Sailor of the Month
Seamus O’Connor of Bantry is October Sailor of the Month For Cruising & Services to Cruising
1st November 2023 Sailor of the Month
By October, the last of the remarkably varied international fleet of boats that had attended the Irish Cruising Club’s Conor O’Brien & Saoirse Centenary Rally in Madeira had returned to their often very distant home ports. Thus it was felt…
Justin Slattery's Seven Strong Irish Crew on 100ft Galateia are "Sailors of the Month (Superyachts)" for September
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
A crew with some of Ireland's top big boat talent are the deserved winners of the September Sailor of the Month Award (Superyacht), after their win in the Maxi A World Championships in Porto Cervo, Italy. A seven-strong Irish presence…
Andy Thompson is "Sailor of the Month (Dinghies)" for September
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
For the second year in a row, East Antrim Boat Club top crewman Andy Thompson hit the sailing headlines by winning a major Fireball dinghy title with ace UK helmsman Tom Gillard. In 2022, Gillard and Thompson scooped the world…
Sailors Of The Month - Where Are Tom Dolan And Headcase Crew In Latest Monthly Awards?
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
Afloat ie’s many regular readers will have assumed that mid-September’s winning the Corinthian Division in the 2023 J/24 Words in Greece would ensure a place in the latest “Sailors of the Month” lineup for the multi-club Headcase crew helmed by…
Niall & Ronan O’Briain of Connemara are “Sailors of the Month (Inshore)” for September
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
Sailing for sport in Connemara has long tended to be in a world of its own with the local traditional craft, but 2023 is very much a breakout year. One of our “Sailors of the Month” for July was the…
Johnny Murphy of Howth is “Sailor of the Month (Regatta)” for September
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
One of the most popularly acclaimed victories in sailing in Ireland in 2023 was Johnny Murphy’s September winning of the “Champion Boat” award at the conclusion of the ICRA Nationals at his home port of Howth with his J/109 Outrajeous.…
Lawrie Smith of Glandore is “Sailor of the Month (International)" for September
1st October 2023 Sailor of the Month
Early in the 1960s, Sid Smith – a builder and developer from Bury near Manchester – secured the site for the modest holiday home of his dreams beside the harbour in Glandore in West Cork. Summers in Glandore with much…
Olympic ILCA 7 Qualifier Finn Lynch is Sailor of the Month (Olympic) for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
Finn Lynch can add nation qualifying for the Paris Olympics 2024 to his many ILCA 7 achievements to date, including a world silver medal from 2021. In a nerve-jangling conclusion to the Gold fleet series in the Men's single-handed event…
Cillian Dickson of Lough Ree & J/24 Headcase Crew Are “Sailors of the Month (Int. Regatta)” for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The story of the restored J/24 Headcase in recent years has been a particularly heart-warming one of all-Ireland camaraderie and success, and in August the emphasis was firmly on international success with a final race victory to give a two-point…
Ben O’Shaughnessy of Royal Cork YC & Ethan Spain of National YC are Sailors of the Month (Junior International) for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The five-day International 29er Europeans at the 1830-founded Royal Swedish YC’s base at Sandhamn near Stockholm was a global sailing highlight for 2023, as it attracted 173 teams from 24 countries for a week of racing very typical of the…
Clementine & Nathan van Steenberge of Dun Laoghaire are Junior Sailors of the Month for July
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The International 29er is one of the most demanding boats on the global junior sailing scene. Yet the sister-and-brother crew of Clementine & Nathan Van Steenberge have carved their way through its international heights with style, speed and success. Their…
Barry Cunningham of the Royal Irish YC is “Sailor of the Month (Regatta)” for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The first J/Cup Championship in Irish waters on Dublin Bay in August 2023 saw several classes of this leading marque represented in the 40-strong fleet, but there was little doubting that the most intensive competition was in the J/109s. This…
Harry Dunne of Howth is “Youth Sailor of the Month” for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
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…
Lucia Cullen from Dun Laoghaire and Alana Twomey from Cork are Junior International Sailors of the Month for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
There were 173 teams from 24 countries competing at the International 29er Europeans in Sweden in August, but the five crews sent from Ireland punched way above their weight in a challenging and complex boat, which isn’t for the faint-hearted.…
Tom Dolan of County Meath is “Sailor of the Month” (International Offshore) for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The rise in the international solo offshore sailing reputation of Tom Dolan, who has been known to describe himself as “an escaped farmboy from north Meath”, has been one of the great Irish sailing sagas of our time. For more…
Cian Guilfoyle of National YC is “Sailor of the Month (Offshore)” for July
3rd August 2023 Sailor of the Month
Back in the dark latter days of the Pandemic, high-flying rumours began circulating about a new Botin 52 being completed in New Zealand. Normally, the multi-titled 52 class sees only incremental improvements as the latest boats take up this ultimate…