Topper dinghy sailing is going strong this winter at Royal Cork Yacht Club, four months after the Munster Club successfully staged the massive 250-boat Topper World Championships in Crosshaven.

On Sunday, both Topper and ILCA youth sailors hit the water for winter training and the first race of the club's winter dinghy frostbite league at the same time as the club's November/December White Sail keelboat League got underway in Cork Harbour.

The ILCA 7 fleet featured some dramatic racing between the ILCA 7s and a single RS Aero 7 sailed by Emmet O’Sullivan from MBSC, who swapped the outright lead several times in each race. Jonathan O’Shaughnessy leads by a point from Micheal O’Suilleabhain, in

In the Topper fleet, Ellen MacDonagh and Kate Deane traded first places, but MacDonagh leads after day one.

See Bob Bateman's photo gallery of Sunday's training below

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 five Irish sailors competing. 

Trademark Atlantic waves and Mediterranean winds over 25 knots produced exciting conditions for the Mens ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 Women U21 racing.

The ILCA 6 fleet had two starts, the first being called back on a general recall, and the second good start was held under a black flag.

As the race progressed, the wind was gusty at the top mark, giving momentary respite before a tough downwind leg.

In first position at mark 1 was McMahon (IRL 216111), who was also today’s winner, closely followed by SUI 220286.

The situation in the ILCA 7 yellow fleet was similar as the first sailor to round mark 1, UKR 222721, was also the winner of race 1. In the ILCA 7 blue fleet, the top position went to ITA 221725.

Results are here

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 and going over the racecourse and the city of Tangier.

The sea conditions were slightly different today as there was a swell from the northwest and the wind from the southwest. The wind conditions were quite unstable across the racecourse, as the wind at the start line was more substantial than at mark 1, which was significantly weaker. The wind intensity ranged from 6 knots at the top marks and up to 12 knots at the start line, with gusts up to 15 knots.

In the first race of the day, the ILCA 6 fleet had three starting procedures, starting with a general recall, followed by a cancelled start due to a wind shift, and a final good start under a black flag. The ILCA 6 first race was the outer course, with Josephine Heegaard from Denmark arriving first to mark one. The race was very close until the last moment when the race was won by Italian Emma Mattivi. In the second race, the winner was again Emma Mattivi; nonetheless, with one discard after four races, the top female sailor was Josephine Heegaard.

In the male ILCA 7 yellow fleet, the racing was tight, and each sailor demonstrated their skill and expertise in the very technical swell and shifty conditions. In race one, the first place went to Italian Attilio Borio, and in race 2 Haruto Kuroda from Japan took the top spot. In the blue fleet, Finley Dickinson of United Kingdom won both races of the day. The top Irish sailor is Royal St. George's Ficachra McDonnell in 66th.

Results are here

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 at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

The sailors had to navigate through shifting winds throughout the races, ranging from 15 knots to near-calm conditions. 

The race course under Race Officer Barry O'Neill (below) was located in the northwest of Dublin Bay and attracted nine Melges 15 and 50 ILCAs for October's Sprint regatta at the Royal St. George Yacht Club

Race Officer Barry O'Neill and his team conducted five ILCA races and six Melges 15 races to complete the event.

McCartin and Kinsella Reign in the Melges 15

Barry McCartin and Conor Kinsella sailed the demo boat for the Melges 15 Regatta, held in the bay for the first time.

Melges sailors coping with one of many wind resets during the  Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta on Dublin Bay

Darragh O'Connor, a Howth sailor, joined the fleet with Sligo Yacht Club's Lauren Donaghy. The crews consisted of various family and friend combinations, including husband and wife, father and daughter, and uncle and niece teams.

Mary O'Loughlin and Karena Knaggs (563) were one of the all-female teams in the Melges 15 fleet

Barry and Conor won the first two races, thanks to their cool decision-making in windy conditions. The Melges sailors got a chance to sail the angles downwind and achieved top speeds of 16.3 knots as the wind picked up. After the dust settled, it was Barry and Conor who won the race, with John and Katie leading the Melges' charge.

The impressive brand new Dublin Bay Melges 15 fleet line up for one of six starts at the Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta off Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Eve McMahon is ILCA 6 Sprint Winner

The ILCA fleet, featuring just over 50 boats, was equally impressive, with the ILCA 6 fleet comprising 30 boats.

An ILCA start at the Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta on Dublin Bay

Eve McMahon emerged as the winner throughout the day, while Sean Craig from the host club won the Masters category.

