The season is now well underway and the National Yacht Club’s staff and volunteers are now within the final straight before the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta this week, writes head coach Thomas Chaix.

But June was a month rich of sailing fun in courses 1 and 2, certainly helped by the warm spell of weather we enjoyed, plus serious events with two nationals organised by the club and participation at regional and national events around the country.

The NYC volunteers have been on deck ensuring the success of three main events. And our club sailors did not disapoint delivering excellent results.

The Aero Nationals experimented with the concept of pre-event coaching and post-racing debriefs. The local and visiting fleet feedback was excellent and the weekend was enjoyed by all, at their own level.

NYC veteran ace Noel Butler sailed his Aero6 to fourth overall and collected the first Irish Sailing medal of the summer for the club with a silver (two of the boats ahead were UK visitors who were very pleased with their Dublin visit).

The van Steenberge siblings (2nd) duel with Lauren and James in Scotsman’s Bay during the 29er Nationals | Credit: Andrew Conan Photography

While the Aeros were racing, the Optimist club team travelled to East Antrim to compete at the Ulsters. If the team was missing our two strongest sailors (on duty with Team Ireland at the Worlds in Spain), the remaining sailors sailed a very good event, collecting honours in the various categories.

Our junior and regatta fleet sailors were all smiles at the prizes with excellent results and progress. Louis Trickett’s second event win in regatta racing earned him a progression into the junior fleet, Both Alex Butcher and Jacob Browne will progress into Junior Silver and Basile Dion’s second overall podium in a row will catapult him into Junior Gold.

The Toppers were on tour in Wexford with Ethan Spain growing his coaching skills with team NYC. Grace Keating (3rd Junior girl) and Ella Fitzgerald (3rd Youth girl) were in the prizes but it was also the first event for James Gorman, who managed an encouraging mid-fleet finish.

The Optimist team at the Ulsters

The following weekend, Blessington hosted the RS Fest which included the RS Feva Nationals. It was challenging and only three races could be completed.

At the NYC, we prioritise overall skills development with crewing experience, double-handed skills and partnerships management growing options for our junior sailors. Many of the Feva sailors who took part part are also active Optimist, ILCA4 or Topper sailors. The club team was the largest contingent of young sailors taking part. They did not disappoint under the guidance of our club coach Sophie Gorman and the ever hard-working enthusiastic class captain David Wheelan. Two more Irish Sailing medals made it to the club, with Grace Keating and Hannah Walsh securing silver and Felix Dion and Lucas Browne taking bronze.

Last weekend was a busy one. The club platform was buzzing with the 29er sailors competing at the largest nationals ever hosted with an incredible 17 boats in the line-up. At the same time the 2.4 competed at the 2.4mR Championships with overseas visitors challenging home sailor Patrick Hassett.

The 29ers delivered a fast and furious event in Scotsman’s Bay with Academy aces and defending champion Ben O’Shaugnessy and Ethan Spain (RCYC/NYC) fending off the downwind masters Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge (NYC). Leaving Cert students Lauren O’Callaghan and James Dwyer (NYC/RCYC) completed the podium. The 29er class is a growing force in the club with no less than seven partnerships from the club competing.

Louis Trickett wins his second regional (regatta racing) at the Oppy Ulsters and progresses to main fleet

The 16-boat Optimist team travelled to Dunmore East and battled in a wild Celtic Sea. Freshly returned from the Worlds, it was a battle between Harry Dunne and Gemma Brady at the top of the senior fleet with two more NYC sailors securing top 10 (Felix Dion in sixth and Louise Hanley in eighth).

The juniors were solid with both Alex Butcher and Aurele Dion top 10. A special mention goes to Louis Trickett for his first event in the junior main fleet: a baptism of fire! Our regatta racing sailors fought well and showing great progress after a few weeks sailing in our summer courses.

The dinghies are now making space for the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta which kicks off this Thursday 6 June.

The Flying Fifteen class have been offered a start in the annual Fastnet Race which opens the Calves Week sailing festival in West Cork on Tuesday 8 August.

It will mark a first for the 20-foot one-design keelboat class that is normally found sailing over inshore triangular courses than coastal races.

A course from Schull Harbour to the Fastnet Rock and back again is around 35km and in normal conditions is likely to take between three and four hours to complete. The Racing Rules of Sailing apply and the race’s organising authority is the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen fleet.

