After success at the Portuguese Grand Slam earlier this month, Michael O’Connor was already up to speed in the SB20 class, but with only two wins from seven races, the Royal St. George Yacht Club ace did not have it all his own way in a tightly fought 14-boat Eastern Championships at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday afternoon.

The entire championships were reduced to one afternoon after losing Saturday and Sunday morning to no wind on Dublin Bay.  

Despite the time constraint, Race Officer Barry O'Neill ushered in a new championship format of short sharp racing in five to 10-knot conditions. The longest race was 23 minutes, and the shortest 19. All the boats finished within one and a half minutes of the winner in all races. 

A start at the 14-boat Royal St. George Yacht Club SB20 Eastern Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Orla Finnegan

O'Neil told Afloat there had been a 'superb' response to the new format from the fleet superb but was unsure how it might work in 20 knots. 

Seven races from a possible 12 were completed, with one discard applied.

Sailing with Davy Taylor and Keith Staunton, O'Connor ended up on top with 13 points, but just a point adrift in second were Stefan Hyde, Jerry Dowling and Jimmy Dowling on Bàd/Kilcullen. 

Third, again by a single-point margin, was Royal Cork Yacht Club trio Mel Collins, Aidan Mac Sweeny and Kieran Dorgan in Gold Digger.

The new SB20 course format deployed for the 2023 Eastern Championships on Dublin Bay includes the option of stopping a race after one round with 'no drama'.

Race Officer Barry O'Neill will try and get the first races of the 16-boat SB20 Easterns underway this Sunday lunchtime after cancelling Saturday's programme due to lack of wind on Dublin Bay.

O'Neill says there is no point in planning an earlier start as the forecast for the morning is poor. 

O'Neill and his race committee went to sea on Saturday at 9.30 hours but kept the fleet ashore using a rolling AP. 

Even though a gentle five-knot breeze filled around the Bay's East Mark at noon and the fleet came out, it was to no avail as, by the time they got to the race track, the breeze had turned off.

The fleet returned to shore without racing at 2.30 pm as per the Sailing Instructions.

Royal St George Yacht Club event organisers had planned to run more short races in a new format Championships, but this looks likely to be curtailed by the light winds.

A change to the sailing instructions has been made to extend racing until 4 pm on Sunday to give some chance of completing a series.

Royal St. George Yacht Club youth ILCA ace Fiachra McDonnell has finished seventh in Italy's Eurilca Europa Cup.

The Irish champion, who has had a busy start to 2023, earned the ILCA 6 male division result after seven races in a 75-boat fleet at the Fraglia Vela Riva regatta on Lake Garda.

A consistent scoreline saw McDonnell count six results in the top ten, but it was the host nation's Antonio Pascali who stole the show by winning six out of seven races. The Fraglia Vela Riva athlete lined up with his teammate Mattia Cesana and the Swede Erik Norlen on the podium.

The Next round of the Europa Cup Trophy will be the 2023 EurILCA Europa Cup FRA in Canet en Roussillon, France, from May 26 at Club Nautique Canet Perpignan.

Results are downloadable below

Michael O’Connor, David Taylor and Ed Cook sailing Ted from the Royal St George Yacht Club, finished second overall in last weekend’s SB20 Grand Slam held in Cascais, Portugal.

The local team of Vasco Serpa, Diogo Pinto and Pedro Alemão led the event from the first race and won convincingly in the end with a total of 16 points.

Ted ended the 9 race, 1 discard series in second on 24 points, 4 points ahead of reigning World Champion Jose Paulo Ramada (sailing with Henrique Brites, Luis Pinheiro and Miguel Leal Faria) on 28 points in third.

After racing concluded on Monday, the team on Ted were all smiles and thoroughly delighted with the event. “We had three days of champagne sailing conditions, 20-24 degrees Celsius and 10-24 knots of wind. Some of the best racing that we’ve had in years.” according to crew member Edward Cook.

“The first two days were held on the inner course in Cascais, close to the shore in an offshore breeze. The wind there is very shifty, swinging through 40 degrees over the course of the day, and the gusts are twice the average wind strength. In a planing boat like the SB20, massive gains can be made by hooking into the extra pressure and getting on the right side of a shift, so it really keeps you on your toes. The race is not over until it's over.” added Davy Taylor. “The third and final day looked like it was going to be lighter than the first two days, so the Race Committee brought us out to the offshore course, where the wind tends to be that bit stronger and steadier in direction. In the end, we were treated to gusts of over 20 knots and were hitting speeds of over 17 knots on the downwind legs,” beamed Taylor.