ILCA s blast to spreader mark at the Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta on Dublin Bay

The ILCA4s saw some extremely tight racing, with Marcus Shelley taking the win, while Tom Coulter emerged as the winner of the ILCA7 race.

Grant Thornton played an important role in the event as sponsors. Both fleets were grateful for their support throughout the event.

Despite the different angles and speeds, the ILCAs and Melges 15 boats managed to perform well throughout the races and are already looking forward to next year's Sprint Regatta.

Royal St. George's Grant Thornton Sprint Regatta Results

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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 tide and following wind to cover the more than ten-mile course in under ninety minutes.

ILCA/Laser sailors prepare for the Blackrock to Crosshaven passage race in Cork Harbour at Cork Harbour Boat Club

The ILCA/Laser Blackrock to Crosshaven passage race fleet head downriver with a falling tide and following wind

The fleet had 18-20 knots directly behind them all the way across Lough Mahon, which caused several boats to flip, but the next leg through Passage was significantly more friendly.

The ILCA/Laser Blackrock to Crosshaven passage race fleet had 18-20 knots of wind for the race

The ILCA 4s were allowed to go inside Spike Island, while the ILCA 6s and 7s had to go the long way round as part of the handicap.

Passing the Naval base at Haulbowline at Cobh

The leading ILCA 4, Craig O'Neill, was more than halfway across Curlane Bank when the leading ILCA 6s of Robert Jeffreys and Joe O'Sullivan got around Spike.

The final beat to the club against the tide and the usual trickiness at the Coveney Pier finally sorted out a winner, with Joe O'Sullivan making it to the RCYC marina in one hour, and thirty-six minutes which, given the favourable tide and wind conditions, may be setting a very difficult time to beat in future years.

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 the Curlane Bank in Cork Harbour.

The favourable weather throughout the day from the east held well, allowing the sailors to complete four races on the day. There was some very tight racing in a strong ILCA 4 fleet, making for an exciting competition.

In the ILCA 6 class, three sailors finished on the same points tally, making it even more exciting to decide the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. The tri-series trophies were presented based on the best three results from the five regattas.

ILCA Summer Sprint Series racing

The series started in June at Glandore Harbour Sailing Club and was followed by Kinsale Yacht Club in July, Bantry Bay Sailing Club in August, Iniscarra Sailing and Kayaking Club, and the finale in Royal Cork. It allowed local sailors to explore some of Cork's great sailing venues throughout the summer.

Each regatta used the sprint format with five quick 20-25-minute races with a single discard on the day. A social barbeque was then hosted at each club for sailors, parents, and helpers. Over fifty ILCA sailors raced in at least one of the regattas throughout the summer.

Special appreciation was given to Harriet Emerson in Glandore, John O'Sullivan in Kinsale, Kathryn Kingston in Bantry, and Aoife O'Herlihy in Iniscarra for hosting the previous events in the series. 

Royal Cork's Rear Admiral Dinghies, Maurice Collins expressed his joy for the successful conclusion of the series, as he was pictured with tri-series winners Eolann Miles (ILCA 4), Jonathan O'Shaughnessy (ILCA 7), Andrew Kingston (ILCA 6), and class captain Eddie Kingston at the Triseries prizegiving

For those who missed the summer sprint series, more ILCA sailing is coming up at the RCYC Frostbite League in November.

Three sailors from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour ILCA fleet recently competed in Douarnenez, France, showcasing their skills against a formidable field of over 270 competitors across 31 countries at the 2023 ILCA European Championships, with all three Irish sailors achieving at least one top-20 result.

Despite the Breton coast typically experiencing a steady 15-17kts sea breeze, the sailors faced challenging conditions due to the unprecedented hot and humid weather, which produced a combination of light and shifty conditions along with heavier sea breezes and 1.5m swells.

Hugh Delap, Brendan Hughes, and Ali Robinson began their campaign last October at the start of the local DMYC Frostbite series. They competed in provincial events and ultimately ended up in Howth at the end of August, where they raced in 30 knots of wind. 

This proved hugely beneficial to all three in terms of strength and conditioning ahead of the Europeans.

Brendan Hughes rounding the windward mark at the ILCA European Championships in France

The Irish sailors competed in the Apprentice and Masters fleet, which included John Emett, coach of Lijia Xu, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. Also in this fleet were the current female European champion, a number of previous Olympic sailors, and national and ex-world champion ILCA sailors.

