Two invitees have declined their invitations to this weekend's Irish Sailing Association (ISA) All Ireland sailing competition at Royal Cork Yacht Club over an entry fee that the ISA says it is forced to charge in the absence of an event sponsor.

GP14 World Champion Shane MacCarthy says the 'entry fee is too expensive and not in line with dinghy entry fees'. 

Fellow GP14 helmsman Hugh Gill goes further and says the €220 charge is 'an indication of how the ISA is out of touch with how the majority of sailors manage their participation in the sport'. 

Neither sailor is attending the Crosshaven event that is to be sailed in National 18 dinghies.

16 sailors, including Rio Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy, have been invited to attend the annual end–of–season event organised by the national governing body.

Sutton Dinghy Club's Gill wrote to Afloat to say he had declined the invitation due to the insistence by the ISA that all entrants, despite being invited to participate, must pay an entry fee of €220. Gill says' Other participants have entered but have sent correspondence expressing their disappointment regarding the entry fee'.  He adds: 'The imposition of an entry fee is a recent change, maybe for the past 5 years, to what was always an invitational event attended by various Class National Champions and other sailors who had achieved success on the international stage. To impose any fee on this event let alone a charge of €220 for an event comprising a number of short races over two days for 16 invited sailors is another indication of how the ISA has lost touch with the reality of how the majority of sailors manage their participation in the sport'. 

In response, ISA Chief Executive Harry Hermon has described the withdrawal of both GP14 helmsmen as 'most unfortunate'. 

In a statement the ISA says: 'the background to the current situation is that up until 2008, the event was sponsored which enabled the host club to run it without an entry fee. Since that date there has been an entry fee paid to the host club, with the average being in the range of €120 - €150. Last year’s event had an entry fee of €130.

Each year, as part of a review following the event, we ask sailors how it can be improved. These questions produce mostly expected answers, namely dinghy sailors prefer the event to be in dinghies, while keelboat sailors prefer keelboats! In recent years the event has been run in J80 Keelboats, and this year we are delighted to be able to return to dinghies using the National 18’s thanks to the generosity of the National 18 Class in loaning their boats.

Last year, the feedback highlighted the fact, that while the on-the-water format was good, the social side was totally lacking, with a very low turnout for the Championship dinner. In fact, many of the sailors indicated in advance that they would be attending, but on the night very few appeared. This left the host club with a lot of uneaten food and a significant loss on the night. This year in response to the feedback received from the competitors, the ISA decided to try to make it a more sociable event and to promote the dinner as something worth attending, hence the cost of the dinner is included in the entry fee. The fee of €220, is made up of three dinners at €30 each and entry fee of €130, the same as last year. As all event organisers will concur, the costs associated with staging an event with only 16 entrants do not differ significantly from staging a larger event with more competitors enabling lower entry fees. It is also worth noting that the ISA sets the entry fee, but does not get any of the funds generated through the staging of the event.

All the other nominees accepted the nomination and the entry fee of €220. The two competitors who were subsequently invited to take up the slots made available by Shane and Hugh were delighted to accept. It is regrettable that two sailors, who should be sailing in the event have declined their invitation, however in the absence of a sponsor, we do not believe it is unreasonable to ask the competitors to pay for the costs associated with staging the event, and buying dinner for the person lending them their boat.

At this late stage it is not possible to change the format or pricing structure for the event, however the ISA will initiate a detailed review of the event following this year’s championship, and in the improving financial environment specific efforts will be made to attract a sponsor for future championships.

In closing I'd like to express our gratitude to Royal Cork Yacht Club for hosting the event and to thank the members of the National 18 class for facilitating this event by lending their boats, their generosity is acknowledged.

We wish all the contestants every success and hope that all the participants have a truly enjoyable event and a sociable evening' – Harry Hermon, ISA.

South coast youth sailors took to the podium in style at the ISA All Ireland Junior Sailing Championships prizegiving this afternoon securing the top three places overall in the 16-boat invitational fleet.

It is the third year in a row that Royal Cork sailors have retained the youth sailing trophy.

Despite much of the rest of the country being either battered by gales or beset by rain, on the West Cork Riviera they managed to find sailable conditions yesterday and today to put in eight good races rounded out by a Medal Race with the sixteen crew in competition in Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Centre’s special fleet of David Harte-devised competition dinghies.

