Defending 1720 sportsboat champion Robert O'Leary and the Dutch Gold crew from West Cork are stamping their authority on a 20-boat National Championship fleet after five races sailed at Royal Cork Yacht Club.

After one discard, O'Leary has built on his day one lead and sits on four nett points, 11 points clear of Baltimore Sailing Club clubmate Fionn Lyden sailing Spiced Beef on 15 points.

Howth's Ross McDonald in RopeDoc Atara is on the same points in third place. 

The impressive sportsboat fleet is made up largely of south cost boats; five from Baltimore, five from Waterford Harbour, eight from Royal Cork and two from the east coast at Howth. 

Racing continues in Cork Harbour today. For a 1720 Day One photo gallery click here

Results are here

Two race wins put Robert O'Leary top of the 20-boat 1720 National Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club after two races sailed in Cork Harbour.

Westerly winds of 18 to 20 knots got the championships off to a great start even though it took three attempts to get the fleet started on the first race.

Racing was held on the Harbour's eastern bank, the ebb tide from East Ferry pushing the fleet up to the startline.

Lying second overall is the recent winner of the East coast Championships, Ross McDonald's Atara from Howth Yacht Club who counts a 3 and a 5.

Third is Baltimore Sailing Club entry Livewire on nine points.

Racing continues tomorrow when the 1720s will be joined by the SB20s who race for southern championship honours.

Results are here

Day One 1720 National Championships Photo Gallery 

The Royal Cork Yacht Club will hold its deferred Tricentenary Regatta on the last weekend of this month – Saturday and Sunday, August 28 and 29.

It will start with a parade of sail and motor off Haulbowline Island on Saturday, which was the first location of the Waterboys Club of Cork in 1720, from which the present RCYC evolved to become the oldest yacht club in the world.

Original Tricentenary plans had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic. Special trophies have been commissioned for the Regatta. "As always, the At Home' is open to members of visiting clubs," says the RCYC.

Sailing programme:

Saturday
11.00 hrs – Tricentenary At Home Regatta Parade of Motor & Sail at Haulbowline
12:15– Keelboat FG at Haulbowline
12.55 – Dinghies FG. Including National 18's, Oppies, Toppers, Lasers and mixed dinghies

Sunday
10.55 – Keelboats & Dinghies
15.30hrs – Parents' Optimist Race

Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven

Onshore and social events include Crab fishing for young children, a Tug-o-War, the traditional Admirals' Boules and a barbecue.

"Our Keelboats & Keelboat sailors have been doing a wonderful job representing the club both nationally and abroad in August. It is great to see so many boats and RCYC members competing at the top end of fleets in many competitions," said Rear Admiral Keelboats Daragh Connolly in a message to club members.

There is a hectic weekend ahead in Cork Harbour with four events scheduled.

Cobh People's Regatta, the 1720 National Championships, the SB20 Southerns and the National 18's Lowflo Trophy are to be sailed.

Cobh People's Regatta will be held at Cove Sailing Club with racing for cruisers and dinghies. The packed schedule includes a commemorative event for the revived Rankin dinghy fleet on Saturday, for which the First Gun is at 1245.

Cruisers racing for the Titanic Trophy on Friday night are the first regatta event, with First Gun at 7 p.m. The Rankin dinghies will begin the racing on Saturday with their commemorative event for the Rankin Brothers Cup.

This will be followed by the Optimist Spit Bank Challenge starting at 1300 and followed by the Fast Dinghies fleet racing at 1330 and the Lower Handicap Dinghies at 1400. Cruiser Racing involving other harbour clubs will be on Sunday, with First Gun at 1330.

National 18's are racing for the Lowflo Trophy at Royal Cork Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

As Afloat reported previously, the 1720 National Championships, organised by the RCYC and the Sportsboat Class Association, start this Friday afternoon with two races. Four are scheduled for Saturday and three on Sunday.

The SB20s, also to be raced out of the Crosshaven club, have three races planned for Saturday and the same number on Sunday.

Colin Galavan and Richard Hayes from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire are sailing their SB20 Carpe Diem in the Southern class Championships at Royal Cork

Fiona Young and crew, sailing the Albin Express North Star, won the Thursday evening July league at the Royal Cork in both spinnaker divisions – IRC and ECHO in Cork Harbour.

Kieran O'Brien's Magnet MG 335 won white sails in IRC and Prince of Tides, the Grand Soleil of Frank Caul and John Molloy won ECHO.

Second in spinnakers, IRC was the J109 Jelly Baby (Jones Family), and third Don't Dilly Dally (Michael McCann).

In ECHO Spin division, Richard Leonard's Bolero, Bandit, was second and Cara (Frank Doyle) third. Prince of Tides was second in IRC white sails and Tom McNiece's Minx third. Esme (John and Fiona Murphy) was second in ECHO white sails and Paul O'Shea's Elegance third.

