Evening racing ends this week at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven with the final races in the Thursday and Friday leagues which have been running in Cork Harbour since August.

After six races, Denis Byrne’s Trapper, Cracker, is leading the IRC Spinnaker Division on 16 points, followed by Ria Lyden’s X332, Ellida on 20. In third place is Paul and Deirdre Tingle’s X4, Alpaca on 25. Ellida leads under ECHO with Cracker second and Wan and Eric Waterman’s X37, Saxon Senator, third.

Denis Byrne’s Trapper, Cracker, is leading the IRC Spinnaker Division Photo: Bob Bateman

IRC Whitesails is led by Kieran O’Brien’s MG335, Magnet, on 6 points. Pat Vaughan’s Contessa 33, Aramis, is second on 21. Third is Paul O’Shea’s Sun Odyssey, Elegance, on 22.

Magnet also leads under ECHO handicap, where John O’Connor’s Impala, Fast Buck, is second and Elegance third.

Friday night IHS Whitesail is led, also after six races, by Tom and Cormac MacSweeney’s Sigma 33, Scribbler, on 11 points from John O’Connor and John Hanley’s Impala, Fast Buck, on 16 points. In third place is Clive Doherty’s Phaeton on 18 points.

RCYC Thursday Evening Racing Photogallery By Bob Bateman

The Royal Cork Yacht Club's two-day At Home regatta in Crosshaven attracted good fleets, with racing in light winds and sunshine on Saturday, followed by high winds on Sunday and a lumpy sea for the cruiser fleet offshore.

Dinghies raced in the harbour.

The National 18 class was won by Patrick Crosbie and Conor Kelly. Second Colin Chapman, third Ronan Kenneally/Robert Vincent O’Sullivan.

Eoin Dunne of sponsors AIB and RCYC Admiral Kieran O'Connell presented the winners with prizes along Maurice Collins, Rear Admiral Dinghies and Paul Tingle, Rear Admiral Keelboats.

Bob Bateman's RCYC At Home Photo Gallery 2022

Results:

Mixed dinghies – 1, Peter O’Leary/Dafne O’Leary; 2, Tim and Isobel O’Connor; 3, Bella Clarke Waterman/Sam Kelleher. Lasers – 1, Patrick Bruen; 2, Rowan MacSweeney; 3, Eve McCarthy.

29ers – 1. Rian Collins/James Murphy; 2, Dara Jenkins/Ben O’Shaughnessy; 3, JP Curtin/Dan O’Leary. Toppers – 1, Craig Jnr. O’Neill; 2, Ellen Bruen; 3, Shane Collins.

Optimists Main Fleet – 1, Lucy Moynan; 2, Andrew O’Neill; 3, Rian O’Neill.Tin and Copper Fleet – 1, Dylan O’Sullivan; 2, Conor Lynch; 3, Emily Lynch.

Cruisers Results

IRC 1Spin Class – 1, Jelly Baby, Jones Family; 2, Alpaca, Paul/Deirdre Tingle; 3, Ellida, Ria Lyden.

IRC 2 -1, North Star, Fiona Young; 2, Illegal, Dominic Losty; 3, Bad Company, Dedmon/Ivers/Keane.

Whitesail Class One IRC – 1, Magnet, Kieran O’Brien; 2, Jolastan, Mike McCarthy; 3, Sweet Dreams, Batt O’Leary.

Class Two – 1, Bic Mc, McGrath Family; 2, Aramis, Pat Vaughan; 3, Esme, John/Fiona Murphy.

At the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, the August/September evening league has had three races and is being led in the Spinnaker Division under both IRC and ECHO handicaps by Ria Lyden’s X332 Ellida.

She is followed under both handicap systems, IRC and ECHO, by Denis Byrne’s Trapper, Cracker and Wan and Eric Waterman’s Saxon. In IRC Ellida has nine points, Cracker 11 and Saxon Senator 12. Close racing there.

In ECHO Ellida leads on six points, with Cracker and Saxon Senator both on 11. Paul O’Shea’s Sun Odyssey, Elegance, leads the whitesails fleet in the league series in both IRC and ECHO, followed by Kieran O’Brien’s Magnet and John O’Connor’s Fast Buck in IRC. Derry Good’s Exhale is second in ECHO, with Fast
Buck third.

Friday Whitesails league under IHS handicapping

The Friday Whitesails league which is sailed under IHS handicapping has also had three races and is being led by the Sigma 33 Scribbler (Tom and Cormac
MacSweeney), with Fast Buck second and Clive Doherty’s Phaeton third.

Finally, after all the frustration in Cork Harbour, the Royal Cork Yacht Club hosted 505 Worlds finish in brochure conditions...