Youth champions from left – 2nd place James McCann, Geoff Power Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, 1st place Johnny Durcan, Florence Lyden Royal Cork Yacht Club National Yacht Club, 3rd place Harry Durcan, Noah McCarfth Royal Cork Yacht Club3at Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Education Centre. Photo: ISA/Facebook

Crewed by Florence Lyden, the pair give allegiance to both Royal Cork Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire’s National YC, Johnny Durcan was on top of his form in Saturday’s moderate sou’sou’west wind and today’s more challenging gusty conditions.

The cup of success was overflowing and then some for the Durcan family, as the Medal Race was won by Johnny’s twin brother Harry crewed by Noah McCarthy, but Johnny was second and could comfortably carry the double points of 4 as his scoreline in the preliminaries was 2,1,3,1,2,2,1.

Rising Waterford star Geoff Power of Dunmore East, crewed by James McCannn of Crosshaven, was second overall, but fetched up well down as he posted 29 points to the remarkable 16 of the new champion, while Harry Durcan was back at 33.

Kate Lyttle and Niamh Henry – 2016 All Ireland Womens Junior Champions

Overall Results 

1 Laser Radial Johnny Durcan Florence Lyden RCYC & NYC

2 420 Geoff Power James McCann Waterford Harbour Sailing Club
3 29er Harry Durcan Noah McCarthy Royal Cork Yacht Club
4 420 Kate Lyttle Niamh Henry Royal St George Yacht Club
5  Optimist Tom Higgins Henry Higgins Royal St George Yacht Club
6 Topper Jack Fahy Eoghan Byrne Royal St George Yacht Club
7  Laser 4.7 Peter Fagan Ross Morgan Royal St George Yacht Club
8  Laser 4.7 Clare Gorman Ella Hemeryck National Yacht Club
9 Optimist Harry Twomey Charlie Moloney RCYC & CHSC
10 Topper Sophie Crosbie Caoimhe Foster Royal Cork Yacht Club
11  RS200 Junior Toby Hudson Fowler Greg Arrowsmith Royal St George Yacht Club
12 Mirror Sarah White Eoghan Duffy Sligo Yacht Club / Lough Ree Yacht Club
13 RS Feva Henry Start Morgan Devine Royal St George Yacht Club
14 Topaz Adam Byrne Ciaran MacGearailt Dingle Sailing Club
15 Optimist Leah Rickard Luke Rickard National Yacht Club
16 Topaz Dylan Reidy Killian Reidy Foynes Yacht Club

Downloadable scoresheet below

Cove Sailing Club's own Beneteau First 36.7 Altair was the class one winner of yesterday's annual Cobh to Blackrock race writes Bob Bateman. The Cork Harbour fixture that was postponed due to bad weather a fortnight week ago set sail in light westerly winds yesterday with a good turnout of all sorts of cruisers and dinghies that included some local Rankin dinghy entries. 

The course was upriver from the start line at Cobh to the finish line at Blackrock Castle.

Cove Sailing Club Commodore Aidan Mc Aleavey, with support from the Naval Squadron's Soubrette from Haulbowline acting as comittee boat, sent the fleet off with a flooding tide and a beat up to Whitepoint then a reach onwards to Marino Point. 

The dinghy fleet started first then the white sail division followed by traditional craft with racing classes 1,2,3 last to start.

Second in class one was Ria Lyden's X332 Ellida with Paul Tingle's X34 Alpaca from Royal Cork third.

George Radley's Half tonner Cortegada was the class two winner. The race is part of CSC September League. Full results are here

The CH Marine Autumn Series at Royal Cork Yacht Club is rapidly approaching writes Kieran O'Connell. A highlight of the Cork Harbour sailing season the event attracts large numbers of sailors from a wide variety of clubs from around Ireland. Download the event Notice of Race and entry form below.

This year the CH Marine Autumn Series will commence on Sunday, October 2nd with the first two races and will follow with two races Sunday in October finishing on Sunday October 30th. Racing will commence each day at 1055hrs, and will be followed each day by food, music and daily prize giving. Notice of Race and Entry forms downloadable from CH Marine Autumn Series

Over the last few years there has been a great 1720 fleet building for the CH Marine Autumn Series, with 13 boats competing last year. This year is looking like the 1720 class will not disappoint with a large number of early entries.

On the final day of racing the CH Marine Autumn Series dinner and overall prize giving will be held at the club commencing at 19.30hrs. 

