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Displaying items by tag: Topper

A fleet of 66 Toppers took to the waters of Carlingford Lough for their National Championships ten days ago, with Blessington sailor Finn Lynch taking control of the series to count nothing but podium finishes on his way to the national title.

In the 4.2 rig fleet, Strngford sailor Peter Gilmore burst out of the traps with four straight bullets in the first four races of the series giving him an unassailable lead.

Lynch's top challenger in the 58-boat full rig fleet was Robbie Robinson from Plymouth, who posted two bullets but couldn't match the consistency of Lynch.

The results (slightly confusing due to mixed classes) are HERE.

Published in Youth Sailing
Blessington Topper sailor Finn Lynch received an Evening Herald School Sports award on Tuesday for his achievements in the class in Ireland and abroad.

The ceremony, which recognises sports from GAA and Rugby, to Waterpolo and Sailing took place with students, parents, teachers and governing bodies seated together at tables in the Hogan Stand of Croke Park.

Des Cahill, RTE sports presenter, kept the crowd entertained acting as MC for the event. Luke Fitzgerald, Irish rugby star and Ciaran Whelan, former Dublin GAA star presented the awards to the young sports stars including Blessington Sailing Club's Finn Lynch.

The Lynch family have been active participants of the ISA Performance Pathway in previous years with Finn's older brother's Ben and Rory also doing very well in sailing. The fourteen year old talented sportsman was previously presented with a special award from his school, St. Mary's Academy, CBS, Carlow for his outstanding sailing achievements last year.

Finn Lynch has secured several firsts at sailing championships along with being the first ever Irish sailor to win a UK Topper event. Lynch also cleared up at the ISA Youth Nationals winning seven out of eleven races in Schull this year and came second overall at the Gul Topper Worlds in 2009.

Finn was delighted with his achievement and proudly left with his Evening Herald Young Sports Star of the year award and newspaper sports bio.

The Evening Herald were thanked for recognising and supporting school sports in their weekly column and at the awards ceremony yesterday.
Published in News Update
Page 13 of 13

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.