UK & Ireland National 18 Championships, Royal Cork Yacht Club, 24-27th July 2026

Published 13:44 on 31 Jul 2026

Matt PJ teamed up with our good friends and Tammy outport member Ollie Houseman and Steve Watton to sail on N18 - 424, Ace, for the National 18 Championships over in Crosshaven, Cork, Ireland last weekend. Nineteen of the latest Ultra 18s lined up for four great days of racing, entertainment and extended hospitality. We even found time to take a detour to Kinsale, the gourmet capital of Ireland, for some fantastic seafood dining.

On the Friday, Saturday and Monday we sailed out at sea, with 3 or 4 races sailed each day and on the Sunday we sailed inside the harbour, with just 1 race sailed due to high winds. When racing was out at sea, it took over an hour to get out to the start area and another hour to get back after racing - which in an N18 is really quite some distance! For us river sailors it made for some truly challenging sailing. Monday was the absolute favourite, with 22+ knots of wind and long rolling waves, we had some truly terrifying downwind sleigh rides; spinnaker up, crew on the wire, top speed ~16 knots; then gybe before you run out of room. We escaped without a capsize all weekend; clearly we weren't pushing hard enough!

If you're thinking of heading that way sometime soon, I totally recommend a trip to Cork to blow away the cobwebs!

The next N18 Championships will be in Abersoch, North Wales, provisional dates 16th-19th July 2027. Get in touch if you want to know more.

Photos: Ted Murphy
Report: Matt PJ

Results: https://www.national18.com/results/2026/cork/Class_Championships2026.html
Full report: https://afloat.ie/sail/sailing-classes/national-18/item/72361-aquadisiacs-charges-to-national-18-championship-victory
Class website: https://www.national18.com/

Last updated 14:08 on 31 July 2026