Subject to availability, complimentary berthing on swinging moorings or marina berths will be provided to yachts visiting. For berthing arrangements please contact Mark Ring at Royal Cork office +353(0)214831023

Royal St. George Yacht Club Optimist sailor Tom Higgins continued his successful season at last weekend's Munster Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. The Dublin Bay youth sailor finished the six race series on 14 points, three–points clear of the National Yacht Club's Charlie Cullen.Third in the 35-boat senior fleet was Royal Cork's Rory O'Sullivan. In the junior fleet, Higgins's clubmate Moss Simmington was the overall winner. IODAI Results below.

After a successful Irish National Championships this month at Royal Cork Yacht Club, the National 18 Class Association is exhibiting the new Morrison designed National 18 (known as the Ultra) at the Southampton Boat Show from 16 to 25 September 2016.

The National 18 class has undergone a hugely successful period of change and development over the last two years and is now taking a breather and enjoying learning how to get the best out of sailing the fantastic new boats. This means that after two full seasons the boats have been fully tested and developed to meet all the expectations and requirements of the Class members and no more changes are planned in the foreseeable future.

Since the Phil Morrison designed hull was adopted in July 2014, sixteen boats have been built, two more are underway, and a new sail plan has been introduced incorporating a laminate square top mainsail and 21sq m spinnaker, along with twin spinnaker poles. Fifteen Ultras took part in the 2016 National Championship held at Findhorn near Inverness and produced incredibly close and hugely enjoyable racing.

On show at Stand A106 in the Arena will be 'The Shadow' (412) from Blackwater Sailing Club, whilst two National 18s will race in the 'Battle of the Classes' on Sunday 25 September.

The National 18 is available from the Class builder, White Formula of Brightlingsea, at an on-the-water sail away package price of £16,995 including VAT.

The Morrison designed National 18 has, as intended by the Class, created a performance three-person dinghy with one trapeze that is fast and capable of being handled by crews of varying ability, age, and experience; she is not an extreme boat and many people commented that she looks a "proper boat."

The National 18s are renowned for their companionship and great social scene both and on and off the water, as well as for outstanding high performance racing; the Autumn is an ideal time to place an order with the builders to have your new boat ready in good time for next year's racing programme and for the National Eighteen Championships which are to be held at Hayling Island Sailing Club in August 2017.
For further information about the National 18 ClassThe original idea was that of Frank Knowling of Whitstable YC (later to be known as the father of the class) for an 18-foot sailing dinghy, suitable for day sailing, yet fast enough to be of interest to racing sailors and at a reasonable cost. (The first rather hopeful restriction of the original class rules was "Price not to exceed £125 complete with spars, all equipment and designer's fee but not including sails"). The plan was to produce an affordable national alternative to the many local one-designs of about this size to be found right round the coast of the British Isles. Many of these local estuary classes survive today, for example the Mermaid in Dublin, Thames Estuary OD, Chichester Harbour 18 etc.

The well-known designer Uffa Fox won the competition (over the Laurent Giles submitted version) with his 'Ace' design for a clinker-built wooden boat. National 18' number 1, 'Hurricane', was owned by Stanley Beale and sailed at Whitstable, with No.2 'Gust' and No.3 Foam''.

Initial enthusiasm was held back by the effects of World War II but a good deal of 18' building got underway soon afterwards, when mahogany was again available for boat-building and the class became active especially in the Thames Estuary area. By 1950, fleets had appeared at clubs dotted all around the British Isles and Ireland, the Class Association having been formed in 1947.

Although most boats were built to the 'Ace' design, the class had always been 'restricted' rather than 'one-design' and boats with a reduced number of wider planks were built when glued plywood construction was adopted and even one moulded carvel boat was built (252 'Sabon').
Several of the wooden 18's, now called 'Classics' are still in commission, and regularly race, principally at Bosham SC. They include No15 Tinkerbell, built in 1938 and still very competitive.

With the advent of GRP and the rising costs of hard woods, the Class asked Ian Proctor in the late '60's to design a fibreglass hull that would not outclass the existing boats. In this he was successful and it was some time before a Proctor hull won the championships. The first new Proctor, 'Genivieve' was exhibited at the Crystal Palace Dinghy Show of 1970 when a bare hull cost £153. Since then the Class has progressively reduced minimum hull and centreboard weight, and introduced a single trapeze. Also a restriction which requires all new hulls to come from the class mould so they are in effect one-design. Rigs have been optimised and more recently carbon spars introduced.

