29er Youth Skiff Dinghy

Clementine van Steenberge (right) and her crew Jessica Riordan from the George picked up another Europa Cup win in March and sailed to victory at the cut-short Irish Sailing Youth National Championships in Cork Harbour in April

National Yacht Club Sailors Kicking Off the 2024 Racing Season in Style

12th April 2024 National YC

National Yacht Club sailing and performance programmes ran all winter alongside frostbite racing, keeping racing sailors training and progressing at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The club had coaching series in almost all the main classes sailed off the NYC platform with…

An ILCA 6 race start on the only day of racing at the 2024 Irish Sailing Youth National Championships at the Royal Cork Yacht Club

Storm Kathleen Concludes 2024 Irish Sailing Youth Nationals Early in Cork Harbour

6th April 2024 Youth Sailing

Not many were surprised when the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships, which have been taking place at the Royal Cork Yacht Club since Thursday, concluded early due to the landing of Storm Kathleen and a deteriorating forecast for the following…

Clementine Van Steenberge (left) of the National Yacht Club, sailing with new crew Jessica Riordan of the Royal St. Goerge Yacht Club lead the 29er skiffs at the Irish Sailing Youth Nationals at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour

Dublin Bay's Van Steenberge and Riordan Take the 29er Lead at Irish Sailing Youth Nationals in Crosshaven

5th April 2024 Youth Sailing

Over 90 boats and more than 100 sailors competed on a wet opening Thursday at the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships ahead of Storm Kathleen's expected arrival in Cork Harbour this weekend. The Royal Cork Yacht Club-hosted event saw three dinghy…

29er action at the 2021 Irish Sailing Youth National Championships held in Cork Harbour. The 2024 event returns to Royal Cork Yacht Club this morning

Over 170 Young Sailors Compete in Ireland's Largest Youth Regatta in Cork Harbour

4th April 2024 Youth Sailing

Over 170 young sailors are set to compete in Ireland’s largest youth regatta, which starts today, April 4th at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour. The 2024 Irish Sailing Youth National Championships, which will be hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club…

Ireland's 29er European Champions Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain of Royal Cork YC and the National Yacht Club are lying seventh from 30 after day one of the Youth Sailing Worlds in Brazil

Strong Start for Ireland at Youth Sailing Worlds as Sienna Wright Takes ILCA 6 Lead in Brazil

12th December 2023 World Sailing

Howth Yacht Club talent Sienna Wright leads the ILCA 6 fleet after the first day of racing at the Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil, with a total of four Irish boats and six sailors competing in Armação dos Buzios.…

The stage is set for the 2023 Youth Sailing World Championships in Armação dos Buzios, Brazil, where a strong Irish team competes

Six Irish Sailors Prepare for Battle at Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil

10th December 2023 World Sailing

A strong Cork-Dublin youth sailing team will represent Ireland in four classes in Monday's Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil, with a total of four Irish boats and six sailors competing in Armação dos Buzios. Racing in the 52nd edition of the event sees…

Ireland on the winners podium in Italy - Reigning World 29er Champion Clementine Van Steenberge (National Yacht Club), who, at last week's 2023 EuroCup Final, was joined by Royal St. George's Jessica Riordan, showed their promise as a new team achieving 7th place overall and top Women's team

More Irish 29er Success at 2023 EuroCup Final in Italy

30th October 2023 29er

Reigning World 29er Champion, Clementine Van Steenberge (National Yacht Club) who, at last week's 2023 EuroCup Final in Italy, was joined by Royal St. George's Jessica Riordan, showed their promise as a new team achieving 7th place overall and top…

World champion Clementine van Steenberge partnered up with world female runner-up Jessica Riordan (from the RstGYC) just a few weeks ago, and they are already making their skills known with a solid 7th place finish and a comfortable gold in the girls at the 29er Eurocup finals on Lake Garda

A Great Week of Racing for National Yacht Club Sailors in 29ers, Fireballs and Flying Fifteens

27th October 2023 National YC

At home... Last weekend provided plenty of action on the back of a stormy Friday, with many club sailors enjoying a great weekend of training and racing. Fireballs blast along on Dublin Bay at the end of season regatta The…

Top Irish crews are among 170 29er teams across Europe on Lake Garda for the EuroCup competition

Irish 29er Crews Start as Favourites in EuroCup Final, Italy

22nd October 2023 29er

Two Irish crews who led the international fleet this summer are among the favourites of the top 29er teams across Europe that have made their way to Lake Garda to contest for the coveted overall EuroCup title 2023 on Sunday.…

Séafra Guilfolye Coaching Hopeful Future 29er Champs at National Yacht Club This Autumn

7th October 2023 29er

After Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge’s victory in the 29er Worlds in August, their home base the National Yacht Club has big ambitions as it continues its high-end coaching for 29er racers with Olympic 49er trialist Séafra Guilfolye. As lead…

The new Overall and Men's European 29er Championship winners - Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain

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…

Dun Laoghaire's Van Steenberge siblings won both the Open and Overall World 29er Championships

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…

Ireland's Lucia Cullen and Alana Twomey celebrate their win in the Female European Championship in the 29er class in Stockholm

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.…

Ireland's Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain celebrate their win in the European Championships in the 29er class in Stockholm

Ireland Takes Double Gold at 29er European Championships in Sweden

20th August 2023 29er

In an outstanding month for Irish youth sailing achievement, two Cork-Dublin pairings have won more gold medals in the International 29er class to follow the World title win of a fortnight ago. Ireland won two gold medals at the 29er…

Over 170 boats from 24 different countries are competing at the 29er 2023 European Championships in Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, including Ireland's recently crowned World Champions, Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge, with Clementine pictured bottom right

National Yacht Club's 29er World Champion Van Steenberge Siblings Are Looking for European Honours in Sweden

14th August 2023 29er

Ireland's recently crowned 29er World Champions, Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge have an eye on the double this week when they compete at the 2023 European Championships in Sweden against another massive fleet. As regular Afloat readers will recall, the National…

Ireland's Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge celebrate their 29er world championship win in Weymouth Bay

Ireland's Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge Crowned 29er World Champions in Weymouth

5th August 2023 29er

In stunning skiff sailing prowess, Ireland's Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge have been crowned champions of the 29er World Championships in Weymouth. The brother and sister duo, hailing from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, put on a masterclass in the final day's…

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About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2

ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2

ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2