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Prince of Wales donates a trophy for RCYC's 300th birthday in 2020

October 18th, 2019 8:22 AM

By Southern Star Team

Maeve and Ciara Deane with Dylan and Abigail O'Sullivan, Pollyanna Downing and Ryan O'Connell, all from Crosshaven, and Katie Moorehead from Cobh, at the Cork300 launch at the RCYC. (Photo: Clare Keogh)

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The Royal Cork Yacht Club will celebrate its 300th anniversary next July and the Prince of Wales has graciously donated a specially commissioned trophy for a unique race from Cowes in the UK to Cork to celebrate the tricentenary.

THE Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven will celebrate its 300th anniversary next July and the Prince of Wales has graciously donated a specially commissioned trophy for a unique race from Cowes in the UK to Cork to celebrate the tricentenary.

The anniversary will feature a series of events on and off the water across Cork harbour, called Cork300.

Founded in 1720 by a group of 25 pioneering individuals, the Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world.

The tricentenary celebrations will take a look back at the origins of ‘where it all began’, and the event is already attracting significant international interest from thousands of yacht clubs across the globe.

Sailing communities throughout Europe and as far as Australia, Hong Kong and San Francisco are expected to attend the Cork300 celebrations.

The events will take place primarily during the months of July and August 2020 – to participate in the exciting variety of competitive and non-competitive nautical and on shore events scheduled, many of which are also open to the public.

As part of the celebrations, communities across Cork harbour will host a vast array of sailing, racing, food, and entertainment events, along with a number of talks, ensuring Cork will be the only place to be in Summer 2020.

The Cork300 summer celebrations, which will be preceded by several other events including European Maritime Day and Seafest in May, will centre on three lead events: The Great Gathering of cruising yachtsmen and yachts from around the world in July, Three Championship Weeks of competitive dinghy sailing in August, and The Club At Home Regatta for all fleets, also in August.

Highlights over the summer include an eye-catching Classic Yacht Regatta; the historic Kingstown/Queenstown feeder race from Dun Laoghaire to Cobh; the world-famous annual Volvo Cork Week Regatta, an International Powerboat Championship Festival which will take place in Ireland for the first time; a Wild Atlantic Way sailing ‘cruise in company’ for visiting yacht clubs; the Royal Cork Fleet Review which will be a fantastic parade of sailing craft in Cobh, and a Gathering of naval ships in Cork City.

The prestigious Morgan Cup, awarded by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) will also come to Ireland for the first time as part of Cork300.

The Prince of Wales’ donated trophy will be awarded to the line honours winner of the Morgan Cup race in 2020, which forms part of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Season Points Championship and starts from the historical Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes.

For more see www.cork300.com.

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