A 41-boat fleet racing across 15 classifications opened the Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn League on Sunday (September 27), with two races completed outside Cork Harbour in long rolling seas.
Kinsale Yacht Club’s Finbarr and Colm O’Regan made the strongest start in IRC Spinnaker 1, where their J109 Artful Dodger scored a second and a win to lead the six-boat division on three points.
The opening day was run by Race Officers Ciaran McSweeney and Ruth McSweeney, with the fleet racing outside the harbour.
The result continues Artful Dodjer’s strong 2026 form after the Kinsale J/109 won IRC Class One at Calves Week in Schull in August, as previously reported by Afloat.
Artful Dodger Heads IRC One
Resolute Racing — Mark Mansfield and Jon McClean’s Far East 28R Resolute (bow number 06) races off Cork Harbour on the opening day of the RCYC Autumn League, where she lies fourth in IRC Spinnaker 1 after two third places. Photo: Robert Bateman
Artful Dodger’s 2,1 score gives the Kinsale J109 a two-point advantage over Simon Coveney’s RCYC Corby 34.7 Waterfront, which won the opening race before taking fourth in race two.
Tim McCarthy and Wan Waterman’s RCYC J111 Joyride is third on six points after 4,2, tied on points with Mark Mansfield and Jon McClean’s Far East 28R Resolute.
Under ECHO, Waterfront leads Artful Dodger on countback after both finished the day on four points, with Joyride third.
The separate ICRA results mirror the IRC order at the top, with Artful Dodger leading Waterfront. The ICRA classification is restricted to boats meeting the association’s definition of a “Cruiser”, while the overall Autumn League results include all eligible boats.
McCann Scores Etchells Double
Pin-End Precision — Michael McCann’s RCYC Etchells Don’t Dilly Dally (IRL 592) at the pin end of the line on a day when she scored two wins to lead both IRC Spinnaker 2 and the Etchells Irish Nationals. Photo: Robert Bateman
Michael McCann’s Etchells Don’t Dilly Dally (RCYC) produced the only perfect IRC score in the ten-boat Spinnaker 2 division, winning both races.
John and Ronan Downing’s Andrieu Half Tonner Miss Whiplash (RCYC) was next on six points after two thirds, with Pat Tanner’s Castro Three-Quarter Tonner Bateleur 88 (RCYC) third on eight.
The picture changes in the ICRA-only IRC results, where the Etchells are excluded. Miss Whiplash then has a perfect pair of corrected-time wins, Bateleur 88 lies second and Gavin and Grace Lawlor’s KYC Elan 333 Genesis is third.
Genesis had its own double victory in ICRA ECHO, ahead of Bateleur 88 and Miss Whiplash.
McCann’s two wins also give Don’t Dilly Dally the early lead in the three-boat Etchells Irish National Championship. Andrew Crosbie’s Knot on Call is second and Jay Bourke’s Doris third.
Illegal Leads Spin Three
Downwind Duel — Barry and Maria Rose’s RCYC Albin Express Obsession (GBR 5499) and Coleman Garvey and Kieran Kellher’s Quarter Tonner Illegal (IRL 1751) race downwind in IRC Spinnaker 3. Illegal leads the class by one point after two races. Photo: Robert Bateman
Coleman Garvey and Kieran Kellher’s RCYC Quarter Tonner Illegal leads IRC Spinnaker 3 after combining a win and a second for three points.
Barry and Maria Rose’s Albin Express Obsession (RCYC) is one point behind following a 3,1 score, with Paddy Good’s Laser 28 Summer Light (RCYC) third on five.
Good turned the tables under ECHO, where Summer Light scored two wins. Obsession is second and the Waterford Harbour Sailing Club Sigma 33 Flyover, entered by David Merchant and John McDonald, is third.
Big Mac and Holly Blue Set Non-Spin Pace
Big Mac Makes Waves — The McGrath family’s RCYC Dehler 34 Big Mac tackles the rolling seas off Cork Harbour on her way to a 1,2 score and the early IRC Non-Spinnaker 1 lead. Photo: Robert Bateman
The McGrath family’s RCYC Dehler 34 Big Mac leads IRC Non-Spinnaker 1 after a first and second.
Ria Lyden’s X332 Ellida (RCYC) won race two and is second on five points, tied with Kieran and Fiorentina O’Brien’s MG 335 Magnet, which opened with 2,3.
ECHO Non-Spinnaker 1 belongs for now to Alan Coleman’s RCYC Oyster 37 Blue Oyster, which opened its series with two wins. Ellida is second and Big Mac third.
Dave Hennessy’s Red Admiral 36 Holly Blue (RCYC) was particularly emphatic in Non-Spinnaker 2, taking two IRC wins and two ECHO wins.
Sean Hanley’s RCYC Sigma 33 Siamsa lies second in IRC after two second places, with Mark Ring’s Yachting World Diamond Fire Diamond (RCYC) third.
Under ECHO, Fire Diamond is second, tied on seven points with Pat Vaughan’s Contessa 33 Aramis.
2026 RCYC Autumn League Opener Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman
41 Boats Compared With 49 a Decade Ago
A decade ago, the 2016 edition of Royal Cork’s autumn series attracted 49 boats across its racing divisions, compared with 41 boats entered this year. The 2016 fleet included nine 1720 sportsboats, while this year’s total includes three Etchells competing for their Irish National Championship.
There was also an echo of conditions a decade apart. Afloat’s October 2016 report from Cork Harbour recorded a “long rolling sea” for that year’s series, with Classes 1 and 2 and the 1720s racing outside the harbour. Long rolling seas were again a feature of Sunday’s opening races in 2026.
