#DRAGON - Following on from the recent successes of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway and the Tall Ships Races in Dublin, Kinsale Yacht Club is set to host another major international sailing event in the Brewin Dolphin Dragon Gold Cup from 8-14 September.

Over 60 boats and 200 sailors from Japan, Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Germany, Finland, France, Portugal, Denmark and Monaco as well as strong fleets from both Ireland and the UK will compete in the what is considered the World Cup of Dragon sailing.

Among the competitive fleet sailing in the open waters off the Old Head of Kinsale will be several world champions and former Olympians including current Dragon Gold Cup holder Marcus Wieser, Tommy Muller, Vincent Hoesch, Volvo Ocean Race veteran Lawrie Smith and current Irish National Dragon Champion Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen.

Between them, their accomplishments include two Olympic gold medals and Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup campaigns.

Also competing are Jorgen Schoner, winner of three Dragon Gold Cups; Lars Hendriksen, winner of two Dragon Gold Cups and two European Dragon Championships, and former British Olympian and America’s Cup sailor Andy Beasworth who will be joining Klaus Diedreichs. 

Closer to home, the Irish Dragon fleet will be well represented by the Edinburgh Cup winner Simon Brien as well as established campaigners Martin Byrne from Dun Laoghaire, Don O’Donoghue, Andrew Craig and Cameron Good from Kinsale.

“We are delighted to host the prestigious Dragon Gold Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club this season and look forward to welcoming a world-class fleet to Kinsale for a full racing and social programme,” remarked Good, Commodore of Kinsale Yacht Club.  

Meanwhile, the Irish Dragon South Coast Championships are taking place this weekend 1-2 September to serve as a 'warm up' event for the Gold Cup. Entries are still open for both events. See www.kyc.ie for regular updates.

Round one of the Kinsale Yacht Club Spring Series commenced yesterday, April 1st, in very light conditions. It was slightly cooler than the summery conditions we have been experiencing of late, but this did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the competitors writes Keith O'Riordan of Kinsale YC.

With wind speed only hovering around the 7-10 knot mark, the principal race officers,Alan Crosbie, Jennot Petch and Donal Hayes for white sail, did an admirable job of getting two races in for the fleets. As usual they did stirling work with their teams and should be highly commended for it.The fleets were split in two,with Classes Zero, One and Two on a windward leeward course with Jennot Petch, while Classes Three and Four were on a laid course under the watchful eyes of Alan Crosbie and his team. Class sizes were slightly down this year,but the competition was as fierce as always.

With first gun at 10.55, many participants were glad of the gentle conditions to ease them back into the racing season after a long winter lay off. On the windward leeward course Classes Zero and One were first to start, with every boat clean off the line, much to everyone's relief! Tom Roche's Meridian and Kieran Twomey's Gloves Off made the early running , with the latter first to the to mark. Spinnakers were then set in a hurry for the gentle downwind leg with some crews relishing the break. The course included two rounds of this and finish on the down wind leg.

In Class Zero IRC Gloves Off registered two firsts on the day, giving them the overall lead. Tony O'Brien's White Tiger had a third and second respectively,while Freya owned by Conor Doyle had a second and a third, leaving both boats tied for second place overall on five points. John Godkin's, Dufor 44, Godot is in third place overall with two fourths on the day. In Zero ECHO Gloves Off and White Tiger are tied for first place with Godot,Freya and Meridian all on 8 points after the first two races.Class One IRC Eos owned by Dave Scott made a clean sweep with two firsts on the day. Jellybaby, Nagle and O'Malley, had two seconds, with Justus, owned by Dan Buckley, registering two thirds,  leaving them in third place overall.

These results were replicated in Class One ECHO,Eos leading overall from Jellybaby and Justus in third place. Class Two boats had the same course as Classes Zero and One. In Class Two IRC Brian Goggin's Corby 25, Allure is fast becoming the boat to beat and added to that reputation by winning both races.This leaves them leading Class Two in IRC overall.Two seconds from the Desmond/Ivers/Deasy owned Bad Company,has them in second place overall and third lace was claimed by Clem and Wendy McEligot's Sea Hawk, with two thirds.Class Two Echo is exactly the same at the top of the leader board,Allure from Bad Company with Sea Hawk in third spot.

Classes Three and Four had a laid mark course for the first race and a shortened windward leeward course for the second race,as Race Officer Alan Crosbie feared the breeeze might die away completely. In Class three IRC Graham Marron and Kieran O' Connell's Bandit had a great day on the water,showing a clean pair of heels to everyone with two firsts on the day. This results leaves them in first place overall.Finbarr Dorgan's Sonar, No Half Measures took two seconds,and thereby second overall, with Ryan/Tyler's Away On Business in third overall with two thirds. Class Three Echo is led overall by No Half Measures with a third and a first on the day. Second place overall goes to Away On Business with two seconds, while Padrig O' Donovan's Chameleon is in third overall, with a first and a fourth repectively. On the same course Class Four IRC is led by Saoirse owned by Richie Hanley, with a second and a first.Micheal Murphy's Shelly D is in second overall,having gained a first and a third and third overall with a third and a second is Alan Mulcahy's Sundancer. In Class Four Echo Saoirse leads from Shelly D, with Sundancer in third position.