Ali Robinson defending on the downwind at the ILCA European Championships in France

All three sailors spoke about their incredible learnings from the event and emphasised the intense but physically and mentally enhancing experience of having six days of racing in a row. The sailors plan to build on their learnings and continue to develop physically, technically, and mentally, with their sights set on the 2024 Europeans in Portugal and the 2025 Worlds to be held in Hayling Island, UK.

The beauty of the ILCA Masters sailing format is that anyone over the age of 35 can compete against gold medallists, and World and European champions, and continue to compete for as long as they can get into the boat.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) won the team trophy at last month's ILCA National Championships for the third year running, held at Howth Yacht Club, as Afloat reported here.

Although the championship had to be limited to two days of racing due to storm Betty, 14 sailors from RCYC competed in the three ILCA fleets under the guidance of coach André Granadeiro.

RCYC successfully beat off competitors Howth Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club to claim the trophy with the best result across the three fleets. This year, Liam Duggan finished second in ILCA4, Michael Crosbie came third in ILCA6, and Jonathan O Shaughnessy came third in ILCA7, and their names will be inscribed onto the trophy.

The RCYC ILCA team 

The Irish Laser Association (now ILCA Ireland) team championship trophy was first awarded in 1977 to Susan Gray, Ruth Barrington, and Tansey Millerick.

ILCA Sprint Series

On September 17th, the Royal Cork Yacht Club will host the final round of the ILCA Cork Summer Sprint Series, where boats throughout Munster will compete for the title. The sprint series events were held in Glandore, Kinsale, Bantry, and Iniscarra throughout the summer. Interested participants may still enter the single-day sprint event, which is open for entry on the RCYC website under the ILCA Summer Sprint Series.

Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club played host to the ILCA Connaught Championships last weekend, with a healthy turnout of 60 ILCAs descending on the location for what was a spectacular weekend on and off the water. Although entries were down somewhat with theICRA Champs running in parallel in Howth, organisers managed to provide a perfect trapezoid course under the expert eye of Race Officer Captain Michael Doyle and his team.

Due to the light wind forecasted, the launch on Saturday was delayed until a steady 8-knot sea breeze filled in from the southeast in a gradually warming day. In the ILCA 7s, Sam Ledoux from RStGYC showed a clean pair of heels, only to discover an OCS was waiting for him at the finish. Clubmate, Oisin Hughes took advantage, with another newly converted ILCA 6 squad member, Jonathan O’Shaughnessy, in second, followed by Conor Byrne in third. 

In the twenty-two boat ILCA 6 fleet, Irish Sailing squad member, Sophie Kilmartin from RSGYC & MYC was lying just one point ahead of Charlie Keating from HYC after two races. Andrew Kingston of RCYC showed some great boat speed with a well-earned win in the second race of the day, which left him just one point behind Daniel O’Connor and Keating after two races.

In the twenty-nine-strong ILCA 4 fleet, Thea Daly from RSGYC was the overnight leader, with recent Optimist Class converts and clubmates Caoilinn McDonnell and Marcus Shelley on joint points in second and third respectively.

Due to a continued dying breeze, sailors were ushered ashore after race two of the day to be greeted by a warm welcome, cold drinks, and rugby in the bar. 

On Sunday, organisers were keen to get sailors on the water early for a 10:25 am start. In an overcast and thunder-threatening sky, the breeze was slow to build, but finally settled in a 5-knot north-easterly for the first race of the day. In the ILCA 7 fleet, Sam Ledoux yet again took advantage of the light winds with two first-place finishes, with clubmate Oisin Hughes finishing with two-second places. Jonathan O’Shaughnessy held onto his overnight third place, but not without drama, as Conor Byrne was pipped in separate match-racing duels with Ledoux and Hughes, forcing him into a third-place finish and fourth overall.

In the ILCA 6 fleet, Charlie Keating came out of the blocks like a bullet with two first-place finishes on Sunday, pipping Sophie Kilmartin by just one point, with Daniel O’Connor in third place overall. In the ILCA 4 fleet, Thea Daly held onto her overnight lead to finish first overall and one point ahead of Caoileann McDonnell in second and Lucy Ives in third.

The event was sponsored by Rooster and Viking Marine, who provided prize-giving prizes that were thankfully received by all winners on the day. It was a challenging weather condition, but the organisers, Don Ryan, Joe Corrigan and Eoin Thompson, along with Race Officer, Captain Doyle, and his extended team, managed to get a full race series completed. It was a successful weekend, and the participants had a great time both on and off the water.