Michael Carroll's Chancer was the overall IRC ratings winner of the Frank Godsell March League 2023 for cruiser racers at Kinsale Yacht Club, while Alan Mulcahy was the IRC White Sails winner of the 41st edition of the league.

The Spring League starts this Sunday at Kinsale Yacht Club after the March League ended in a close encounter between the top two boats.

The battle between Reavra Too and Chancer for top place in the season's opening league at Kinsale Yacht finished very closely.

Michael Carroll’s Chancer won the third and final race of the Frank Godsell series in both IRC and ECHO handicaps. That gave him overall victory in ECHO on five points, one ahead of Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too on six points. The crucial intervention under this handicap was by Nigel Dann’s Val Kriss, sailing for the first time in the series and taking second place. This pushed Reavra Too down to third finish in the race and second overall. Sam Cohen’s Gunsmoke II finished fourth in Sunday’s race, to claim overall third of the series.

Brian Carroll "Chancer winner both IRC and Echo with Michele Kennelly Frank Godsell Sponsor and Anthony Scannell, Vice Commodore (right) Photo: Bob Bateman

In IRC, Reavra Too and Chancer could not be separated on overall points at the top, both finishing on five. However, winning Sunday’s race gave Chancer the better countback of two wins and a third place against one win and two second places for Reavra Too. Gunsmoke II was third overall.

In Whitesails, no spinnakers, Alan Mulcahy’s Apache took first place overall in both IRC and ECHO handicaps. He won the last race in IRC, making a hat-trick of successes in the three races. However, in ECHO he was pushed into second place on Sunday by John O’Connor’s Fast Buck, which achieved its second win in the series under this handicap system. That left Apache the overall ECHO winner on 5. Fast Buck moved up to second place overall on 7 and Miss Charlie was third on 9.
Apache was also IRC Whitesails overall winner through that hat trick of three points for the series. Patrick Beckett’s Miss Charlie was second on eight and Fast Buck third overall on nine points.

The Spring league will start on Sunday at the club and run for five weeks. Racing is scheduled under both handicaps with placings also counting for the South Coast Offshore Racing Association’s annual league. There is Spinnaker and White Sail racing in the Axiom Private Clients series.

Two races into the March cruiser league at Kinsale and heading for the conclusion of the Frank Godsell series this Sunday, Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too is setting the pace in the cruiser/spinnaker IRC and ECHO fleets, while Alan Mulcahy’s Apache is out in front in both handicap sectors of White Sails.

With a small fleet of four boats racing, competition is close in the spinnaker fleets, with Reavra Too on three points in the lead in both IRC and ECHO handicaps and Michael Carroll’s Chancer second in both, just one point behind on four. Each boat has won one race and had a second in another of the series. Samuel Cohen’s Gunsmoke is third in IRC. Paul Cotter and Dominic Falvey’s Swift is third in ECHO.

Two wins leave Apache in first place on two points in IRC White Sails, with Patrick Beckett’s Miss Charlie second on five and John O’Connor’s Fast Buck third on seven. In ECHO, Apache leads on three points, Miss Charlie is second on five and Fast Buck has six. Five boats are entered in White Sails.

When this series ends the Spring league will start on Sunday, April 2 and run for five weeks. It will also be the first racing of the SCORA (South Coast Offshore Racing Association) 2023 series, so boats from other clubs are expected to take part. There will be Spinnaker and White Sail Classes in this Axiom Private Clients series.

“One race per day is scheduled, but up to eight races may be sailed over the five race days in all classes at the discretion of the Race Officer,” according to the Sailing Instructions.

A daring on-the-water display from Zap Cat speedboats began St. Patrick's Day eve proceedings in Kinsale Harbour on Thursday night.

A flotilla of 14 Kinsale Yacht Club yachts, local boats and fishing trawlers dressed with fairy lights paraded from Charles Fort to the Pier before a fireworks display at the West Cork Harbour.

A huge crowd gathered on the Pier, including visitors from Singapore, Germany the United States – to name but a few – welcomed the man of the moment, St. Patrick himself, at the flotilla's head.

A flotilla of 14 Kinsale Yacht Club yachts, local boats and fishing trawlers dressed with fairy lights paraded from Charles Fort to the Pier for the start of the  St. Patricks Day festivities Photo:  Bob Bateman

The fireworks display lit the night sky as the yachts passed the Pier.

The RNLI lifeboat also joined the flotilla.

Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern (left) welcomes the Mayor of Newport, Rhode Island, USA, to Kinsale for St. Patricks Day festivities Photo: Bob Bateman

Later, ashore, the Mayor of Newport, Rhode Island, USA, was decorated with the Grand Marshal Sash for the St Patrick’s Day Parade by Paul Carty of Fáilte Ireland.

St. Patrick's Day Maritime Parade, Kinsale Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman

The Kinsale Yacht Club’s 2023 cruiser-racing season kicked off on Sunday, March 12th, with the first race of the Frank Godsell-sponsored March League.

On a damp misty day, five boats came out to race on a course set by Race Officer Denis Kieran.

The course largely raced in the harbour, factoring in the inclement weather and the desire to get back in time for the all-important Six Nations rugby match.

Denis Kieran was the Race Officer in the opening races of the Kinsale Yacht Club March League Photo: Dave Cullinane

Class Captain Brian Carroll on Chancer won both Echo and IRC in the cruiser fleet, and Alan Mulcahy’s Apache won ECHO and IRC in the White Sails fleet.

Alan Mulcahy’s Apache competing in the White Sails fleet in the opening races of the Kinsale Yacht Club March League Photo: Dave Cullinane

Two more weeks follow in the March League before the Axiom Private Clients Spring Series starts on 2nd April.

With no racing possible on the final day of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series, the overall win went to Ian Travers and Keith O'Riordan in Outlaw.

There were 15 races sailed and three discards in the 12-boat fleet, leaving Travers and O'Riordan with a 5.5-point winning margin. Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward were second in Allegro.

Third was Club Commodore Matthia Hellstern sailing with Colm Daly in third place.

Unfortunately, there was not enough wind to race on the final day of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Squib winners Keith O'Riordan (left) and Ian Travers in Outlaw were the overall winners of Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Fiona Ward and Colm Dunne were second overall at Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Photo: Bob Bateman

Kinsale Yacht Club's Squib Frostbite Series Prizegiving Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman 

“Shindig is an old boat, very traditional, down-to-earth, you wouldn’t have the luxury of the super yachts around down here, some of which are massive cruising machines with every gadget known to man, but she suits us perfectly and makes good speed,” Alice Kingston says on the phone from Antigua in the Caribbean which herself and husband, Tony, a former Cork Harbour Pilot, have reached on their voyage from Kinsale.

“From here, we’re going to make our way to Fort Lauderdale. We’ll try and see as many of the islands as we can, probably stopping in St.Barts, St.Kitts and the British Virgin Islands, and we’ll take Shindig out of the water in Florida and then head for home in April sometime. Tony and Alice are members of Kinsale Yacht Club and left their home port a few months back, were crewed by family and friends to Barbados, from where they carried on by themselves.

Alice Kingston at the helm of Shindig in the Caribbean

They originally bought, Shindig, a Swan 40 that is fifty years old and sailed it from the USA back to Kinsale three years ago with their son and daughter. Tony and his brother, George, restored the boat in Kinsale Boatyard.

Apart from using the engine for an hour a day to charge batteries, it’s been all sailing for the couple, using the main and head sail. They have found some areas pretty crowded with boats.

Shindig anchored in Antigua

“At Martinique, there was an 800-berth marina which was full and wouldn’t have space for two weeks,” said Alice on my Maritime Ireland March Podcast, “but we prefer anchorages anyway, and we swim ashore from the boat because you’re advised if possible not to use the dinghy. We’ve used it only twice. We anchor close to shore and swim ashore with our dry bags when we need to, so we’re getting loads of swimming, but the water is warm, thirty degrees, so it’s no hardship. Many boats have water-makers. We are living very simply really on the boat, which is lovely to get back to that kind of living. It shows you can do with so much less,” Alice said.

Listen to Alice Kingston on the Podcast here

With nine races sailed in the Frostbite Series for the Squib Class at Kinsale YC, Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan sailing Outlaw continue to hold the lead on a total of eight points.

Three races, the seventh, eighth and ninth races of the series, were sailed on Sunday, two of which they won and were second in the other.

