62 Entries Hungry to Race ...
at the 2021 O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup
The initial light winds and rain soon gave way to ideal racing conditions for the opening day yesterday, Wednesday 23 June 2021.
The 62-strong fleet competed on courses ranged from Cork Harbour to the Old Head of Kinsale at the start of the four day regatta.
Racing continues through to Saturday 26 June, you can enjoy the atmosphere on the key walls in Kinsale or follow the results on ...
FINAL DAY
Another race win and a careful third place for Mike and Ritchie Evans' J99 Snapshot from Howth was enough to convincingly win the Division 1 title and overall trophy at the O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale on Saturday while ReavraToo, skippered by Stephen Lysaght from the host club won the Portcullis trophy under ECHO handicap.
The four day series was a closely matched affair in all of the 12 divisions with nothing certain about the outcome of the event that awards the overall Sovereign's Cup for best performance under the international IRC system while best boat under the ECHO handicap system receives the Portcullis Trophy.
The Evans brothers competed in their new J99 Snapshot as one of their first major regattas and faced stiff competition, primarily from clubmates Richard Colwell and John Murphys' Outrajeous. However, a sixth place followed by a disqualification for early starting in the final saw their main challenger drop from contention and Kinsale's Finbarr O'Regan on Artful Dodger took second place in the class.
However, it was the consistency of Snapshot's performance across the eight race series that ended with a nine-point winning margin in the 14-boat division that earned their claim to the Sovereign's Cup this year.
"Kinsale put on a super event and we're all very grateful to be back on the water again," said Mike Evans who credited the win to his team on board Snapshot. "Race officer Jack Roy did a great job, particularly on the final day in very challenging conditions."
The other potential overall winner was likely to come from the biggest fleet of the event in the 19-strong Coastal class where Bob Rendell's Samatom, also from Howth Yacht Club placed second in the fourth and final race of the series to win the class. That victory came down to a winning margin of a single point as Denis and Annemarie Murphys' Nieulargo from the Royal Cork Yacht Club won the last distance race of the series but were ultimately denied the class win.
"It was a tremendous final race in which any one of five boats were winning at different stages of the race," commented Maurice "Prof" O'Connell, tactician on Conor Phelan's Jump Juice. "We sailed to the Black Tom mark in Courtmacsherry Bay where the wind was gusting more than 20 knots but by the time we had sailed back to Kinsale it dropped away to ten knots."
Meanwhile, Stephen Lysaght's ReavraToo from Kinsale was awarded the Portcullis Trophy for best performance under the ECHO Handicap system for winning four out of the eight races in Division 2. The Elan 333 finished the series with a four point lead over second placed Kieran Collins' Coracle VI from the Royal Cork Yacht Club who ironically won that class with four race wins under the IRC system.
The Royal Cork battle for supremacy of Class 3 saw David Lane's Ya Gotta Wanna again swap places with Supernova owned by Dave O'Regan with Denise Phelan and Tony Donworth to win the class under IRC after four days of cat and mouse.
Amongst the White Sails fleets, Kinsale's John Twomey pounced from outside a three-way tie on Friday thanks to a final race win under ECHO handicap as Shillelagh ended tied for first place with Declan Gray's Sapphire but the last race victory was the useful tiebreak on countback for Class 2. James Matthews Jeanneau 49 Fiscala took Class 1 thanks to another race win on the last day.
"We are pleased that we were able to deliver a full programme of races in keeping with the Covid guidelines and get people back on the water this year," commented Anthony O'Neill, Regatta Director at Kinsale Yacht Club. "We will soon start planning for the 2023 Sovereign's Cup and are already looking forward to having a full fleet once again with our regulars from home and abroad."
DAY 3
Results in the balance in all classes going into the final day at the O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale
Tiny points margins for the leaders across all classes mean the final races at the O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale will be closely contested. After the event started in lights airs on Wednesday, fresh and gusty conditions are forecast to finish off the series on Saturday.
Of all the classes racing, White Sails 2 has the closest result where three boats are level on points though Saturday's result under ECHO handicap could yet throw the contest between Howth Yacht Club's Sapphire and Kinsale YC entries Privateer and Gunsmoke 2 into further disarray.
However, in the contest for the overall Sovereign's Cup trophy to be awarded under the IRC system, attention is likely to centre on the Coastal and Division 1 fleets where the largest numbers of boats have gathered.
Friday saw a change in conditions with the arrival of fresh northerly winds that gusted up to 20 knots at times during the day.
The added wind allowed the Coastal fleet to sail an extra leg into Kinsale Harbour before a 30 nautical-mile course that repeated Thursday's race, out past the Old Head of Kinsale to the Black Tom navigational mark in Courtmacsherry Bay, back to the Sovereigns mark, out to South mark and then home.
Denis and Annamarie Murphys' Grand Soliel 40 Nieulargo won the race for the day while a second place for Rob Rendell's Samatom brought the Howth boat to one point behind overall class leader Conor Phelan on Jump Juice at the front.
Meanwhile, in Division 1 where 14 boats are competing, Mike and Ritchie Evans' J99 Snapshot from Howth continues to hold off a raft of J109's after a fifth and first place for the day. However, Richard Colwell and John Murphys' Outrajeous had the better day with a second and race win so closed the gap on the class leader to just three points with two races remaining.