Don't Dilly Dally (Michael McCann) was third in IRC in July's Royal Cork League in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

The Friday night club IHS July league was won by Peter Webster's Thistle with Kieran O'Brien second in Magnet and Celine McGrath's Big Mc third.

North Star also won the RCYC Sunday morning July league in IRC Spin and ECHO. Scribbler (Tom and Cormac MacSweeney) won both in white sails.

J109 Jelly Baby (Jones Family) Photo: Bob Bateman

Kieran O'Brien's Magnet Photo: Bob Bateman

With the news that this October's 5o5 World Championships have been cancelled in Bermuda, extra focus is now on Royal Cork's staging of the event in 2022 when the Five-Os come to Cork Harbour. 

Michael Quirk, President of the International 5o5 Class Association, announces that the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held in Bermuda at the end of October, has been cancelled.

Concern over travel issues that competitors may have due to Covid 19 quarantines and the impact of the pandemic on shipping costs led to the decision.

While Bermuda is faring well with only a small number of active cases, no hospitalizations and approximately 75% of the adult population vaccinated, competitors from the Antipodes cannot readily travel and return to their homes. Restrictions and quarantine problems between European countries and concern over potential quarantine requirements from contact tracing led to the view that cancellation was prudent.

The Class looks forward to holding its 2022 World Championships in Cork from August 3 – 13th 2022.

120 crews from over 15 nations are expected for the 2022 championships.

As Afloat previously reported, this will be the fourth time RCYC will have hosted the 505 World Championships, having welcomed visiting crews previously in 1959, 1964 and 1982

Royal Cork Yacht Club congratulated the rescheduled Astra Construction Topper 'Winter' Championships winner at Crosshaven yesterday evening after two full days of competition on the Curlane Bank in Cork Harbour.

As Afloat reported earlier, after four races sailed on Saturday, the host club's Liam Duggan lead the 69 boat 5.3 fleet and on Sunday's two races the RCYC youth extended this lead to six points over clubmate Rian Collins.

Third overall was Ballyholme YC visitor Daniel Palmer from Belfast Lough.

In the much smaller seven boat 4.2 fleet, Riain O'Neill overhauled Hugo Boyd of Ballyholme YC overnight to take the title.

Organisers chose to sail one extra race on Saturday as permitted in the sailing instructions to give the 76 boat fleet a full day on the water in some great Cork Harbour sailing breezes. 

Two races were sailed on Sunday in a light southerly breeze to bring the number of races sailed to six overall. The smooth operation afloat, however, did not stop a number of racing protests before the final results could be announced.

Full results are here

Royal Cork's Annamarie Fegan, Rear Admiral Dinghies and Maurice Collins, Class Captain of the RCYC Toppers along with PRO Richard Leonard presented the prizes.

See day one racing report and photo gallery here. Day two racing and prizegiving galleries are below

RCYC Astra Topper Championships Day Two Racing Photo gallery by Bob Bateman

RCYC Astra Topper Championships 2021 Prizegiving Photo gallery by Bob Bateman

Royal Cork Yacht Club may have had to cancel its planned Topper World Championships scheduled for next month due to COVID but the Astra Construction Topper 'Winter' Championships at the Crosshaven club is just the ticket for 76 Topper youth sailors in Cork Harbour this weekend.

After four races sailed on Saturday, the host club's Liam Duggan leads the 69 boat 5.3 Fleet. Duggan has a three-point cushion over clubmate Rian Collins. Lying third is Royal North of Ireland's Bobby Driscoll. 

In the much smaller seven boat 4.2 fleet, Hugo Boyd of Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough leads overall.

Full results are here

Astra Topper Championships Photo Gallery By Bob Bateman

After eight races sailed and with two discards applied, Oisin Pierse is the leader of Royal Cork Yacht Club's Optimist dinghy July Main fleet Series. 

With for race wins on his scorecard, Pierse has a six-point margin over Isha Duggan on 16 points. In thid place is Dougie Venner.

Provisional results are here

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Optimist Photo Gallery By Bob Bateman

With four races sailed in Royal Cork Yacht Club's July cruiser league and with one discard now applied after Thursday evening's race, Fiona Young's Albin Express, North Star continues to lead the 12-boat IRC division by two points overall. 

Jelly Baby (Jones family) has overtaken Paul and Deirdre Tingle's X34 Alpaca and the J109 is now second overall by a single point.

In the 11-boat Whitesail fleet, the leader remains Prince of Tides, (Frank Caul/John Molloy) in IRC by a point. Kieran O'Brien's Magnet is second and Tom McNiece's Sigma 33, Minx III is now third. 

Full results are here