RStGYC trio Michael O’Connor, David Taylor and Ed Cook at the SB20 Cascais Grand Slam in Portugal Photo: Joao Saraiva Mendes/SB20 Grand Slam

Next up for the RStGYC trio will be the pre-worlds event in May 2023 followed by the worlds in June 2023, to be held in Sheveningen, The Netherlands.

Meanwhile, The local Irish SB20 fleet looks to build on the success of the recent Northern Championships with their Eastern Championships on 20/21 May 2023, hosted by the RStGYC.

The Royal St. George Yacht Club of Dun Laoghaire Harbour has earned itself the name of Ireland’s foiling hub. In recent years, they have become the leaders in driving modern foiling in Ireland, mainly in the ever-growing Waszp class.

Wanting to accelerate the participation and level in foiling classes in Ireland, the RSGYC has set out to create an all-new Youth Foiling programme led by foiling champion Charlie Cullen.

The programme aims to create a world-class team to ultimately challenge for the Youth America's Cup in Barcelona 2024. This will be the first time an Irish Team will have been involved in the America's Cup in its 170-year history.

“This is an exciting concept that will be the very first of its kind in Ireland. I’m looking forward to leading this team to become Ireland's first-ever Youth America’s Cup challenger”, Charlie told Afloat.

The Youth Programme plans to be the breeding place for the next generation of world-class professional Irish sailors, with the aim of creating a cohesive team, that will challenge and race against the likes of the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron on the biggest sailing stage.

Royal St George foiling champion Charlie Cullen

All U25, the team will be represented by the top youth talent that Ireland has to offer. The team also aims to be fully gender equal with a 50/50 split of male and female sailors.

There will be seven invited teams as well as the six represented Cup teams participating in the Youth Americas Cup. All teams will race in the new AC40 foiling monohull inspired by the AC75’s.

“We are very excited to support this initiative. Being an all-Ireland programme we want the best sailors from around the country, to get involved”, Ronan Adams of the RStGYC told Afloat.

If you are interested in getting involved and born after the 12th October 1998, email your sailing CV and a motivation letter to [email protected], applications close on 16th January 2023.

Day two of the Mapfre Euromed International Championships in Malta yielded mixed results for the Irish competitors.

Little wind meant only one race for the Laser group and none for Optimists.

Daniel O’Connor is Ireland’s best-placed boy in the ILCA 6 fleet of 19 in fifth overall. The Royal St George Sailor earned second place behind Ukrainian sailor Dmytro Karabadzhak. The strong Maltese fleet hold the top three positions before the first discard kicks in. With a maximum of 12 races to be sailed, the organisers will hope for stronger winds today.

In the ILCA 4 fleet, Lucy Ives, sailing under the Carlingford Sailing Club burgee, stays 9th after four races sailed. Howth’s Charlie Keating is in 11th.

The Royal St George pair of Jessica Riordan and Emily Conan are in 14th and 17th, respectively. 

In the 138-boat Optimist Fleet, Carolina Carra of the Royal St George Yacht Club is lying in 64th place after four races sailed. Jude Hynes-Knight is 65th.

Full results here:

ILCA 6

ILCA 4

Optimist

The Dun Laoghaire Laser Masters fleet gathered over the weekend for a glitzy award ceremony to celebrate what they’re calling an “epic” season for the class. Hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the fleet’s end-of-season event recognised the achievements of adult Laser sailors from across the Dun Laoghaire clubs.

Adult Laser sailing has been on the rise in recent times, especially since the Pandemic when at one point, it was one of the few boats that could be sailed under government regulations. In order to encourage continued adult participation through 2022, local fleet organisers laid on a range of additional racing formats to supplement the regular winter and summer sailing offered by the DMYC and DBSC clubs, respectively.

In addition to the ever-popular DBSC summer schedule, sailors were treated to four one-day sprint regattas sponsored by Grant Thornton, an eight-week Friday night series sponsored by MGM Boats plus three ILCA Ireland national and regional events. The National Yacht Club hosted the ILCA Ireland Masters National Championships in May, while the Royal St. George Yacht Club hosted the ILCA Ireland Leinsters in July and the ILCA Ireland End of Season regatta in October.

