The Commodore of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) says it has a number of aims for the season ahead – getting more boats off the marinas and out racing, creating links between dinghy sailors and keelboat racing and continuing to increase youth participation.

Daragh Connolly told the annual general meeting of SCORA that last season, the first full one after the impact of restrictions from the Covid pandemic, had been a good one for offshore racing on the South Coast. “This has created a lot of enthusiasm for further development. SCORA will provide a platform for more participation and actively encourage newcomers".

“Offshore racing, coastal races, and short-handed sailing have been developed since the impact of the pandemic. Overall there is a positive, enthusiastic approach for going offshore which is encouraging,” he told the well-attended meeting and prizegiving at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

SCORA 2022 prizewinners gathered at the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Photo: Bob Bateman

On my Podcast, we discuss how the ageing structure of boat ownership will have to be counteracted, how this can be done and whether more crew members can be successfully introduced onto offshore racing boats. Can links be developed with the dinghy sector to lead sailors from there into keelboat racing? Are enough racing boats travelling to events outside their own immediate areas, and how is this affected by current social and work demands?

I started our interview by asking Daragh Connolly to review how the past season had turned out for offshore racing on the South Coast.

Listen to the Podcast below and see Afloat's SCORA agm report and prizegiving photos here

The annual South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) AGM was held on Friday, January 20th, in the Royal Cork Yacht Club, attended by a large body of the sailing fraternity representing south coast clubs.

Commodore Daragh Connolly reported on a successful sailing season, drawing particular attention to the growing interest in the offshore series and congratulating Kinsale on the successful running, in the early season of the Inishtearaght race in addition to their traditional summer Fastnet-Baltimore race.

SCORA officers - Michael Murphy, Hon Sec/Treasurer (left) and Daragh Connolly, Chairman Photo: Bob Bateman

The Kingstown to Queenstown (K2Q) race ran in conjunction with ISORA, attracted some questions regarding the ability of competitors to finish at a line off the Daunt buoy or continue around the Fastnet before returning to Cork harbour in a separate race.

The inter-club league comprising of the spring series in Kinsale, Calves Week in Schull and the Autumn series at the RCYC continued to attract large fleets, with the commodore explaining of the results headaches caused by boats alternating from white sail to cruisers at the various events.

Prior to the prizegiving, Connolly spoke on the invaluable service to sailing coverage on the South Coast provided by Mary Malone and Bob Bateman and presented them, together with long-serving SCORA financial officer Michael Murphy, with inscribed glass trophies.

A total of 23 Bob Bateman photographs from the 2022 season were presented, with 12 going to the RCYC, five to Kinsale YC, three to Schull Harbour SC, two to Cove SC and one to Crookhaven SC, being the first-ever SCORA award won by the club.

SCORA Boat of the Year - Brian Jones (left), skipper of the J122 Jelly Baby Photo: Bob Bateman

The boat of the year award went to the Jones family on the J/122 Jelly Baby, while special mention was made of the 120-year-old Lady Min from Schull, whose owner Simon O'Keefe spoke of the long project of restoring his great grandfather’s boat and how delighted he was to be back in Crosshaven where the boat had sailed in the previous century.

Simon O'Keefe, owner of the restored 120-year-old Lady Min from Schull in West Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

The evening concluded with the presentation of the Claire Bateman award, which Daragh Connolly explained was awarded to Noel and Alan Coleman in Blue Oyster for their continuing support of all local and offshore events and their class win in the Round Ireland Race.

Listen to Tom MacSweeney's podcast with Daragh Connolly of SCORA here

SCORA AGM and prizegiving at Royal Cork Yacht Club  Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman

The South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) annual general meeting will be held in the Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven on Friday night.

SCORA's annual prizegiving will also take place.

The discussion will include racing plans for 2023. The usual issue of handicaps and class bands is likely to be raised.

Offshore events have been a major development for SCORA, with a good degree of success but there will no doubt be questions raised about the absence of any Cork boats on last July's K2Q 260 race course

As Afloat reported previously, organisers are looking to alter the timing of future editions of the Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race.

Friday's meeting will start at 7 pm.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) at Crosshaven has received a lot of praise for the running of Sunday’s Autumn League during a “weather window” in Cork Harbour, getting the fleet home before a gale hit the Cork area which was so strong that it caused serious damage and serious flooding. 

The plan for the race involved making the start an hour earlier and racing inside the harbour.

Read Afloat's race report here.

Ready to race - Royal Cork Autumn League Race Officers Sally (left) and Anthony O'Leary (centre) Photo: Bob Bateman

The race was also part of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association’s annual league series. 

1720 sportsboats competing at Royal Cork's Autumn League Race Photo: Bob Bateman

SCORA’s Treasurer, Michael Murphy, who has been taking part in the racing, was impressed by the quality of the organisation and the safety steps taken to complete the race safely.

