Neil Hegarty, Peter Bowring and David Williams in Phantom held on to the overall lead during Day three of the O'Leary Life Irish Dragon National Championships.

14 knots of easterly wind and a reduced swell made for near-perfect sailing conditions.

The Royal St. George Phantom was caught OCS in race 5, restarted, and sailed a tactically perfect race to come second. Local boat Ghost took the lead on the first run by coming down the right-hand side of the course. They held on to the lead to take first. Serafina with the Murphy brothers and Brian Goggin secured third.

Race 6 started with slightly lighter winds of 8 – 10 knots. Serafina and Little Fella were jockeying for first place; Serafina held them off and took line honours. Phantom and Ghost were tick tacking for third – Ghost got ahead, leaving Phantom in fourth.
Nothing is certain in the top four places, so the Irish National Dragon Champion 2021 and second and third will be decided in the final race. Testament to the close racing enjoyed over the last three days.

Click here for results. See photo galleries here and day two here

Local ace Cameron Good leads a fleet of 15 after day one of the O’Leary Life Irish Dragon Championship at Kinsale Yacht Club.

Race 1 got underway with an easterly wind blowing 16 – 18 knots and a 2-metre swell making for heavy conditions.

The local KYC fleet dominated from the off with TBD, James Matthews KYC, in the lead followed closely by Little Fella, Cameron Good KYC, hot on their heels. Serafina, Brian Goggin KYC, was 3rd with a newcomer to the fleet, Ghost, Colm Dunne in 4th.

Aphrodite from Glandore Harbour Sailing Club retired following a MOB incident with the crew recovered safe and well.

Race 2 and TBD was pushing the line at the start resulting in them being OCS and by the time they were able to return to restart they had lost a lot of time. However, they managed to catch the fleet and ended up with a 9th. Phantom, Neil Hegarty RStGYC, had a good start and stayed ahead of Little Fella to take line honours, Little Fella was 2nd, Ghost was 3rd and Serafina 4th.

Today ended with Little Fella lying in first place with 4 points, Phantom has 6 and Serafina and Ghost each have 7.

The heavy conditions suited some boats today, but it is early in the championship and there are lighter conditions forecast for tomorrow which may suit more of the fleet.

Results are here 

Dragon Nationals Photo Gallery Day One By Bob Bateman

It was a one, two overall for the J109 design in this weekend's Kinsale Yacht Club SCORA Fastnet Race. 

Royal Cork yacht Jelly Baby claimed a victory in a corrected time of 21 hours:13 minutes: 26 seconds from the host club's Artful Dodger (Finbarr O'Regan) on 21:24:34 corrected in a race that was shortened due to light winds.

The defending champion Nieulargo, a Grand Soleil 40, finished third on a corrected time of 21:36:02

Artful DodJer (IRL1713) from Kinsale Yacht Club skippered by Finbarr O'Regan Photo: Bob Bateman

As Afloat reported yesterday, after a well-timed postponement the nine-boat Kinsale Yacht Club SCORA Fastnet Race got away in a great breeze at 10 am on Saturday morning for its annual offshore race.

Royal Cork's Nieulargo (IRL2129) skippered by Denis Murphy Photo: Bob Bateman

The fleet, sponsored by UK Sailmakers Ireland, rounded the much closer Kowloon Bridge south cardinal buoy instead of the Fastnet rock.

Full results are here

Bob Bateman's Kinsale/SCORA Fastnet Race Photo Gallery

Kinsale Yacht Club is hosting the Squib South Coast Championships this weekend.

Racing on Saturday and Sunday will be between the Old Head and the Sovereign Islands of Kinsale Harbour.

As Afloat reported previously, the Squib Northern Championships on Belfast Lough was won last month by locals Greg Bell and Jayne Kearney in Prodigal who stamped their authority on the 17 strong fleet.

Meanwhile, the Squibs Summer Series at Kinsale YC has ten boats racing and is being led by Michael O'Sullivan's Mucky Duck on 16 points, followed by Bobby Nash and Dave Ross in Flora on 22 and Kevin Downing's Grey Matter on 30.

