Kinsale Yacht Club has its annual ‘Gunsmoke Bell’ race scheduled for St.Stephen’s Day. First Gun will be fired to start the race at 1325 on the Charles Fort Line. It will be an All-In Race under the ECHO handicap system writes Tom MacSweeney.
“A great way to work off those mince pieces,” the club says, encouraging those with their boats still in the water to take part in this cruiser race.
The event is sponsored by Sam Cohen, whose own boat is named Gunsmoke.
Otherwise racing has ceased on the South Coast until the hardy Frostbite sailors get going in the New Year. Kinsale will kick off its Frostbite Series on February 4 and it will continue until March 11.
The club has been early into the organisation of cruiser racing for next year and has secured sponsorship of its Spring Series by Matthews and Helly Hansen. Racing is scheduled over four weekends for both White Sail and Spinnaker fleets. The series will start on Sunday, April 8 and finish on Saturday, April 28. There will be two days of windward/leeward courses and two of ‘round the cans’ according to the Notice of Race. Racing will be under both IRC and ECHO handicap systems. Entry fee is €80 for Spinnaker boats and €60 for White Sail. This will also be the opening event of the SCORA - South Coast Offshore Racing Association - series for next year. Already the warning is out to boat owners to ensure they register their vessels and provide racing certificates - “No registration, no certificates, no result,” says the club. Registration will be on Sunday, April 8, prior to the first race, from 9 to 10.30 a.m. in the club house. First gun will be at 1155 each day.
Kinsale will host the Round Britain and Ireland Race, the Yachting World Triangular Race, the Squib Southerns, Optimist Nationals, Dragon Southerns and the Mini Transat Series next year. It will be a busy administrative and organisational year at the club.
Georgina Griffin has been chosen as Club Member of the Year. She was amongst members presented with ‘Sailing Excellence Awards’ by the club for their performances in national and international events this year. The awards went to: RORC Fastnet Race, Cian McCarthy, EOS; Lough Derg Freshwater Championships, Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward, Allegro; All Ireland Junior Sailing Championships Schull, Micheal O’Suilleabhain and Michael Carroll, TR 3.6m double-handed; Europeans 2017 (Poland), Georgina Griffin, 2.4mR.
