Fair forecast with light winds to start O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale
by Michele Kennelly 22 Jun 2021 22:06 BST
23-26 June 2021
2021 Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale © David Branigan / Oceansport
A testing start for competitors and race management alike is expected for the opening day of the O'Leary Life & Pensions Sovereign's Cup (Wednesday 23rd to Saturday 26th June 2021) at Kinsale Yacht Club tomorrow with light winds forecast until late afternoon.
However, fresher conditions with sun and breeze from Thursday offer the prospect of classic West Cork conditions and 'champagne sailing' for the fleet of 62 boats.
The event is split across five divisions with the biggest boats competing in the Coastal series which also features the biggest turnout.
Included in the offshore line-up is Denis and Annamarie Murphy's Nieulargo from the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven and Kinsale's own Conor Doyle on Freya. George Sisk's WOW! from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is also back as one of the original entries for this course.
The four-day series is being staged at nearly half its normal size due to the Covid-19 pandemic and no indoor activities have been organised with restrictions on numbers ashore in place. Overseas entries are unable to attend due to travel restrictions.
"While we are unable to have festival conditions ashore this year, there's still a mood of celebration as we're all set for great racing afloat," commented Anthony O'Neill, Regatta Director at Kinsale Yacht Club. "The competitors have closely followed the Covid guidelines and our precautions have been widely welcomed; people just want to get out sailing at last."
The four-day O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup is the first of the regular Irish regattas on the national fixtures list to resume and is set to bookend the season with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) national championship to be held at the start of September.
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