Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Two topped the 'TGIF' Mid Summer White Sails cruisers league series in IRC 1 fleet at Kinsale Yacht Club, sponsored by A J O’Brien Solicitors, with 11 points after six races.

Second was John Whelan’s Wheels on 13 and third Sean O’Riordan’s Y Dream on 15. Whelan won in ECHO handicap, with Anthony Scannell’s Hansemer second and Reavra Two third. IRC 2 fleet winner was Patrick Beckett’s Miss Charlie by one point, on a total of five, against Albert O’Neill’s Sallybelle on 6. ECHO handicap in Fleet Two winner was Martin Hargrove’s Deboah on 9 points from Sallybelle on 15 and Miss Charlie third on 18.

John Godkin’s GODOT won IRC 1 in the cruiser spinnaker midweek fleet series 2, sponsored by Barry Ryan Civil Engineering, on a total of 12 points after the sixth race, to win by half-a-point from Dan Buckley’s JUSTUS on 12.5 with Reavra Two third on 18. JUSTUS won in ECHO with Godot second and Y Dream third.

Fleet 2 IRC saw the club’s young sailors at the top in their J24, Finsailor on 10 points with No Notions (O’Sullivan/O’Regan) and Samuel Cohen’s Gunsmoke II finishing next overall, both on 13 points, No Notions won second on the tiebreak of higher overall average placings. Gunsmoke II turned that around in ECHO, taking first place with No Notions second and MIiss Charlie third.

Kinsale Yacht Club in West Cork is well pleased with its Under 25 development programme following the team's success at the J24 National Championships raced in Foynes YC, Co.Limerick.

Named ‘Kinsailor’ when it was launched last year, the KYC yacht won the Under 25 section, took the silver prize for second overall and finished eighth of the 20 boats racing that included top sailors in the Class.

The Kinsale crew were: Mikey Carroll, Leslie Collins, Rachel Akerlind, Micheál Ó Suilleabháin, and Jack O’Sullivan.

“A great result,” said former Commodore Dave Sullivan, the Under 25 Team Mentor.

“Little did I think when we started out last October that we would have our boat so successful in the U25 section at the National Championships. She is a super boat with a super team of sailors. It took a lot of hard work and commitment to get to this stage and we are thankful to KYC members for their overwhelming support and continued generosity.”

This membership backing enabled the setting-up of the programme and the purchase of the boat.

“We still have the Eastern Championships in late August and Europeans in Howth in September to look forward to,” says Dave Sullivan.

Mid Summer series racing for Cruisers, Squibs and Dragons is underway at Kinsale Yacht Club.

In IRC Class 1 Fleet, the leader is Reavra (Stephen Lysaght), second Wheels (John Whelan) and third Valfreya (David Riome).

Under ECHO handicap Wheels leads followed by Reavra Too and Y Dream (Sean O’Riordan) in third.

Sallybelle (Albert O’Neill) leads Fleet 2 in IRC and ECHO.

Deboah (Martin Hargrove) is second in ECHO and Miss Charlie (Patrick Beckett) third.

Kinsale Yacht Club has announced a new title sponsor for its biennial Sovereign's Cup and is aiming for a full 100-boat fleet for the 2023 event.

The offshore energy company Simply Blue was unveiled as the new sponsor by Sovereign's Cup Director Anthony Scannell at the Cork Week prizegiving at Royal Cork Yacht Club last Friday.

The full title of the cruiser-racer event is the 'Simply Blue & Emerald Sovereign's Cup 2023', reflecting the energy company's Emerald project on the site of the former Kinsale Gas fields.

Scannell, who was competing on his yacht Hansemer at Cork Week, was appointed Cup director by the West Cork club in May, and signed the new title sponsorship two months later.

"There's great 'harnessing the wind' synergies between Simply Blue and the Sovereign's Cup, so we are delighted to have them on board", Scannell told Afloat.

The regatta will take place from 21st to 24th June 2023.

"The club is very much looking forward to returning to the pre-covid number of entrants," according to KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern.

The 2023 event will be the 15th edition of the biennial event.

Kinsale Yacht Club will hold its Fastnet Race on Friday, August 19. Racing is All-In for both IRC and ECHO, no class divisions.

The Fastnet Trophy is for the primary handicap system, IRC winner on best corrected time. The Minihane Trophy is for best in ECHO.

Start and finish will be at KYC Charles Fort Line. First Gun on August 19 at 1925, an All-In Start and latest finishing time allowed is 1600 on Sunday, August 21.

Yachts must pass to the south of the Kowloon Bridge cardinal mark en route to rounding Fastnet Rock to port. The race is sponsored by UK Sailmakers Ireland.

Michael Carroll’s ‘Chancer’ won the club’s recent Horse Rock Trophy Race.

Kinsale Yacht Club's long tradition with the Round Ireland Yacht Race was celebrated again at the weekend when the West Cork Club marked the achievement of their three boats in the 21st race. 

June saw one of the longest and toughest races of recent times and the event was recalled in detail when the competitors past and present gathered at Kinsale for a special evening of Round Ireland memories.

There was a packed clubhouse to recognise the Kinsale YC Round Ireland competitors Photo: Bob Bateman

Many competitors, past and present spoke, of the trials and tribulations of "doing a Round Ireland". File footage of past events was shown during the evening.

J109 - Artful Dodjer 

The top overall IRC performance came from Finbarr O'Regan's J109 Artful Dodjer.  

The O'Regan crew were Corinthian race winners and 18th in Line Honours, third in IRC Overall, second in IRC 3 and 2nd in the ICRA division too.