Due to the light winds forecast for Friday night, Kinsale Yacht Club has postponed the SCORA Kinsale Fastnet race until Saturday morning. 

Sailing secretary David Cullinane told Afloat "We have decided to postpone until Saturday 17th July. First Gun will be 10:55"

As Afloat reported previously, Kinsale has increased interest in the UK Sailmakers sponsored event this year with boats from Dublin, Waterford as well as the Cork clubs taking part.

Kinsale Yacht Club has increased interest in this weekend's Fastnet race in association with SCORA Photo: Bob Bateman

The arrival of two Half Tonners into the fleet, namely George Radley's Cortegada and Ronan Downing’s Miss Whiplash, will add extra spice to Saturday's race against some of the larger cruiser racers, especially if the forecasted light winds prevail.

The latest KYC amendment is detailed here

South coast J109 sisterships Artful Dodjer (above) and Jelly Baby (below) are both racing round the Fastnet Rock this Saturday

An estimated fleet of ten boats is contemplating a light air forecast for Friday evening's SCORA Kinsale Yacht Club Fastnet Race.

Sponsored by UK Sailmakers Ireland, the fleet includes the on form host club J109 entry of Artful Dodjer (Finnbarr O'Regan). 

Update: The race has been postponed to Saturday. Read more here

Forecasts are for south easterlies at only 3-5 knots at 7.25 pm start time, a big change on last year's race that started in much stronger winds as Afloat reported here.  

2020 winner - the Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo (Denis and Annamarie Murphy Photo: Bob Bateman

Also lining up for what looks like it will be a slow race, are Cian McCarthy's Sunfast 300 Cinnamon Girl, the J/109 Jelly Baby (Brian Jones) from Royal Cork.

Last year's winner the Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo (Denis and Annamarie Murphy) is also entered along with the Grand Soleil 34 Justina (John Treanor ) from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour as well as other cruiser racers, Reavra Too, White Tiger, Valfreya and Flyover from Dunmore East in County Waterford.

Download the NOR for the Kinsale Fastnet Race (with amendment) below

Sovereign's Cup competitors can expect a mix of light to medium conditions over the next four days at Kinsale Yacht Club tempting pundits to predict that it might be the all-round performance of cruiser-racers types such as the J109 (that make up 15% of the fleet) that might come out on top by Saturday.

Light winds for this morning's opening day of the O'Leary Life & Pensions Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club looks like a tricky scenario but fresher conditions with sun and breeze from Thursday offer the prospect of some 'champagne sailing' for the fleet of 62 boats now gathered in the West Cork port. 

As Afloat reported previously, the event is split across five divisions with the biggest boats competing in the Coastal series which also features the biggest turnout.

In the Sovereign's Cup offshore line-up is Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Champion Grand Soleil Nieulargo from the Royal Cork Yacht Club

Included in the offshore line-up is Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Nieulargo from the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven and Kinsale's own Conor Doyle on Freya. George Sisk's WOW! from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is also back as one of the original entries for this course.

George Sisk's WOW! from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is competing in this week's Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club 

The four-day series is being staged at nearly half its normal size due to the Covid-19 pandemic and no indoor activities have been organised with restrictions on numbers ashore in place. Overseas entries are unable to attend due to travel restrictions.

"While we are unable to have festival conditions ashore this year, there's still a mood of celebration as we're all set for great racing afloat," commented Anthony O'Neill, Regatta Director at Kinsale Yacht Club. "The competitors have closely followed the Covid guidelines and our precautions have been widely welcomed; people just want to get out sailing at last."

The four-day O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup is the first of the regular Irish regattas on the national fixtures list to resume.

Kinsale Yacht Club rivals its South coast Royal Cork neighbour with four offshore entries into Wednesday's 280-mile Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race. 

It's a strong turnout for the West Cork club that also has the biggest entry into the race in the form of Conor Doyle's fifty-foot X-yacht Freya. 

