With the Kinsale Yacht Club commodore baton being passed from David O’Sullivan to Michael Walsh in December last year, the new commodore is rallying his troops for a busy year ahead, writes the club’s Brian Goggin.
One busy committee member will surely be Matthias Hellstern, who moves into the vice commodore position with responsibility for sailing.
And there is certainly plenty of sailing this season in Kinsale despite it not being a Sovereign’s Cup year.
The hardy sailors will test the waters next month for the custom rigging Frostbites, with the cruisers getting dusted down and going racing in March for the Frank Godsell League.
April brings the highly competitive Cruiser Spring Series and will also see the Dragons launch, somewhat earlier than normal, with a training weekend planned with international sailor and coach Martin Payne.
May sees the Barry Ryan Keelboat Regatta for Dragons and Squibs, numerous club trophy races and the competitive national events will truly kick off with the Optimist Munsters.
The Toppers and Triangle Race visit in June, a month which will also see one of the biggest events in Kinsale this summer with the Squib (British) Nationals. Eyes will firmly be on local Squibbers Colm Dunne and Ian Travers to see if they can maintain their 2019 form and cause an upset against the other top English and Irish teams.
July sees the juniors take over with sailing courses and it also looks to be an incredibly intensive year for some of Kinsale’s brightest talent
July sees the juniors take over with sailing courses and it also looks to be an incredibly intensive year both nationally and internationally for some of Kinsale’s brightest talent so be sure to watch out for names such as Michéal O’Sullivan, Dorothy Matthews and Francesca Lewis.
July also means Cork Week and the Kinsale cruisers and Dragons will make the short trip over to our friends in the Royal Cork to help celebrate their 300-year anniversary.
August will see many cruisers head west for Calves Week, numerous club trophies and of course Kinsale Regatta. The Dragons will also get getting ready for the Gold Cup with a warmup event on the last weekend of August.
Of course, Kinsale is well respected for its sailability class and the club can look back proudly at the incredibly successful and enjoyable inclusion games run last year.
Under the watchful eye of Donal Hickey, this class continues to go from strength to strength and Kinsale will send upwards of 30 sailors to the President’s Cup and Hansa Nationals in Carrigfergus in August, as well as a busy local schedule of events and weekend sailing. Donal is also busily fundraising for additional boats due to the demand of more sailors looking to join the fun.
The ‘big one’ lands in September with the Dragon Gold Cup and over 70 boats are expected to join the strong South Coast contingent
The ‘big one’ lands in September with the Dragon Gold Cup and over 70 boats are expected to join the strong South Coast contingent.
This event was awarded to Kinsale on the back of the successful 2012 event and already event director Tony Kingston reports that entries have been received from Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, UK and Belgium, with lots more expected over the coming months.
The home club expect to have eight Kinsale boats competing and should certainly be represented at the sharp end of the fleet with Cameron Good and crew on Little Fella among the ones to watch.
September is also the month for the always popular at-home regatta, while October to December will see local leagues and club trophies return. The season wraps up on St Stephen’s Day with the popular Gunsmoke Bell, sponsored by the evergreen Sammy Cohen, a man who can be credited with showing many of Kinsale’s finest sailors the ropes and the joys of yacht racing
Of course, Kinsale is a club that is dependent on its volunteers and Dave Cullinane, sailing secretary and winner of the club person of the year, will be totally reliant on volunteers to run all of the events — something for which Kinsale is tremendously grateful and proud of its members and sponsors.
