Irish youth sailing sensation Finn Lynch has won the Laser 4.7 prize sailing in Lake Garda in Italy this month, the win was recorded at his first international event since moving to the Laser class. Lynch from the National Yacht Club came tenth overall in a fleet of 230 competitive boats. Lynch, from Blessington, is reigning UK and Irish Topper Champion. He also finished second in the Topper worlds championships last season before moving to the Laser class.

Lynch's Dun Laoghaire club mate Tadgh Donnelly followed closely as seventh U16 sailor and 54th overall. In the Radials Rory Lynch and Philip Doran both finished in the top third of a fleet of 220 boats with some very good races during the event.

Podcast on youth sailing with Olympic team manager James O'Callaghan.

Sailing in a talented fleet of a thousand sailors from 53 nations, Annalise Murphy has scored a 1 and 2 in today's opening round of the 42nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta, the third event in the Sailing World Cup circuit.

Murphy, from the National Yacht Club, won today's second race by a staggering margin of one minute and 30 seconds as the breeze freshened to 15 knots off Palma de Mallorca, on the Balearic Island of Spain.

The 21-year old sailor from Dun Laoghaire is in a tough fleet of 78, made up of all the top international trailists for next year's Olympic regatta in the Laser Radial Class. Today's opening races in 15 knots of breeze are the first of six days of racing. 

Lastest Olympic Sailing News here

Over 250 of the world's top youth sailors are expected to partake in the Irish event which will run from August 15th – 19th and promises some of the closest and most exciting youth sailing ever seen on Dublin Bay.

The Topper is one of the world's most popular youth boats with over 50,000 boats around the globe. It has grown greatly in popularity in recent years because it suits the learner sailor as well as those with ambitions of Olympic medals. Because it is exceptionally light and easy to transport, the National Yacht Club is expecting 150 competitors from other countries to partake.

"We are delighted to be hosting the Topper World Championships next August," said National Yacht Club Commodore Peter Ryan. "It will follow on from the Figaro Race stop-over and reflects that fact that Dublin Bay can cater for top class events for both ends of the spectrum. The Topper is an extremely popular boat with young sailors and a great gateway to sailing so we will be putting all the club resources into making the event an outstanding success."

The Topper was designed by Ian Proctor whose other boats include the ever-popular Wayfarer. It was originally constructed in GRP but this was changed quite early on to an injection moulding construction.

After well over 20 years of continuous production it is the outstanding build quality, durability and innovative design features that have made the Topper a very popular boat. The Topper hull is injection moulded with incredible precision, reaching a level of uniformity quite outside the scope of any other production system, either hand-built or mass-produced in GRP or roto-moulded plastic. The material is polypropylene which has proved to combine strength and flexibility with lightness and longevity.

The race is regarded as one of the world's solo sailing great events and one of the toughest on the international sailing calendar. Although the race has strong connections with Ireland, this is the first time the 42-year-old fixture will visit the island's largest sailing centre.

The fleet will moor in Dun Laoghaire harbour at the finish of the second leg, and will be hosted by the National Yacht Club. Competitors are expected to stay for a week. This year the race visited Kinsale, and in the past has also visited the Irish ports of Crosshaven, Howth and Dingle.

La Solitaire is going back to its roots. Perros-Guirec and Brittany from where the race will start on Sunday, 31st July 2011, are the most faithful of all host ports in the history of the race as Perros-Guirec has hosted a record number, this being the 16th time that the town will welcome the race.

The second French stop-over in 2011 will be Caen, where the race will go back for the third time. The harbour and the village are ideally situated in the city centre and will surely gather thousands of visitors during the week-long stay, with a full schedule of social events organised by the local municipality.

Dieppe will host the finish and close of La Solitaire du Figaro 2011 race. The Haute-Normandie region town expects to see the finish on or around August 24th.

The National Yacht Club is delighted to welcome this prestigious event and will communicate further developments in the very near future.

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

The ICRA National Championships is being staged at Royal Cork YC from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th June and the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale YC from Wednesday 22nd to Saturday 25th June.

Dublin boats heading south for these events can race down to the event as part of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race (it's the tenth anniversary race) from the National Yacht Club starting on Saturday, June 11th next.

Entry form for ICRA and Notice of Race available to download below.

Details for next year's course of the La Solitaire du Figaro race were revealed at the Paris Boat Show yesterday. The race will comprise four French towns and Dun Laoghaire will be the only foreign port of call when the boats are expected to arrive on 10 August.

In spite of Dublin airport weather delays a National YC contingent headed by Commodore Peter Ryan made it to Paris in time for the announcement.

Following several days for rest, the fleet shall once again set sail on 7 August for the second leg, of 470 nautical miles, that will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 towards Dún Laoghaire. After leaving the Bay of Seine, a 40-mile or so run, the first obstacle will be the passage of the Barfleur point. The course remains inshore, as the single-handed sailors will sail along the Cotentin to the cape of the Hague, before heading towards the Channel Islands.

It will be compulsory to leave the islands of Aurigny, Herm and Guernsey to starboard. The skippers will then take on a long crossing of the English Channel, 120 nautical miles to Land's End. The last third of the course is a sail up almost full north over 190 nautical miles to reach Dún Laoghaire.

The Dublin Bay harbour is set to be a discovery for the visiting sailors and where the National Yacht Club are to be the host venue. After a few days rest and recuperation, the fleet then will set sail on 14 August to The Vendée and Les Sables d'Olonne. This third leg is long at 475 nautical miles with boats expected on 17 August.

Four days later and the final leg departs on 21 August with the boats setting a course for Dieppe, to arrive on 24 August. On the following day the Normandy port will also be hosting a closing regatta. For more information www.lasolitaire.com

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

The National Yacht Club's Annalise Murphy (Laser Radial) travelled to Australia last weekend for the Perth International Regatta http://www.perth2011.com/ which starts on the 16th of this month. The aim is to gain valuable experience at the venue which will host the December 2011 ISAF World Championships and which will be a vital qualifying event for the the 2012 London Olympic games.

Also heading for Perth is the Royal St. George's Ben Lynch in the high speed 49er dinghy.

After Perth, Annalise travels to Melbourne for the season's first ISAF World Cup event which will be run from Sandringham Yacht Club from 12-19th December. Annalise is currently ranked 20th Womens Laser Radial sailor and 1st under 21 in the World and is campaigning full time to represent Ireland in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Top youth Laser Radial Sailor Ross Vaughan from the Royal North of Ireland YC has gone down as a training partner for Annalise together with her coach Rory Fitzpatrick.

Also taking part in the Perth Regatta are Irish 49er team of Ryan Seaton and Matt Mc Govern (Ballyholme YC) and Ross Hamilton from the RIYC, Dun Laoghaire.

One of Dun Laoghaire's major international events next season, the visit of the French single-handed fleet, La Solitaire du Figaro, in August, will have a public festival running alongside say the National YC organisers. Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are behind the festival.

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

The 2011 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race run jointly by the National Yacht Club and Dingle Boat Club starts on Saturday 11th June with a prize giving on Wednesday 15th in Dingle.