The top three placings of the 14-boat fleet haven’t changed, since the previous week, after Sunday’s third day of the series. Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro, are second on 14.5 points, having beaten the leading duo into second place in the second race on Sunday last. Still in third place overall are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades, on 23.5 points. In the third race on Sunday, Sean and Paul Murphy sailing Crackers got ahead of the second and third overall boats as they battled to the finishing line. Crackers finished second and is now placed overall on 29 points. Allegro and Fifty Shades couldn’t be separated and shared 3.5 points each at the finish. Two discards have so far been allowed, so the results of seven races are counted in the current results. The leading boat, Outlaw, has won six, been second in another and discarded a third place as its worst result, as well as a 15-pointer penalty when Travers and O’Riordan did not sail in the first race of the series. Racing will continue on Sundays until March 5.

Two Lasers and a 420 formed a mixed dinghy fleet which joined the Frostbite series on Sunday. They sailed three races, all won by Harvey Matthews in a Laser Radial. Four Topper dinghies also began racing. Caoimhe Corkery won all three of their races.

Cinnamon Girl, the two-handed cruiser crew of Sam Hunt and Cian McCarthy, sailed the Squib, Breakaway, to first place in the first race of Sunday’s Custom Rigging Frostbite Series at Kinsale Yacht Club.

This was the second day of racing, but the duo were outpaced in the next two races of the day by Outlaw, sailed by Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan, which has taken over leadership of the Custom Rigging Frostbite Series.

The Breakaway crew finished in fifth and third places in those two races.

With one discard applied after six races, Outlaw leads the league with a total of just seven points.

Second overall are Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro. They had a hat-trick of second places in Sunday’s three races. and now have a total of twelve points. Behind them, placed third on eighteen points, are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades.

The Breakaway crew are placed 9th overall on a total of 37 points.

Last week’s league leaders, Michael O’Sullivan and Micheál O Suilleabháin, did not race on Sunday. Carrying a points penalty applied for not competing, have dropped to 7th of the thirteen boats racing in the league, which continues until Sunday, March 5.

Second overall are Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, sailing Allegro. They had a hat-trick of second places in Sunday’s three races. and now have a total of twelve points. Behind them, placed third on eighteen points, are Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly sailing Fifty Shades. The Breakaway crew are placed 9th overall on a total of 37 points.

See a photo gallery of the series here

2022 was a special year for Kinsale Yacht Club’s St. Stephens Day race for the Gunsmoke Bell Trophy. This year marked thirty years of race sponsorship by long-standing club member Sammy Cohen.

For the nine boats that took part this year, they were lucky enough to sail in perfect sailing conditions for this time of year with blue skies and a steady southwesterly breeze which died at the end, leading some boats to struggle to get to the finish line.

The Race Officer, Denis Kieran, laid a course outside the harbour, and Tom Roche’s Meridian led the fleet out of the harbour and around the course.

Stephen Lysaght, skipper of Reavra Too, accepts the  Gunsmoke Trophy from Sammy Cohen

As the wind died close to the finish off the marina in Kinsale, three boats (Meridian, Reavra Too and Chancer) battled it out for line honours, with all three being just over a minute apart.

In the end, it was Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too that won the trophy on Echo, with Chancer in second place and Meridian in third place.

Maeve Cotter will act as the regatta director for Kinsale's staging of the Dragon Gold Cup in 2024.

Cotter is a former Commodore of Glandore Harbour Yacht Club and the current Rear Commodore of Kinsale YC. She takes up the role with an experienced committee acting alongside her.

The event will run from 6th to 13th of September 2024.

Matthias Hellstern, Commodore of Kinsale Yacht Club, welcomed Maeve commenting, “I have worked with Maeve on a Management Committee level for over 4 years, and I have seen first-hand her ability and dedication that I have no doubt she will apply to this role. As an experienced Dragon sailor, Maeve also understands the class and what is required to make this an exceptional event.”

Kinsale Yacht Club is a long way into its planning of the 2024 event with Astra Construction already on board as the headline sponsor. The Gold Cup is the pinnacle event of the dragon season, and excitement is already mounting in Kinsale following the disappointment of having to the cancel the event in 2020 due to covid.

Dragon racing at Kinsale Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Asked for her thoughts on the role and regatta, Maeve added “I have sailed Dragons since I was a teenager and love the boat and class. My brother Michael campaigned Dragons for many years and my two sons, Daniel and Sean will be racing in the event on our boat “Whisper” so no doubt I will have plenty of suggestions and feedback! We are lucky that Kinsale is such a destination town, with the yacht club located in the heart of it, coupled with the phenomenal race area at the beginning of the wild Atlantic way. It’s really exciting for the Irish class to have such a big event to look forward to ”.