Dragons head for Kinsale

Irish South Coast Championship to be sponsored by Blue Haven hotel

The Championship, hosted by Kinsale Yacht Club, will consist of five races on windward-leeward courses between the Sovereign Islands and the Old Head of Kinsale. Two races per day are planned for Friday and Saturday and one race on Sunday.

The Irish Dragon fleet has consistently attracted some of the country’s best sailors. This coupled with the long term commitment of it members makes the fleet one of the most highly competitive one design fleets in the country. This is reflected in the standing of Irish Dragon sailors in international competition.

The entry list from Dublin, Belfast and Glandore includes top class helmsmen such as Neil Hegarty, Simon Brien, Andrew Craig, Johnny Ross-Murphy, and John Lavery. This will be matched by a strong Kinsale fleet led by Cameron Good.

The Blue Haven Hotel has come on board as sponsor of this year’s Championship. Newly refurbished and under the new ownership of Ciaran Fitzgerald, himself a keen yachtsman, the timing of this prestigious event provides a perfect opportunity to re-launch this unique award winning hotel. The hotel will host the opening reception on Friday evening.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to be involved in such a prestigious local event and am looking forward to a great weekend’s racing," says Mr. Fitzgerald. "It is a great opportunity for us to re-launch the newly refurbished Blue Haven at a national level. We look forward to welcoming the Dragon crews to the New Blue Haven."

In response, Class Captain Shawn Kingston said "championships such as this organised by Kinsale Yacht Club bring a lot of business to the town, so it is especially pleasing for us to have a quality local business such as the Blue Haven Hotel offer us such enthusiastic support. We look forward to working with Ciaran and his team.’