Displaying items by tag: Calves Week
Calves Week 2024 Announce Schull Harbour Hotel as Title Sponsor For West Cork Regatta
Schull Harbour Hotel has been announced as the new title sponsor for the Calves Week 2024 Regatta in West Cork. This partnership will last for the next three years and will bring a great racing and onshore festivities experience to the region. Heineken Ireland will also be joining as the Drinks Partner for the event.
The Schull Harbour Hotel Calves Week is scheduled to take place from August 5th to 9th, 2024, and is expected to host over 70 boats from across Ireland and further afield.
Ciaran Fitzgerald of Schull Harbour Hotel and the Blue Haven Collection said, ‘’Calves Week is an incredible event that showcases the beauty of West Cork and we are thrilled to be a part of its success for the next three years. As a business, we have a long association with sailing and the sea, so we are delighted to support the future of this incredible event. We are also excited to have Heineken on board as the drinks partner.’’
Organisers say the event is a perfect representation of the best of West Cork on sea and on land, and the new partnership will bring huge economic benefits to the area.
Schull Harbour Sailing Club Commodore Mark Murphy has welcomed the announcement of Schull Harbour Hotel as title sponsor, stating, “This partnership provides a central village location with the use of their magnificent facilities as headquarters for Calves Week, while also welcoming back Heineken who have had a long association with the event over the years”.
The Notice of Race has been published and is available for download below and entries are now open for the event. This is great news for West Cork, and the region is looking forward to an exciting and successful Schull Harbour Hotel Calves Week 2024 Regatta.
Big Breeze and Thrills and Spills as Calves Week 2023 Ends on a High in Schull Harbour
There were thrills and spills – particularly in the Spinnaker fleets – in the final race of CD Environmental Calves Week Regatta in Schull Harbour, West Cork, on Friday.
Race officer Alan Crosbie started all fleets in the harbour in a brisk 20-knot gusty southwest wind.
Thankfully visibility had greatly improved compared to Thursday's Fastnet race, and all the fleets were able to race in the relative shelter of Long Island and Castle Island, with only classes 0 and 1 having to venture out to the Amelia Buoy.
All fleets were safely back in the harbour by 3.30 pm with the overall prize-giving scheduled on the street at 6.30 pm.
The leader since Tuesday's first race, John Treanor's J112e ValenTina won IRC Zero overall with four points from Norbert Reilly's J111 Ghostraider by just one point. Onboard Valentina was seven Under 25 National Yacht Club sailors, including former Laser sailor Nicole Hemeryck. Paul O'Higgins JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI was third on seven.
Similarly, Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet from the Royal Irish Yacht Club kept his early lead to take IRC Two overall victory but Bobby Kerr on the J109 Riders On The Storm lost second overall when Jamie McWilliam in Kiwi took the runner-up position place on the seven-point tie break.
A perfect scoreline for David and James Dwyer's Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble in IRC Two gave them overall victory, with rival Half Tonner Two Farr (Boardman/Kelly/O Leary), who retired in Thursday's Fastnet Race race recovered to take second place on eight points. Third was Kevin Daly's Schull Harbour J 80 Jamaro on nine.
Likewise, in IRC Three, Fiona Young's Albin Express North Star four wins were unbeatable on three points. Colman Garvey & Keirin Kelleher in the Quarter Tonner Diamond stay second on six, with Patrick Collins' Ealu taking third place on eight.
A final race win for the Radleys' Skipper 70, Pat Mustard, put them back on top of IRC Four. Rob O'Reilly's BonJourno! Part Deux took second and Richard Hanley's Saoirse was third.
The results for all seven classes are below.
The race around the Fastnet Rock on day three of CD Environmental Calves Week saw new boats perform as the West Cork regatta enters its podium-deciding final round on Friday.
All seven fleets started in Schull harbour in foggy, damp conditions, and all left the Fastnet Rock to starboard, with the bigger Classes 0 and 1 having an additional mark off Crookhaven harbour.
