarded with wind from 5 to 20 knots, a matched fleet of 22 Sonar keelboats, an efficient race committee that cranked out 126 races and the unparalleled hospitality of the New York Yacht Club. Proponents of team racing, including New York Yacht Club Commodore Phil Lotz, who threw his full support behind the event, hope the Global Team Race Regatta will spur team racing's ascendancy to the pinnacle of competitive small-boat sailing, the Olympic Games. Of course, one successful team race isn't going to sufficiently charm the International Olympic Committee, but there was nonetheless a lot riding on this event.

Gold Fleet:
1. Royal Thames Yacht Club (England), 18-3
2. New York Yacht Club (New York), 16-5
3. St. Francis Yacht Club (St. Francisco), 15-6
4. Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo (Italy) 14-7
5. Dutch Match & Team Racing Association (The Netherlands) 9-12
6. Bayerischer Yacht Club (Germany), 6-15

Silver Fleet:
1. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (Italy), 11-10
2. Japan Sailing Federation (Japan), 10-11
3. Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club (Scotland), 10-11
4. Royal Cork Yacht Club (Ireland), 8-13
5. Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club (Australia); 7-14
6. Yacht Club Argentino (Argentina), 2-19

It was a drama–filled second race day of Royal Cork Yacht Club's Autumn League when near gale force winds swept through today's coastal course race writes Bob Bateman. 

The three boats competing in Class Zero were reduced to two when Conor Doyle's XP50 Freya split her jib at the harbour mouth forcing her retiral.

Southwesterly winds at Roches Point at the entrance to Cork Harbour were averaging 24 knots but gusting to over thirty.

Dave Doyle's Muskateer from Great Island Sailing Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Prior to that, the zero start was postponed when Conor Phelan's Jump Juice fouled the pin end buoy of the start line and had to be freed and the line reset.

In a separate incident, in class one, the rail or rail wire on Paul Tingle's  XP33 Alpaca gave way and some of her hiking crew ended up in the water but were all recovered safely.

The course set by Race Officer Peter Crowley

Race officer Peter Crowley sent classes 0,1,2,3,4 on a coastal course starting close to Whitegate. Zero went to Daunt, Smiths, W1, No.5 with a finish at Cage. 

Class 1and 2 went to W1, Power Head, Ringabella, No.5 and a finish at Cage

Classes 3 and 4 got a shorter course out to Ringabella Harp and finish at Cage.

Race Officer David O'Brien sent the white sail division to Ringabella, Harp mark, back to W1, no 5 and finish at Cage. White Sail One got a slightly longer course but in the same area.

The 1720s sailed on the Harbour's Eastern Bank.

Sigma 33 Flyover (David Marchant)  Photo: Bob Bateman

Results are here

Miss Whiplash (John Downey) Photo: Bob Bateman

Jelly Baby (Brian Jones) Photo: Bob Bateman

Above and below the Elan 333 Chancer Photos: Bob Bateman

Coracle (Barry Rose) to leeward and Finnbarr O'Regan's Artful Dodger Photo: Bob Bateman

The J109 Justus from Kinsale Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Ria Lyden's Ellida Photo: Bob Bateman

(Above and below) The J80 Jedi skippered by Fergus Coughlan Photo: Bob Bateman

Bad Company, (Desmond/Ivers/Deasy) Photo: Bob Bateman

Robert Marchant's Fulmar Fever from Waterford Harbour Photo: Bob BatemanSean Hanley's Luas, a HB31 Photo: Bob Bateman

Two races in plenty of wind got Royal Cork Yacht Club's Autumn League off to a great start in Cork Harbour today writes Bob Bateman

From a combined fleet of 53–boats, fleets were split into Spinnaker, White Sail and 1720 sports boats (who had three races).

The wind was northwesterly in direction and building so that by 1.30 pm there was over 20–knots.  

Windward-Leeward courses gave crews a chance to get to grips with unruly gennakers!

The Class 1and 2 start line in the first race

Entries for the series came from across the south coast including a Schull–based Sadler 32 and two boats from Waterford Harbour.

Robert Marchant from Dunmore East sailing Fulmar Fever

The spinnaker fleet had five classes with four boats in class zero, including Conor Doyle's new XP44 Freya while his cousin Frank is sailing a new J122E Cara.

Conor Doyle's Freya

Tom MacCarthy's Tony Castro designed Bataleur 88

It appears Alan Mulcahy has changed from Red Bus to a large Beneteau First and is now sailing in White sail. And Tom MacCarthy has gone from Whislin' Dixie to sailing Bataleur 88. An indication of the strengthening breeze was that MacCarthy tore his Genoa in the first race and changed to a smaller jib for the second.

Alan Mulcahy's Moondance

Peter Crowley was PRO with the White Sail Racing run by David O'Brien with Barry Rose in charge of the 1720s. Click here for overall results to date

With just over one week to go to the 2018 Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn Series, things are heating up with good entries from all the south coast clubs including Kinsale Yacht Club, the newly founded Great Island SC, Monkstown Bay SC, Waterford Harbour SC and Schull Harbour SC all with entries in so far.

This year's series will be raced over five Sundays starting on the 30th of September and finishing on the 28th of October, there will be a good mix of laid courses and coastal style courses across the series as well as racing for 1720's on their own course with 3 race per day for the 1720's.

"This year's series will be raced over five Sundays starting on the 30th of September"

The new U25 Academy will also have two boats entered in the 1720 class.

North Sails Debriefing Sessions

We will be running the North Sails video training sessions again this year, with Nigel Young and Maurice O Connell, they will be out on the water videoing the action and relaying their findings when we get ashore after racing, Last year this really helped people improve boat handling, crew work, sail trim and all aspects of race and time management. To allow time for the video to be edited properly and not to delay people after racing there will be no debrief on week one and RCYC will then be doing the first week's racing after racing on week two and so on.

This year will see the introduction of the weekly awards (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) these fun awards will be presented at the debrief sessions each week, based on the findings of the on–the–water coaches.

With three race areas and top quality race management with Race Officers Peter Crowley, Barry Rose and David O Brien, it promises to be another great series. Please get your entry in now to ensure you don't miss out.

Click here for online entry

Cork Week 2018 has been awarded Gold Certification by the International ‘Sailors for the Sea’ Clean Regatta programme with the event sustainability partners MaREI Centre for Marine & Renewable Energy and An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme.

The Clean Regattas programme is the world’s only sustainability certification for water-based events. The initiative helps people run more environmentally friendly events to protect local waters and beyond, raising the bar for ocean health around the world. “We are thrilled to support the Volvo Cork Week in their efforts to educate participants on environmental protection by serving as a model for responsible sailing.”– Robyn Albritton, Sustainability Director, Sailors for the Sea.

"The ocean is in crisis, every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from land"

The ocean is in crisis, every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from land and 40% of the oceans are heavily affected by human activity, including pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, and the loss of coastal habitats.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club implemented a range of Clean Regattas Best Practices to reduce our environmental impact, including the provision of reusable water bottles and hydration stations, compostable food and coffee containers, paper straws, energy conservation, online registration forms, and an information campaign on reducing single-use plastics and marine litter. 

Aoife Deane, Communications & Public Engagement Manager for MaREI commented “Our collaboration with Clean Coasts on supporting Volvo Cork Week in their efforts to run a cleaner, greener regatta represented an important opportunity for us to engage the sailors and members of the public on sustainability issues such as ocean degradation, marine litter and plastics”