With the 420 Junior European Team just back from Sesimbra in Portugal it is straight into the Connaught Regional Championships at Lough Ree Yacht Club to be followed shortly thereafter by the 420 Nationals at Howth Yacht Club.

The Junior Europeans event provided its usual red-hot level of competition across all the fleets. The Irish team had variable success with a number of top ten finishes sprinkled throughout the results. The International 420 Association working alongside Clube Naval de Sesimbra hosted a memorable event in what has to be one of the most picturesque event locations on the 420 International circuit. The event was based on the beach in the village centre of Sesimbra with launches at noon each day to catch the building breeze in the afternoon which provided winds ranging from light to moderate 15-20knts breezes.

The upcoming 420 Connaught Championships will be held as part of the Double Ree regatta on the 21st and 22nd July which is an inaugural double-handed Youth Regatta. This exciting new event will draw double- handed youth sailing classes together for an extravaganza of spinnaker flying racing with the 420s adding a high-performance dimension to the event.

420 Nationals at Howth

The 420 Nationals are being hosted by Howth Yacht this year, the event will take place over the bank holiday weekend from the 4th to the 6th August. The Nationals this year will also feature pre-event training over a number of days with Graeme Grant as the lead coach. The Howth venue has in the past attracted visitors from the UK over to compete and whilst the event does overlap with the 420 Worlds in Newport, Rhode Island it is likely some visitors will make it across.

The overlapping of the Irish 420 Nationals with the Worlds means that Ireland will be represented by Nicola and Fiona Ferguson who won the Irish Sailing Youth Pathway National Championships earlier in the year.