Kinsale J109 Artful Dodjer departs Wicklow on the 2022 Round Ireland Race Photo: Bob Bateman

Finbarr O'Regan (pictured centre with trophy) and the J109 Artful Dodjer crew with Tony Scannell, KYC Vice Commodore (second from left) Photo: Bob Bateman

Sunfast 3300 - Cinnamon Girl

Cian McCarthy sailing two-handed on the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl with Sam Hunt held the overall lead of the race as Afloat reported here.

It was a stirring performance from the duo who a month earlier had won KYC's own inaugural Inishtearaght Race. 

Cinnamon Girl completed the Round Ireland 14th in Line Honours, eighth in IRC Overall, fifth in IRC 3, second in 2 Handed Class and fifth in the ICRA class. 

Cian McCarthy sailing two-handed on the Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl with co-skipper Sam Hunt Photo: Bob Bateman

Sam Hunt (left) with Tony Scannell of KYC (centre) and Cian McCarthy Photo: Bob Bateman

Swan 40 - Shindig

Tony Kingston and son Jack were third in the Round Ireland's Cruising class in their immaculate Swan 40, Shindig. The duo were 23rd in IRC Overall, 6th in 2 Handed Class and 5th in IRC 4

The Kingston's Swan 40 Shindig shortly after the Round Ireland start off Wicklow Photo: Bob Bateman

Jack Kingston, Tony Scannell of KYC and Tony Kingston Photo: Bob Bateman

Bad weather last Saturday affected entries for the annual Kinsale Yacht Club Cruiser Race to Glandore in West Cork.

Anthony Kingston’s Swan 40 Shindig was the ECHO handicap winner. White sails fleet winner was Anthony Scannell’s Hansemer.

The KYC Squibs and Dragons Early Summer Series starts on Thursday evening at 1855 and the White Sails Cruiser series on Friday at 7 p.m.

Anthony Scannell’s Hansemer Photo: Bob Bateman

The Squib National Championships scheduled for Kinsale Harbour in West Cork next month got a boost on Tuesday when the Mayor of County Cork launched the one design championships that is expected to attract 120 sailors from across Ireland and the UK.

Mayor Cllr Gillian Coughlan joined local business and civic representatives as well as members of the Kinsale Yacht Club at the launch of the Bandon Co-op Squib National Championships at the West Cork clubhouse.

(Above and below) Mayor Cllr Gillian Coughlan with Kinsale Yacht Club members at the launch of the Squib National Championships at the club Photo: Bob Bateman

The joint UK and Irish National Championships will see 60 Squib crews from England, Wales and the Island of Ireland compete for two national champions on the waters South of Kinsale harbour.

Originally scheduled to be sailed in June 2020, the championship was postponed to this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Vice Commodore Tony Scannell, Anthony O Neill and Chris Clarke of Kinsale Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Speaking at the launch, regatta director Ian Travers indicated that while the postponement was disappointing, the reschedule appears to have served to increase the anticipation around the event. Kinsale is a world-class destination with its sheltered waters under the lee of the old head of Kinsale which makes for the perfect championship race area. This coupled with the natural beauty of its historic harbour along with everything the town has to offer makes it the jewel of the Irish South coast.

Kinsale Yacht Club Vice Commodore Tony Scannell, Event organiser Ian Travers, Kinsale Yacht Club Master of Ceremonies Tomas O'Brian and Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern Photo: Bob Bateman

In thanking the title sponsor, Travers highlighted how Bandon Co-op is part of the fabric of Kinsale and with its support, the Yacht Club will be able to stage a superb which will bring positive energy to the already bustling seaside town of Kinsale and beyond. He also thanked secondary sponsors for supporting the event which includes Cork County Council, Blacks of Kinsale, the Good Food Circle and CH Marine.

Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern and Councillor Tim Lombard Photo: Bob Bateman

‘Events like the Bandon Co-op Squib Nationals make Kinsale yacht Club the club that it is and the energy this event will generate will contribute to help make Kinsale the fantastic destination that it is, both on and off the water’.

John O'Gorman of Bandon Co-op Photo: Bob Bateman

The Bandon Co-op Squib National Champions takes place from the 19^th to the 24^{th of} June.

Kinsale Yacht Club has announced its Vice Commodore Anthony Scannell as the Regatta Director for the 2023 Sovereign’s Cup.

The regatta will take place from 21st to 24th June 2023.

"The club is very much looking forward to returning to the pre-covid number of entrants," according to KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern.

The 2023 event will be the 15th edition of the biennial event.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 entry Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire was the line honours winner of the inaugural Inishtearaght Race, finishing at 9 pm on Saturday.

The only Dublin entry in the Kinsale Yacht Club offshore 240-mile race took just under 36 hours to complete the challenging course from Kinsale along the Cork and Kerry coast and back to the West Cork port. 

"It was a tough race, big seas and big winds, but we were able for it", Chris Power Smith told Afloat after crossing the finish line. 

Subject to official confirmation, the Dublin crew will lift one of Kinsale Yacht Club's most prestigious trophies, the Thullier Cup, which dates back to 1850, for their line honours achievement.

Chris Power Smith's J/122 entry Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club closes in on the Kinsale finish line Photo: Bob Bateman

An enthusiastic Power Smith said that after the initial 'slog', the crew enjoyed 'champagne sailing', and the Dublin Bay sailors were already promising to return for the 2024 race.

Second home of the seven boat fleet was Cian McCarthy's double-handed Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl.

Cian McCarthy's double-handed Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl

Full handicap IRC results are awaited