The National Yacht Club says a Rapid Raider RIB will be attending the fleet during the race and the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen fleet will award prizes to the first, second and third finishers.

In addition the fleet intends, conditions permitting, to run a second race on the following day, Wednesday 9 August. RRS applies and the organising authority is the DLFFF.

To enter the race, complete the form on the NYC website HERE.

The Sailors of Dublin Bay 21s committee have announced further details of the membership structure ahead of the upcoming inaugural season.

Weather permitting, the plan is to launch the fleet comprising Naneen, Estelle, Geraldine and Garavogue in mid-May, pending the completion of final works on the boats, and racing will commence as soon as possible thereafter.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, racing will be on Tuesdays and Saturdays from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire with the DBSC fleet.

Based on feedback from interested racers, the committee identified various levels of interest and experience, from skippers crew and regular sailors to occasional sailors and shore supporters.

The committee therefore proposed the following membership structure:

• Annual Membership €50: become part of the Dublin Bay 21 family, receive regular updates on the restoration project and be entitled to one sailing experience per season on a 21 boat.

In addition to the membership subscription, crewing participation is available to purchase as follows:

• Regular season crew: be part of the regular crew for the boats throughout the sailing season for €450 (total €500)
• Occasional season crew: partake in up to six crewing opportunities on the boats throughout the sailing season for €200 (total €250)

Crews will be allocated their preferred dates where possible depending on overall demand for an individual slot.

The committee says they are currently finalising the booking process and a secure online payment system along with the membership application form with an update on this to come shortly.

For more information contact Sean Doyle at [email protected] or 086 232 6636.

Skipper Loghlen Rickard with crew Oisin Cullen and Kate O’Connor on UCD 2 were the victors in the National Yacht Club’s inaugural Student Match Racing Invitational, which took place in Dun Laoghaire last weekend 1-2 April.

The event brought six collegiate team from around the island of Ireland together to compete in some very close and competitive match racing over the weekend.

Saturday brought a calm 10-15 knots with overcast skies along with a double round robin. TUD were leading on eight points after a dominant performance, narrowly losing just two races on Saturday.

UCD 1 and UCD 2 were tied on six points with UCD 1 taking second place on count back due to their two wins over UCD 2 in the round robin. Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) completed the top four teams going through to the next stage on Sunday on 5 points.

While the University of Limerick (UL) and Munster Technological University (MTU) displayed some very competitive match racing, they were unfortunately the bottom two placed teams and did not make it to Stage 2.

Sunday morning brought a two-hour postponement in order to wait for a sea breeze. Then the quarter finals took place in the form of a round robin between the remaining four teams. UCD 1 won every race in this round, giving them the right to pick who they faced in a best-of-three semi-final. UCD 1 picked UCD2, with TUD facing QUB in the other semi-final.

A close and competitive UCD semi-final saw UCD 1 win the first match. Tensions rose in the second when UCD 1 did not enter on the correct side, leading to a UCD 2 protest and causing UCD 1 to incur a penalty that cost them the match.

With UCD 1 back to the favoured starboard entry in the third match, the pre-start was close and both boats started even off the line and converged again at the windward mark, remaining close on the downwind and rounding the leeward gate at the same time.

Ultimately it came down to one mistake from UCD 1, as going left on the upwind proved to be unfavourable. With UCD 2 going to the favourable right side, they came around the windward mark several seconds ahead of UCD 1. UCD 2 went on to win the match and their semi-final.

QUB faced TUD in the other semi final, with tight racing throughout the pre-start and the race leader changing several times each race. Queen’s beat TUD in two straight matches, securing their place in the finals against UCD 2.

The Belfast team proved to be a worthy adversary to UCD 2, and certainly not one to be underestimated. Ultimately it came down to who would lead back to the start line first in the pre-start in the light conditions, with UCD 2 being successful in the first match and going on to win it.

QUB manoeuvred themselves in order for them to be the first to turn back to the start line, allowing them to go on to win the second match. In match three, UCD 2 were able to best QUB once again — match point.

In match four, UCD 2 started in a favourable position tight to leeward of QUB, forcing them to tack off to the lighter right side of the course. This proved to be decisive, with UCD 2 remaining narrowly ahead of QUB for the remainder of the race and ultimately going on to win the race and the event.

“An event like this would not be possible without the volunteers that give up their time to allow this event to be a success,” the NYC said. “A huge thank you to race officer Tadgh Donnelly along with his team: Peter Sherry, Rosemary Cadogan and Mary Gorman.

