The Commodore of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) has a clear, direct aim for this year’s season – get more boats sailing.

“That is it, that is what we will be aiming to do, encourage boats from the marinas and the moorings to go out sailing and racing,” says Daragh Connolly of the Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven, who was re-elected at the annual general meeting of SCORA.

It was a well-attended meeting, with seven clubs represented and a notable presence of young sailors participating in the debates about topics which ranged over defining a ‘feeder’ race, what constitutes a ‘Cruiser/Racer?’ and the different types of boats racing in fleets. 

Swuzzlebubble, was awarded boat of the Year at the SCORA AGM. The twenty-third South Coast Offshore Racing Association meeting was held at the Royal Cork YC. The very large attendance included representatives from the three harbour clubs in addition to Kinsale, Schull and Waterford. Commodore Darragh Connolly opened the meeting with a report on the season's sailing activities, which had suffered an increase in cancellations due to weather conditions Photo: Bob Bateman

A discussion was also held on the problems experienced by clubs in catering for a small group of sports boats who wish to sail with the cruiser fleets in the weekly club events.

"What constitutes a ‘Cruiser/Racer' was discussed at the agm"

The Cork-Dunmore East race is to be restored in the SCORA calendar this season. There will be a SCORA offshore race each month from May, starting with the Inishtearaght Race scheduled for May 24. The Kinsale YC Fastnet Race will be sailed in June; the Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (Cobh) race in July before Cork Week; Kinsale to Baltimore in August, leading to Calves Week that month and Cork Harbour-Dunmore East in September. Further information will be issued during the season.

Michele Kenneally, Kinsale YC, was elected Vice-Commodore; Michael Murphy of Schull Harbour YC continues as Treasurer and David Cullinane of Kinsale YC is Sailing Secretary.

At the agm held in the RCYC, Commodore Connolly highlighted the strong involvement of young crews in the SCORA racing programme in the past season.

In my interview with him for this week’s podcast (below), he said that is a very positive aspect to note for the future of sailing in that trend, with more younger sailors involved in cruiser racing. Many of the prizewinning boats had young crews. “That is responding to the concern about losing younger sailors to the sport and we can see it happening. That’s very encouraging. It has been a worry to keep younger sailors in the sport, but now that is changing and in SCORA we’re delighted and pleased to see it.”

David Dwyer’s ‘Swuzzlebubble ‘ achieved a hat-trick of ‘Boat of the Year’ awards when it was named SCORA ‘Boat of the Year’.

That follows winning the Irish Cruiser Racing Association and its club, RCYC, ‘Boat of the Year’ awards.

A special SCORA award of individually engraved bottles of 3 Sq. Miles Cape Clear Gin (pictured below), listing their time rounding the Fastnet, was presented to Noel Coleman's Blue Oyster, George Radley's IMP, and Denis Murphy's  Nieulargo to acknowledge their achievement in completing the 2023 RORC Fastnet Race classic in appalling weather conditions Photo: Bob Bateman

Special awards were presented to South Coast yachts based on the time they had rounded Fastnet Rock in the Fastnet Race and to the Kinsale crew that completed the Sydney to Hobart Race.

The Claire Bateman Award for contribution to sailing was presented to David Marchant of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club by Ethel Bateman, who congratulated David for his regular attendance for over twenty years at the major South Coast events and who spoke of her grandmother’s major contribution to Irish sailing Photo: Bob Bateman

A SCORA award was presented to Cian McCarthy (centre and Sam Hunt (left) for their December achievement sailing Cinnamon Girl in the Sydney Hobart Race Photo: Bob Bateman

SOUTH COAST OFFSHORE RACING ASSOCIATION (SCORA) PRIZEWINNERS 2023

BOAT OF THE YEAR
Swuzzlebubble – David Dwyer, RCYC

CLASS O
1ST IRC and ECHO – Jelly Baby, Brian Jones Royal Cork YC

CLASS O/1
1ST IRC and 2nd ECHO – Nieulargo, - Denis Murphy RCYC
1st ECHO and 2nd IRC – Alpaca, Paul Tingle, RCYC
3rd IRC and ECHO – Tighey Boy, Tony O’Brien Schull Harbour SC

