Displaying items by tag: ILCA
Cork's ILCA/Laser Summer Sprint Series Expands for 2023
After a hugely successful ILCA/Laser sprint event in 2022 that was held across three clubs, the series has expanded to five locations, with a five-race sprint regatta to be held at each club from June to September.
What better way to see some of County Cork's finest sailing harbours in fun but competitive events?
Four qualifying sprint events will be held with a minimum of two qualifier event entries to allow you to win the overall series.
Starting off at Glandore Harbour Sailing Club on June 24th, then Kinsale Yacht Club on July 23rd, Bantry Bay Sailing Club on August 6th, Inniscarra Sailing & Kayaking Club on Sept 3rd and the final event will be at Royal Cork Yacht Club on Sept 17th. The clubs will individually host the sprint regattas for ILCA4, ILCA6, and ILCA7, with prizes awarded on the day for each regatta.
The series winner will be decided after the final sprint event at RCYC on Sept 17th.
All details, NOR and entry can be found here. This is an open event, so sailors from across the country are welcome.
The overnight leader Marco Sorgassi of the host club, emerged as the overall winner after six races sailed in the 6-rig at the Irish ILCA Masters' Championships sailed under the burgee of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.
The consistent Italian scored two wins and all results in the top five [(5) 2 5 1 1 2] to be three points clear at the head of the scoreboard on 11.
The 53-boat regatta opened in light easterly winds and bright sunshine on Dublin Bay, but Sunday presented a different weather scenario at Dun Laoghaire with a much stiffer breeze up to 17 knots and a Bay chop for the dinghy sailors to negotiate.
Dublin Bay delivered on weather and wind with conditions varying from 7-10 knots on Saturday to 17 and champagne conditions on Sunday. ILCA Masters Championships Race Officer Harry Gallagher, assisted by three additional National Race Officers made the most of conditions and delivered six races thus ensuring the champions had to perform in a variety of conditions, a true test. Photo: Afloat
In second overall, by a single point, was the Australian Great Grand Master Robert Jeffreys from Royal Cork Yacht Club on 14. In third place was Malahide Apprentice Darren Griffin with 15.
Twenty-seven competed.
ILCA 6 Irish Masters Champion (and Grand Master Masters Champion) Shirley Gilmore of the RstGYC and ILCA 6 Masters Champion Marco Sorgassi of the RstGYC
Byrne wins in ILCA 7s
In the ILCA 7 rig, overnight leader, Ballyholme Yacht Club's Great Grand Master Gareth Flannigan from Belfast Lough was overhauled by local Apprentice Conor Byrne of the host club after the Northern Ireland ace had a costly retiral from race four.
Byrne, who was four points adrift on Saturday evening, took a 3, 3, 2 in the breezier conditions on Sunday to finish on 11 nett points to edge out Flannigan on 13.
Carrickfergus's Stephen McLernon was third on 20.
Twenty-three competed.
National ILCA 6 Female Masters Title for Shirley Gilmore
Shirley Gilmore of RstGYC, who opened up a considerable lead on day one and maintained it in the breezier conditions, claimed her first National Title ahead of club mates Ali Robinson and Mary Chambers.
Irish ILCA Masters' Championships 2023 Results
ILCA 7
- Conor Byrne RstGYC and 1st Apprentice
- Gareth Flannigan BYC and 1st Master
- Stephen McLernon Carrickfergus SBC
1st Grand Master Theo Lyttle RstGYC
1st Great Grand Master Chris Arrowsmith RstGYC
ILCA 6
- Marco Sorgassi RstGYC and 1st Master
- Robert Jeffreys RCYC and 1st Great Grand Master
- Darren Griffin Malahide YC and 1st Apprentice
1st Grand Master Marc Coakley RstGYC
ILCA 6 Female
- Shirley Gilmore RstGYC and 1st Grand Master
- Ali Robinson RstGYC and 1st Master
- Mary Chambers RstGYC and 1st Great Grand Master
Marco Sorgassi of the host club leads after three races sailed in the ILCA 6 rig at the Masters' Championships sailing under the burgee of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.
The regatta opened in light easterly winds and bright sunshine on Dublin Bay.
The Italian Master on 12 has a one-point lead over Australian Great Grand Master Robert Jeffreys. In third place is Irish Grand Master Shirley Gilmore with 15 points.
Twenty-seven are competing.
Flannigan from Belfast Lough leads in ILCA 7s
In the ILCA 7 rig, Ballyholme Yacht Club Great Grand Master Gareth Flannigan from Belfast Lough leads overall by four points from Apprentice Conor Byrne of the host club. Queen Mary SC's Rupert Bedell lies third on 14 points.