Visibility at the start was approx half a mile with a 15 knots S/W wind and choppy sea. Conditions gradually got fresher with gusts to 25 knots when the heavy rain arrived in the early afternoon.
For the second time this week, the Calves Week prizegiving on Schull Main Street has been moved indoors to the Harbour Hotel due to the weather.
See the full results below
Tomorrow's final race will decide the Calves Week IRC title in five-boat IRC Zero as a single point separates overall leader John Treanor's J112e ValenTina from Norbert Reilly's J111 Ghostraider.
A Fastnet Rock race win today by Paul O'Higgins in the JPK 10.80 puts Rockabill VI in third place and only two points off the lead.
Similarly, it's tight at the top of IRC One, where Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet from the Royal Irish Yacht Club continues to lead on five points from race two winner and clubmate Bobby Kerr on the J109 Riders On The Storm on seven but a Fastnet Rock Race win on Thursday by Jamie McWilliam in Kiwi puts him into third place on nine points.
There are no arguments with the perfect scoreline of three wins from three races for David and James Dwyer's Half Tonner Swuzzlebubble in IRC Two.
A second in Thursday's Fastnet race for Kevin Daly's Jamaro has moved the Schull Harbour J 80 into second overall. Flor O'Riordan's Elan 31 Three Cheers is third. Rival Half Tonner Two Farr (Boardman/Kelly/O Leary) retired in today's race and dropped off the podium.
Likewise, in IRC Three, Fiona Young's Albin Express North Star has three wins to her tally. Colman Garvey & Keirin Kelleher in the Quarter Tonner Diamond stay second on seven, with Patrick Collins' Ealu moving into third place on nine.
There is a change of leader in IRC Four where The Radley's Skipper 70, Pat Mustard, encountered some difficulties under spinnaker on the way back from the rock. A sixth-place score drops them to second overall on eight points as Rob O'Reilly's BonJourno! Part Deux takes the lead on seven. Richard Hanley's Saoirse stays third.
Aidan Heffernan's Dehler 36 Indulgence from Schull leads Kieran O'Brien's MG 335 Magnet in Whitesails IRC One.
Results below
West Cork Fog Proves No Obstacle to Calves Week as Fleet Prepares to Round Fastnet Rock on Thursday
The race around the Fastnet Rock is confirmed as Thursday's CD Environmental Calves Week fixture as the regatta passes its half stage.
No wind and dense fog in West Cork greeted the 72-competing boats on Wednesday morning in Schull Harbour as sailors faced a three-hour postponement before race two got underway in a startline set outside the harbour.
The last of the seven fleets started at 3.45 pm and were still racing at 6.30 pm.
Despite the tricky conditions, consistency is paying off overall, with the top of divisions IRC Zero, Two, Three and Four all led by double race winners.
See the provisional results below
A race win for John Treanor's J112E ValenTina gives the National Yacht Club crew the overall lead in IRC Zero from Norbert Reilly's J111 Ghost Raider of Howth Yacht Club. After two wins from two races sailed, the Dun Laoghaire yacht is now two points clear at the top of the Calves Week table. Third is Paul O'Higgin's JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club.
Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet from the Royal Irish Yacht Club continues to lead IRC One from race two winner and clubmate Bobby Kerr on the J109 Riders On The Storm. Local Tony O'Brien in the J109 Tighey Boy lies third.
Two wins from two races maintain David and James Dwyer's top form this season in IRC Two in Swuzzlebubble.
The Royal Cork Half Tonner leads from fellow Half Tonner, Two Farr (Boardman/Kelly/O Leary), who shares the same six points as the Sunfast 32, Bad Company (Desmond/Ivers/Keane) from Royal Cork.
In IRC Three, it's a similar scenario at the top of the scoreboard, with Royal Cork's Fiona Young counting two from two in the Albin Express, North Star. Club mates Colman Garvey and Keirin Kelleher are second in the Quarter Tonner, Diamond on four points. Third is Dave Doyle's, Muskateer on seven.