SCORA Treasurer Michael Murphy with his wife Derval pictured in 2019 at a gathering at the RCYC in Crosshaven, to celebrate the 40 th consecutive years for the Moody 30, Shelly D (below) and her various crews, competing in the Autumn league. Murphy is not sailing Shelly D in this year's Autumn League - She's 'resting', he says in Rosbrin yard but is doing a bit of crewing when asked.... Photo: Bob Bateman

He is my Podcast guest this week, where we discuss the importance of good on-the-water racing communications, the differing standards of race officiating and the likelihood that there will be more offshore racing in SCORA’s calendar for next year.

Listen to the Podcast here.

Shelly D was purchased in 1978 at Southamption boat show by Derval and Michael Murphy, after a meeting on the Moody stand with designer Angus Primrose, she was delivered to Kinsale in Easter 1979. Photo: Bob Bateman

Kinsale Yacht Club's second offshore race of the season indicates a south coast demand for this type of racing. Still, the absence of any Cork boats on July's K2Q 260 race course means organisers look set to alter the timing of future editions of the Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race.

The gun for Kinsale's next race will fire on August 19th for an All-In race around the Fastnet Rock. It's another offshore fixture that ISORA chief Peter Ryan says proves 'there is interest in offshore racing'.

Ryan has been in the vanguard of an offshore revival on the east coast over recent seasons bringing together Dublin and Welsh crews for cross-channel racing and local coastal races. 

Ryan, as one of the K2Q race organisers, accepts that the timing of the July 1 K2Q race (with both 160 and 260-mile course options) was too close to June's Round Ireland Race, but he also says it 'went well' for its first staging. 

As regular Afloat readers know, the K2Q is a Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race. Its staging was a collaboration between the Munster-based SCORA and the Irish Sea ISORA offshore racing associations.

As previously reported, the K2Q was a replay of the first recorded Irish offshore race of 1860.

It was won by Welsh J109, Mojito (Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop), while the 160-mile course was won by Royal Cork yacht Grand Soleil 40, Nieulargo (Denis and Annamarie Murphy). 

2022 K2Q (160 miles) race winner - Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo Photo: Afloat

Denis and Annamarie Murphy win the McGovern trophy for the K2Q Race 160 mile course Photo: Bob Bateman

There were 26 entries in the race but only 13 starters. Only four completed the Fastnet long course.

There were no Cork boats in the four-boat race, and three of the four ISORA boats competing were from Wales.

2022 K2Q (260 mile) race winner - J109 Mojito Photo: Afloat

K2Q winners - In 1860, It is reported that the race's winner was paid a £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, with sixteen boats racing. In 2022, Mojito was awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world. Photo: Bob Bateman

Speaking to Afloat, Mojito Co-skipper Vicky Cox said, "the race was a real tough one for the crew, both physically leading to the rock and mentally coming away from it."

ISORA Chief Peter Ryan, who set up the race with SCORA's Daragh Connolly, told Afloat, "It’s a great format - dual courses. It could be an annual event but definitely a biennial one. If biennial, it needs to be later, possibly mid-August. 

ISORA and SCORA are to sit down to review the race, discuss other co-operations and set a date for a future edition.

To meet a growing demand for offshore racing, Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern along with Dave Cullinane (SCORA Vice-Commodore) and Harvey Matthews representing sponsors Matthews of Cork, launched the inaugural Inishtearaght Race in Kinsale on Wednesday, December 23rd.

As Afloat reported previously, the race is a new south coast offshore race to be held biennially commencing in 2022.

The course will be approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular coast of West Cork and Kerry, round Inistearaght and back to Kinsale. 

The video below by Mary Malone captures the announcement by the KYC team.

The race will start on Friday 20th May 2022. Download the Notice of Race below.

SCORA Vice Commodore Dave Cullinane with The 150-year-old Thuillier Trophy to be presented to the line honours winner of May's Inistearaght Race Photo: Bob Bateman

The Thuillier family have kindly allowed the oldest trophy in Kinsale YC to be presented as the line honours trophy for the race. The Thuillier Cup is 150 years old, having been originally presented by the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers in 1871 and won by Michael Thuillier. The cup was presented to Kinsale YC by the Thuillier family to acknowledge the long tradition of yacht racing in Kinsale.

Kinsale Yacht Club say sailing instructions and a race entry form will be available on www.kyc.ie closer to the date and additional information is available by emailing [email protected]

Kinsale Yacht Club and Marina - the start and finishing point for the new 240-mile Irish offshore yacht race Photo: Bob Bateman

The increasing interest in Irish offshore yacht racing events was illustrated at last Friday's South Coast Offshore Racing Association AGM with the announcement of a new race on the Cork and Kerry coast next May. 

The twenty-first annual SCORA meeting was held via Zoom. The large online attendance included representatives of all the South Coast yacht racing clubs.

SCORA racing in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

Commodore Daragh Connelly opened the meeting with a report on the season's sailing activities, highlighting the successful running of the Sovereign's Cup in Kinsale, together with Calves Week in Schull and a well-supported autumn league in Crosshaven. This together with good participating numbers in the local clubs’ weekly events indicated a strong desire of sailors to get back on the water, following the Covid interruptions.

