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Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven,

Co. Cork, P43 HD40

(021) 4831023 - [email protected] - Visit Website

Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) Sailing News
Cork Harbour yachts will race against Dunmore East rivals, such as Robert Marchant’s yellow–hulled Fulmar 32 Fulmar Fever from Waterford Harbour SC, when they compete in a new Coastal Race to dominate the June Bank Holiday Weekend
Cork Harbour sailors are being offered a different opportunity this season – to turn left rather than right when they leave Roches’ Point at the mouth of the harbour… This will be a new departure for Cork Harbour boats. Apart…
Andrew Crosbie crewed by Stephen and Rebecca O'Shaughnessy were overall winners of the PY1000 dinghy race at Royal Cork. Scroll down for photo gallery
Andrew Crosbie crewed by Stephen and Rebecca O'Shaughnessy were the winners of Saturday's Royal Cork Yacht Club sixth PY1000 river race writes Bob Bateman. The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) handicap dinghy race took place on the Owenabue river in Crosshaven Cork, in front of…
Racing from the 2019 edition of the PY1000 river race
Royal Cork Yacht Club will run its sixth edition of the Horizon Energy Group sponsored PY1000 river race on March 30th. The Portsmouth Yardstick handicap dinghy race takes place on the Owenabue river in Crosshaven Cork, in front of the…
The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork on fleet manoeuvres at sea in 1738, as recorded by Dutch artist Peter Monamy. Today, the flags may have changed, the boats may be different, and it is now the Royal Cork Yacht Club. But the spirit of 1720 lives on with its Tricentenary next year. Image courtesy RCYC
Sailing in Ireland is a sport of long-lived organisations, writes W M Nixon. It’s a vehicle sport in which a significant number of the sailing vehicles are cherished classics, sometimes passed down from one generation to the next. Like it…
The RCYC Academy is made up of 16 and 25 year -olds who get the chance to experience local sailing plus a chance to compete nationwide at Summer events.
Winter sail training for the Royal Cork Yacht Club Under 25 Keelboat Academy sponsored by EY is continuing in Cork Harbour this February writes Bob Bateman Primarily using the club's 1720 sportsboats, the Academy is made up of 16 and 25…
Robert (left) and Peter O'Leary (right) on the podium in Miami
Royal Cork Yacht Club and Baltimore Sailing Club's Robert and Peter O'Leary were bronze medalists at the first Star Junior World Champion Under 30 after a six-race regatta in the water of Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida yesterday. “It’s been great…
Peter O'Leary on the bow of the Irish Star in Miami with the name of his Irish sponsor, CH Marine of Cork clearly visible. North Sails Ireland look after the sails on the Irish keelboat
Royal Cork Yacht Club brothers Robert and Peter O'Leary have dropped three places overall at the inaugural Star Junior World Championship hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club. The Cork Harbour duo lie sixth overall in a fleet of 36 after…
Ron Holland
One time Irish based yacht designer Ron Holland has won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Superyacht Design Symposium 2019, and Boat International Design and Innovation Awards The competition included a total of 61 nominated yachts with 19 receiving recognition.…
Monkstown Bay Laser sailors (from left) article author Chris Bateman, Barry O'Sullivan, Charles Dwyer, William O'Brien, Arthur O'Connor, Rob Howe, Emmet O'Sullivan, Colin Johns, Robbie O'Sullivan Bottom- Paul O'Sullivan, Ronan Kenneally, Sophie Crosbie, Harry Pritchard and Alan Fehily
Saturday, February 2nd saw laser sailors competing on Monkstown Bay in Cork Harbour for the fourth day of the Monkstown Laser Frostbite League, sponsored by CH Marine writes Chris Bateman. The morning began with a golden sunrise overlooking the eastern end…
The RCYC U25 team sporting North Sails T-Shirts
North Sails Ireland enjoyed a great day out last Friday with the Royal Cork Yacht Club Under 25 Academy. We were looking at some new 1720 3Di Nordac upwind sails and the North 1720 T-6 Class spinnaker writes Nigel Young.…
Kieran Collins and all team on Coracle IV winners of the overall league and the Irish Mist Trophy
There was another strong turnout for final race six of the O'Leary Insurance Group sponsored Winter Series at Royal Cork Yacht Club yesterday writes Kieran O'Connell. Course 74 was set by the Race Officer for a strong North Westerly wind…
Winter? What winter? Veteran skipper George Sisk’s rejuvenated Farr 42 WOW in sparkling form in the Turkey Shoot Series in Dublin Bay
Maybe it’s the fact that the days start to get longer again in only a fortnight, but there’s mood of rising optimism in Irish sailing these days writes W M Nixon. There’s an almost measurable buzz in the air which…
On the second round of the course, the fleet negotiate no.7 buoy
With one race left to sail, Kieran Collins's Olson 30 Coracle IV of the host club has moved into the overall lead of the O'Leary Insurances sponsored  Royal Cork Yacht Club League in Cork Harbour writes Bob Bateman. After five races…
Presentation of Pyewacket Trophy by Rear Admiral Dinghies, Brian Jones (left) to Atlee Kohl (centre) and Admiral Pat Farnan
The Royal Cork Yacht Club Junior Laying Up Supper 2018 was held on Saturday 24th 2018 in the clubhouse with parents and junior Sailors making up the 168 attendees. The end-of-year dinner was dispersed with the Class Captains giving an…
Cork Harbour Topper & Laser Frostbite Series Concludes at Royal Cork Yacht Club
The annual Topper and Laser Frostbite Series concluded following racing each weekend during November. Fifty-one sailors registered and we were delighted to welcome sailors from around Cork Harbour and further afield. The weather varied from light on week one to…
The start of race four
Anthony O'Leary's modified 1720 Antix Beag from the host club continues to lead the all–in IRC spinnaker division of the O'Leary Insurance Winter League by a single point writes Bob Bateman. Staying second is Kieran Collins's Olson 30, Coracle IV. Moving…

Royal Cork Yacht Club

Royal Cork Yacht Club lays claim to the title of the world's oldest yacht club, founded in 1720. 