The Radley's Skipper 70 Pat Mustard stays top of IRC Four from Rob O'Reilly's BonJourno! Part Deux with Richard Hanley's Saoirse lying third.
Light Winds Get West Cork's Calves Week Regatta Underway in Schull Harbour (Photo Gallery here!)
Calves Week Regatta 2023 kicked off with a misty start and a light breeze in Schull, West Cork, after heavy overnight rain, but Race Officer Alan Crosbie managed to get class zero off on time for the CD Environmental-sponsored event on Tuesday morning.
All 72 boats in seven fleets rounded a weather mark in Long Island Sound and dispersed on various courses off the Islands in the bay before finishing in the harbour in a slightly improved eight knots, touching ten occasionally.
See results below
In Class Zero, a five-boat fleet that included the canting keel Elliot 57, Opal (in the vid above), it was a clean sweep in both handicap divisions for John Treanor’s Valen Tina, who held off Norbert Reilly's Ghost Raider in a three-and-a-half-hour race.
Royal Irish regular Leslie Parnell’s Black Velvet won IRC 1 from local boat Tighey Boy with the results reversed in ECHO.
In IRC 2, the Dwyer crew on the Half tonner Swuzzlebubble continued their winning ways, taking both divisions from fellow RCYC club boat Bad Company.
Class 3 produced another Crosshaven-based winner with Fiona Young sailing North Star home ahead of the Garvey Kelleher combination in Diamond.
In a strong class Four fleet, George Radley senior and junior sailed Pat Mustard to victory ahead of Rob O Reilly's Bon Journo in IRC, while Kinsale YC visitor Paul Cotter took the echo prize in Swift.
In the large White Sail 1 IRC fleet, Aiden Heffernan’s Indulgence had a narrow victory over Kieran O Brien’s Magnet and also held off Frank Caul's Prince of Tides in Echo.
White Sail 2 Echo saw a very popular win for the all-female crew of Genevieve and local skipper Lou Munday.
Calves Week Regatta 2023 Day One Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman
Calves Week 2023 'for the craic' will, as promised, deliver an eclectic maximum 70-boat fleet for its first race of the annual regatta next Tuesday in West Cork.
The weather looks like it may play its part, too, and as WM Nixon predicted on Saturday in Afloat, the event which may most benefit from the more benign pattern will be Calves Week from Tuesday onwards for four days.
Westerly winds gusting up to 20mph will bring all types of keelboat designs to Schull's Copper Point line, everything from a brand new keelboat from Racing Sailboats (RS) to an oceangoing fifty-foot canting keeler for the Round the Islands first race.
As previewed by Afloat earlier in the week, the competition is split into seven fleets, and the top end of the entries looks particularly competitive this year for the Schull Harbour Sailing Club event.
This year Calves Week Regatta has a new addition – at the suggestion of the bigger Class Zero boats – which is a laid windward mark at the entrance to Crookhaven Harbour. From the starting line off Schull Harbour, the fleet will have a first upwind leg of six nautical miles, tacking up Long Island channel before a turn downwind, which should make an excellent sight for shore spectators at Goleen.
Download the latest class breaks (and the initial ECHO Handicap) released by the organisers below.
The biggest entries are in the White Sails divisions, with 15 boats in White Sails One and thirteen in White Sails Two, but the slightly smaller spinnaker divisions are packed with top boats from the Irish scene and some top crews, including some key Irish sailmakers.
Among the marques debuting at Calves Week 2023 is the new family adventure keelboat, the RS Venture Connect, as Richard Burrows launches 'Lace' in White Sails Two. This division also includes the vintage Cork Harbour One Design Jap entered by America's Cup promoter Stewart Hosford and Simon O'Keeffe's award-winning historic Lady Min will race on her home waters.
There are nine entries in Class One where local Tony O'Brien's J109 Tighey Boy will see competition from the new Dublin Bay sistership, Riders On The Storm, skippered by Bobby Kerr with UK Sails Barry Hayes onboard the Dublin yacht for Wednesday's race and on the Schull boat for Thursday.
