Howth Yacht Club says the Melges 15 dinghy, a new one design boat, is set to arrive in the club later this month.

The boat is touted as a fun, fast and affordable option that has already gained popularity in the USA and established a fleet in Ireland, with ten boats now sailing in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

HYC is hosting an information night with John Sheehy, from Melges Ireland, on Thursday, 26 October, at 7:30 pm  to provide information and answer any questions.

A Melges 15 will be rigged up, and ready to go on the night, and HYC members are also invited to test sail the boat over the weekend of 28-29 October, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.

As Afloat previously reported, built for stability and with a large, easily handled sail area, the Melges 15 offers the possibility for many crew combinations. In the US, there are family members sailing together, female-only crews and teenage crews, making it a versatile boat for the future of sailing. The Melges 15 is also perfect for parents who want to race with their children, and ideal for students, first-time sailors, and anyone else seeking an affordable, approachable boat.

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

Organisers of Saturday's one-day inaugural Melges 15 'Sprint' championship on Saturday with ILCA/Laser dinghies managed to six races despite some light and fickle winds on Dublin Bay. 

Making a guest appearance in the Melges 15 dinghy was Fireball and RS400 ace Barry MacCartin of the host club, who immediately impacted the new fleet's pecking order.

The Grant Thornton sponsored Melges 15 & ILCA ‘8-Race Championship’ was open to Laser Standard (ILCA 7), Laser Radial (ILCA 6) and Laser 4.7 (ILCA 4) and the new Melges 15 fleet and attracted a combined total fleet of over 50 boats.

Final results are being computed, and an overall report will appear on Afloat shortly.

Update Sunday 8th October 12 noon: Results here

Irish Melges 15 sailors got some high and low-speed lessons in boat handling and sail trim in Dun Laoghaire Harbour last weekend. With top US sailor Eddie Cox from Melges USA flying in, tips and tricks were raining down all weekend.

Saturday brought strong north easterlies and big swells, but thankfully, there was no rain! After a 'chalk talk' ashore, the Irish sailors put these new lessons into practice.

Best-laid plans of races and drills were soon abandoned as in the strong, gusty conditions, everyone just wanted to let it rip.

It was the first experience for everyone of sailing the boats in big swells, and it was quickly apparent that flat water was where the top speeds could be reached. As a result sailing by and large took place in the harbour.

With some ex 29er sailors jumping in the boats, learning was on overdrive as everyone was hanging off the back of their M15s to send it! Shout out to father and son duo Ronan and Conn Murphy, who had bragging rights for the day (and within their own family) with a top speed of 18.5 knots.

After nearly three hours on the water, everyone was happy to return ashore and study footage of the day's action.

Sunday brought totally different conditions, with very light airs, tide, and rain to negotiate to the windward mark. Downwind sailing suddenly shifted from the blasting of Sunday to gentle balletic movements as sailors looked to keep speed and thus apparent wind up at all costs! With six training races sailed in an ever-dropping wind, training moved ashore with one final debrief and dreams of sailing the Melges 15 mid-winters in Florida next year.

Melges Performance Sailboats is delighted to announce the opening of Melges Ireland. Melges Ireland is the newest international dealer of the Melges 15, Melges 14, and Melges 24.

Detailed specifications of the boats can be found on the new website 

The effort is led by John Sheehy, a lifelong Dublin Bay sailor and the mover for bringing the Melges 15 to Dublin Bay. At Sheehy’s behest, a container of a dozen Melges 15s made its way to private owners at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in May 2023.

“As a father of three boys, wanting to get back into dinghy sailing, I was looking for a boat that was stable enough to take my kids out, allowed for one-design racing with old team race crews and was super fast, easy and fun,” explained Sheehy. “When I saw the Melges 15 win Sailing World’s Boat of the Year Award 2022, it caught my attention. A call to Eddie Cox at Melges, along with feedback from US team racing friends, confirmed that the Melges 15 was the boat I had been searching for.”

Since the arrival of the fleet of Melges 15s in Ireland, the group has been racing weekly with plans for frostbiting in the off-season. (The boat has a provisional PY of 973).

Melges Ireland also took a boat on a five-stop demo tour around the country, with the boat heading to the National Yacht Club this week.

The Dublin Bay Fleet has its first training regatta with Cox from Melges on September 16-17. Cox, who has led the design and testing of the M15 from the start, will be adding some expert tips and lessons based on what’s working to date with the 650+ boats that are already racing in the US. With friendly rivalries already cemented, the Irish National Championship will be hosted October 7-8 at the Royal Saint George Yacht Club, Dublin.

