Irish Optimist Sailing Dinghy News & Regatta Results
Optimist sailors from the Royal St George achieved stellar results at the UK Spring Nationals in Rugby over St Patrick’s Weekend. Five of the Dun Laoghaire club’s nine-strong youth group placed in the top 25 out of 120 boats taking…
Irish Optimist Dinghy Association's Sprint Series Offers Exciting Racing Opportunities for Young Sailors
27th February 2024 Optimist
Optimist sailors in Ireland have found a new and exciting way to stave off boredom during winter training. The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) recently created the IODAI Sprint Series, which aims to give young sailors more opportunities to race…
Young Irish Optimist Sailors Gear Up for the IODAI Sprint Series 2024 and Youth Sailing National Championships
15th February 2024 Optimist
Young sailors from all over Ireland are getting ready to compete in the highly anticipated Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) Sprint Series 2024 and Youth Sailing National Championships. The Sprint Series, is billed as 'one of the most exciting events…
The Optimists Spring Series will begin at the Royal Cork Yacht Club on Saturday week, January 20. The IODAI describes the series as “a support to club winter training programs by giving sailors access to competition through the colder months.…
The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) has announced the much-anticipated Sprint Series 2024, an exciting addition to the Optimist 2024 sailing calendar. The series is aimed at Gold and Silver fleet sailors who are preparing for the Youth Sailing National…
It has been a busy year for the Irish Optimist Fleet, the largest and youngest class in the country, and its class association, the International Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI), held its AGM on Tuesday, the 28th of November,…
'La Solitaire Optimist' Kept Sailors On Their Toes at Royal Cork's National Training Week
6th November 2023 Optimist
We were promised a storm! The only storm that materialised was the arrival of 130 Optimist sailors and their families in Crosshaven for the Annual National Training Week, as Afloat reports here. After two days of training, dodging big gusts…
IODAI's Optimist Dinghy National Training Week Dodges Storm Ciaran and Sails to Success at Royal Cork
5th November 2023 Optimist
The 130 Optimist sailors and their parents who descended on the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven last week were full of trepidation, with storm Ciaran potentially leading to no sailing. As it happened, all four days of IODAI NTW…
Over 120 Optimist Dinghy Sailors are Heading for 'Bigger and Better' IODAI National Training Week at Royal Cork
25th October 2023 Royal Cork YC
The Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour will be the centre for fun and learning at the IODAI Optimist National Training Week from the 1st to the 4th of November. Over 120 boats are signed up at…
IODAI Optimist Dinghy Connaught Champs See Biggest Fleet of 2023 at Lough Ree
19th September 2023 Optimist
The last IODAI Regional Championship of the year saw a massive fleet of 172 Optimist sailors descend on the midlands club of Lough Ree last weekend to compete in the Connaught Championships. After a busy summer, it was fitting to…
Four of Ireland’s top Optimists sailors will be getting ready to sail in the Junior Champions Cup to be held in Schull, West Cork, on September 23rd and 24th. Harry Dunne (HYC), Gemma Brady (NYC/LDYC), Max O’Hare (RStGYC) were nominated based…
Harry Dunne of Howth is “Youth Sailor of the Month” for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
In progressing through each phase of a sailing career, the received wisdom is that you should tick off each staging post while you’re ahead. Harry Dunne of Howth was registered with a Departure Lounge “Optimist Age” of 15 going into…
On Monday, as the international squads arrived at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland, the IODAI Development Squad - who are the newest sailors in the Main Fleet - took to the water with Head Coach Adam…
Howth's Harry Dunne Leads Irish Optimists in Ballyholme as Fleet Set Sail Again After Storm Betty
19th August 2023 Optimist
Howth Yacht Club's Harry Dunne has a four-point margin at the top of the Optimist Irish National Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. Gemma Brady of the National Yacht Club and Lough Derg lies second on ten, with Charlotte Crosbie from…
Optimist National Championship Underway at Ballyholme Yacht Club But Storm Betty Blows Out Day Two
18th August 2023 Optimist
On Thursday, 116 young sailors participated in the Optimist Optimist Irish and Open National Championships, competing in Junior, Senior, and Regatta fleets at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. Despite challenging weather conditions, with the wind gradually increasing throughout the…
It’s been several years since the Optimist dinghy fleet has participated in team racing, and this year the association undertook to re-introduce the format into the fleet. With the National Championships happening later in the week in Ballyholme Yacht Club…