Kinsale also has a potent double-handed entry from Cian McCarthy sailing his Sunfast 3300, Cinnamon Girl (stratospherically rated at 1.026)

Kinsale's Cian McCarthy is sailing his Sunfast 3300, Cinnamon Girl double-handed in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race Photo: Bob Bateman

Finbarr O'Regan's new J109 Artful Dodger will make its debut in the race and with one favourite J109 now out of the race and O'Regan's successful track record in his former Elan 333, this new Kinsale combination may be something of a dark horse in a race that will be raced along largely familiar south coast waters for the KYC crew.

The Dublin J109 Wakey Wakey has been sold to the south coast, is now known as Artful Dodger and makes her racing debut under the Kinsale Yacht Club burgee this week in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race Photo: Afloat

As Afloat's WM Nixon visualises here there could be a scenario where the Xp50 and the Xp44 WOW (George Sisk, RIYC) – along with other biggies like Robert Rendell's new Grand Soleil 44 Samatom – will get themselves clear ahead in a separate group and keep piling on the lead in increasingly different conditions from the rest of the fleet.

Kinsale Yacht Club Entries in the 2021 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race

• Artful Dodger J109, IRL1713, Skipper: Finbarr O'Regan, Class: IRC Racing, Rating: 1.006
• Cinnamon Girl SUNFAST 3300, IRL 1627, Skipper: Cian McCarthy, Class: Double handed Racing, Rating: 1.026
• Freya Xp50 IRL 5077, Skipper: Conor Doyle, Class: IRC Racing, Rating: 1.084
• Meridian Salona 45, IRL 4076, Skipper: Thomas Roche, Class: IRC Racing, Rating: 1.094

Tom Roche's Meridian Salona 45 from Kinsale Photo: Bob Bateman

As Afloat reported, the race is shaping up to be a highlight of the sailing season and has attracted a formidable line-up of Irish offshore sailing talent.

38 boats are lined up for Wednesday's start at 2 pm, a date that WM Nixon is calling a Clarion Call for Ireland's 2021 Sailing Season.

The Notice of Race has been published for the Squib South Coast Championships taking place on 17 & 18 July at Kinsale Yacht Club.

With a return to racing expected for 7th June, Kinsale hopes to attract entries from Glandore to Killyleagh and all the Irish Squib fleets in between. 

Racing will take place in the waters outside Kinsale Harbour between the Old Head and the Sovereign Islands.

Competition, say organisers, is expected to be 'extremely high' as the Irish National Championships are scheduled just three weeks later in Killyleagh Yacht Club in Northern Ireland.

Entries will be accepted up until 12th July 2021.

Download the NOR and entry form below.

Kinsale Yacht Club has confirmed its O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup from 23rd to 26th June 2021.

"Having considered the recent announcement on the easing of government restrictions and after consulting all stakeholders, we have agreed that we can hold our reduced size Sovereign's Cup", said Regatta director Anthony O'Neill.

"We believe that there is a pent-up demand among all sailors to get back racing and that this year's event, albeit a more 'on the water' regatta, will cater very well for that demand".

Anthony O'Neill, Sovereigns Cup Regatta Director

"We are very happy to be in the position that our early decision to plan for a smaller event with a target of 50 boats has now been proven to have been a prudent one. While the government announcement last Friday has effectively given the 'green-light' to sailing in controlled situations, there still remains many uncertainties and challenges for event organisers. Not least among those are restrictions and measures that may be required ashore", O'Neill said. 

"All of us at Kinsale Yacht Club are working hard to provide the best possible racing in June"

For that reason, a final decision on the level of social activity in Kinsale Yacht Club will not be made until closer to the event.

"We will be guided at that time by the guidelines in place with regards to numbers allowed at Events and Social Gatherings" he added.

"If the expected clarifications/alterations to the guidelines do not allow for the use of our Club facilities, then we are confident that participant's needs can be accommodated at the outdoor facilities of the Restaurants, Cafes and Bars in the town".

In addition, all Hotels and Guesthouses will have indoor dining available for those participants who are residents.

"All of us at Kinsale Yacht Club are working hard to provide the best possible racing in June", ONeill concluded.