RIYC Cadets and Instructors test the demo Melges 15 dinghy

The boat is already proving itself as a true crossover boat on Irish waters, according to Sheehy. The hull shape was designed in consultation with Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design with the goal to maximize stability while still maintaining an easily driven hull form in lighter wind. This means the boat is stable enough for beginners and older sailors while having the performance to keep better sailors coming back for more.

It’s proving a hit with families where all sorts of family combos such as Mum+Dad, Dad+son, Brother+Sister , Uncle+Niece. All these combos have already been sailing in Ireland.

Close racing on a very calm Dublin Bay Wednesday night in Ireland's newest dinghy class, the Melges 15

One family owner, Laser Masters sailor Theo Lyttle said “ When I first heard about the possibility of the Melges 15 coming to Ireland, I wondered could this be the new dinghy class for Ireland? Well, I am happy to say I think it is. It's fast, easy to sail, and dare I say comfortable. All my family have been sailing in the Melges 15. I think it's going to be a great boat to get people back into dinghy sailing. “

Lough Ree Yacht Club has been the first Melges15 demo boat tour stop. One of the M15s is touring her way around the country over the Summer.

Nearing the end of her time at Lough Ree, the boat has been sailed in all conditions, including strong winds and flat seas, a good recipe for speed records.

John Malone and John McGonigle wasted no time (below) putting the boat through her paces, hitting over 18 knots of boatspeed after just taking the boat out of the wrapper. 

Next up on tour is a trip to North Dublin where sailors at Howth Yacht Club and Skerries Sailing Club can try out the boat and put her through her paces.

Melges 15 demo boat tour stop

Last Friday may have brought grey skies and rain to Dublin Bay, but it also brought wind, finally giving the chance for the new Melges 15 sailors to cut loose on the bay.

Having previously held the speed record, Laser Masters sailor Theo Lyttle was quick to take advantage of the fresh south easterly conditions.

Sailing with his visiting nephew Seb (14), Team Lyttle hit 16.7 knots of boatspeed in the video below to reclaim the title of the Bay’s Top Gun.

Remarkably it was Seb’s second time flying a spinnaker.

Above and below: Theo Lyttle was quick to take advantage of the fresh South Easterly conditions

While the new class continues to grow in its first season on the Bay, a demo boat will travel around the country this summer and arrived at its first destination, Lough Ree Yacht Club, last weekend.

Race three of the Melges 15 dinghy Wednesday series on Dublin Bay saw three new teams on the water for the first time.

Nick Smyth and Rachel Macmanus's long-standing team racing partnership debuted to a flyer in race one, only to be overhauled by the fast-finishing Jacques Murphy and Russell Bolger downwind. A few years of trimming kites in a 29er seems to add up to super-fast M15 speed offwind.

The two other debutantes were fathers and son teams, Robbie and Seth Walker and Gerald and Lachlan O’Driscoll. Once the Walkers got used to the fact that there were three sails to trim, not one as they are used to in their Lasers, they were flying, pushing hard for the podium in each race.

Freshly arrived from Austin, Texas, the O’Driscolls were busy focused on getting up to speed with the intricacies of Dublin Bay on a light Summers evening.

Demo sails continue, and anyone wishing to try out the Melges 15 can book in here

Father and son Ronan and Jacques Murphy showed that consistency pays with a string of second places, leaving them with the lowest points for the second night of Melges 15 racing on Dublin Bay.

Six short windward-leeward races were sailed in the gentlest breezes parallel to the Dun Laoghaire Marina pier, with Race Officer Liam Glynn keeping the races running.

Husband and wife Theo and Clodagh Lyttle from the Royal St. George Yacht Club used their spinnaker trimming skills learned at the sharp end of the Laser Two fleet many moons ago to consistently gain places off the wind.

Theo, the current 'Top Gun' of the M15 fleet with the highest recorded boat speed of 14.5 knots, demonstrated that he is fast, it seems, in all conditions.

The new Melges 15 fleet shared Dun Laoghaire Harbour with the Water Wag class for Wednesday night racing

The new Melges 15 fleet looks forward to race night three and perhaps stronger winds next week.

Light wind racing for the Dublin Bay Melges 15 fleet

For anyone interested in the new Melges 15 fleet that has arrived in Dublin Bay, a selection of dates for demo sails are available in the next couple of weeks. Slots are available on a range of dates and times at the Royal Saint George Yacht Club and can be booked here 

The boat has exceeded expectations so far, with a wide age and skill range of sailors enjoying the fast, stable platform that the Melges 15 provides, despite the lighter breezes of the last few weeks.

The top recorded speed is currently held by father-daughter combo Theo and Alanna Lyttle with 14.4 knots. 

The (above and below) screenshots are from Melges 15 sailor Theo Lyttle's Strava app that lets you track your running and riding with GPS

The video below shows why US sailors are enjoying the boats so much.