Royal Cork's Nick Walsh Leads the ILCA7 Nationals Fleet in Tralee Bay

18th August 2022

Royal Cork's Nick Walsh tops the ILCA 7 fleet in Tralee Credit: Afloat

The first day of the ILCA/Laser Irish National Championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club in County Kerry was almost perfect; the only thing lacking was a little sunshine!

Race Officer John Leech ran three races for all fleets in winds varying from 10 to 23 knots.

A 20-degree wind shift delayed the start but thereafter, the racing was exciting and sometimes a little bit too exciting as a number of the less experienced sailors found the conditions tough to cope with.

A small number of boats also suffered damage due to the conditions but everyone was safe ashore and buzzing after a great but hard day on the water.

In the ILCA 7 fleet, Nick Walsh from the RCYC leads with two bullets and a second, followed by Dan O'Connell and Rory Lynch.

In the ILCA Six fleet, Fiachra McDonnell from Royal St. George in Dun Laoghaire is a point ahead of Aoife Hopkins (HYC), with Michael Crosbie (RCYC) in third.

Finally, the younger sailors in the ILCA Four fleet showed the way to their older colleagues, and here it is the ladies to the fore as they occupy 4 of the first five places. Hannah Dudley Young (BYC) had three bullets to lead from Maeve Leonard and Isabel McCarthy, both from RCYC.

Three further races are scheduled for Friday, and the wind looks strong again!

Race Results

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Published in Laser, Royal Cork YC

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Published in Laser

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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):