#optimist – It all came down to the last race for Royal Cork's Douglas Elmes at Bermuda's Renaissance Junior Gold Cup but the young Irish champion who had already won the Irish title in August in Kinsale survived a strong Argentinian challenge today to win the 39 boat event, the first time Ireland has competed in the prestigious Optimist 11 race event. Full results here.

Hamilton harbor set the stage for the final race of the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup today. Swiss sailor Damian Suri besting the fleet of 38 international and Bermuda sailors to win the 10th anniversary Renaissance Re trophy for his first place finish today.

Suri had a fantastic race in front of a huge spectator fleet. The race also featured sailors like American Audrey Giblin and Bermudian Chase Cooper very much in the hunt finishing in the top five today.

The Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup, the overall top prize, went to Douglas Elmes of Ireland who won it after 11 races with 50 points. Second place finisher Tomas di Luciano of Argentina had 54 points.

As this was the 10th anniversary of the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup it seemed most fitting that a former junior Opti sailor who attended this event in 2003 won the Argo Group Gold Cup today. Taylor Canfield, who is from the US Virgin Islands and is in his early 20s, was brought here by Peter Holmberg when he was 14.

There is no doubt that the event stays in the minds of both the young sailors from overseas but it also raises the level of sailing for Bermuda's youth sailors who would not normally get to meet world's best. The support for youth sailing here has always been important to people like the late Dick Kempe and in his honor Chase Cooper was given the inaugural Dick Kempe award for being the top Bermuda sailor in this event. Cooper finished in seventh place overall.

The Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup has had the kind of support that enables sailors to dream of their own futures as sailors and for event chairman Somers Cooper they could not have done it without sponsorship support like this.

optiimist – A terrific turnout at the 2012 Optimist Munster Championships in Crosshaven at the weekend saw RCYC's Harry Durcan take the Senior Gold title, with Junior Gold going to the National YC's Peter Fagan.

Day 1 saw the fleet sail outside Roche's Point, with the 420 Munster Championships racing the same course as the Optimist fleet. Stronger winds on day 2 brought the fleet inside the harbour, but the weather remained fine over the weekend and 6 races were sailed in both Junior and Senior fleets.

RCYC's Luke Horgan took the Senior Silver title, and Michael Carroll of KYC was Junior Silver champion.

Royal Cork YC helms won both the senior and junior divisions of the Joe Duffy BMW Optimist Connacht Championships hosted by Malahide Yacht Club, with the honours going to Douglas Elmes and James McCann respectively.

Sailed on the Broadmeadows on behalf of the International Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland, the event attracted an entry of 130 boats which included 30 entries in the Regatta Fleet. In light to moderate, shifting southerlies, Race Officer Neil Murphy and his team successfully completed the full schedule of six races.

In the Senior Division, Douglas Elmes counted two wins, two seconds and a third to take the Connacht title by five points from clubmate Ronan Cournane while two other RCYC helms, Harry Durcan and his brother Johnny, filled the next two places.

Colin O'Sullivan was the highest placed MYC finisher (11th) while MYC's Isobel Shackleton topped the Silver Fleet from Alex Kavanagh (Howth) and George O'Connor (Skerries).

The Junior Division had a large 75-boat turn-out and the eventual (Gold Fleet) winner James McCann only had two points to spare over runner-up Peter Fagan of the National YC, while only one point separated Alix Buckley (Skerries) in third place from Loghlen Rickard (National YC) in 4th.

Silver fleet honours went to another NYC helm Nicola Ferguson, comfortably ahead of second-placed Aaron Rogers of Skerries. Gemma McDowell was the top MYC finisher, 12th overall.

#oppy – Two Irish boats have finished in the top ten of the 70-boat British Optimist class championships. In a strong showing for Cork harbour teams Royal Cork Yacht Club boats were the top Irish boats in both senior and junior fleets.

Royal Cork's Douglas Elmes finished third and Harry Whitaker seventh in Pwllheli, North Wales yesterday. Racing was cut short when the final day of competition was canclled due to weather. In the Junior fleet Richard McGinley and James McCann was best of the Irish in sixth and seventh place in the 86-boat fleet.

A number of protests concerning overall results are still in play so overall results are still provisional.

The Irish highlights are:

Richard McGinley 6th Junior Gold

James McCann 7th Junior Gold

Emma Parker 1st Junior Silver

Ronan Walsh 3rd Junior Silver

Rachel Eggers 6th Junior Silver

Douglas Elmes 3rd Senior Gold

Harry Whitaker 7th Senior Gold

Frank Fagan 6th Mini-Racers Fleet

#oppy – Strong winds continue to make conditions difficult at the UK Optimist Nationals in Pwllheli, Wales, but the Senior Fleet managed to complete two races yesterday, with one race for the Juniors.

