The National 18 fleet at Royal Cork Yacht Club produced a tightly fought May League with just seven points separating the top three after nine races sailed across three race nights.
With one discard applied after five races, consistency proved decisive in the final standings.
Howlin’ Mad, helmed by Alex Barry for Monkstown Bay Sailing Club, secured the overall win on 21 nett points after a remarkably steady series. The Cork Harbour crew of Paul O’Sullivan and Kieran O’Connell built their title challenge around four race wins and avoided any major setbacks apart from a final-race sixth that became their discard.
Royal Cork’s Nacho Boat, sailed by Charles Dwyer with Owen Hennessy and John Coakley, finished second overall on 28 points. The team opened the series strongly with a race win on the first evening and remained in contention throughout, but an eighth-place discard on the final night left them seven points adrift of the leaders.
Third overall went to Puss ’n Boots with Peter O’Donovan, Richard Lester and Finn O’Boyle. After a difficult opening night that included an eighth-place discard, the RCYC crew mounted the strongest late-series charge in the fleet with back-to-back wins in the final two races to finish on 34 nett points.
Honey Badger placed fourth overall on 44 points. Adam McCarthy’s crew delivered one of the most consistent middle-range scorelines in the fleet, rarely outside the top six, but lacked the race wins needed to challenge the podium positions.
Pink Panther completed the top five despite a dramatic collapse on the final evening. David Kennifick’s crew had looked like genuine title contenders after posting two race wins on 20 May, but three consecutive DNC scores on the last night proved costly and dropped the RCYC boat to fifth overall on 52 points.
The May League also highlighted the depth of the 16-boat fleet. Aquabatics recovered from a full DNC night mid-series to finish seventh overall, while Herbie climbed to 12th after only contesting the final evening and scoring 3, 6 and 2.
With nine races completed and one discard applied, the championship remained open deep into the final night — underlining the growing competitiveness of National 18 racing in Cork Harbour.