"We'll have our work cut out as it'll be windy and we're still getting to know the boat," commented Mike Evans of Snapshot. "We're very pleased we the performance of the boat - windier doesn't bother us, it might even help us."
As continuing battles within the two smallest fleets in the event continue as they have done all week as David Kelly's King One from Howth still holds a one point lead over Crosshaven's Kieran Collins' Coracle VI in Class 3. The Royal Cork battle for supremacy of Class 3 sees David Lane's Ya Gotta Wanna overtaken by Supernova owned by Dave O'Regan with Denise Phelan and Tony Donworth.
Even stronger winds are expected for Saturday's regatta finale that will round off a complete test across the full range of conditions.
DAY 2
More lights breezes and sunshine saw changes across most leaderboards at the O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale leaving the outcome of the regatta in the balance at the halfway stage.
A second place and then a race win for Mike and Ritchie Evans' Snapshot bounced the Howth Yacht Club crew back into the lead of Division 1 under IRC. The J99 crew had an opening race win penalised on Wednesday and followed with an eighth place but their form is now being rewarded with a healthy points margin in the 14 strong class.
Conor Phelan's Jump Juice from the Royal Cork YC has taken over the lead in the largest fleet of the event thanks to a race win on the second day coming after a second place on Wednesday. The result displaces Bob Rendell's Samatom from Howth YC as class leader.
"It was a 'Snakes and ladders' type day with quite difficult wind shifts, even up to 180 degrees at times," commented Mark Mansfield, tactician on Samatom. "We're looking forward to the next few days when the wind will be a bit stronger and coming from the north so a bit more normal."
The Coastal course enjoyed a scenic tour de force beneath the cliffs of the Old Head Golf Links and close to the lighthouse to dodge the worst effects of the flooding tide. After rounding the Black Tom buoy in Courtmacsherry Bay, the course led back to the famous Sovereigns Rocks that gives the event its name.
Also enjoying a scenic coastal route, albeit of a shorter distance and close to Kinsale Harbour were the two White Sails fleets that have 19 boats between them.
On ECHO handicap, Paralympic veteran and former Kinsale YC Commodore John Twomey had a seventh place for the day on Shillelagh which handed the White Sails 2 lead over to Sam Cohen on Gunsmoke. David Riome and Mark Leonards' Sigma 33 Valfreya took over from Frank Caul's Prince of Tides in White Sails 1.
Meanwhile, the two smallest class turnouts are enjoying some of the closest battles once again in Classes 2 and 3. After four races, David Kelly's King One from Howth has moved one point ahead of Kieran Collins' Coracle VI while a Royal Cork battle for supremacy of Class 3 sees David Lane's Ya Gotta Wanna tied with Supernova owned by Dave O'Regan with Denise Phelan and Tony Donworth.
Friday's forecast is for cooler and fresher conditions including more wind from the north and the prospect of further 'champagne sailing' conditions for the remainder of the event that concludes on Saturday.
DAY 1
On the Coastal Course, the 17-strong division that features some of the biggest yachts in the event started racing with a short sprint to the O'Leary Insurance Group buoy before a long leg back to the Daunt Rock off Robert's Cove at Cork Harbour.
Although Conor Doyle's Freya from the host club was the clear 'on the water' winner for the day, on IRC corrected time it was Bob Rendell's Samatom from Howth YC that took first place just ahead of Conor Phelan's Jump Juice from the Royal Cork YC.
Howth boats occupy the top two places under the IRC system in Class 1 where Pat Kelly's veteran team from Rush lead the field after two windward/leeward courses led to a fourth and a race win. A second and a seventh for clubmates Outrageous needed the tiebreak to separate them on points from Brian Jones' JellyBaby from the RCYC with a sixth and a third for the day.
All three top places in Class 1 are held by J109 designs that account for no fewer than ten of the 14 entries in this division.
With longer distances to sail for visitors in the smaller classes, divisions two and three are almost all held by Cork entries. Kieran Collins on Coracle IV from the RCYC leads David Kelly's King One from Howth by a single point after two races.
Meanwhile, Dave O'Regan along with Denise Phelan and Tony Donworth on Supernova lead IRC Class 3 on their course that included two roundings of the Old Head Golf Links buoy at Hole Open Bay.
A combined fleet of almost 20 White Sails entries racing in two Divisions enjoyed a single race that started and finished inside Kinsale Harbour off the historic Charles Fort saw veteran paralympian and former Kinsale YC Commodore John Twomey take the opening race bullet both on the water and under ECHO handicap.
White Sails principal race officer Donal Hayes sent both fleets off on different courses yet still managed to have the last boats in both finish within one minute of one another.
"It's fantastic to be back racing, and very close racing at that in Class 1 especially," commented Irish Cruiser Racing Association Commodore Richard Colwell racing on Outrageous from Howth Yacht Club. "It's also great to be back in Kinsale and there's a quiet buzz about the place, as it should be with the restrictions and smaller numbers."
Racing continues through to Saturday 26 June, you can enjoy the atmosphere on the key walls in Kinsale or follow the results on ...
Picture by David Branigan Oceansport