#opti – In a show of strength for Royal Cork Yacht Club youth sailing, the Munster club took the top three places in the Optimist Leinster Championships senior fleet and also won the junior fleet at this weekend's Leinster Championships at Howth Yacht Club.

Bitterly cold conditions, a confused sea, wind gusts of over 20 knots, and a rip-roaring tide made the young sailors value their warm sailing clothing at Howth Yacht Club.

With an attendance of 138 sailors it was certainly going to be some event and so it proved. There were 43 sailors in the Senior fleet, 55 in the Junior fleet and 40 in the Regatta fleet.

Excellent if difficult conditions prevailed yesterday. Wind on both days was westerly with a touch of North. Sailing yesterday started later than today with the result the fleets experienced an ebb tide in quite a long race. Today sailing was started earlier to give the sailors better racing with races somewhat shorter and the fleets sailed with a flood tide so all round excellent sailing conditions were experienced to test the sailors. Winds yesterday (Sat) were much stronger medium to fresh 15/16 knots with stronger gusts.

Conditions to day were somewhat lighter with 5/6knots of breeze and there were two black flag starts. Conditions yesterday were reported as being extremely cold with much warmer conditions today. Reports back from the sailors pronounced the racing as excellent with great sailing and all credit due to the race officials.

In the Senior Fleet the winner was Harry Durcan, RCYC, current National Champion, second James McCann RCYC and third Johnny Durcan, RCYC.

In the Junior fleet the winner was Chris Bateman, RCYC, followed by James McMahon HYC and Ella Hemeryck, NYC.

The Regatta fleet was won by Conor Gorman, NYC, followed by Hugh O'Connor, NYC with Ruth Lacy, HYC third.

#rcyc – Royal Cork Yacht Club's CH Marine sponsored Autumn Regatta will take place over five weeks, beginning on Sunday September 29th and finishing on Saturday October 26th. The prizegiving will take place after dinner on the final Saturday evening.

The entry fee for the five weekends of racing is €75, the same as last year.

#420 – Two races sailed outside Roches Point in light winds saw a conclusion after nine races and one discard to the 2013 420 dinghy National Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club this evening. Results available to download below.

The wind died completely at the end of the last race as brothers Harry and David Whitaker (RCYC) took first place overall, with Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (HYC and SSC) second and Ewan McMahon and Colin O'Sullivan (HYC / MYC) third. 16 boats competed.

Dickson and Waddilove, ISAF Youth Worlds reps in Cyprus, put up the main challenge and had more first places than the Whitakers but had to settle for second overall to the ever consistent brothers.

Lizzy and Cara McDowell (MYC) were first girls in 6th place overall. Second girls were Cliodhna no Shuilleabhain and Jil McGinley (KYC /RCYC) with Kate and Alanna Lyttle (RSGYC) in third place

For many of the leading sailors this event set them up nicely for their next challenge as no sooner were the boats back in the dinghy park on Sunday than they were being loaded onto a big trailer and off to Pwllheli in North Wales for the 420 Junior Europeans which start later this week. 

#420– Royal Cork Yacht Club hosts the 2013 Volvo 420 National Championships from the 9th to the 11th of August with three races being planned on each day off Roches Point, Cork Harbour. The nationals follows some intense international activity in Valencia, Spain where Howth pair Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove were top Irish, and third U16 crew.

Preceding the Cork Harbour championships, former Olympic 470 crew man and 420 coach Ross Killian from the National Yacht Club will take a coaching session on 7th and 8th August with a total of three coaches on the water. The cost for the session is €100 per boat with food being provided on the Wednesday night.

Last year, the nationals were won in impressive style by the young Royal Cork YC pairing of Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts who took the gun in five of the 9 races and never placed lower than 3rd.

#marinas – The Royal Cork Yacht Club marina in Crosshaven in Cork Harbour is the only new marina in Ireland that has attained Blue Flag status in 2013 and is one of only three new Blue Flags awarded this year. The news of the new eco award for Cork was previously reported on Afloat.ie here.

Steeped in history, the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, prides itself on being the oldest Yacht Club in the world and the award of Blue Flag status comes after last year's award of 5 Gold Anchor Marina status as well as an ICOMIA Clean Marina Award – an internationally recognised sure sign of a quality marina. ICOMIA is the International Council of Marine Industry Associations and represents the recreational boating industry worldwide.

There are now four Blue Flag Marinas in the country, the other three have had the award for the last few years and they are Kilmore Quay in Wexford, the Three Sisters Marina in New Ross and Killinure Point Marina in Westmeath.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club was the only new marina in Ireland that has attained Blue Flag status in 2013 and there was huge emphasis during the presentations on how difficult is for a marina to attain Blue Flag status.

Gavin Deane, General Manager, Royal Cork Yacht Club said: "This is another terrific achievement for the Club. Mark Ring, the Marina & Racing Coordinator at the Royal Cork led the project and put months of work into achieving Blue Flag status so it's great to see that work paying off. We can now call ourselves the oldest and cleanest yacht club in the world!"

The awards comes as planning begins for Cork Week 2014 Ireland's most prestigious yachting regatta, which takes place at the club in Crosshaven in July next year.

