Bright sunshine and steady medium breezes delivered a lively opening race in the relatively small fleets of the Frank Godsell March Series at Kinsale Yacht Club on Sunday, March 8th.
Four handicap fleets contested the first race of the 2026 keelboat league, with close corrected-time margins setting the tone for the series.
IRC Spinnaker Fleet
Finbarr O’Regan’s Artful DodJer, a J/109 from the host club, took the opening IRC Spinnaker win after correcting to 1:17:07.
Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too, an Elan 333 also sailing for Kinsale Yacht Club, finished just 17 seconds behind on corrected time after posting the fastest elapsed time among the leading pair.
Third place went to Samuel Cohen’s Gunsmoke II, a First 32 from Kinsale Yacht Club, which crossed well behind the leaders but secured third overall on corrected time.
ECHO Spinnaker Fleet
Under the ECHO handicap system, the order shifted.
Lysaght’s Reavra Too claimed the race win, correcting to 1:17:18, narrowly ahead of O’Regan’s Artful DodJer, which finished 39 seconds behind on corrected time.
Cohen’s Gunsmoke II completed the podium in third.
IRC White Sails Fleet
In the IRC White Sails division, the biggest with five entries, the Carroll Brothers’ Chancer, an Elan 40 from Kinsale Yacht Club, delivered the most decisive win of the day.
The boat corrected to 1:03:51, finishing ahead of Tony O’Brien’s Tighey Boy, an Arcona 400 representing Schull Harbour Sailing Club.
Third place went to Miss Charlie, Patrick Beckett’s Tofinou 8.70 from Kinsale Yacht Club.
ECHO White Sails Fleet
The same three boats filled the podium positions under the ECHO handicap.
Chancer again secured first place, followed by Tighey Boy in second and Miss Charlie in third.
Further down the fleet, Val Kriss, the Sigma 33 sailed by V Murphy and N Dann of Kinsale Yacht Club, finished fourth.
Race results remain provisional as the Frank Godsell March Series continues at Kinsale in the coming weeks.