The white sail fleet had a more leisurely start to the day,with a later first gun and only one race. White sail Class One officiated by Donal Hayes,was won by David Ross's Sonas, with Dave O'Sullivan's CimmarronV in second place and Peter Kelly's Magic Elfin taking third position. White Sail Class Two was won by Michael Lynch on Lady T. In second position was Dave Cullinane on Delos, with Forde/Good's Guinness Kann in third spot.

Racing next week will take place on the bank holiday Monday lest anyone forget! The day prizes this week were kindly sponsored by Kinsale Yacht Club.

#NORTH SAILS SEMINAR – US Sailmaker Bill Gladstone of North Sails returns to these shores for a nine stop lecture tour of Ireland starting this Saturday at the country's biggest club, the Royal St George YC in Dun Laoghaire. Gladstone was last here in 2009 and the series proved popular. From Dun Laoghaire the North Sails seminar heads West to Galway Bay. The full schedule is below.

Gladstone has been teaching sailing and racing for over 30 years. Topics this week, for the €20 pay at the door event, include starting tactics, upwind trim, wind shift Strategy to spinnaker trim and handling.

For more information, contact the club, Maurice O'Connell ([email protected] / 086 2364200) or Nigel Young ([email protected] / 087 2514434)

2012 SEMINAR SCHEDULE

Royal St George Yacht Club.....28 January 2012
9:30 am - 1:30 pm
National Yacht Club..................30 January 2012
7 pm - 11 pm
Galway Bay Sailing Club...........31 January 2012
7 pm - 11 pm
Tralee Bay Sailing Club...........01 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Cork Yacht Club.............02 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Kinsale Yacht Club...................03 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Irish Yacht Club.............04 February 2012
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Howth Yacht Club....................06 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Ulster Yacht Club*......... 07 February 2012
7pm - 11pm

Pay at the door. €20 per person. *RUYC £18 per person.

#PARALYMPICS - Irish team members John Twomey, Anthony Hegarty and Ian Costello are making waves at the World Championships for disabled sailors in Florida this week.

Inside World Parasport reports that the trio from Kinsale Yacht Club are tied for the top spot in the Sonar class, ahead of Norway and France, in the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) event at Laishey Park Marina.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Twomey and his crew have already qualified for the London Paralympics this summer after claiming one of the few rwmaining spots at the IFDS Worlds in Weymouth last July.

#ISA – The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) is convening an extraordinary general meeting to propose a revised membership fee structure next month.

The introduction of the 'joint membership scheme' in 1993 fundamentally changed the representative base of the Association and now the ISA say that because clubs have changed over the past 20 years there is 'a need to introduce a single fee formula that is proportionate to a club's membership subscription income'.

The brainchild of former president Roger Bannon, the original scheme underpinned the financial viability of the ISA by making every member of a sailing club also a member of the ISA.

The current ISA subscription rate is 10% of a member's club subscription subject to a minimum of €24 and maximum of €36. For most of the bigger clubs such as Dun Laoghaire's waterfront clubs, the Royal Cork, Kinsale and Howth the rate is €36.

The ISA takes subscriptions from 73 sailing and powerboat clubs in the country ranging in size from the smallest clubs with only a dozen members to the largest in Dun Laoghaire, the Royal St. George Yacht Club with 1,858 members according to the ISA CEO Harry Hermon.

The total number of club members affiliated to the ISA is estimated at over 21,000.

In 2010 income from club member subscriptions generated €320,843 for the ISA but in 2011 this had dropped to 286,087.

The EGM is scheduled for February 11th at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire.

Abroad, Keelboats are out of the Olympic Games (and kitesurfing is in!). Royal St. George Knights were quarter finalists at the British Team Racing Champs. There is video too with Irish commentator Jimmy Fitzpatrick.

Should Kinsale Yacht Club move or rebuild a crumbling premises?

Kinsale Yacht Club (KYC) held an information meeting last Tuesday to discuss the situation of its aging clubhouse ahead of a planned EGM later this month.

Structural problems were previously discussed at a club meeting last November, at which a number of options were presented. 

These included undertaking a complete refurbishment of the building, and the option of moving the club to a new green field site on the other side of the River Bandon.

Tuesday's meeting at KYC saw presentations from an engineer, an architect, a quantity surveyor and an expert financial advisor based on these options, in order to evaluate the best choice for the club going forward - namely the first option of refurbishing.

The club committee will propose a motion to adopt its recommendation to move ahead with refurbishment plans at the EGM, scheduled for Tuesday 24 May at 8pm.