It is currently located in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, Ireland and is Cork Harbour’s largest yacht club and the biggest sailing club on the south coast of Ireland.

The club has an international reputation for the staging of sailing events most notable the biennial world famous Cork Week Regatta.

In 2020 RCYC celebrated its tricentenary under its Admiral Colin Morehead.

Royal Cork Yacht Club FAQs

The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world, and celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2020. It is one of the World’s leading yacht clubs, and is in the forefront of all branches of sailing activity. It is the organiser of the biennial Cork Week, widely regarded as Europe’s premier sailing event. It has hosted many National, European and World Championships. Its members compete at the highest level in all branches of sailing, and the club has a number of World, Olympic, continental and national sailors among its membership.

The Royal Cork Yacht club is in Crosshaven, Co Cork, a village on lower Cork Harbour some 20km south-east of Cork city centre and on the Owenabue river that flows into Cork Harbour.

The club was founded as The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork in 1720, in recognition of the growing popularity of private sailing following the Restoration of King Charles II. The monarch had been known to sail a yacht on the Thames for pleasure, and his interest is said to have inspired Murrough O’Brien, the 6th Lord Inchiquin — who attended his court in the 1660s and whose grandson, William O’Brien, the 9th Lord Inchiquin, founded the club with five friends.Originally based on Haulbowline Island in inner Cork Harbour, the club moved to nearby Cobh (then Cove) in 1806, and took on its current name in 1831. In 1966 the club merged with the Royal Munster Yacht Club and moved to its current premises in Crosshaven.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club today encompasses a wide variety of sailing activities, from young kids in their Optimist dinghies sailing right through the winter months to the not-so-young kids racing National 18s and 1720s during the remaining nine months. There is also enthusiastic sailing in Toppers, Lasers, RS Fevas and other dinghies. The larger keelboats race on various courses set in and around the Cork Harbour area for club competitions. They also take part in events such as the Round Ireland Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race. In many far off waters, right across the globe, overseas club members proudly sail under the Royal Cork burger. The club has a significant number of cruising members, many of whom are content to sail our magnificent south and west coasts. Others head north for the Scottish islands and Scandinavia. Some go south to France, Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean. The more adventurous have crossed the Atlantic, explored little known places in the Pacific and Indian Oceans while others have circumnavigated the globe.

As of November 2020, the Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is Colin Morehead, with Kieran O’Connell as Vice-Admiral. The club has three Rear-Admirals: Annamarie Fegan for Dinghies, Daragh Connolly for Keelboats and Mark Rider for Cruising.

As of November 2020, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has approximately 1,800 members.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club’s burgee is a red pennant with the heraldic badge of Ireland (a stylised harp topped with a crown) at its centre. The club’s ensign has a navy blue field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and the heraldic badge centred on its right half.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. The club also hosts many National, European and World Championships, as well as its biennial Cork Week regatta — widely regarded as Europe’s premier sailing event.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has an active junior section with sailing in Optimists, Toppers and other dinghies.

Charles Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club regularly runs junior sailing courses covering basic skills, certified by Irish Sailing.

 

The Royal Cork hosts both keelboats and dinghies, with the 1720 Sportsboat — the club’s own design — and National 18 among its most popular. Optimists and Toppers are sailed by juniors, and the club regularly sees action in Lasers, RS Fevas, 29ers and other dinghy classes.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club has a small fleet of 1720 Sportsboats available for ordinary members to charter.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Club House office can provide phone, fax, email, internet and mail holding facilities for a small charge. Club merchandise and postcards may be purchased. Showers and toilet facilities are available 24 hours a day, free of charge. Parking is plentiful and free of charge. Diesel and petrol are available on site. Marina berths are generally available for a fee payable in advance; arrangements must be made before arrival.

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Club House has all of the usual facilities, including bars and restaurant, which are open during normal licensing hours. The restaurant provides a full range of meals, and sandwiches, snacks etc, are available on request.

Normal working hours during the sailing season at the Royal Cork Yacht Club are 9am to 9pm daily. For enquiries contact the RCYC office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club caters for all types of events rom weddings, anniversaries, christenings and birthday celebrations to corporate meetings, breakfast meetings, luncheons, private dinners and more. For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

New members are invited to apply for membership of the Royal Cork Yacht Club by completing the Nomination Form (available from www.royalcork.com/membership) and returning it to The Secretary, Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven Co Cork. Nominations are first approved by the Executive Committee at its next meeting, and following a period on display for the members, and are reviewed again at the following meeting at which any objections are considered.

No; while ordinary members of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are usually boat owners, there is no requirement to own a boat when submitting an application for membership.

The annual feel for ordinary members (aged 30+) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is €645. Family membership (two full members and all children aged 29 and under) is €975, while individuals youth (ages 19-29) and cadet (18 and under) memberships are €205. Other rates are available for seniors, associates and more. All fees quoted are as of the 2020 annual subscription rates.

Memberships of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are renewed annually, usually within 60 days of the club’s Annual General Meeting.
For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]

©Afloat 2020