CLASS 1/2
1ST IRC and ECHO – Swuzzlebubble, David Dwyer, RCYC
2nd IRC and ECHO – Reavra Too, Stephen Lysaght, Kinsale YC
3rd IRC and ECHO – Bad Company, Frank Desmond RCYC

CLASS 2/3
1st IRC and 2nd ECHO – Anchor Challenge, Conor Phelan, RCYC
1st ECHO and 3rd IRC - Diamond, Coleman Garvey RCYC
2nd IRC – North Star, Fiona Young, RCYC
3rd ECHO – Flyover, David Marchant, Waterford Harbour SC

CLASS 4
IRC - Pat Mustard, George Radley, Jr., Cove SC
ECHO – Saoirse – Richard Hanley, Kinsale YC

WHITE SAIL CLASS 1
1ST IRC and ECHO – Magnet, Kieran O’Brien, RCYC
2nd IRC – Anteex – Dan Murphy, RCYC
3RD IRC – Rosmarina – Ronan Twomey, RCYC
2nd ECHO – Aidan Heffernan, RCYC/SHSC
3rd ECHO – Big Mc –Celine McGrath, RCYC

WHITE SAIL CLASS 2
1ST Apache – Alan Mulcahy, Kinsale YC
2nd Fast Buck – John O’Connor, RCYC
3rd Jap – Kieran Dwyer, RCYC

SCORA SPECIAL AWARDS

SYDNEY- HOBART RACE 
Cinnamon Girl - Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt, Kinsale YC

FASTNET RACE
Nieularago – Denis Murphy
Imp – George Radley
Blue Oyster – Noel Coleman

CLAIRE BATEMAN ANNUAL AWARD
David Marchant, WHSC

SCORA PRIZEWINNERS 2023 PHOTO GALLERY BY BOB BATEMAN

The South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) has cancelled its Fastnet Race scheduled to start, in conjunction with Kinsale Yacht Club, this Friday from Kinsale, due to weather, but this time because the forecast conditions are too light!

It is the second time this season the race has been cancelled. As regular Afloat readers will recall, the race was cancelled in July due to the "huge number of sailors from the South Coast competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race". 

Commodore Daragh Connolly took a poll of competitors this week, advising them that the organising committee had been watching the weather and “all forecasting is pointing to a very soft few days of breeze of zero to 8 knots, noting a strong tide.”

He offered three options – race to the Fastnet as planned, an alternative to race to the Kowloon Cardinal Mark on the West Cork coast, or postpone to a later date.

Those entered opted for deferral.

“We will defer the UK Sailmakers Ireland Fastnet Race until presented with a better weather forecast following discussion with competitors,” was the decision after the poll.

Kinsale Yacht Club Kinsale Yacht Club has confirmed that the UK Sailmakers Ireland KYC (SCORA) Fastnet Race has been rescheduled for September 1, 2023.

As regular Afloat readers will recall, the race was cancelled in July due to the "huge number of sailors from the South Coast competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race". 

The event will kick off with a Skippers briefing at Kinsale Yacht Club, followed by the First Gun at 18.55hrs on the Charles Fort Line in Kinsale Harbour.

The Notice of Race is now available for download below, with the Sailing Instructions set to follow shortly. Those interested in participating can submit their Entry/Declaration Form online via the Fastnet Race 2023 Entry Form on the Kinsale Yacht Club website.

All-In IRC and Echo race enthusiasts will be excited to hear that this year's event will not feature any Class Divisions. Additionally, sponsors' prizes and trophies will be presented at the club on Saturday, September 2, at 18:00 Hrs.

The Fastnet Trophy will be awarded to the yacht with the lowest corrected time in IRC, while the Ocean Trophy will be awarded to the yacht with the second lowest corrected time in IRC.

