Sailor of the Month
Michael Boyd of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is so successful in his multi-tasking as an impressive Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and a very competent and frequently-competing skipper in in its annual 12-race Mainseries Points Championship, that…
Fionn Lyden is Afloat.ie Sailor of the Month (Olympic) for August
4th September 2017 Sailor of the Month
Fionn Lyden of Baltimore Sailing Club, who initially drew attention as an immediate star of university sailing in his first year at College in Cork in 2015, may only have become active in the demanding Olympic Finn Class in December.…
Simon Hoffman & Santiago Alegre Are Afloat.ie Special Award “Sailors of the Month” for August
17th August 2017 Sailor of the Month
In the 21 years since the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” awards were first introduced, we have always dutifully waited until the end of the month before allocating the plaudits, even when it has been clear for days or even…
Aoife Hopkins is July’s Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” (Olympic Classes)
4th August 2017 Sailor of the Month
When that definitive image of young Aoife Hopkins leppin’ her Laser with rocket power out of a breaking wave at the European Women’s Laser Radials Under 21 Championship 2017 (July 17th to 24th) at Douarnenez in Brittany went viral, we…
Nin O’Leary is Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” (Keelboats) for July
4th August 2017 Sailor of the Month
When the JPK 10.80 Yes! crossed the finish line at Cowes in the huge-fleet Round the Island Race 2017 on Saturday July 1st, it provided Irish sailing with something very special to savour. Skippered by Crosshaven’s Nicholas ‘Nin’ O’Leary, Yes!…
Rockall Record Gets Frank Kowalski Afloat.ie 'Sailor of the Month' Special Award for July
4th August 2017 Sailor of the Month
The very special powerboats of SafeHaven Marine in East Cork have multiple uses, but high speed potential in a wide variety of sea conditions is invariably top of a list of very demanding priorities among the highly-regarded company’s prestigious customers.…
Although the Irish Cruiser Racing Association caters for boats with offshore potential, the annual ICRA Nationals are fought with all the intensity of a major inshore series, and the pressure of several races a day keeps up the heat. The…
The OSTAR – the premier Single-Handed Transatlantic Race, following the time-honoured course from Plymouth in England to Newport, Rhode Island – inevitably goes on for so long that even the most dedicated followers can sometimes allow a day or two…
The Kelly Family of Rush Sailing Club are Afloat.ie “Sailors of the Month” for May
6th June 2017 Sailor of the Month
Anyone who has ever raced against the J/109 Storm, campaigned by Pat Kelly and his close-knit family from Rush Sailing Club, quickly realises that they are up against something special in sailing. This is evident both with the Storm team…
Ewan McMahon Is Afloat.ie 'Sailor of the Month (Youth)' for April 2017
4th May 2017 Sailor of the Month
It was the biggest ISA Youth Sailing Pathway Nationals yet seen, and the 2017 Championship at Ballyholme Yacht Club – 190 boats, 208 sailors – lived up to and beyond expectations in a variety of sailing conditions between 20th and…
Saskia Tidey’s enthusiasm for racing the 49erFX to Olympic level is such that after she’d exhausted every possibility of finding a sailing partner towards Tokyo 2020 within Ireland, she had to cast the net towards the UK, and linked up…
Richard Roberts of Trinity Is Afloat.ie 'Sailor of the Month' for March
3rd April 2017 Sailor of the Month
The Irish Universities Sailing Association (IUSA) Intervarsities is a major team racing event attended by over 160 sailors across 26 teams. This year’s, staged at the hospitable Clifden Boat Club in the far west of Connemara and hosted by University…
It is already being celebrated as “The Race of the Year”, even though 2017 is barely two months old. But it is difficult to visualise any forthcoming contest that will quite match the 600-miles-plus ding-dong that was the battle for…
Irish Voyaging in Pacific Ocean Gets Daragh Nagle The Monthly Afloat.ie Award
2nd March 2017 Sailor of the Month
Daragh Nagle, an ex-Pat Dub who live and sails from Victoria on the west coast of Canada, is the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” for February in honour of his award of the Irish Cruising Club’s premier trophy, the Faulkner…
Hosford & Thomson Are Afloat.ie 'Sailors of the Month for January'
3rd February 2017 Sailor of the Month
Back in the Autumn of 2015, the CEO of Alex Thomson Racing, Stewart Hosford of Cork Harbour, had just received news that the very new IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss, with Thomson on board testing his latest craft to the limit,…
Nicole Hemeryck is Afloat.ie 'Youth Sailor of the Month' for December
4th January 2017 Sailor of the Month
With a 7th overall in the mega-large fleet at the KBC Laser Worlds in Dun Laoghaire in July followed by December’s 9th overall in World Sailing’s Aon Youth Sailing Worlds in Auckland, Nicole Hemeryck – who turned 18 in December…