Bateman, Jeffreys and McCarthy star in ILCA sprint at Iniscarra last weekend

A fresh northwest breeze played its part on the flat water behind Cork’s famous Inniscarra dam for the ILCA summer sprint series on Sunday. The river Lee reservoir hosts a diverse community of clubs including the National rowing centre. This weekend however it was Inniscarra Sailing and Kayaking Club (ISKC) that hosted round 4 of the ILCA Summer Sprint series. ISKC Commodore Tim O’Herlihy welcomed twenty boats from a variety of clubs around Cork with a few new faces from Cove Sailing club. A fresh and shifty breeze funnelled down the valley with gusts above 15 kts on really flat water created ideal conditions for a windward, leeward course with some high speed racing at times. The sprint format allows for five quick races to be completed on the day which keeps the tempo high and reduces any slack time on the water.  Race officer, Brian Bird and assistant Tim McCarthy were able to find a sweet spot for the course and achieved the full five races on the card. Olin Bateman taking a few tips from his brother Chris who also raced came home first in the ILCA 7 ahead of local sailor, Sean O’Herlihy and now leads the overall ILCA 7 series coming into the finale. 

The great grandmaster Robert Jeffreys showed his mastery of wind shifts to stay ahead of Liam Duggan and is very well prepared for a run at the European masters at the start of October as well as leading the overall sprint series in ILCA 6. A return to racing for Isabel McCarthy after a summer of instructing at the ISKC Sailing courses on the lake showed that experience of the wind shifts can really pay off when racing on such a narrow course. She narrowly beat Conor Lynch by a point who had just moved to ILCA 4 from the optimist class over the summer.

The sailors enjoyed a barbeque and social gathering after the days racing.

Some other Prize winners on the day:

Many thanks to all the ISKC volunteers who made the day such a success!  Next up for the sprint series is the finale event which has a 50% modifier for the series which will help to tighten up the final standings. The finale event is scheduled for Sept 22nd at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

All details and photos can be found at: ILCA-Summer-Sprint-Series 2024 – Royal Cork Yacht Club . The finale racing incorporates five sprint races on the 22nd which can be entered as a standalone regatta. You can still enter using the form on the webpage. Looking forward to seeing you there