The Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) has announced that Dublin law firm Maples Group will be the title sponsor of the upcoming IRC European Championship sailing regatta. Taking place on the Irish capital's waters of Dublin Bay, the Maples Group RORC IRC Europeans will bring together some of the best Grand Prix cruisers racers in Europe for a thrilling nine-race championship over three days of competition from September 12th to 15th.

The sponsorship announcement follows this week's news of the imminent arrival of a top new racing yacht for the RIYC fleet that is expected to contest the Euros.

The event marks the climax of three weeks of keelboat racing in the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Club this summer. The action-packed summer starts with the 2024 ICRA national championships in August, followed by the J/Boat Cup, which incorporates the J/109 Europeans and finishes with the Maples Group RORC IRC European Championship. The event website is here

In a special partnership with the London-headquartered Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), the sixth edition of the championships promise to be an unforgettable week of top-class sailing. According to the Royal Irish Yacht Club Regatta organiser, Fintan Cairns, “We have introduced a number of innovations this year to make the event more attractive to smaller-rated boats, right down to Quarter Tonners, and, given the right conditions, a lower-rated boat may well take the overall prize!”

Quarter Ton Cup Champion Ian Southworth in his vintage yacht Protis from England is entered in the 2024 Maples Group IRC European Championships

Peter Stapleton, Managing Partner of Maples and Calder, the Maples Group's law firm in Dublin said, “We are delighted to support the IRC European Championship on its return to Ireland for the first time since 2016. As an island, Ireland's beautiful coastline provides many wonderful places to sail, and I have no doubt Dublin Bay will prove to be a wonderful venue for an unforgettable week of top-class sailing. At the Maples Group, we are committed to fostering strong relationships and making a positive impact in the communities where we operate. In addition to sailing, the Maples Group in Ireland has a proud history of partnering with sporting organisations in rugby, football and the Special Olympics. We wish the Royal Irish Yacht Club and all domestic and international crews the very best of success for this year's championships".

With 120 days to the first gun, the excitement is already building, with over 20 boats having registered expressions of interest, including some notable top campaigns from the UK, such as Quarter Ton Cup Champion Ian Southworth in his vintage yacht Protis from England. Host country boats are also expected to make a strong showing, with Cork Harbour campaigns among the early entries.

The IRC European Championship, which alternates between the North and South of Europe (the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea), is a flagship event of the RORC.

The fifth edition of the IRC European Championship took place in Hyères in 2021, France and followed Cork Week in 2016, Marseille in 2017, Cowes in the UK in 2018, and San Remo, Italy in 2019.

Check out the IRC Europeans website here

The fifth edition of the IRC European Championship will take place in Hyères, France, organised by the COYCH (Cercle d'Organisation du Yachting de Compétition Hyérois), in collaboration with the UNCL (Union Nationale pour la Course au Large).

Following Cork Week in 2016, Marseille in 2017, Cowes in 2018, and San Remo in 2019 which crowned the French team of Absolutely, the 2021 edition of the European IRC Championship will take place in Hyères from 23 to 27 June with four days of racing on one of the most competitive & popular sailing areas in the Mediterranean.

Alternating between the North and the South of Europe (the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea), the IRC European Championship is a flagship event of the 2021 IRC season and aims to bring together more than 60 boats.

The 2021 IRC European Championship is open to all IRC rated boats. It will consist of a minimum of four coastal or tactical races (coefficient 1) and a long coastal race (coefficient 2).

At the end of the week, a Trophy rewarding the leaders of each IRC Class will be awarded, as well as a Special Trophy for the first in the overall ranking who will be crowned European IRC Champion 2021.

2021 IRC Europeans Programme

• Wednesday 23 June 09:00 – 18:00 Registration and rating inspection
• Thursday 24 June 09:30 – Briefing / 12:00 Racing
• Friday 25 June Racing
• Saturday 26 June Racing
• Sunday 27 June Racing and awards ceremony

#RORC - Royal Cork Yacht Club is bidding to host the IRC European Championship once again in 2020 after a successful inaugural event during Volvo Cork Week this July.

Royal Ocean Racing Club Commodore Michael Boyd made the announcement at the prizegiving ceremony as he unveiled Marseille as the host venue for the second annual championship over the first two weeks of July 2017.

In 2018 the event will move to Cowes on the Isle of Wight and the 2019 championship is tentatively scheduled for Scheveningen in the Netherlands.

Boyd confirmed that an application had been received from the Royal Cork to host in 2020, which also marks the club's tricentenary, and that RORC decision-makers "hope to respond very soon".

"Looking forward to Marseille, I would point out that the Royal Ocean Racing Club has strong links with French yachting, especially UNCL, and we are sure that IRC European Championship in Marseille will be a superb event," added Boyd.

#CorkWeek - For the inaugural IRC European Championship at this year's Volvo Cork Week, the top three boats all came from different IRC classes and the result was incredibly close.

And after the final day's results, it turns out the antique silver IRC European Champion Trophy, presented by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, will not be going far – as Royal Cork YC's Paul Gibbons, racing Quarter Tonner Anchor Challenge, emerged the winner.

