Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

When Rocco Wright of Howth – then 15 – pulled the All-Ireland Junior Title out of the hat in the final race at Schull, West Cork a year ago, his Houdini skills were widely noted, emphasised by the fact that he seemed to think it was simply a matter of letting others make more mistakes. But then, this Summer in the Youth Worlds 2022 in The Netherlands in the ILCA 6 Division, it was thought that going into the final race, he might just grab the silver. But lo and behold, others went asunder and he snatched the Gold – it was Houdini all over again.

Thus his techniques will be under close scrutiny in Schull this weekend, as he’s defending the junior title, crewed this time round by clubmate and fellow ILCA 6 International Luke Turvey, where last year it was Nathan van Steenberge.

Rocco Wright (left) and crewmate Nathan van Steenberge in Schull after winning the 2021 Junior Championship

For quite some time now the Juniors have been firmly set in using the Schull TR3.6s developed by David Harte of the Fastnet Outdoor & Marine Centre. It makes for a very clearcut organisational challenge in a picturesque setting very popular with parents, as the lack of driving licences among the contenders means they simply have to take a late season weekend break at an attractive destination to ensure their junior superstar can compete.

Perfect late season venue – the All Ireland Junior Championship under way at Schull

And certainly as the entry list indicates, this year’s lineup really is representative of all Ireland, and some folk will have to travel very far indeed. But with Junior Sailing by its very nature being always in a state of flux with rapidly-rising new talent, we’ll leave it to others to be rash enough to make predictions.

ENTRY LIST NATIONAL JUNIOR TITLE 2022