The Minihane Trophy, on the other hand, will be awarded to the yacht with the lowest corrected time in Echo. In the event that the yacht with the lowest corrected time in Echo wins either the Fastnet or Ocean trophy, the Minihane trophy will be awarded to the yacht with the next lowest corrected time in Echo.

For those interested in participating, the online Crew List must be submitted by 17.00hrs on Friday, September 1. Don't miss out on this thrilling event, and mark your calendars for the KYC (SCORA) Fastnet Race on September 1, 2023.

This week's Calves Week Class Zero entrant, the J122 Jelly Baby, won Sunday's seven-hour SCORA Kinsale to Baltimore Race.

Just three boats, all from Royal Cork Yacht Club, made the line for the race, postponed until Sunday due to weather. 

The Brian Jones skippered big boat won in both IRC and ECHO with Kieran O'Brien and Fiorentina Carroll's MG335, Magnet second in both handicap divisions. Third was Ronan Twomey's Rosmarina.

As Afloat reported previously, Jelly Baby will be in a five-boat battle for Class Zero honours at Calves Week that starts on Tuesday, August 8th.  

SCORA, the South Coast Offshore Racing Association, has cancelled Saturday's Kinsale to Baltimore race, a 'feeder' to West Cork prior to Calves Week, due to expected weather conditions.

SCORA Commodore Daragh Connolly announced this afternoon that the race will be deferred until Sunday.

"We have been watching the weather this Saturday, and we are postponing the KYC SCORA Baltimore race from Saturday 5th to Sunday 6th FG 10.55. Hopefully, this will encourage more entries also".

The South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) has cancelled the Kinsale-Fastnet Race scheduled for July 28.

SCORA Commodore Daragh Connolly said: "We have a huge number of sailors from the South Coast competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, and we wish them safe passage and the very best of luck.

"Given the level of sailors away, we are standing down the Kinsale YC/Fastnet Race.

"However, we will hold a "pop up" long day coastal race (six hours approximately) on Saturday morning, July 29, from Crosshaven. All boats welcome."

Details of this will be issued shortly.

There will also be a Kinsale to Baltimore race for boats going to Calves Week Regatta in Schull on August 5.

The Commodore of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) says it has a number of aims for the season ahead – getting more boats off the marinas and out racing, creating links between dinghy sailors and keelboat racing and continuing to increase youth participation.

Daragh Connolly told the annual general meeting of SCORA that last season, the first full one after the impact of restrictions from the Covid pandemic, had been a good one for offshore racing on the South Coast. “This has created a lot of enthusiasm for further development. SCORA will provide a platform for more participation and actively encourage newcomers".

“Offshore racing, coastal races, and short-handed sailing have been developed since the impact of the pandemic. Overall there is a positive, enthusiastic approach for going offshore which is encouraging,” he told the well-attended meeting and prizegiving at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

SCORA 2022 prizewinners gathered at the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Photo: Bob Bateman

On my Podcast, we discuss how the ageing structure of boat ownership will have to be counteracted, how this can be done and whether more crew members can be successfully introduced onto offshore racing boats. Can links be developed with the dinghy sector to lead sailors from there into keelboat racing? Are enough racing boats travelling to events outside their own immediate areas, and how is this affected by current social and work demands?

I started our interview by asking Daragh Connolly to review how the past season had turned out for offshore racing on the South Coast.

Listen to the Podcast below and see Afloat's SCORA agm report and prizegiving photos here

The annual South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) AGM was held on Friday, January 20th, in the Royal Cork Yacht Club, attended by a large body of the sailing fraternity representing south coast clubs.

Commodore Daragh Connolly reported on a successful sailing season, drawing particular attention to the growing interest in the offshore series and congratulating Kinsale on the successful running, in the early season of the Inishtearaght race in addition to their traditional summer Fastnet-Baltimore race.