Twenty-three are competing.
Racing continues on Sunday.
Great Results Across the Categories for Dun Laoghaire's Royal Sr. George ILCAs in Spain
Eight ILCAs from the Royal St George YC competed in the EurILCA Master Series Spain 2023 in Calella de Palafrugell on May 5, 6 & 7.
The PRO managed to get three races in each day in very shifty conditions varying from 5 to 20 knots.
In the ILCA 7, Conor Byrne, warmly welcomed back to the Irish fleet from a period working in the USA, was 3rd in the Apprentice Master Category, a hugely competitive fleet peppered with Olympians.
In the ILCA 6 Mens, Sean Craig maintained his form from Barcelona the previous week and, with a bullet in the last race, won the Grand Master category and moved to 4th overall.
In the ladies' ILCA 6, Shirley Gilmore won the Grand Master category and was 4th lady overall.
It is worth noting that 1st and 2nd prizes in the ILCA 6 fleet overall were won by Spanish female sailors Monica Azon and Miriam Carles Tolra Sallent, with very dominant performances.
Others competing in what was a very challenging regatta were Chris Arrowsmith, Theo Lyttle and Conor O’Leary in the ILCA 7. Ali Robinson and John Curran ILCA 6.
This regatta is highly recommended, and a larger group will return to Calella next year. Calella is a beautiful seaside village, launching off the beach with a very short sail to the race area. There was also a large support crew accompanying the sailors with plenty of beautiful walks, spots to swim, restaurants and bars to keep everyone entertained.
ILCA 6 results here and ILCA7 here
Focus now turns to the Irish Master National Championships hosted by the RstGYC on May 27 & 28. Thanks to a recent international rule change, entry is open to all 30 years of age and over on May 27th.
Rocco Wright won a home waters victory at the Investwise Youth Sailing National Championships in Howth on Sunday.
Wright took the ILCA 6 Youth National Champion title by a clear margin of ten nett points after ten races sailed across a range of conditions that concluded in light winds.
The Howth Yacht Club sailor was followed by his clubmate Luke Turvey on 25 points. One-time series leader Tom Coulter of (East Antrim Boat Club) was third on 29 points in the 33-boat fleet.
Wright, of Howth Yacht Club, adds the domestic title to his recently won bronze in the ILCA 6 Men’s class at the ILCA European Championships in Andora, Italy, as Afloat reported here.
ILCA 4 Title for Pierse
The ILCA 4 title was won by Royal Cork’s Oisin Pierse, with Krzysztof Ciborowski (Royal St George YC) and Cillian Twomey (Howth YC) in second and third place.
Results are below
NI Sailors are Prominent as East Antrim's Tom Coulter Wins ILCA 6 Munster Title in Baltimore
It’s over 300 miles from Belfast to Baltimore in County Cork, and for many Northern Ireland Laser enthusiasts, it was a worthwhile trip last weekend for the ILCA Munster Championships.
Twelve sailors from East Antrim, Portrush and Coleraine in Co.Antrim, and Ballyholme, Strangford Lough YC and East Down in Co. Down competed across ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 in a gathering of just over 100 in the Munster Championships hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club.
Tom Coulter from East Antrim BC and Portrush YC produced the best result with a win in the ILCA 6 fleet, and it was in this 36-strong division that creditable scorings were achieved by Ballyholme’s Daniel Palmer, who came 5th, and Lewis Thompson, who finished 7th with Charlotte Eadie also BYC at 9th. 17th was Callum Jackson of Coleraine and Portrush, with Sam Kelly from East Down 23rd. Jenna Reid (County Antrim YC/East Antrim BC came 30th.
Tom Coulter of EABC was the winner of the 2023 ILCA 6 Munster Championships in Baltimore, West Cork
And even Performance Committee Member Colin Leonard BYC/SLYC showed he can still compete in the ILCA 7 Class with a 4th overall and a race win.
Lucy Ives from Carlingford SC finished a close second in the ILCA 4, losing out on the win by just one point, and Autumn Halliday finished 29th in the 42-strong fleet.
RYA Northern Ireland said this was “a well-organised event both on and off the water with first-class hospitality”.
Baltimore Sailing Club ILCA Sailors Clinch Two of Three Munster Titles on Home Waters of West Cork
After six races, host club sailors won two of three divisions of the 2023 Munster ILCA/Laser Championship honours in Baltimore, West Cork.
Both Fionn Lydon in the ILCA 7 division and youth sailor Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin in the ILCA 4s, held on to their overnight leads on Saturday to claim the titles after two final races on Sunday.
