After 12 races in five days in varying conditions, Sean Donnelly of the National YC and English visitor Max Clapp of the Royal Southern YC wrapped up the senior and junior titles respectively in the Image Skincare Irish Optimist National Championships 2011 at Howth Yacht Club on Saturday (20^th August).

Donnelly, who led the senior ranks since the third day, could only be troubled by Sophie Browne going into the last day but the Tralee girl’s yellow flag in the penultimate race effectively extinguished her challenge, despite Donnelly’s second worst result of the series (22^nd) in the final race. As it was, he had five points to spare after discards while 3^rd placed Adam Hyland (Royal St. George YC) was 20 points adrift of the runner-up Browne.

The 11^th race in the series was won by Kinsale’s Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain while the honour of winning the final race went to Peter McCann (RCYC) whose challenge evaporated the previous day with his second yellow flag and an undiscardable 68 points. Seventh overall for the Cork sailor in the 67-boat fleet wasn’t bad considering that handicap.

Irish entries filled the first five places – Douglas Elmes (RCYC) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries SC) were 4^th and 5^th respectively – with the first visitor being Joseph Burns (Spinnaker SC) in sixth overall.

As if to underline his total dominance of the junior championship, Max Clapp won the 11^th race – his sixth bullet – and finished the series with a 6^th to take the title by a very comfortable 20 points from fellow Briton Milo Gill-Taylor (Spinnaker SC).

Another 20 points back in 3^rd spot was the first Irish finisher, Howth Yacht Club’s Ewan McMahon who completed a steady string of results by winning the final race, his second bullet of the championship. He had six points to spare over Ronan Cournane (RCYC) who had an impressive second half of the series (two bullets & two seconds) after a very slow start.

Race Officer for the Championship was David Lovegrove and the sponsor was Image Skincare, a range of US-made cosmeceutical products distributed in Ireland by the Howth-based company Renaissance Products Ltd.

With the forecast for day two of the Image Skincare Optimist National Championships casting doubts over action afloat, the Howth YC Race Committee opted to run three races on the opening day instead of two, after which Adam Hyland of the Royal St.George YC and Ewan McMahon of the host club head the Senior and Junior fleets respectively.

Sailed in fresh 15-knot westerly/north-westerly winds, the Championship started its 12-race schedule with a double success for Cork’s Peter McCann in the Senior division but a 12^th place in the third race dropped him to second overall. The more consistent Hyland, recording results of 4, 3, 1, moved to the top of the leader-board with a 6-point margin.

In joint third place after three races are British entry Joseph Burns of Spinnaker Sailing Club and the National YC’s Sean Donnelly on 20 points, just six points adrift of the second-placed McCann. Tralee’s Sophie Browne, Ireland’s representative at the forthcoming Worlds in New Zealand, did not have the best of days and is back in 12^th spot in the 67-boat fleet.

In the Junior fleet, only one point separates leader Ewan McMahon of Howth from another Spinnaker SC entrant Milo Gill-Taylor, the latter winning the first two races and the local helm taking the third. Two second places to the visitor’s 4^th puts McMahon a point to the good.

The new UK Junior Champion, Max Clapp of Royal Southern YC, lies in third spot and within striking distance of the other two. Three top-8 placings also puts Howth’s Isabelle Delamer into the frame at the head of the large 86-boat fleet.

The Championship has attracted 153 entries with another 46 participating in the ‘Regatta Fleet’ for the newer, less experienced Optimist sailors.