“This has been such a fantastic regatta, Volvo Cork Week is very competitive, and we had a real fight on our hands to win our class, let alone the IRC European Championship," said Gibbons from the winners' podium. "I would like to thank my crew, without a good team we would never have achieved the success. We will definitely be back to defend our win in Marseille next year.”

Shrouded in sea fog, the final day of racing at Volvo Cork Week was curtailed to just one race for some classes. However, as the mist cleared, class winners appeared and the inaugural IRC European Championship went to the wire.

Located outside Cork Harbour, the visibility was just too bad for safe racing for IRC Zero, One and Two and the results remained unchanged from the previous day.

The final prizegiving was held at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, established in 1720, and the antique silverware presented includes some of the world oldest and famous trophies.

But the two biggest awards of Volvo Cork Week are brand new this year.

John Swan's Howth team, racing Half Tonner Harmony, was second, winning the Royal Cork Perpetual Salver. Tony Ackland's Swansea YC team, racing Dubois 37 Dark Angel, was third and was awarded the prestigious prize of the Kinsale Kettle for Boat of the Week.

“This is the best Cork Week we have ever done and to be awarded Boat of the Week is a big honour. We will be toasting our friends tonight and when we get back to Swansea. Congratulations to all the winners, it has been great to be a part of this regatta,” said Ackland.

The Waterford Crystal Beaufort Cup, commissioned by former Marine Minister Simon Coveney, was won by Defence Forces B racing Joker 2, skippered by Cmdt Barry Byrne, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Baltimore RNLI racing True Penance, skippered by Nicholas O'Leary, was second while the PSNI racing Freya, skippered by Conor Doyle, came third.

Defence Force B Team have nominated Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Dublin for the €10,000 award. But the winning team have also donated €1,000 to Baltimore RNLI as a show of sportsmanship.

“To have so many teams and top quality racing in the first year of the Beaufort Cup is amazing,” said Cmdt Byrne. “The offshore race around the Fastnet is one of the most enjoyable races I have ever done. We saw dolphins and whales literally the whole way round and eight boats rounded the Fastnet Rock within sight of each other.

"We already have confirmed interest from USA, France, Canada and Spain for 2018. The goal is to make the Beaufort Cup the biggest emergency and military services regatta in the world and I would like to applaud Minister Simon Coveney and Vice Admiral Mark Mellett for their continued support for the initiative and all of the teams that participated.”

Tony Langley's TP52 Gladiator leads the fleet in the Harbour Race Photo: Ingrid Abery

Anthony O'Leary's Ker 40 Antix from the Royal Cork YC are the IRC Zero champions, beating strong opposition from Tony Langley's British TP52 Gladiator and Eric De Turckiem's French A13 Teasing Machine.

The class was fiercely contested with both Antix and Gladiator taking three wins a piece in the seven race series. Antix won the class by just one point.

Tony Ackland's team from Swansea YC, racing Dubois 37 Dark Angel, dominated IRC One. Jay Colville's First 40 Forty Licks from East Down YC in Northern Ireland was second in class and Royal Cork's Conor Phelan, racing Ker 37 Jump Juice was third, fending off a strong challenge from Charlie Frize's Scottish team, racing Mills 36 Prime Suspect.

The team from Clyde CC were the winners of the Hugh Coveney Trophy, for the best team under IRC in the Harbour Race.

Paul O'Higgins Royal Irish YC team, racing JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI, corrected out to win IRC Two by four points from Robert McConnell's A35 Fools Gold. A terrific battle for third place was won by Richard Goodbody's Royal Irish team, racing J/109 White Mischief. RORC Commodore Michael Boyd, racing Irish JPK 10.80 Audrey was fourth and William Wester's Dutch team, racing Grand Soleil 37 Antilope was close behind in fifth.

In IRC Three, John Swan's Howth YC team, racing Half Tonner Harmony, was the runaway winner, scoring five bullets at Volvo Cork Week. Patrick Farcy's French JPK 9.60 Cavok won the last race of the championship to snatch second by a single point from Paul & Deirdre Tingle's Royal Cork team, racing X-34 Alpaca.

Simon Henning's Guernsey YC team, racing 1720 Alice, was the runaway winner of the Mixed Sportsboats Class. George Sisk's Farr 42 WoW won a close encounter in IRC Coastal Class 1. Nick Ogden's Ulula and Sheila & James Tyrrel's J/112e Aquelina was just a point behind the winner.

Martin Breen's Port of Galway Team won IRC Coastal Class 2, winning three of the four race series. Jimmy Nyhan's Out Rigger was the winner of the Club Regatta Fleet, with three straight bullets. Tom McNeice's Sigma 33 Minx III was the winner in the non-spinnaker class, which was only decided on the last race of the seven race series.

The non-spinnaker class is growing at Volvo Cork Week and proving extremely competitive. Of the 12 entries this year, six teams made the podium during the regatta. Kieran McCarthy's Voxpro team won the Try Sailing Challenge, the initiative has received much acclaim and interest with 120 people applying to join the initiative across Ireland.

VIPs for the final award ceremony were Adrian Yeates, managing director of Volvo Cars Ireland, Naval Service Vice Admiral Mark Mellett and Royal Ocean Racing Club Commodore Michael Boyd.