Last weekend’s award ceremony recognised the achievements of local Laser sailors across Dun Laoghaire events, plus at national and international events. A roll of honour highlighted the top achievers, including stalwarts such as Royal St. George member Sean Craig. Sean was the leading adult sailor nationally in 2022 taking more masters titles than any other sailor, having won masters titles at the ILCA Ireland Munsters, Masters Championship, Connachts, Ulsters, Leinsters and End of Season events, in the ILCA 6. Sean also took Bronze at the Eurilca European Masters Championship held in L’Escala, Spain.

Other notable achievements across the season included George member Judy O’Beirne, who took the Female Masters title at the ILCA Ireland Munsters and Masters Championship. Judy was also the leading lady locally this year winning the DMYC Frostbites and DBSC series in the female category. It was announced on the night that Judy will be taking over as local class captain in 2023. Hot on Judy’s heels for silverware in the Female category was Shirley Gilmore (winner of ILCA Ireland Ulsters and Leinsters) and Ali Robinson (winner of ILCA Ireland End of Season regatta).

In the ILCA 7, Dan O’Connell led the way with the most national and regional events. Dan won the ILCA Ireland National Championships in Tralee Bay Sailing Club in August. Other silverware on his sideboard this year include the ILCA Ireland Leinsters and End of Season events. Locally, Gavan Murphy scooped up most of the prizes having won the DMYC Frostbites, the DBSC series, the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R series, in addition to being the leading master at the ILCA Ireland Ulsters.

A special mention on the night went to the “Ones to Watch for 2023”, including Michael Norman (winner of the DBSC series and the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R) and Conor Clancy (winner of the DMYC frostbite series); both in the ILCA 6 category. Rachel Crowley, who recently graduated from the local “Kindergarten” for adult beginner sailors, won the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R series and many are expecting more silverware for her in 2023.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, outgoing class captain of the fleet locally, Brendan Hughes, said “We’ve had an epic season in 2022 with really great racing provided to us through the DBSC summer series, the DMYC frostbite series and the range of events hosted by the George and National Yacht clubs this year. In addition, we had the four local club regattas, so really there was an unparalleled opportunity to race in Dun Laoghaire this summer. A massive thanks goes out to everyone who made this possible.”

The local sailing community also demonstrated the true spirit of camaraderie this summer with the fundraising activities that took place for a Royal St. George Yacht Club member, Kevin Doyle, who was sadly injured while competing in a Laser earlier in the season. It was revealed at the award ceremony by Royal St. George Commodore Richard O’Connor that a total of €25,000 was raised through the combined efforts of the club and ILCA Ireland.

The Royal St George Yacht Club is currently looking to recruit a number of committed sailing instructors for 2023.

The Dun Laoghaire waterfront club requires active sailors/instructors “with a positive attitude, complete professionalism and a passion for sailing and fun”.

Instructors will be responsible for the improvement of the club’s junior and youth sailors, a role that is held in the highest regard by the club.

Both dinghy and advanced instructors must have one or more years’ instruction experience for the position they are applying for.

Online application forms for dinghy instructor and assistant dinghy instructor are now available. Note that you will need copies of your relevant certificates.

The club is also seeking keelboat instructors for weekday evenings and weekends from April, sailing coaches for weekends and holidays, coaches for team racing and skiffs (including 29ers) and coaches for week-long class-specific clinics.

For more information, contact the club’s sailing administrator Karin Ryan at 01 280 1180 or [email protected].

Interviews will be scheduled for early in the year. The club advises prospective candidates to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Arguably the highlight of the Royal St George Yacht Club’s junior calendar comes this weekend with the annual dinner for the Dun Laoghaire waterfront club’s junior and youth sailors from 7pm this Saturday 22 October.

As the club says, it’s a chance to get dressed up — ‘smart’ dress is a must — and enjoy a meal and a night of fun, including the awards ceremony and prize-giving for the 2022 season.

Meanwhile, as their charges celebrate in the main dining room, up to 40 parents can be accommodated in the bar to eat and socialise together.

Places are €20 per person and can be booked online HERE.

Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team dropped to tenth overall after the final day of Dragon class racing at the Régates Royales, in Cannes on Friday.

Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team from the Royal St. George, Dun Laoghaire and Daniel Murphy’s Fortitude from Kinsale were fighting it out at the front of the fleet for most of the week, with Byrne crewed by Adam Winkelmann and John Simms as high as fourth overall before the penultimate day.

Murphy finished 13th overall from 32-starters.