Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon is chasing her fourth international title this summer, the 18-year-old is six points off the lead at the 2022 ILCA/Laser U21 World Championships at Vilamoura in Portugal going into the final races on Sunday.

Two races were completed on Saturday and in the ILCA 6 division, Belgium’s Eline Verstraelen was the only sailor to consistently score two single-digit finishes on SAturday, boosting her up to first overall. The Irish Sailor of the Year is just six points behind. The Howth teen is only four points ahead of Italian Giorgia Della Valle in third.

Every sailor has had some inconsistent finishes in this fleet, which will make the final results susceptible to a shake-up on Sunday, depending on which races get dropped at the end of the event.

The penultimate day of racing was another morning without wind, so the race committee displayed the AP flag to start the day.

The wind finally filled in around 16:00 with about 6–7 knots, which was enough to get off two races. During the second race, the breeze picked up to 9 knots, and the race committee was hopeful they could complete a third race as scheduled, but shortly after, the wind died down again just in time to complete the second race. Once again, there were some new names on the leaderboards after Satuday’s races.

In the ILCA 7 division, Germany’s U19 sailor Ole Schweckendiek is leading by one point ahead of Portugal’s José Mendes. Each of them scored a total of nine points on Saturday, sailing very consistent races. Mendes is just one point ahead of Schweckendiek’s teammate, Julian Hoffmann. With only two points separating the top three sailors, the competition will surely be very tight and exciting on the final day.

Three races are scheduled for Sunday, with the first warning signal at 12:00 and the last possible warning signal at 15:00.

The prize-giving ceremony will be held at 18:00.

Results here

Tuesday’s first day of racing saw Eve McMahon take third in the overall ILCA 6 standings — and first among U19s — at the ILCA U21 World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal this week.

The Howth Yacht Club prospect is part of a youth sailing fleet that enjoyed champagne sailing conditions in the Algarve in the early part of this week — though lack of wind meant day two on Wednesday (24 August) saw no racing.

Eve is no doubt eager to hold her place at the top of the table to challenge for the podium this weekend — and close out a successful summer after her return with a gold medal from the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds besides two other major titles.

And she isn’t the only McMahon in action in Vilamoura, as her brother Jamie placed 11th overall in the ILCA 7 after two races. Fellow Irish competitors Tom Higgins (Royal St George YC) and Jonathan O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork YC) were in 60th and 73rd respectively.

The ILCA U21 Worlds continue till this Sunday 28 August. The latest standings can be found on the event website HERE or below

Eve McMahon will join a special ‘Homecoming Party’ to celebrate of Howth Yacht Club’s winning young talent this Friday 12 August.

The North Co Dublin club’s juniors have made a big splash this summer, with McMahon winning gold at the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds in Texas where club mate Rocco Wright also scored a bronze.

Both earned their stripes as our sailors of the month for July (International and Youth respectively), while Luke Turvey also made a strong showing. And more recently, Eve’s older brother Ewan McMahon retained his title at the Irish Moth Nationals this past weekend.

Eve McMahon will be on hand for the celebration at the clubhouse this Friday afternoon from 4pm to answer a few questions about her exceptional summer.

And there will be ice cream, barbecue and dancing for all — plus free treats for HYC junior members who show their club card.

July 2022 will be remembered as the ultra-crowded month in which sailing in Ireland really did leap back to pre-pandemic levels, something that has been reflected in it recording an unprecedented number of Afloat.ie “Sailors of the Month” in six distinct categories.

But in this as in everything else, Eve McMahon (18) of Howth was in a league of her own. She emerged from the non-sailing purdah in May and June of total concentration on revision and sitting the Leaving Cert to return afloat, and take three Gold Medals in the ILCA 6 Radial - in the Euros in Greece, the World Sailing Youth Championship in the Netherlands, and the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds in Texas.

For many sailors, this would be a lifetime achievement. But Eve McMahon did it all within one month, “to have some fun in boats after swotting for exams”.

Dublin sailor Eve McMahon (18) was pictured arriving home to Dublin Airport this morning after capturing gold in the single-handed ILCA 6 class at the 2022 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Houston, Texas on Saturday, July 30th.

Irish Sailor of the Year McMahon and her teammates were greeted by friends, family and supporters on Bank Holiday Monday after an outstanding month of competition for the Howth Yacht Club sailor.

(Above and below) Eve McMahon arriving to Dublin airport after capturing gold in the single-handed ILCA6 class at the 2022 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Houston, Texas on Saturday evening, July 30th. This gold medal win is McMahon’s third consecutive gold medal this year, having also picked up a gold medal at the World Sailing Youth World Championships in the Hague, and at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in GreecePhoto: INPHO/Tom Maher

As Afloat reported earlier, this gold medal win is McMahon’s third consecutive gold medal this year, having also picked up a gold medal at the World Sailing Youth World Championships in the Hague, and at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Greece.

Eve is greeted by her grandfather Tom McMahon Photo: INPHO/Tom Maher

Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright were both Gold medal winners at the World Youth Sailing Championships in The Hague Photo: INPHO/Tom Maher

Eve McMahon with her mother Vicky and her father Jim Photo: INPHO/Tom Maher

Read more on Eve McMahon, Irish Sailor of the Year, and her Paris 2024 campaign here

ILCA 6 Laser youth world champion Eve McMahon returns to a Dublin Airport homecoming this morning after a stellar performance on the world stage.