Baltimore's multiple 1720 sportsboat champion Rob O'Leary is onboard the Boardman/Kelly/O Leary new Half-Tonner "Two Farr" that will compete in Class Two. It's not the only Half-Tonner either, with the all-beating Swuzzlebubble that was the overall winner of Kinsale's Sovereign's Cup in June and a class winner of Volvo Dun Laoghaire in July also lining up. North Sails Ireland's Nigel Young is racing on his family's Albin Express "North Star" in ten-boat Class Two.
Onboard John Treanor's brand new J112e Valentina from Dun Laoghaire in a five-boat Class Zero will be Prof O'Connell of North Sails Ireland. This division includes Frank Whelan's biggest boat of the event, the canting-keel Elliott 52, which will have Kinsale doublehanded-ace Sam Hunt on board and North Sails Kilcoole's Shane Hughes. Royal Cork's Mel Collins will helm the JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI", standing in for regular helmsman Kieran Tarbett of Dun Laoghaire.
Quantum Sails Ireland's Mark Mansfield, who was tactician on board John Smart's J109, Jukebox in last week's IRC 3 winner at Cowes Week, is back on the water again, racing with Nobby Reilly on the new J111 Ghost Raider in Class Zero. Local Schull sailor David Harte is also onboard the Howth boat.
The CD Environmental sponsors reception will open Calves Week on August Monday, followed by four days of racing. Each night, participants can look forward to a presentation of prizes and live musical entertainment on Schull's Main Street.
The much-awaited CD Environmental-sponsored Calves Week Regatta 2023 is just around the corner, and with over 70 confirmed entries, the four-day series promises to be a thrilling event for sailing fans starting next Tuesday, August 8th.
The competition is split into seven fleets, and the top end of the entries is looking particularly competitive this year for the Schull Harbour Sailing Club event.
Sailing has suffered a bit of a weather battering over the past few weeks, with cancellations because of extreme conditions forced in many locations around the coast. So the Calves Week organisers will be hoping for different conditions when racing at the annual West Cork Regatta festival gets underway.
An Amendment to the Notice of Race has been issued by SHSC, which says: "The White Sail Class 1 will be scored under ECHO and IRC (for boats that hold a valid IRC Certificate), White Sail Class 2 will be scored under ECHO only."
Registration will take place the previous afternoon at the Fastnet Marine and Outdoor Education Centre, which will also be the location for the Skippers’ Briefing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning prior to the start of racing.
Among the new visitors to West Cork are Norbert Reilly's J111 Ghost Raider from Howth, Johnny Treanor’s J112e Valentina from Dun Laoghaire, and Frank Whelan’s canting-keel Elliott, 52 Opal from Greystones Harbour.
Jelly Baby, a J 122, helmed by the Jones family, will be looking to take on the newcomers and fend off stiff competition from the two Royal Irish Yacht Club visitors, the JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI and the First 40 Prima Forte skippered by Patrick Burke.
In the class 1 fleet, Leslie Parnell’s First 34.7 Black Velvet will hope to continue their successful outing in this event over the past seasons, but a fully crewed up J109 Tighey Boy with the help of some Australian crew will be hoping to spoil the party.
The Collins family from Baltimore Sailing Club will be looking to retain their Class 3 trophy in their Dehler 34, but will face renewed competition in the ten-boat fleet, particularly from the Garvey/Kelleher sailed Quarter Tonner, Diamond and Fiona and Nigel Young's Albin Express, North Star.
In class 4, Rob O'Reilly of the host club, sailing his Dynamo 25 Bonjourno, will once again face serious competition from Richard Hanley’s GK 24 from Kinsale Yacht Club and a resurgent local Sadler 32 Raffles with the Kirby/Norris crew hoping to put last year’s disappointment behind them.
In a very competitive 13-boat White Sail class1 fleet, Kieran O'Brien’s MG 335 Magnet from the Royal Cork Yacht Club, will once again be locked in battle with fellow club member Prince of Tides, while in White Sail 2 Simon O'Keefe’s 1902 vintage Lady Min, could well be the dark horse in the twelve-boat fleet.