The final day again dawned with no wind and again, the wind filled in from the NE out to sea. Today the conditions were even better than yesterday with the wind filling in slightly stronger and holding for longer. Nearly all racing was conducted in 10-12 maybe 14kn of wind. Late in the day, it did move slightly right and start to fade, but by then, boats were turning onto their last upwind of the final race.

Three races again were conducted today, allowing 7 races in total and bringing a drop into play.

The first race of the day (R5) looked like there could be some movement ahead for the leader board. McNay and Payne were 7th and Batchelor/Pascoe 3rd. The winners were Jan-Philipp Hofmann and Felix Brockerhoff in a tight battle with Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane. Peter Nicholas and Luke Payne were part that trio, but on the last run they went furthest to the left when a little righty came down the centre of the course dropping them to 6th. The German pair of Hofmann and Brockerhoff looked like they could move up to third overall.

The second race of the day (R6) was a return to form for McNay/Payne, but Batchelor/Pascoe were a little deep. Nicholas/Payne were again near the front and this time would make no mistake finishing second. Former champions Mike Holt and Adam Lowry emerged from the forest they had been lost in all regatta to give us a flash of brilliance to pick up third.

And the final race (R7), well it was an exhibition, really. McNay and Paine just sailed away from the fleet. It was impressive! In second, was the other form boat Batchelor and Pascoe with third going to Mike Martin and Adam Lowry.

In a post-race interview, McNay and Paine shared their glory with their coach, (and McNay's crew for the last two Olympics), Dave Hughes.

The two lead boats were identical packages. Brand new Ovington V2 hulls, Pinnell and Bax sails and Superspar M2 masts.

The top Irish were locals Ewan Barry and Charles Dwyer in 12th place.

Next year the Worlds return to the US West Coast in Santa Cruz and given the size of the US fleet here in Cork, it should be a great success.

After a long wait, the 505 World Championship fleet in Cork Harbour was greeted with a 12-14kn from the N/E today.

It was a gradient breeze and expected to wane a little as the day went on. The PRO could get a maximum of three races in, and three were needed to constitute a series, so everyone knew what was to come. Whilst the breeze was oscillating, most of the fleet worked to the left upwind, and down. There seemed to be more pressure over there.

There were some performances to highlight throughout the races.

South Africans James Largier and Richard Hutton-Squire in 6th the first race of the day (R2). Lena Stückl and Johannes Tellen 7th in R2 - Lena stated yesterday she prefers breeze and proved it. In R3 Malin Broberg and Johan Röök finishing 4th and locals Ewen Barry and Charles Dwyer in R4 finished 6th, plus youngster Morgan Pickney and Garrett Brown 4th in R4.

Tomorrow the wind looks lighter but hopes remain for a few more races to finish the Worlds Photo: Christian Favreau

The first race today, (R2) was almost perfect 505 weather, the lightweight teams were in play and the heavyweight teams were in play. Crews were on the wire and the boats could power reach the runs. At the top mark the first time the team of McNay and Paine were again in the front with Mike Martin and Adam Lowry looming. The other front runners of Batchelor and Pascoe were back in the teens. For the second leg Batchelor and Pascoe moved through the fleet finishing third behind our two original race leaders.

The second race, (R3) was a couple of knots lighter moving to the 9-11kn range and favouring our lighter teams. This time Batchelor and Pascoe lead from start to finish with McNay and Paine second. The fleet was tight, so there was a large bunch fighting for third. Nicholas and Payne won that battle from the Swedish team of Broberg and Röök, the leading mixed team.

In the final race the pressure again dropped a couple more knots and moved right 20 degrees. The order for the lead was reversed with McNay and Paine leading Batchelor and Pascoe, third went to Mal Higgins and Nick (Camel) Johnstone. The big excitement for the whole fleet though was the finish of Earle Alexander and Angus Higgins in 8th. Angus is Malcolm's son and an emerging youth sailor. He joined with Earle (76y.o.), a class stalwart and permanent fixture in the 505 class for at least 40 years, and one of the most popular men in the field. Earle is there for everyone, yet he has never had a top 10 race at a Worlds, until today - there was a lot of celebration.

Tomorrow the wind looks lighter but hopes remain for a few more races to finish the Worlds. No drops as yet, so McNay and Paine have a 5-point lead heading into the final day.

Day three is completed and the 505 World Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club still have only sailed one race.

Ireland has a large ridge of no wind sitting stationary above it, and it is wreaking havoc on the 505 fleet.

For the second day in a row, the planned racecourse offshore had zero wind.

The race committee tried to get racing on the inshore course.

There has been localised breeze inshore over the last few days and on the planned inshore course, it varied from 3-8 knots, with large direction changes.

Sailors left shore at midday and the first attempt at racing was around 2.45 pm.

The 505 class requires more than 5 knots over the course otherwise, racing is abandoned. Two races were started in 7-8 knots but both were abandoned halfway through when it dropped to 3 knots.

The fleet was kept on the water until 6 pm, but nothing eventuated, and everyone went home frustrated.