In a change to the schedule in a successful bid to complete the minimum races for a championship, the three races on Saturday and three on Sunday format was changed by Principal Race Officer Ciaran MacSweeney to four races on Saturday and two on Sunday before forecasted strong winds blew in Sunday lunchtime.
As Afloat reported previously, to the surprise of some seasoned observers, the first ILCA championship of 2023 produced an extensive fleet in West Cork.
The Standard fleet was noticeably strong with 25 entries, but 44 are also competing in the ILCA4s (formerly 4.7s), and the ILCA 6s (Radials) are solid with 39 boats.
A mixture of courses was used, but mainly trapezoid, to avoid the three fleets meeting with a single jury boat in operation.
Southerly winds ranged in strength from 10 to 20 knots in the gusts. The race area saw the upwind leg run from the sound at Sherkin Island to a buoy under the land at Baltimore Harbour.
West Cork Sailors are 1,2,3 in ILCA 7
Lydon, a former Olympic Finn dinghy campaigner, took the title but only after the tie-break rule was applied in his favour. Sharing the same 11 points, rival West Cork sailor Michael O'Súilleabháin from Kinsale took second place. Ballyholme Yacht Club Master Colin Leonard from Belfast Lough, who was lying third in the 25-boat fleet overnight, was overtaken on Sunday for the bronze medal position by local Rory Lynch.
East Antrim's Coulter Keeps the Cool for ILCA 6 Crown
There was no change to the overall position overnight in the Radial/ILCA6 class. Counting two wins win and three second places, consistent East Antrim Boat Club ace Tom Coulter is the ILCA 6 division champion. The Larne youth had a margin of three points over RStGYC's Fiachra McDonnell on 11 points. Third was McDonnell's clubmate, Sam Ledoux on 15 points.
The 108-boat fleet rig up for what is expected to be a blustery Sunday of the Laser Munster Championships at Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork
Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin Tops ILCA 4s on Home Waters
Baltimore Sailing Club youth Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin maintained her one point lead at the top of the ILCA 4.7s, but Carlingford Sailing Club's Lucy Ives overtook Howth Yacht Club's Cillian Twomey for silver on 22 points thanks to a final race win. Twomey took third on 25 points after counting 8,3 on the final day.
The results are below.
After four races, host club sailors lead two divisions competing for 2023 Munster ILCA/Laser Championship honours in Balimore, West Cork.
Fionn Lydon tops the ILCA 7 division with youth sailor Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin in charge of the ILCA 4s.
The threat of a Sunday gale prompted Principal Race Officer Ciaran MacSweeney to get ahead of the original schedule and stage four races on Saturday to complete the required number of races to constitute a Championship.
The breeze is set to build all day on Sunday, but the timing of the increase, which could threaten further racing, is still unclear.
The 108-boat fleet rig up for what is expected to be a blustery Sunday of the Laser Munster Championships at Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork
108-boat fleet
To the surprise of some seasoned observers, the first ILCA championship of 2023 has produced an extensive fleet in West Cork, especially for so early in the year.
The Standard fleet is noticeably strong with 25 entries, but 44 are also competing in the ILCA4s (formerly 4.7s), and the ILCA 6s (Radials) are solid with 39 boats.
A mixture of courses was used, but mainly trapezoid, to avoid the three fleets meeting with a single jury boat in operation.
Lydon, a former Olympic Finn dinghy campaigner, is on five points, with rival West Cork sailor Michael O'Súilleabháin from Kinsale two points behind in second place. Ballyholme Yacht Club Master Colin Leonard from Belfast Lough lies third in the 25-boat fleet on ten.
Southerly winds ranged in strength from 10 to 20 knots in the gusts. The race area saw the upwind leg run from the sound at Sherkin Island to a buoy under the land at Baltimore Harbour.
ILCA 6 lead for Coulter
Counting a first-race win and two second places, consistent East Antrim Boat Club ace Tom Coulter is the leader of the ILCA 6 division. The Larne youth has a margin of two points over RStGYC's Fiachra McDonnell, who has already had international racing experience this month at the ILCA Euros in Italy. Third is McDonnell's clubmate, Sam Ledoux.
Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin Tops of ILCA 4s
Baltimore Sailing Club, youth Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin has a one point lead over Howth Yacht Club's Cillian Twomey in ILCA 4s, the biggest fleet of the weekend. Howth's Cillian Twomey lies second, with RSGYC's Kate Flood lying third.
The results are below.
Disappointment for Irish Olympic ILCA Sailors With Palma Titles Already Decided By Beckett and Bouwmeester (With a Day To Spare)
At the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca on the Bay of Palma, both the Men's and Women’s ILCA Class Sofia titles have been won even before Saturday’s Medal Race is sailed.
