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Royal Cork Yacht Club Kicks Off 2024 Season with ILCA Clinic

3rd January 2024
An ILCA three-day clinic got the 2024 season underway at Royal Cork Yacht Club
An ILCA three-day clinic got the 2024 season underway ar Royal Cork Yacht Club

Thirteen sailors were greeted with glorious sunshine as the Royal Cork Yacht Club ILCA class officially kicked off their 2024 season with a three-day clinic on the Curlane Bank in Cork Harbour.

This year marks a significant milestone for the Munster club, with the first female Admiral, Annamarie Fegan, set to take office in a few weeks. The ILCA racing season will start locally in February with a defroster series, followed by the Munster championships in Baltimore on March 30th and 31st. The Irish Youths championships will take place from April 4th to 7th, followed by the Connaught championships on April 27th and 28th.

With a newly varnished flagpole and a new flag, Royal Cork Yacht Club is ready for an exciting 2024 season ahead in Cork HarbourWith a newly varnished flagpole and a new flag, Royal Cork Yacht Club is ready for an exciting 2024 season ahead in Cork Harbour

Further afield, the ILCA World Masters will take place in Adelaide from February 2nd to 9th, with Royal Melbourne's Rob Jeffreys and Dun Laoghaire's Royal St George's Sean Craig competing.

Meanwhile, the ILCA 6 World Championships in Argentina (starting January 3rd) will feature Howth YC's Eve McMahon, who is continuing to improve in her bid for an Olympic berth in Paris.

The RCYC three-day ILCA clinic was held on the Curlane Bank in Cork HarbourThe RCYC three-day ILCA clinic was held on the Curlane Bank in Cork Harbour

The start-of-season kickoff clinic was led by coaches Michael Crosbie, Jonathan O'Shaughnessy, and Micheal O'Suilleabhain, who took a fleet of ILCA 4s and ILCA 6s out for a fantastic session on the Curlane bank. Alongside this, an open training session for ILCA 4s will be hosted by the RCYC from February 15th to 18th, featuring top-class coaches and some planned racing.

Those interested in joining the ILCA fleet for an exciting year can contact [email protected]. The Royal Cork Yacht Club has sailors across ILCA 4, 6, and 7, with a good mixture of male and female sailors involved. There are some club boats available to lease and several boats currently for sale

With the club looking forward to Cork Week Regatta in July, the ILCA class is sure to provide some exciting racing this season.

Published in Laser, Royal Cork YC
Afloat.ie Team

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About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2