The pressure is on to get some races in. Tomorrow (Thursday) is a scheduled lay day which may be converted to a racing day, but again, no wind is expected. 

Light winds continue to affect the 505 World Championship programme at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour.

Racing was cancelled on the second day of the competition at Crosshaven due to lack of wind.

Only one of two races were held on Monday's opening day also due to light winds.

Racing continues on Wednesday.

Americans Stuart Mcnay and Caleb Paine have won the first race of the 505 World Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour.

Best of the Irish in the 77-boat fleet was recently crowned national champion, Monkstown Bay's Chris Bateman sailing with Paul O'Sullivan in 14th place.

The first day of racing continued the challenging conditions seen at last week's Pre-Worlds.

Racing was postponed with sailors held ashore in anticipation of an afternoon sea breeze. Competitors launched around midday with the hope of two races with a 2 pm start. There were early signs of good breeze on the sail out, but once competitors exited the harbour the wind faded away. Eventually, a light sea breeze crept over the horizon and a two-lap course was set. The wind fluctuated between 4-6 knots throughout the race but was reasonably steady in direction.

Soon after the gun, the pathfinder (lead boat who sails from a pin on port and all the other boats sail behind her in a gate start) started to lift. The phases looked long and slow, plus there was the potential of slightly more wind to the right, so a lot of the fleet headed that way. Stuart McNay and Caleb Paine USA 9245 jumped from the gate early tacked onto port crossing the fleet and then brought the fleet pack from the right, at the top mark they lead and right behind them were Nathan Batchelor and Sam Pascoe GBR 9240. The top boats from the Pre-Worlds continued their form in the light winds. Right there also were youngsters Morgan Pickney and Garrett Brown and European Champions Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane.

Position held on the run, but at the gate, an incident saw Batchelor and Pascoe doing a turn.

For the next leg,  the top mark was moved and the course shortened to ensure a finish in the light breeze. So Batchelor and Pascoe dropped to fourth, Gilbert and McGrane climbed to second with Pickney and Brown finishing third.

From there, with no prospect of any more wind, the fleet were sent home. Racing resumes tomorrow. The wind again looks light, but with the expectation of some in the morning, the fleet will be on the water early.

Kieran Collins’ Coracle IV, an Olson 30, won the July Thursday League IRC spinnaker division at the Royal Cork with a hat-trick of first places for a total of three points overall. Second was the Sunfast 32, BAD COMPANY (Desmond/Ivers/Keane), on 15 points and third Anthony O’Leary’s Cape 31, Antix, on 23. 

Coracle also won ECHO handicap. Second here was Billy Campion’s 1720, Wight Hare and third the Alpaca (Paul and Deirdre Tingle). Fifteen yachts raced.

Kieran O’Brien’s Magnet, an MG, won IRC Whitesail with a trio of first places, for a total of three points. Second was BG MC (McGrath family) on 13 and third Paul O’Shea’s Sun Odyssey 36, Elegance, on 15 points which took first place under ECHO, with BIG Mc second and Magnet third. Eleven boats sailed.

Friday evening Whitesail League was combined for June and July, with six races and was won by the Sigma 33, Scribbler, Tom and Cormac MacSweeney on 18 points. Second was Peter Webster’s Thistle on 24 and third the Impala, Fast Buck, John O’Connor/John Hanley, with 36.

Twenty yachts raced the series.

Measurement and registration is underway at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven today (Weds) and tomorrow (Thursday) for the 505 World Championships, in which racing gets underway on Monday.

This is the fourth time the Championships will be held at the RCYC.

“80 boats, now fully carbon, have travelled from across the globe to compete,” say the RCYC organisers.

12 Irish boats are entered, including three Barry brothers under the Royal Cork & Monkstown Bay burgees; Peter Scannell and John Dunlea who currently live on the East Coast of the US but return to Cork for the event; Monkstown Bay Commodore Sandy Rimmington teams up with John Downey and an unmissable name on the list is Denis O’Sullivan with crew Jan Van Der Puil. The Irish fleet will be under pressure to beat Harold Cudmore and Chris Bruen’s podium finish in the 1969 Worlds in Argentina.

The entry list is a who’s who of World Sailing; Luke Payne of Australia joins us fresh from the Sail GP event in the UK, multiple World Champions and Rolex Yachtsmen of the year Mike Martin and Adam Lowry are here along with fierce rivals and fellow multiple World Champions Mike Holt and Rob Woelful, all round sailing legend Howie Hamlin has come from California, Olympic medallist Caleb Paine teams up with Olympian and Melges 24 World Champion Stu McNay from the USA.

There will be pre-Worlds sailing on Friday and Saturday.

The Championships will be raced on Monday and Tuesday, there is a Lay Day on Wednesday and racing will continue on Friday and conclude on Saturday of next week.