The CD Environmental sponsors reception will open Calves Week on August Monday, followed by four days of racing. Each night, participants can look forward to a presentation of prizes and live musical entertainment on Schull's Main Street.
CD Environmental Calves Week Regatta race committee at Schull in West Cork will include a race mark in the vicinity of Crookhaven Harbour on this year’s course list.
Schull Harbour Club Commodore Mark Murphy has announced that, subject to weather, the new mark can provide longer courses for the bigger competitors.
The proposed mark off Crookhaven Lighthouse follows feedback – particularly from east coast competitors – and is expected to be used by the larger boats in classes zero, one and two.
With boats ranging in size from Frank Whelan’s 57-foot Opal down to Niall Mc Philips's Etchells 22, it is proposed to split the entries into five spinnaker and two white sail fleets.
New rubber fendering on Schull Pier
Current engineering work involving the replacement of rubber fendering on Schull Pier is expected to be complete before the opening reception of Calves Week on Monday, the 7th of August, followed by four days of racing, with the final on-street presentation on Friday 11th.
60 boat fleet
With entries now approaching 60 boats, Murphy has issued a reminder that the discounted entry fee finishes on the 30th of June.
CD Environmental Calves Week Regatta 2023 at Schull in West Cork has welcomed the latest entry of the 1898-built Cork Harbour one design “Jap”, scheduled to compete in the August event.
Having spent over twenty years on the European classic boat circuit, the fully restored Jap will again lock horns with the slightly younger, 1902-built recently crowned classic boat of the year “Lady Min”.
Joining them in the White Sail class will be Niall McPhilips Etchells 22 special “Guapa”, which was also a Classic Boat winner in 2018.
With a substantial list of entries, particularly from south coast yacht clubs, the White Sail 2 class is expected to be the largest fleet in the event.
As entries continue to grow, the fleet is expected to be split into seven classes, ranging from Zero to White Sail 2, when they come to Race Officer Alan Crosbie’s starting line on Tuesday, August 8th.
With over 40 confirmed entries already, Calves Week Regatta in Schull Harbour, West Cork, from August 8th-11th, is expected to reach its 70-boat cut-off by early summer.
The top end of the entries looks particularly competitive, with seven J Boat models already registered.
The Jones family in their J122 Jelly Baby will be anxious to retain last season’s crown while fending off stiff competition from the two Royal Irish visitors, Paul O'Higgin’s JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI and Patrick Burke's First 40.7 Prima Forte, while Norbert O Reilly's Howth J111, Ghost Raider, on its first visit to West Cork, could well spring a surprise.
In the class 1 fleet, Leslie Parnell’s First 34.7 Black Velvet will hope to continue their successful outing in this event over the past seasons, but a fully crewed up J109 Tighey Boy led by local club member Tony O'Brien will be hoping to spoil the party.
The Collins family from Baltimore Sailing Club are planning to retain their class 3 trophy in their Dehler 34 but will face renewed competition from the two RCYC quarter tonners; the Garvey/Kelleher sailed Diamond and the first visit of Fiona and Nigel Young's Albin Express, North Star.
In class 4, Rob O'Reilly of the host club, sailing his Dynamo 25 Bonjourno, will once again face serious competition from Richard Hanley’s GK 24 from KYC and a resurgent local Sadler 32 Raffles, with the Kirby/Norris crew hoping to put last year’s disappointment behind them.
In a very competitive White Sail Class 1 fleet, Kieran O'Brien’s MG 335 Magnet from the Royal Cork Yacht Club will hope that the winter sails upgrade will pay dividends, while in White Sail Division 2, Simon O'Keefe’s 1902 vintage Lady Min, fresh from her recent win at the International Classic Boats award in London, will once again hope to put manners on her younger sisters, in what may be the largest of the six fleets in the event.
A sponsors reception opens Calves Week on August Monday, followed by four days of racing, with the nightly presentation of prizes and live musical entertainment on Schull Main Street.