Racing at Volvo Cork Week 2024 begins on Monday 15^th July and will continue daily until Friday 19^th July. Event entry numbers have been steadily climbing, with entries and expressions of interest received from far and wide, including Turkey, Hong Kong and the USA. The dedicated event team at the RCYC continue to focus on preparing for another epic event this July.

Accommodation

The event organisers recognise the challenges of finding suitable accommodation for competitors and have sourced additional accommodation offering great value for those seeking self-catering in Crosshaven. Check out the ‘Accommodation’ section of the event website and contact the club’s accommodation liaison directly for more information.

Competitors with their own campervans can be accommodated at Crosshaven Rugby Club, with appropriate facilities on-site only 1km from the Royal Cork Yacht Club. See www.crosshavenrugbyfc.com for contact details.

Note that a regular bus service to/from Carrigaline and Cork city provides access to accommodation options in these locations and stops directly outside the gates of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

 

Racing

Cork Week 2024 will embrace its traditional format, with each Cork Week fleet rotating through a variety of racecourses over the 5 days of racing. Every day will bring new challenges and new opportunities for competitors, from longer Coastal courses raced offshore, to ‘Round-the-Cans’ racing inside the harbour. Some race-days will feature multiple short races on Windward/Leeward and Olympic courses laid in the open waters off Roches Point lighthouse.

Cork Week classes can enjoy different racing formats bringing challenge and variety to the week. For instance, the 1720 European Championships and the RS21 UK&I Cup event will run on their own dedicated course, while the Cork Week Coastal fleet will have one longer race each day along the beautiful southern coastline.

As the event approaches, the organisers will shortly be reaching out to entrants to confirm their details and indicate which style of racing they intend to participate in.

The racing will be presided over by a team of experienced race officers. They will meet each morning to review weather conditions and ensure the best racing possible for all fleets. This might mean taking advantage of the reliable afternoon sea-breeze on calmer days, or utilising the deep sheltered waters of the harbour to race in more demanding conditions. This flexibility has been enshrined in the Cork Week sailing instructions throughout the event’s long history, meaning that Cork Week has never failed to provide racing.

 

Social diary

Entertainment will be provided each day after sailing, in a large marquee at the heart of the event site at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, kicking off with live music by Phil Holbird every day.

The Family Fun Day including our regular Coastal Market, with family entertainment for all, will be on Sunday 14^th July.

• Free crew grub and drinks (A pulled pork bap with rustic potatoes, Mount Gay & Coke) will be provided for all competitors of Volvo Cork Week 2024 on Tuesday 16^th
• The traditional Ladies Gala Lunch, in aid of the RNLI, will be held on Wednesday 17^th
• A Battle of the DJs is planned for Thursday 18^th
• The week will be interspersed with several promotional events and a number of sponsor activities.

Daytime fun will be available to all on the Royal Cork Yacht Club site. The club’s existing playground will remain available for use within an expanded family friendly area. This will also include a Play Zone offering plenty of room for children’s games, picnics, coffee, ice cream and treats.

Multiple casual dining options will be available on-site, alongside retail outlets, chandlery and spares, sail-repair, and other event facilities.

 

Class entry update

In the IRC & ECHO handicap classes, local entries such as North Star, Rosmarina, and Legal Alien are joined by travelling boats such as Flyover, Meridian, and Raptor. Other class battles are likely to establish themselves within the handicap classes, for instance several Welsh J109s are preparing to take on their Irish counterparts such as Joker2, Tighey Boy and Chimaera. The Quarter-Ton class is always fiercely competitive, and this year will be no different. Entries are lodged from Anchor Challenge, Panic and Diamond with more set to join from around Ireland and the UK. The reigning ICRA Boat Of The Year ‘Swuzzlebubble’ is an early entrant in the big-brother Half-Tonners class, where she will be joined by the recently refurbished and optimised ‘2 Farr’. This pairing is set for a closely watched battle in July.

 

The level of interest in Non-Spinnaker/White Sail classes is high, with entries received from several ‘first-time’ skippers and crew, keen to experience racing at Volvo Cork Week.

 

1720 European Championships

Several notable entries are already confirmed for the 1720 European Championships, including travelling boats Rope Dock Atara, No Show and Mayhem. With some UK 1720s already on the Royal Cork Yacht Club grounds waiting for the event, this is sure to be a championship to remember.

The 1720s will be launched by crane in Crosshaven, with secure storage available for their trailers locally. Similar arrangements will be available to small keelboats – J24s, Quarter-Tonners etc – please enquire for more details.

 

The high-performance Cape31 class previously attended Volvo Cork Week as a relatively new keelboat in 2022 but is now firmly established as the most exciting one-design class on the water. Entries received already include team Shotgunn from the Isle of Mann and top local boat Antix.

The RS21s will be keen to make a mark at Volvo Cork Week 2024, as this is the first time the class will be part of the event. A unique element of this fleet is the availability of fully prepared charter boats, provided in ready to race condition for the week by Kenny Rumball of INSS. This makes RS21 charter a very attractive package for those that don’t have the crew available to compete in Cork Week on their own boats or time to complete a delivery to/from Cork. Check the recent article about this opportunity on the event website at www.corkweek.ie

Beaufort Cup

The Beaufort Cup is a unique inter-services regatta, hosted by the Irish Defence Forces in conjunction with the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The format for this year is unchanged, with the Beaufort Cup teams first taking on an offshore race around the iconic Fastnet lighthouse, before joining the Volvo Cork Week fleet for 3 days of inshore competition.

A number of veteran teams from the USA will be competing, along with uniformed service teams from across Ireland and the UK. Some of interested crews are still looking for suitable boats for the event – any boat owner interested chartering their boat for the Beaufort Cup is encouraged to contact racing@corkweek.ie.

Note that, as the event rules require only 50% of a boat’s crew to be active members of the relevant service, interesting opportunities exist to charter your boat, join forces with a Service crew, and still sail aboard yourself.

The Notice of Race for the Beaufort Cup is published on the event website here.

 

Further links

The Notice of Race is available to view here.

The contact details for accommodation are available here.

Why not take a minute to browse through the photo galleries from previous Cork Weeks here.

Check out this video, with footage from the previous editions of Volvo Cork Week here.