These changes produced a boat known in the Class as an 'Ultimate' which is fast and exciting to sail and which has provided close and competitive racing for fifteen or so years, both locally and at the annual National Championships. The Royal Cork Yacht Club has the largest fleet.
The class strives to be inclusive in providing heathy competition for all generations of 18s through handicaps and separate starts. Thus though the major trophies at National Championships are awarded in the Ultimate class, there are trophies also for the Pen-ultimates (heavy GRP) and the Classics.

In 2012 the class mould was declared unservicable, and there was much debate about what to do next. This culminated in a request to Phil Morrison to design a hull that was sleeker, lighter, faster and safer, and in so far as reasonably possible within the existing measurement restrictions.

The Morrison prototype was financed by supporters of the Class and built at The Boatyard at Bere in 2013. Named 'Odyssey' and trialled extensively, she ticks all the boxes, is a pleasure to sail and has proved a great success. This development will undoubtedly give the Class a new lease of life, and production of new boats is already under way at White Formula in Brightlingsea.

The One Ton Cup owned by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris and presented by Hamble Yacht Services is just a few days away.

As Afloat.ie previously reported, the Cup is considered to be one of the most prestigious trophies in yacht racing. The One Ton Cup dates back to 1899 and was last competed for in 2002. The golden era of the One Ton Cup was when IOR Racing dominated the world of yachting, countries from all over the world competed for the One Ton Cup, where reputations were made and lost. The last winner of the One Ton Cup in the IOR era was Justine, owned by Frank Woods and skippered by Harold Cudmore. Justine won the cup for the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1981, racing in home waters, the team were unbeaten in every race. The only time that the feat has been achieved before or since.

Justine won the cup for the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1981, racing in home waters, the team were unbeaten in every race. The only time that the feat has been achieved before or since. Photo: John McWilliam

Anthony O'Leary will be racing Ker 40 Antix, this September, flying the burgee of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. “The One Ton Cup is part of yacht racing history and the Royal Cork was immensely proud to host the competition and to have a home win” commented O'Leary. “As always, Antix will be coming to win, we are up against a magnificent fleet of well-sailed boats, and the winners will have to be at the very top of their game. I can't see anyone running away with it.”

Peter Morton's Carkeek 40+ Girls on Film leads the FAST40+ Series, having won the the first three rounds. However, the One Ton Cup counts for double points towards the series, adding even more importance in deciding the season champion. For Peter Morton, winning the One Ton Cup is still a personal ambition.

“So far, we have had good results in most races this season, consistency has been the key.” commented Peter Morton. “ We have a really good team and they all work together well, the communication and the moding of the boat works well and gives everybody confidence. The fleet is definitely compressing, we are all very close, even during long races we are often overlapped after hours of racing. Over the last 30 years I have won the Quarter Ton Cup, the Half Ton Cup and the Three Quarter Ton Cup, on various boats. I have only come second in the One Ton Cup. It is something that is a bit of unfinished business for me, so yes, I would love to win it".

Joining the FAST40+ fleet for the first time at the One Ton Cup, will be Heinz Peter Schmidt's GP42 Silva Neo. The young German team won the German National ORC title four times and won the ORC Euros in 2011, and made the podium for the ORC Worlds in 2014.

The One Ton Cup owned by the Cercle de la Voile de Paris, presented by Hamble Yacht Services and organised by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, will take place between 16-18th September in the Solent, UK. Nine races are scheduled with a mixture of windward-leeward and weighted points factor longer races.

After missing out on Day 2 of the 1720 Irish championship entirely due to inclement weather, OOD Peter Crowley and his team were on the water at Kinsale before 09:00 this morning and managed to complete a full programme of races for the 1720 National Championships writes Peadar Murphy. The wind today was light and shifting, but four highly competitive races were still squeezed in and had everyone ashore just before the rain swept in again.

After the first four races on Friday, Anthony O’Leary on “Antix” led from the Byrne and Wilson outfit on “ZING” and Aoife English on “Atara”. However today, the next generation of O’Learys shot to the fore on “Dutch Gold” (newly arrived from Holland!) with Peter on the helm and Robert midship providing the fleet with a masterclass in 1720 sailing in light airs. Three bullets and a second place finish rightly crowning them as the 1720 National Champions for 2016 and bringing the title to Baltimore Sailing Club, capping off a memorable week for that part of the world!

