Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Rocco Wright (13) of Howth Yacht Club is Sailor of the Month (Junior) for January after twice taking silver in major Optimist regattas in both the southern and northern hemispheres. Early in the month in Sail Melbourne 2020 in Australia…

Howth Optimist ace Rocco Wright barely had time to gather breath - other than getting a haircut somewhere along the way - after taking second overall in the 225-boat Optimist fleet in Sail Melbourne 2020 in Australia before he was…

It all came down to the eleventh and final race of the Australian Optimist National Opens 2020 in Melbourne, with a total fleet of 255 boats from eight nations racing. Howth Yacht Club's Rocco Wright was overnight leader by just…

Rocco Wright of Howth Yacht Club holds a one-point lead facing into the final day (January 9th) of the 255-boat Australian International Optimist Championship 2020 at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Melbourne on Port Philip Bay, with the…

Howth Yacht Club Optimist dinghy siblings Sienna and Rocco Wright have struck again Down Under! This time the pair won their respective divisions in Sydney's Optimist Regatta with an extraordinary string of first places in each of their divisions over…

16-21 February are the dates to save for Optimist Spring Training at Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork. This year the class has teamed up with freelance dinghy performance coach Thomas Chaix to work collaboratively on training sessions to kick…

Optimist ace Rocco Wright of Howth Yacht Club has won the 2019 Sail Sydney Optimist Open Championships this weekend, just ten days before his father starts the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. It completes a remarkable season for the youngster, back in July Wright…

Entry is now open for Irish Sailing’s Annual Youth National Championships, taking place 16-19 April 2020 and hosted by Howth Yacht Club in County Dublin. As Afloat reported earlier, this year, for the first time, the 29er class will be joining…

Last weekend 22 young Optimist sailors participated in IODAI’s newly formed Development Squad hosted by Malahide Yacht Club. The first in a series of training weekends and under the supervision of head coach Adam D'Arcy and his team, the young…

Optimist ace Rocco Wright of Howth found it was tough at the top when the 185-strong 11-nation fleet gathered at his home port for the Irish Open Nationals in August. After he’d won the first race, he was a marked…

To capture the enthusiasm and momentum of the growing Optimist dinghy fleet, IODAI (Irish Optimist Dinghy Association) has launched a new training initiative for junior fleet sailors, known as the “Junior development Squad”. Tim Lucas, President of IODAI says “Our…

JP Curtin leads the Optimist dinghy Cobbler League Main Fleet after nine races sailed at Royal Cork Yacht Club writes Bob Bateman. Second is Crosshaven sailor Harry Moynan with Tralee Bay Sailing Club's Riona McMorrow Moriarty in third place in the 20-boat…

Ireland had reason to celebrate at the Optimist North American Championship this past week with a podium finish among two top-five places. Howth Yacht Club’s bright Oppy star Rocco Wright finished second just two points behind winner Gustavo Campos from…

The weather gods conspired against sailors on the final day of the 2019 Optimist Nationals At Howth YC. The senior fleet were sent out first this morning on their own in a strong breeze, to race and to test the…

Saturday brought a change of fortune for sailors at the Optimist National Championships at Howth Yacht Club with champagne sailing conditions that overflowed a little for some. The seniors were the main action of the day. They got four races…

Day 2 was a difficult day at the Optimist National Championships at Howth Yacht Club for all concerned with the vagaries of the Irish sailing conditions making it very challenging for both sailors and organisers alike. Sailors were held ashore…