“Likewise, match racing would not be possible without an umpire team, thank you to Ailbe Millerick, Gordon Davies and Dan Little as well as all who helped them throughout the weekend.

“Congratulations to the winning skipper Loghlen Rickard, along with crew Oisin Cullen and Kate O’Connor.”

More images of the weekend’s racing action can be found on the NYC website HERE.

The next stage in the Dublin Bay 21 restoration project is getting out on the water and racing the Naneen, Garavogue, Estelle and Geraldine in their original sailing condition.

And that’s exactly what will be happening later this month with the launch of the 2023 DB21 season, racing on Tuesdays and Saturdays from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire with the DBSC fleet.

Experienced sailors, competent crew and even novices are all welcome to take part, with a complement of three to five per each of the four boats that have been restored to their 1902 glory.

For the modest sum of €500, you can subscribe to a 2023 season ticket which will allow access to the 40 DBSC races, and every effort will be given to fairly meeting subscriber preferences.

All subscriptions go solely towards annual maintenance of the fleet, with all capital costs met by the Dublin Bay 21 Footer Class Association.

For more details on the season, see the Eventbrite page HERE.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the National Yacht Club’s inaugural Student Match Racing Invitational is taking place in Dun Laoghaire this weekend 1-2 April.

The event brings together the top varsity sailors in the country in what promises to be an exciting weekend of match racing, adding the discipline to the already packed university sailing calendar.

See the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions, as well as the list of entries and updated race results.

Dublin Bay Frostbites regulars Roy Van Maanen (Greystones SC) and Noel Butler (National YC) both finished second in their respective fleets at the RS Aero US Midwinters in Florida last weekend.

Varied conditions tested sailors in all wind strengths in very pleasant Florida temperatures across the race week held at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa.

Butler had a consistent performance in the shifty breeze on day two in the 7 fleet, scoring 3,2,3 to secure his podium, while Van Maanen enjoyed a game battle with Philip Myerson of Cedar Point YC in Connecticut for first in the 5 fleet, with the US sailor coming up trumps this time out.

The Irish contingent also competed in the Florida State Championship, with Butler taking third place and Van Maanen placing a more than respectable sixth.

And in the Round the Bay Long Distance Race on 8 February, Butler narrowly missed out on first place — under 10 seconds on handicap — to make it a trifecta of podium finishes.

Noel Butler and Roy Van Maanen (right) at dinner with fellow RS Aero sailors during the race week | Credit: Noel Butler

Butler commented on social media: “Delighted to finish 2nd 7 rig in the RS Aero Class North America Midwinter Championships and 3rd in the Florida State Championships

“Thanks to organiser Ryan Schenck and all at the beautiful Davis Island Yacht Club for the hospitality and a great event.

“Thanks to the Cedar Point Yacht Club RS Aero sailors for providing charter boats and driving them all the way from CT to FL and back!

“Thanks to the Hummingbird Gang (Jeff Dunmall, Madhavan Thirumalai, Boris Mezhibovskiy, Roy Van Maanen) for the epic accomodation, food and fun!”

Both are back in action in Ireland this weekend, with the INSS RS Aero Super Series on Saturday and the DMYC Frostbites on Sunday.

Members of the National Yacht Club are invited to a talk on safe navigation in Dublin Bay, hosted by Dublin Port Company on Thursday 23 February at 7.30pm.

The talk will be will be presented by members of the port operations team.​ For details contact the NYC office.

Noel Butler of the National Yacht Club is Stateside this week for the 2023 Florida RS Aero Winter Series in Tampa.

Davis Island Yacht Club — known for its steady winter winds ranging from 8-15 knots on any given day — is hosting the weeklong event that comprises the Florida State Championships on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February, the Round the Bay long-distance race on Wednesday 8 February and the Midwinters over the weekend of 10-12 February.

In the meantime, Butler’s absence will give his fellow competitors in the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite Series a chance to reshuffle the leaderboard.

Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club has announced it will be hosting its first Student Match Racing Invitational on the weekend of 1-2 April.

The Student Match Racing Invitational will bring together the top varsity sailors in the country in what promises to be an exciting weekend of match racing, adding the discipline to the already packed university sailing calendar.

The event will include round robins, a knockout series as well as finals racing.

The Notice of Race is available from the NYC website and university teams can register their interest HERE.