Royal Cork Yacht Club Marina is a private yacht club marina with visitor berths located in the fishing village of Crosshaven, one of three marinas in this Cork harbour location. With 100 berths overall and accessible at all stage of the tide this marina was one of the first of such facilities in the country, pioneered by members of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The marina offers Petrol & Diesel and all other services available locally.

#corkharbour – With the aim of providing better racing for Cork harbour class three yachts, a new harbour intiative this season attempts to combine up to 30 yachts currently split between different clubs and courses, namely Royal Cork Yacht Club and Cove Sailing Club.

There will be two races held each month between the months of May and September inclusive (Dates and organisng club below),

There is currently between 20 and 30 class three boats racing every week in cork harbour, but unfortunately they are split between different race courses and clubs.

With the combined league organiser Kieran O'Connell says they will be creating a common ground for all to meet up and 'truly explore the potential that class three has in Cork harbour'.

There will be a prize giving dinner in November. 

All boats wishing to get involved in this league please contact Kieran O'Connell via the PDF flyer downloadable below. Closing date for entries is May 10th 2013.

Dates and Organising Club

May 10th Friday night Cobh
May 30th Thursday night RCYC
June 7th Friday night Cobh
June 21st Mid Summer Madness RCYC
July 14th Scora Chps Cobh
July 27th Race to Aghada RCYC
Aug 18th Cobh Peoples Regatta Cobh
Aug 29th Thursday night RCYC
Sept 7th Cobh to Blackrook Cobh
Sept 14th Naval Race RCYC

#rcyc – Regular Irish participant Royal Cork Yacht Club is returning to New York Yacht Club for International corinthian competition this September.

From the first edition in 2009, the resounding success of the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex reignited the tradition of international Corinthian competition between yacht clubs. The biennial event - returning to Newport from September 7-14, 2013 - fuses five days of intense racing with a glamorous social schedule to deliver an unrivaled event for competitors from around the globe.
The 20 yacht club teams will race one-design NYYC Swan 42s - identically tuned and equipped with supplied sails - on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound, one of the world's most legendary sailing venues. Along with the 2011 champion, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, returning to defend its title, the fleet will include the host club and 15 invited international clubs, plus three American yacht clubs determined by a qualification series held in the fall of 2012. The 2013 regatta promises another test of ability and tactical expertise as these yacht club teams from around the world display their patriotism and the competitive skills of their best sailors while in pursuit of the championship crown.
Competitors must be non-professional (Corinthian) sailors and members of the yacht clubs they represent; they must also be nationals of their countries. For 2013, the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex will welcome competitors from the following yachts clubs:
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (AUS)
Japan Sailing Federation (JPN)
Nyländska Jaktklubben (FIN)
Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP)
Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN)
Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL)
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG)
Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR)
Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR)
Yacht Club Argentino (ARG)
Yacht Club Italiano (ITA)
Those clubs have previously competed alongside host New York Yacht Club (USA). New to the event are the Royal Belgian Sailing Club (BEL), Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (AUS), Royal Southern Yacht Club (GBR), Royal Swedish Yacht Club (SWE), as well as the three teams determined by the outcome of the 24-club U.S. Qualifying Series held at NYYC: Larchmont Yacht Club, San Francisco Yacht Club and Seattle Yacht Club.
For more information on the 2013 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, contact Event Chairman Paul Zabetakis at [email protected], or visit nyyc.org/yachting-public and follow the link to the Invitational Cup event pages.

#Sailing - Irish yacht clubs are "trying to ditch their elitist image" and cutting prices to attract a more diverse membership, according to The Sunday Times.

Members' fees across Ireland's top yacht clubs have been lowered by an average 15%, says the paper, while some clubs such as Skerries Sailing Club are experimenting with eliminating such fees altogether.

Even the world's oldest club, the Royal Cork Yacht Club, is offering an introductory rate of €180 for 2013.

While the attempt to broaden the horizons of club membership is fitting with the ISA's vision of a brighter future for Irish sailing after last year's "breakthrough year", the cutting of fees points to a different side to the story - one that puts last year's EGM on the ISA's funding structure and suggestions to radically rethink how Irish sailing spends its resources into perspective.

The Sunday Times has more on this story HERE.

#corkharbour – After two races of the Marshall Marine Textiles Winter League in Cork Harbour Diarmuid Foley in Anchor Challenge and Anthony O'Leary on Antix Beag are tied on ten points each writes Claire Bateman.

Light winds prevailed for the second race of the League on Sunday. The fleet had an all in Grassy start under Race Officers Vinnie O'Shea and Mark Ring who set course 101, consisting of three rounds in a 10 knot west/north westerly breeze and finishing again at Grassy.

After two races in the IRC 'All In' fleet Diarmuid Foley in Anchor Challenge and Anthony O'Leary on Antix Beag are tied on ten points each while Fergus Coughlan's Whyte Knight and Alan Mulcahy's Sundancer are next on 12 points each.

In ECHO All In Richard Lord's Blue Peregrine leads on thirteen points from Anthony O'Leary's Antix Beag on seventeen points while Fergus Coughlan's Whyte Knight is third on eighteen points.

Racing continues next Sunday.