New Kinsale - Inistearaght - Kinsale race

Kinsale Yacht Club's David Cullinane confirmed that the West Cork Club are planning a Kinsale - Inistearaght (Blasket Islands) - Kinsale race with a provisional date of Mid May 2022, and with the starting times arranged so that boats would round the island in daylight.

The race will be approximately 240 nautical miles in length and will be held on a biennial basis. An IRC short-handed division will be included in the new race.

Smaller boats, such as quarter tonners and J/24s (above) are becoming increasingly popular Photo: Bob Bateman

Refurbished Quarter Tonners

The increasing popularity of smaller boats, particularly refurbished quarter tonners was mentioned as one of the reasons why the existing class band’s structure was no longer fit for purpose, and it was proposed that the committee would publish new recommendations before the opening of next season.

The Jones family J109 Jelly Baby was the South Coast Boat of the Year Award. Photo: Bob Bateman

SCORA Prizes

Prior to announcing the prize winners for 2021, Daragh Connelly complimented Bob Bateman and Mary Malone on the high quality of the fourteen framed photographs, which were delivered to the winners before the meeting, including the Jones family Jelly Baby taking the South Coast Boat of the Year Award and the Waterman's Saxon Senator winning the Claire Bateman Award for their contribution to sailing.

Waterman's Saxon Senator won the Claire Bateman Award Photo: Bob Bateman

Ron Holland forty-footer Imp

At the conclusion of the meeting George Radley of Cove Sailing Club confirmed that the restoration work on the veteran Ron Holland forty-footer Imp is almost complete and is expected to be back on the water early next season, he also added intriguingly that he may be joined by another veteran offshore racer that has recently changed ownership having been in storage for over twenty years.

2022 SCORA League

• April - Kinsale April League
• August 2022 - Calves Week
• October 2022 - Royal Cork Autumn Series

2022 Offshore SCORA League

• Mid May - Inistearaght Race 
• June 22 - Cobh to Dunmore East 
• August - Kinsale - Baltimore (Calves Week feeder)  
• August - Baltimore - Kinsale (Post Calves Week)

The South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) will run a Cork Harbour to Dunmore East offshore race next Saturday, August 21st.

The offshore body is also considering a race back to Crosshaven the following day.

The plan is for a first gun at 7.00 am between No 3 Buoy at Roches Point at the entrance to Cork Harbour.

According to SCORA Commodore Daragh Connolly, seven boats plan on racing to Waterford.

SCORA aims to foster links with a burgeoning Waterford fleet and build on the regular WHSC attendance at Kinsale Yacht Club for its April league and Sovereign's Cup. Connolly notes how the WHSC crews also travel to RCYC for Autumn Leagues and Cork Week. 

A strong SCORA team this year also includes Kinsale's David Cullinane and Schull's Michael Murphy to promote offshore interest on the south coast.

Royal Cork J/109 Jelly Baby was the winner of SCORA's coastal race from Kinsale to Baltimore completing the passage in a corrected time of 7 hours 57 minutes and 16 seconds. 

There were six entrants for the overnight feeder race to join boats already in Baltimore and Schull for next week's Calves Week Regatta. 

It is the second coastal victory for the Brian Jones skippered Crosshaven yacht this season, having previously won Kinsale Yacht Club's Fastnet Race in July.

The Jones crew beat Michael Carroll's larger Elan 40 from Kinsale that finished on a corrected time of 8:53:01.

Frank Doyle's J112 Cara was the only other finisher with George Radley's Half Tonner Cortegada, Frank Caul's Prince of Tides and Padraig O'Donovan's Chameleon all retiring.

The six boat SCORA Kinsale to Baltimore Race fleet make slow progress along the West Cork coast Photo: Bob Bateman

A prizegiving will be held at Baltimore Sailing Club today. 

It was a one, two overall for the J109 design in this weekend's Kinsale Yacht Club SCORA Fastnet Race. 

Royal Cork yacht Jelly Baby claimed a victory in a corrected time of 21 hours:13 minutes: 26 seconds from the host club's Artful Dodger (Finbarr O'Regan) on 21:24:34 corrected in a race that was shortened due to light winds.

The defending champion Nieulargo, a Grand Soleil 40, finished third on a corrected time of 21:36:02

Artful DodJer (IRL1713) from Kinsale Yacht Club skippered by Finbarr O'Regan Photo: Bob Bateman

As Afloat reported yesterday, after a well-timed postponement the nine-boat Kinsale Yacht Club SCORA Fastnet Race got away in a great breeze at 10 am on Saturday morning for its annual offshore race.

Royal Cork's Nieulargo (IRL2129) skippered by Denis Murphy Photo: Bob Bateman

The fleet, sponsored by UK Sailmakers Ireland, rounded the much closer Kowloon Bridge south cardinal buoy instead of the Fastnet rock.

Full results are here

Bob Bateman's Kinsale/SCORA Fastnet Race Photo Gallery