Naval Service sets sail for Cork Week launch
LÉ Roisin set off from naval headquarters in Haulbowline, Co Cork, under Lt Commander Ultan Finegan, who dropped anchor at the Spit Bank in the heart of the harbour where details of Volvo Cork Week 2016, the biennial Grand Prix sailing event, were announced from the bridge.
It was the first time the event, organised in association with the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC), has been launched at sea.
Cork Week, renowned worldwide for exciting and challenging racing, will take place from July 10-15, with events on and off the water expected to attract thousands of competitors and visitors to Crosshaven.
Race entries have already been received from all over Ireland, Britain, and France, and interest is also coming from the US, Australia, and South Africa.
Kieran O’Connell, chair of Volvo Cork Week, revealed the 2016 regatta will host two new events: The inaugural IRC European yacht racing championship and the inaugural Beaufort Cup. There are seven IRC national championships around the world but this will be the first continental event.
“The intention is for the IRC European Championships to be held at a different European location every year,” said Mr O’Connell.
“The fact that the RCYC has been selected to host this inaugural championship is a huge honour and reflects the esteem in which the entire Volvo Cork Week Organising Committee are held.
“It was a huge achievement for Ireland to be given the chance to host an event of this calibre and we now need to make it an event that will set the standard for future years.”
The Beaufort Cup, which invites sailing teams from their associated national services to compete, is supported by the Defence Forces and is part of the Government’s 1916 commemorative events. It will feature a 20-hour round Fastnet race early in Cork Week and in-harbour racing towards the end of the week.
Teams from the army, naval service, and air corps will be competing against teams from Britain and France, but teams from services such as the gardaí, fire service, coast guard, RNLI, and possibly the PSNI are also expected to enter.
They will compete for a €10,000 prize fund for a charity of their choice.
“I am feeling very confident that Volvo Cork Week 2016 will be a unique and exciting event, both on and off the water,” said Mr O’Connell.
Defence and Marine Minister Simon Coveney, a keen sailor who will compete during the week, praised the regatta organisers for keeping the event alive during the recession, and for expanding it this year with two new regattas. The addition of the Beaufort Cup, he said, will combine three of his great loves in life: Cork Harbour, the Naval Service and all things marine, and sailing.
“This combination of events, built on the platform of Cork Week, will raise the profile of Volvo Cork Week. I’m sure that people who love sailing and this harbour will be very proud of it,” he said.
Adrian Yeates, managing director of Volvo Car Ireland, said they were delighted to support the regatta for the second time with Johnson and Perrott Motor Group.
Mark Whitaker, chief executive of Johnson and Perrott Motor Group, who is an experienced sailor and long-time member of the RCYC, said Cork Week and the regatta’s combination of serious competition and fun contributes significantly to the sport of sailing and to the local economy.
A huge on-shore tented village will be the centre of the regatta’s social activity for the week.
Among the guests at the launch were Commodore Hugh Tully, flag officer commanding the Irish Naval Service; Major General Kieran Brennan, deputy chief of staff of the Defence Forces; Colonel Max Walker, the British defence attaché in Dublin; and French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault.
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