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Irish Laser/ILCA Sailing Dinghy News & Regatta Results
The stage is set for the 2023 Youth Sailing World Championships in Armação dos Buzios, Brazil, where a strong Irish team competes
A strong Cork-Dublin youth sailing team will represent Ireland in four classes in Monday's Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil, with a total of four Irish boats and six sailors competing in Armação dos Buzios. Racing in the 52nd edition of the event sees…
Ballyholme Yacht Club on the east side of Bangor in North Down has been chosen to host the European ILCA 6 Youth Championships in 2024
The European ILCA 6 Youth Championships 2024 will be sailed at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough next season. “This is a very significant championship for Europe’s youth sailors and hosting the event is a feather in the cap for…
Kevin Doyle returned to sailing at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire after injury
In May 2022, a sailing incident transformed Kevin Doyle's life. While competing in an ILCA dinghy, Kevin suffered a spinal injury that not only tested his resilience but also reshaped his connection to the sport. Ten months later, he found…
ILCA 7 sailor Ewan McMahon is aiming to win a place at the Paris Olympics in an Irish trials selection to be held in early 2024
Howth Yacht Club sailor Ewan McMahon has launched an independent campaign to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Offshore survey company Green Rebel, headquartered in Cork Harbour, is supporting the Dubliner's bid. The 24-year-old sailor will compete in…
File image of ILCA dinghies racing in the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) is looking forward to the kick-off of this winter’s dinghy Frostbite Series sponsored by Viking Marine in Dun Laoghaire this Sunday afternoon (5 November), with the wind forecast to provide a challenging afternoon.…
Eve McMahon in heavy weather ahead of the fleet in Tangier, Morocco
The transition from ultra-successful international junior sailing to youth and adult competition can be a tricky one, but ILCA-racing Gold Medal-winning multiple junior champion Eve McMahon of Howth found the perfect stepping-stone with the ILCA6 U21 Worlds at a breezy…
DMYC Frostbites 2022/23 – Aeros, Fireballs, RS and PY dinghies in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The scheduled start of the DMYC-hosted Viking Marine-sponsored Frostbites for 2023/24 is just over a week away and yet, to date, there is a very modest entry of boats. Indeed, the numbers entered thus far would represent a poor turnout…
Howth's Eve McMahon celebrates her U21 ILCA 6 World title win in Morocco
Irish Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) has won the World U21 ILCA 6 championship title in Tangiers, Morocco, this afternoon. As Afloat reported previously, after six days of racing, the Paris 2024 campaigner delivered an impressive…
Conditions were light and flukey on day five of the ILCA U21 World Championships in Morocco, where Ireland's Eve McMahon (pictured right) in yellow leaders bib) leads the ILCA 6 fleet by a good margin
Although Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon discarded a 35th scored in light winds, the Irish Sailor of the Year has a commanding 18-point lead going into the final day of racing at the ILCA6 U21 World Championships in Morocco on Sunday.…
Eve McMahon leads at the Under 21 ILCA 6 World Championship Fleet in Tangier, Morocco
Howth's Eve McMahon continues to lead the ILCA 6 Women's fleet at the Under 21 ILCA 6 World Championships at Tangier, Morocco. After eight races sailed, McMahon holds a six-point advantage over Italy's Carlotta Rizzardi who won Friday's final two races in…
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon in the lead on day three of the ILCA U21 World Championships in Tangier, Morocco
Howth Yacht Club's heavy weather specialist Eve McMahon conquered strong Moroccan wind and waves to win the single race of day three and move into the overall lead of the ILCA U21 World Championships in Tangier. The Paris 2024 campaigner is one of…
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon (pictured right) is in the thick of a hectic startline at the 2023 ILCA U21 World Championships in Tangier, Morocco
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon is lying second overall after four races sailed at the 2023 ILCA U21 World Championships in Tangier, Morocco. The Paris 2024 campaigner is one of five Irish sailors competing.  Wednesday started cloudy, with rain showers coming…
Melges15 dinghies find the breeze at the Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta on Dublin Bay. John and Katie Sheehy (564) hold off Barry McCartin and Conor Kinsella (561)
Dinghy sailors faced a variety of wind conditions while competing in Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta on Dublin Bay. The event featured nine Melges 15 and 50 ILCAs. Melges 15 and ILCA dinghies launch for their Sprint regatta…
Viking Marine of Dun Laoghaire Harbour is now the Irish agent for these Australian-made PSA ILCAs, that has become a favourite among top-level sailors
Viking Marine of Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proud to announce its latest partnership as the exclusive dealer of PSA (Performance Sailcraft Australia) ILCA dinghies on the island of Ireland. This exciting collaboration brings the highly anticipated PSA ILCA dinghies to…
The ILCA/Laser fleet passes Blackrock Castle in the Blackrock to Crosshaven passage race run by the Royal Cork Yacht Club
As part of this summer's Royal Cork Yacht Club RCYC 'At Home' regatta, the ILCA/Laser fleet took on the Blackrock to Crosshaven passage race in Cork Harbour. The ILCAs launched at Cork Boat Club and headed downriver with a falling…
Royal Cork hosted the grand finale of the ILCA summer sprint series on Sunday 17th in Cork Harbour
Royal Cork ILCA (Lasers) hosted the grand finale of the ILCA summer sprint series on Sunday 17th. The series, including ILCA racing across five venues throughout the summer, saw twenty-seven ILCAs compete in three different classes from five clubs on…

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