Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The anticipation had been building for weeks, and as a group of 39 of the country's more experienced Optimist sailors headed for the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven from April 4th to 7th, excited at the prospect of four…

Not many were surprised when the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships, which have been taking place at the Royal Cork Yacht Club since Thursday, concluded early due to the landing of Storm Kathleen and a deteriorating forecast for the following…

Over 170 young sailors are set to compete in Ireland’s largest youth regatta, which starts today, April 4th at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour. The 2024 Irish Sailing Youth National Championships, which will be hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club…

The annual Brassed-Off Cup for Optimists which has been running in Howth for 21 years, was held on Sunday in breezy south easterly conditions over a relatively flat sea with some strong gusts to test the boat handling of the…

Optimist sailors from the Royal St George achieved stellar results at the UK Spring Nationals in Rugby over St Patrick’s Weekend. Five of the Dun Laoghaire club’s nine-strong youth group placed in the top 25 out of 120 boats taking…

Optimist sailors in Ireland have found a new and exciting way to stave off boredom during winter training. The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) recently created the IODAI Sprint Series, which aims to give young sailors more opportunities to race…

Young sailors from all over Ireland are getting ready to compete in the highly anticipated Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) Sprint Series 2024 and Youth Sailing National Championships. The Sprint Series, is billed as 'one of the most exciting events…

The Optimists Spring Series will begin at the Royal Cork Yacht Club on Saturday week, January 20. The IODAI describes the series as “a support to club winter training programs by giving sailors access to competition through the colder months.…

The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) has announced the much-anticipated Sprint Series 2024, an exciting addition to the Optimist 2024 sailing calendar. The series is aimed at Gold and Silver fleet sailors who are preparing for the Youth Sailing National…

It has been a busy year for the Irish Optimist Fleet, the largest and youngest class in the country, and its class association, the International Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI), held its AGM on Tuesday, the 28th of November,…

We were promised a storm! The only storm that materialised was the arrival of 130 Optimist sailors and their families in Crosshaven for the Annual National Training Week, as Afloat reports here. After two days of training, dodging big gusts…

The 130 Optimist sailors and their parents who descended on the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven last week were full of trepidation, with storm Ciaran potentially leading to no sailing. As it happened, all four days of IODAI NTW…

The Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour will be the centre for fun and learning at the IODAI Optimist National Training Week from the 1st to the 4th of November. Over 120 boats are signed up at…

The last IODAI Regional Championship of the year saw a massive fleet of 172 Optimist sailors descend on the midlands club of Lough Ree last weekend to compete in the Connaught Championships. After a busy summer, it was fitting to…

Four of Ireland’s top Optimists sailors will be getting ready to sail in the Junior Champions Cup to be held in Schull, West Cork, on September 23rd and 24th. Harry Dunne (HYC), Gemma Brady (NYC/LDYC), Max O’Hare (RStGYC) were nominated based…

In progressing through each phase of a sailing career, the received wisdom is that you should tick off each staging post while you’re ahead. Harry Dunne of Howth was registered with a Departure Lounge “Optimist Age” of 15 going into…