Though never quite at the front of the fleet today, Padraig Byrne and Don Wilson on “ZING” had done enough on Friday to ensure that their lesser results today still merited a second place overall. The lighter airs today seemed to suit a number of boats that hadn’t been quite in the running in strong stuff on Friday; Fionn Lyden on Baltimore Sailing Club boat “Live Wire” had a strong showing today, and might have been pushed a bit by fellow Baltimore boat “Smile n’ Wave”, though their challenge ran out of steam later in the day. Also prominent today were Paul Gibbons’ “Wahoo” and Dun Laoghaire visitor Kenneth Rumball on “Team INSS”. However, despite an off day today - Anthony O”Leary’s “Antix” came home in third overall with five points to spare over “Wahoo”.

However, the undoubted winner of the Blacks of Kinsale 1720 National Championships was Peter O’Leary.

The Irish Sailing Association is inviting class associations to make nominations for the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championship and ISA All Ireland Junior Sailing Championships 2016.

The ISA All Ireland Junior Sailing Championships on September 24th – 25th at Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Education Centre, Schull, Co. Cork. The event will be sailed in FMOEC TR 4.2 class two person dinghies.

The ISA All Ireland Sailing Championship on October 1st – 2nd at Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven, Co. Cork. The event will be sailed in National 18 three person dinghies.

The ISA is seeking three nominations from each of the senior classes. The junior and youth classes will be advised on the number of places allocated for that class as per notice of race.  Nominations will be only accepted from classes whose affiliation fee is paid for 2016.

Class associations are also invited to suggest candidates for a wild card place; these would be members who have excelled at an International competition in the class during the year.

The age limit for the Junior Sailing Championships is under 19 years on December 31, 2016. If a class holds a junior/youth national championship for eligible sailors they may nominate to the Junior championship in the same way and enclosing a copy of the relevant Notice of Race. Please see the Notice of Race for both events below.

The ISA says its policy of a National Race Officer managing racing at a class’s national championship will be strictly applied.

The deadline for nominations is: ISA All Ireland Junior Sailing Championship is 1500hrs on the 12th of September, 2016 and 1500hrs  on the 19th of September for the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championships

The final day of Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home' was a day to remember writes Bob Bateman. With temperatures in the mid–twenties, there was plenty of activity afloat and ashore. Adults and children alike soaked up the party atmosphere on the club lawn that followed two days of dinghy and keelboat racing on the water.

The cruiser fleet featured racing that included courses from bygone days. Classes one, two and raced out to the Cork buoy while the White Sail fleet took a scenic course around Ringabella Bay.

Rear–Admiral Kieran O’Connell took a hands–on approach to Race Officer duties, alternating between Harmony as starting vessel and a club RIB when he was required to finish the various fleets.

Meanwhile, former Admiral David O’Brien acted as PRO for the Irish National Championships of the National Eighteen class which included nine of the new Ultra designs. On Sunday, sailing in Cork Harbour on the Eastern Bank, the 18s got a much more comfortable day than was experienced on Saturday. Comfortable maybe, but no less competitive, it’s a fleet in which no quarter is expected or given on the water. The three–man dinghy fleet got in three good races in the north westerly wind. Nobody could match Ewen Barry, Stan Browne and Dion Barrett for consistency and they took the National title. See report here.

The Optimists and mixed dinghies were out in force on the Curlane Bank with hardworking race officers Andrew Crosbie and Robert Foster running the show. This was no easy task with moe than one general recall.. The Optimist Copper fleet were also out and it was great to see so many up and coming sailors getting to race. The Flipper club were taking to sea in club ribs to watch the racing and a bit of wave hopping was reported too.

Back on shore, the crab competition was underway for the under–tens, and there was a rush for the dining room was made when it was announced that the Lady Admiral Gwen Roche was about to serve afternoon tea.

Following this, there was a dignified Boules match compèred by Dave Power. Much to the delight of the spectators, Ted Crosbie emerged as winner.

After face painting, a bouncing castle and treats for the children a  tug–o–war competition was supervised by Doctor McCarthy. At the prizegiving Admiral John Roche welcomed sponsors Mater Private Cork and Doctor Oisin Powell and Mr. Paul Kiely, of The Mater Private, presented the 'At Home' prizes for 2016.