Entries are coming in at a good pace for The Sovereign's Cup the South coast sailing event takes place from 22nd-25th June 2011 in the outer harbour of Kinsale, Co Cork.
"We are delighted with the entry level to date and are now encouraging boats to enter The Sovereign's Cup on our website www.sovereignscup.com or by calling Kinsale Yacht Club directly on (021) 4773433. Already, skippers are beginning to plan their sailing events for the year and we hope that they will favourably consider us here in Kinsale," said Gary Horgan, Regatta Director.
"Additionally, this year, the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race and ICRA Championships in Cork just before The Sovereign's Cup should act as good feeders as boats will be down south. As well as the excellent sailing conditions, race management and social programme ashore, there is a good discounted entry fee for the first 100 entries, which is already proving very attractive to entrants. Also, we are encouraging people to start thinking about their travel and accommodation plans and are delighted that the Cork Swansea ferry will enable more sailors to access Kinsale easily from the UK," he added.
The Sovereign's Cup was established in 1995 as and has been a very successful and hugely popular cruiser regatta. The biennial event attracts over 140 boats from all over Ireland and the UK who compete for the prestigious Sovereign's Cup for best all round score in IRC and The Portcullis Trophy for best progressive handicap.
There are many Classes for entry; including Class 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and two White Sails classes. Also, the Quarter Ton Class Championships will be taking place during the Sovereign's Cup, bringing many new visitors to Kinsale from the South of England and Wales in particular.

According to Ian Travers of the Sovereign's Cup Committee at KYC, interest has been phenomenal and he has received plenty of calls from UK and Irish owners expressing their interest.

"Also, I have received confirmation that a quarter tonner named 'Black Fun' is to be shipped from New Zealand to Europe this year and is intent on making it to Kinsale for the Sovereign's Cup! We are confident that there will be around 25-30 quarter tonners participating in the Sovereign's Cup this year," said Ian Travers.

For more information on The Sovereign's Cup, contact Kinsale Yacht Club on (021) 4773433 www.kyc.ie or www.sovereignscup.com

Take a look back at Bob Bateman's photos from Sovereigns Cup 2003, Sovereigns Cup 2005 and Sovereigns Cup 2007 in our photo reviews

Click this link for all the lastest Sovereigns Cup news from Afloat.ie

The re-run of the All Ireland Sailing Championships will take place in Kinsale and not Crosshaven on November 20th according to a press release from the Irish Sailing Association published today.

A minimum of three races must be completed for the competition to conclude and the ISA Helmsman's Trophy awarded.

The final, originally scheduled to take place in Royal Cork Yacht Club on the 26th of September, had to be abandoned due to an absence of wind.

The competition will be sailed in the ISA SailFleet J80's which are currently based in Kinsale Yacht Club. Due to the difficulty in safely sailing the fleet from Kinsale to Crosshaven the venue had to be changed, however the host club remains Royal Cork Yacht Club who are now kindly assisted by Kinsale Yacht Club.

8 teams will be competing for the ISA Helmsmans Trophy. As this competition is recognised as a new event, no previous points shall be carried forward. Each competitor begins with a blank score card.
The finalists are:
Anthony O'Leary
Ewen Barry
Garrett May
James Espey
Neil Kenefick
Niall Henry
Nicholas O'Leary
Nick Walsh

Who'll win? We're starting a readers poll on Monday. Click back to cast your vote!

Details of the 2011 Sovereign's Cup were announced at a reception at Kinsale Yacht Club, hosted by Regatta Director, Gary Horgan. The Sovereign's Cup takes place from 22nd-25th June 2011 in the outer harbour of Kinsale which prides itself with excellent sailing conditions, as well as an extensive social programme ashore.
The Sovereign's Cup was established in 1995 as a biennial event and has been a very successful and hugely popular cruiser regatta, with over 140 boats from all over Ireland and the UK competing for the prestigious Sovereign's Cup for best all round score in IRC and The Portcullis Trophy for best progressive handicap.
There are many Classes for entry; including Class 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and two White Sails classes. Also, the Quarter Ton Class Championships will be taking place during the Sovereign's Cup, bringing many new visitors to Kinsale from the South of England and Wales in particular.
Eamonn Rohan in Blondie IV a Mills Design King 40, claimed the 2009 Sovereign's Cup as the 2009 Portcullis Trophy was awarded to Chapman / Reilly's Crazy Horse. Anchor Challenge captured Class 3-IRC and the Quarter Ton Class and was awarded the Keane's Jewellers Quarter Ton Perpetual Trophy.

The Kinsale Yacht Club committee behind the 2011 Sovereigns Cup

"We have already received a number of entries for The 2011 Sovereign's Cup in June and we will be stepping up our sponsorship and communications programme as the months advance," said Gary Horgan, Race Director. "We are very grateful to Kinsale Yacht Club, the Race Management team and all the volunteers who get involved with the organisation of the Sovereign's Cup as we are working hard to organise an excellent programme both on and off the water. We are encouraging people to start thinking about their travel and accommodation plans and are delighted that the Cork Swansea ferry will enable more sailors to access Kinsale easily from the UK," he added.