This means that the event is now split into Gold and Silver fleets for the last day's racing.

Another win for Douglas Elmes means he retains his third position overall (first non-UK) in the Senior fleet; in the Junior fleet, Richard McGinley leads the Irish in 6th place, closely followed by James McCann who had a first yesterday and jumped to 7th.

With wind conditions relatively unchanged, sailors are hoping for a good day's racing today

#optimist – Irish youth sailors are holding their own after day two of racing in Pwllheli at the UK Optimist Nationals with recently crowned Irish champion Douglas Elmes in third place overall after two race wins. Harry Whitaker is in eighth position. In the junior fleet, Alix Buckley, also with two wins, is in second place, with Richard McGinley 10th.

Conditions look difficult for sailors toda in day three, if racing gets attempted at all, with heavy onshore winds forecast for today and tomorrow.

#optimist – The 2012 Irish Nationals ended in Kinsale Yacht Club yesterday with Douglas Elmes (RCYC) the overall winner, winning the Irish National and the Irish Open trophies. Douglas was the winner of the 2012 Trials, and has just returned from the Dominican Republic where he was part of the Optimist World's team.

Almost 200 sailors, from Ireland, the UK, India, Spain, Bermuda, Hong Kong, France and the USA competed for the Nationals trophy which took place over five days in Kinsale. Conditions were changeable; heavy winds meant that sailing had to be cancelled on day 2, and seas remained heavy during the event.

Championship winner Douglas Elmes going fast at the Optimist Nationals in Kinsale. Photo: Bob Bateman

In the Senior fleet, competition was intense, with top five places going to Douglas, Megan Parker (SSC), Rory Caslin (Bermuda), Jim Vincent (France) and Robbie King (UK), and Senior Silver fleet won by Dara Donnelly (NYC).

The UK Junior Optimist team attended the event and they dominated the Junior Fleet, with the Junior Open trophy going to Milo Gill-Taylor of the UK, and top five places won by UK sailors. The Irish Junior champion is Loghlen Rickard (NYC), and the Junior Silver trophy was won by Clare Gorman (NYC).

The Regatta Fleet, which is a training event for the youngest Optimist sailors, included daily racing which took place inside Kinsale harbour. Forty Regatta Fleet sailors launched each day in conditions that challenged their sailing abilities to the limits, and coped excellently, completing as many races as the Main Fleet. With sailors from 8 years upwards sailing at this level, the future looks bright for sailing in Ireland. The National Trophy for the Regatta Fleet was won by Robert Keal (RCYC).

Wednesday's Optimist National Action photos from Bob Bateman here

#optimist – The Irish National and Open Championship got underway in Kinsale Yacht Club on Tuesday but got off to a blustery and were scrubbed on Wednesday. Afloat's Bob Bateman captured the action from Thursday's 3 race day in the 200 boat fleet. See his gallery of shots below.

In the 47-boat Senior Fleet Douglas Elmes leads from Megan Parker after seven races sailed.

Milo Gill Taylor leads a group of five visiting British sailors at the front of the 96-boat junior fleet..

In the 34 boat regatta fleet local Jack McGrane leads.

#optimist – The Optimist World Championship has concluded in the Dominican Republic, and for yet another year, a girl has taken top place; Yukie Yokoyama of Singapore took first, while her team-mates took 2nd, 3rd and 5th; Bart Lambriex of Netherlands finished in 4th position.

RCYC's Harry Whitaker finished the event in style with a 2nd in the last race, and the entire Irish team – Harry Whitaker, Douglas Elmes (WHSC/RCYC), Megan parker (SSC), Harry Durcan (RCYC) and Sophie Browne (TBSC/ RCYC) ended the event in the top half of the fleet. They travel home today just in time to compete in the Irish Nationals at Kinsale Yacht Club next Tuesday, July 31st.

#optimist – Sailing conditions improved in the Dominican Republic for the penultimate day's racing in the Optimist World Championships and with it came a great day's racing for the Irish team, with 12-year old Harry Durcan taking a bullet, Harry Whitaker continuing his run of great results with a third and a second, placing him in tenth position. The entire Irish team is now comfortably in the top half of the world championships, with Harry Whitaker tenth, Douglas Elmes 44th, Megan Parker 78th, Sophie Browne 91st and Harry Durcan 101st.