The teen sensation from Howth Yacht Club retained gold in the single-handed ILCA6 class at the 2022 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Houston, Texas.

As Afloat reported previously, The Irish Sailor of the Year's gold medal win in Texas is her third consecutive gold medal this year, having also picked up a gold medal at the World Sailing Youth World Championships in the Hague and at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Greece.

Eve McMahon - The 18-year-old sailor from Howth set a pre-season goal of 'three from three' title wins and also managed to sit her Leaving Certificate school exams. In 30 races across all three events, McMahon finished in the top three places in all but five races, averaging around third place as an indication of impressive consistency. Photo: Eric Andresen/ILCA

The 18-year-old Dublin sailor, who is fully embarked on her campaign for Paris 2024 after completing her Leaving Certificate, will be interviewed by the media in-person as she returns to Dublin Airport this morning (August 1^st, 2022) at approximately 10 am.

Eve McMahon (18) returned to top form for Ireland with two more bullets in today (Saturday's) final three races in the ILCA6/Laser Radial Youth Worlds 2022 at Houston in Texas.

After six straight wins in the first four days, there was a blip yesterday (Friday) when Germany's Linda Hensel took the wins while the Howth sailor recorded a second and third.

But today's final races have seen McMahon firmly back in front with a net scoreline which leaves her (after discarding a fourth in the final race) on a massive points win of 13 to the 26 of Hensel and the 33 of Croatia's Tea Peteh.

Eve McMahon at the Youth Worlds in Shoreacres. Competing in the single-handed ILCA6 class (Laser Radial) the Howth Yacht Club sailor has added this second world title to Gold medals at the Youth Sailing World Championships in the Netherlands and the Youth ILCA6 European Championships in Greece.Photo: Eric Andresen

Dun Laoghaire's Fiachra McDonnell had got the series off to a flying start with a win in the first race in the men's division Qualifying Series, but his reasonably consistent performance thereafter was upset by a UFD in Race 8 om Friday, and a 31st, 22nd and 28th since have left him at 18th in the Gold Fleet. Rocco Wright was 32nd in the Gold Division, and third in the U17s. Meanwhile, Luke Turvey of Howth finished 20th in the 52-strong Silver Fleet.

For Eve McMahon, July 2022 has been a month of sensational success, with wins in three major championships, one at European level, and the other two for World titles.

A homecoming welcome is planned for Dublin Airport on Monday morning (1 August) for the full Irish team.

Houston provisional results are below. Read more on Eve McMahon, Irish Sailor of the Year, and her Paris 2024 campaign here

Fresh from winning two major international championships in Europe already during July, Howth's Eve McMahon (17) has launched her campaign in the Laser Radial/ILCA6 Youth Worlds at Houston in Texas in appropriately rocket-assisted style with four bullets in a stellar fleet of 50.

And while clubmate Rocco Wright (15) has been mixing it among the numbers in the Men's Divisions, he has recorded a best result of 2nd and currently lies 14th overall with Ireland's Fiachra Mcdonnell lying third.

Latest results from Houston are below

Despite the gathering record-breaking heatwave over Europe as July progressed, Ireland’s Eve McMahon (17) won Gold at both the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) European Youth Championship in Greece, and then Gold again at the 2022 World Sailing Youth World Championship in The Netherlands, where her Howth YC clubmate Rocco Wright (15) also collected Gold after a masterful final race.

But as world climate observers never tire of telling us, what is currently regarded as extreme heat in mid-Europe is simply thought of as fairly normal summer in places like southern Texas.

Yet a six-strong Irish ILCA team is now bound for the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) Youth World Championships at Houston in Texas (starting Monday, July 25th) where the typical forecast for the city this afternoon (Thursday) predicts a temperature of 37C. However, it will feel like 41C owing to an underlying high level of humidity (86% at night) which does admittedly fall to 42% when the afternoon’s 15 kmh southerly breeze sets in.

Double Gold – Eve McMahon & Rocco Wright after total success in The Hague

But whether it’s a case of out of the frying pan into the fire or not remains to be seen. In the stellar Netherlands championship, their coach Vasilij Zbogar commented on how cool the two young stars stayed throughout. And though that was about their general state of mind, it’s a very useful foundation to have in place when you’re dealing with the added challenge of searing heat.

Also racing for Ireland is Sophie Kilmartin. Fiachra McDonnell, Luke Turvey and Oisin Hughes, with Liam Glynn as coach. 

Next week’s hot spot for world youth sailing. The Houston Yacht Club is – meteorologically speaking - the coolest place in town

In Texas, the Irish team will face a wide field of 212 sailors from 35 countries. All sailors are under 18. The regatta is held over a week from Monday 25 July to Saturday 30th July. There are two races scheduled per day, each lasting approximately 50 minutes. Hosting the event is the Houston Yacht Club, based in Shoreacres, Texas, USA and the International Laser Class Association (ILCA).

While it may take a day or two for the full significance of the Gold Medals won in this week's World Youth Sailing Championship in The Netherlands by Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright to sink in among the population at large, at the top level it was quickly recognised, and on Friday the message came loud and clear from President Michael D Higgins in Aras an Uachtarain in the Phoenix Park: "Congratulations to Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright. Both of Ireland's single-handed sailors won Gold Medals at the Youth Sailing World Championships in The Hague yesterday. A fantastic achievement for the two sailors from Howth Yacht Club".