Displaying items by tag: 29er

3rd July 2012

Irish Skiff and Catamaran Debutantes to Line up Against Reigning ISAF Youth Champions

#dublinbay2012 – There will be host nation debuts in both the SL16 catamaran and 29er skiff classes at the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Worlds on Dublin Bay in ten days time.

Sean Donnelly and Tadgh Donnelly compete in the 29er and Alexander Rumball and Rory McStay go in the SL16 but as the championships is also set to welcome back 2011 gold medallists in both the SL16 and 29er the Irish crews have their work cut out.

Martin Lowy and Kim Andrade (BRA) head to Dublin to defend the SL16 title they comprehensively won in Zadar, Croatia last year whilst Spain's Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel (ESP) will be aiming to do the double.

The 15 strong SL16 fleet has the makings of an excellent competition with five of the six medallists at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds back again.

Lowy and Andrade blew the competition away in the light winds in Croatia that were prevalent at the start of the competition winning eight races in a row to set them up for the gold medal. When the big conditions came in the Brazilians finished mid-fleet as Danish twin brothers Nicolaj and Daniel Bjornholt Christiansen kicked it up a gear with four top two finishes.

The Danes comeback only proved enough for the silver medal as the Brazilians won by a seemingly comfortable margin of seven points.

The conditions in Ireland may suit the Bjornholt Christiansen's whose size will prove advantageous. Great Britain's Rupert White finished third with Nikola Boniface in 2011, he returns with Tom Britz.

In four years' time the Mixed Multihull will be on show at the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition following the selection of the Nacra 17. The Open SL16 event at this year's regatta features several mixed crews. Paul Darmanin and Lucy Copeland (AUS) are one of those in Dublin with Rio 2016 on their mind, "The mixed multihull for the Games is on our rader but I just want to focus on the Youth Worlds at the moment," said Darmanin who won SL16 gold in 2010 as crew with Chase Lurati.

"My cousin Jason and sister Lisa are training very hard working towards the 2016 Games so for me to try for the Olympics I would have to battle it out against them.

"Competing at the Olympic Games would be the ultimate dream come true as it is the highest level of sailing around. I love representing Australia so doing it at the Olympics would be fantastic."

New Zealand's Tomer Simhony finished fifth at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds in the SL16 with Ellie Copeland and is back again with another female crew, Gemma Jones. And the pair have considered their futures, "I think they [ISAF] made the right choice with the Nacra 17," said Simhony. "Gemma and I have discussed sailing together and will at least try to get a boat in the next two years and start a campaign. We'll see how it goes."

Twenty six teams will compete for 29er gold but the undermining favourites coming into the event are the 2011 Champions Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel (ESP). The Spaniards stormed to gold in Zadar, Croatia with a string of consistent results over 12 races to claim gold by 18 points.

With only Klaus Lange and Mateo Majdalani (ARG) returning from the top ten finishers in 2011, the Spaniards will aim for a second successive gold. Other returnees from 2011 include Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner (GER), Varun Thakkar and Ganapathy Kelapanda (IND), as well as Alex Burger and Alex Lehtinen (RSA).

The fleet features a new wave of young sailors who will be seen beyond 2012 with 43 of the 52 sailors competing in the 26-boat fleet eligible to sail at the 2013 edition in Limassol, Cyprus. Belgium's Emile Van Holsbeke will be the youngest competitor in the 29er fleet at just 14-years-old. He will crew alongside Daan Vandormael.

Racing at the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship begins on 14 July in Dun, Laoghaire, Ireland running until 20 July.

Published in Dublin Bay 2012 Youth Worlds

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Youth Boat Selection Requires Leadership

There has been a call for the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) to take a lead in the big decisions that face youth sailors on what classes to sail to after they leave the ranks of the Optimist, Topper and Feva classes. The call comes from a leading junior organiser who does not wish to be named.

Although youth sailing is buoyant in Ireland it is known there is a 'high attrition rate' among teenagers. The lack of transfer in to senior dinghy classes has been a cause of concern for many clubs around the country.

The comments follow a recently published article on Afloat.ie promoting the RS 200 dinghy as a progression boat for juniors.

"We need a class that will keep youths engaged. The 420 and 29er are great boats but require higher levels of boathandling, are much more competitive and tend to attract the top sailors"

"While the ISA's Olympic ambitions are great to see, it will fail the sport as a whole if it does not tackle this gaping need, the organiser says.

Read the RS 200 article by Ciara Byrne and the junior organiser's comments here

Published in Youth Sailing

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.