Ireland's Finn Lynch from the National Yacht Club's ended the series in 25th overall in the ILCA 7. Rival for Paris 2024 Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club ended in 37th place in the 184-boat class.
The Irish camp say that recovery from the Europeans two weeks ago wasn't managed well enough. Lynch's hand injury still hasn't healed fully but his boat speed is clearly very good and he showed this week that he can recover from a bad starting position in the fleet 'really well'.
Ewan's sister Eve McMahon who achieved Gold fleet on this, her first World Cup of Sailing regatta, was disappointed with 35th in her 107-strong ILCA 6 event.
The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch ended the series in 25th overall at the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca Photo:Sailing Energy
The nett result is no Irish medal race participation tomorrow in either ILCA class.
Coming back from a maternity break Holland’s Marit Bouwmeester, who won the overall Princesa Sofía trophy in 2014, made a clear statement to the class as she carries a leading margin of 35 points into Saturday’s double points Medal Race for the top ten sailors.
Triple Olympic medal star Bouwmeester winning with a day to spare is less of a surprise than Britain’s Micky Beckett retaining the Men’s Plama title even before the Medal race, achieving the early victory leaving all three Tokyo medallists in his wake.
“I have managed to stay consistent this week. I often struggle early season coming out of the winter but this pre season has been really good so far.” reflected Bouwmeester, “Coming here I really just did not know what to expect other than training has gone really well. Coming back from pregnancy and not having put in the hours the others have, you just don’t know what to expect. You don’t know what you can pull together, you don’t even really know if you can hold it together through eight straight days on the water, it is still tough to through long days on the water and so I am as happy with that. But this is such a competitive fleet and the differences are so small, you can’t read too much into it. But I am a long way short of full fitness, but it is always to start ahead of the fleet than be catching up. Now I hope I can put some more hours in. Physically I can improve, I struggle – with a kid – to even keep my weight up and of course you need to do that.”
Michael Beckett
West Wales’ Beckett admits that his focus over past weeks and months has really been on repeating his 2022 win here, the first big international regatta victory of his career. And with no counting result worse than tenth over his series his mission is already accomplished.
West Wales’ Michael Beckett in fine form in Palma Photo: Sailing Energy
Keys to his consistency has been Beckett’s starting and first beat execution in a very big and very tight fleet and his ability to change gears across the different wind strengths of the week, rewards for the breadth of his winter training, where other World Champions like Germany’s Philipp Buhl and French training partner Jean Baptiste Bernaz, 2022 champions, have struggled at times.
“When you see a video of our first mark rounding yesterday, for example, it is absolute chaos. The only way to deal with it is to be top five. To be a couple of seconds later you are history, you are in he melee, you are in the mess and no matter how well you sail you really can’t get out the mess. It is so, so unforgiving in this fleet.” Beckett asserts, “I am happy I have put in so much work in these last four months leading up to this regatta. We have done three weeks here but trained with the Aussies and Kiwis and this proves that my training and methods were vaguely on the money.”
Beckett missed out on selection for Tokyo 2020 in favour of Eliot Hanson but worked hard as a training partner, giving him a real insight into what he needs to achieve to make the Paris 2024 spot. “Four years ago I was not good enough but because of the one year delay for COVID I got so much valuable experience. In terms of selection other people will make what they want of this win. There was the pressure of expectation because I won before but I dealt with it.”
Results here
Howth's Ewan McMahon Leads Irish ILCA 7 Sailors into Gold Fleet Test at Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca
Howth Yacht Club's Ewan McMahon leads Irish hopes heading into the Gold fleet for the ILCA 7 class in 25th overall at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca.
McMahon's rival for Paris 2024, Finn Lynch of the National Yacht Club posted seventh and eighth places, which pulled him up to 34th overall and, crucially, inside the Gold fleet cut as the Rio veteran had been as low as 124th after a day one UFD flag penalty.
Jamie McMahon (Howth YC) placed 140th overall and will compete in the Bronze Fleet finals.
The 2021 World Champion Germany’s Philipp Buhl came back from a black flag to record a 1,3 to lie second, whilst Australia’s Olympic champion Matt Wearn drops to 11th after a BFD also.
GBR’s Daniel Whitely has no counting score worse than second, and so leads the Men’s fleet, which has only managed five races over the first three days of racing.
Irish coach Vasilij Zbogar, maintains that as tomorrow is the start of the finals, "everything is still open".
Racing continues for the next three days, with sailors competing to win a top ten place for Saturday's single medal race final.
Results are here