SCORA officers - Michael Murphy, Hon Sec/Treasurer (left) and Daragh Connolly, Chairman Photo: Bob Bateman

The Kingstown to Queenstown (K2Q) race ran in conjunction with ISORA, attracted some questions regarding the ability of competitors to finish at a line off the Daunt buoy or continue around the Fastnet before returning to Cork harbour in a separate race.

The inter-club league comprising of the spring series in Kinsale, Calves Week in Schull and the Autumn series at the RCYC continued to attract large fleets, with the commodore explaining of the results headaches caused by boats alternating from white sail to cruisers at the various events.

Prior to the prizegiving, Connolly spoke on the invaluable service to sailing coverage on the South Coast provided by Mary Malone and Bob Bateman and presented them, together with long-serving SCORA financial officer Michael Murphy, with inscribed glass trophies.

A total of 23 Bob Bateman photographs from the 2022 season were presented, with 12 going to the RCYC, five to Kinsale YC, three to Schull Harbour SC, two to Cove SC and one to Crookhaven SC, being the first-ever SCORA award won by the club.

SCORA Boat of the Year - Brian Jones (left), skipper of the J122 Jelly Baby Photo: Bob Bateman

The boat of the year award went to the Jones family on the J/122 Jelly Baby, while special mention was made of the 120-year-old Lady Min from Schull, whose owner Simon O'Keefe spoke of the long project of restoring his great grandfather’s boat and how delighted he was to be back in Crosshaven where the boat had sailed in the previous century.

Simon O'Keefe, owner of the restored 120-year-old Lady Min from Schull in West Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

The evening concluded with the presentation of the Claire Bateman award, which Daragh Connolly explained was awarded to Noel and Alan Coleman in Blue Oyster for their continuing support of all local and offshore events and their class win in the Round Ireland Race.

Listen to Tom MacSweeney's podcast with Daragh Connolly of SCORA here

SCORA AGM and prizegiving at Royal Cork Yacht Club  Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman

The South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) annual general meeting will be held in the Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven on Friday night.

SCORA's annual prizegiving will also take place.

The discussion will include racing plans for 2023. The usual issue of handicaps and class bands is likely to be raised.

Offshore events have been a major development for SCORA, with a good degree of success but there will no doubt be questions raised about the absence of any Cork boats on last July's K2Q 260 race course

As Afloat reported previously, organisers are looking to alter the timing of future editions of the Dun Laoghaire to Cork Race.

Friday's meeting will start at 7 pm.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) at Crosshaven has received a lot of praise for the running of Sunday’s Autumn League during a “weather window” in Cork Harbour, getting the fleet home before a gale hit the Cork area which was so strong that it caused serious damage and serious flooding. 

The plan for the race involved making the start an hour earlier and racing inside the harbour.

Read Afloat's race report here.

Ready to race - Royal Cork Autumn League Race Officers Sally (left) and Anthony O'Leary (centre) Photo: Bob Bateman

The race was also part of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association’s annual league series. 

1720 sportsboats competing at Royal Cork's Autumn League Race Photo: Bob Bateman

SCORA’s Treasurer, Michael Murphy, who has been taking part in the racing, was impressed by the quality of the organisation and the safety steps taken to complete the race safely.

SCORA Treasurer Michael Murphy with his wife Derval pictured in 2019 at a gathering at the RCYC in Crosshaven, to celebrate the 40 th consecutive years for the Moody 30, Shelly D (below) and her various crews, competing in the Autumn league. Murphy is not sailing Shelly D in this year's Autumn League - She's 'resting', he says in Rosbrin yard but is doing a bit of crewing when asked.... Photo: Bob Bateman

He is my Podcast guest this week, where we discuss the importance of good on-the-water racing communications, the differing standards of race officiating and the likelihood that there will be more offshore racing in SCORA’s calendar for next year.

Listen to the Podcast here.

Shelly D was purchased in 1978 at Southamption boat show by Derval and Michael Murphy, after a meeting on the Moody stand with designer Angus Primrose, she was delivered to Kinsale in Easter 1979. Photo: Bob Bateman