The overnight leader Marco Sorgassi of the host club, emerged as the overall winner after six races sailed in the 6-rig at the Irish  ILCA Masters' Championships sailed under the burgee of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The consistent Italian scored two wins and all results in the top five [(5) 2 5 1 1 2] to be three points clear at the head of the scoreboard on 11.

The 53-boat regatta opened in light easterly winds and bright sunshine on Dublin Bay, but Sunday presented a different weather scenario at Dun Laoghaire with a much stiffer breeze up to 17 knots and a Bay chop for the dinghy sailors to negotiate.

Dublin Bay delivered on weather and wind with conditions varying from 7-10 knots on Saturday to 17 and champagne conditions on Sunday. ILCA Masters Championships Race Officer Harry Gallagher, assisted by three additional National Race Officers made the most of conditions and delivered six races thus ensuring the champions had to perform in a variety of conditions, a true test. Photo: Afloat

In second overall, by a single point, was the Australian Great Grand Master Robert Jeffreys from Royal Cork Yacht Club on 14. In third place was Malahide Apprentice Darren Griffin with 15. 

Twenty-seven competed. 

ILCA 6 Irish Masters Champion (and Grand Master Masters Champion) Shirley Gilmore of the RstGYC and ILCA 6 Masters Champion Marco Sorgassi of the RstGYC

Byrne wins in ILCA 7s

In the ILCA 7 rig, overnight leader, Ballyholme Yacht Club's Great Grand Master Gareth Flannigan from Belfast Lough was overhauled by local Apprentice Conor Byrne of the host club after the Northern Ireland ace had a costly retiral from race four.

Byrne, who was four points adrift on Saturday evening, took a 3, 3, 2 in the breezier conditions on Sunday to finish on 11 nett points to edge out Flannigan on 13. 

Carrickfergus's Stephen McLernon was third on 20. 

Twenty-three competed.

National ILCA 6 Female Masters Title for Shirley Gilmore

Shirley Gilmore of RstGYC, who opened up a considerable lead on day one and maintained it in the breezier conditions, claimed her first National Title ahead of club mates Ali Robinson and Mary Chambers.

Irish  ILCA Masters' Championships 2023 Results

ILCA 7

1. Conor Byrne RstGYC and 1^st Apprentice
2. Gareth Flannigan BYC and 1^st Master
3. Stephen McLernon Carrickfergus SBC

1^st Grand Master Theo Lyttle RstGYC

1^st Great Grand Master Chris Arrowsmith RstGYC

ILCA 6

1. Marco Sorgassi RstGYC and 1^st Master
2. Robert Jeffreys RCYC and 1^st Great Grand Master
3. Darren Griffin Malahide YC and 1^st Apprentice

1^st Grand Master Marc Coakley RstGYC

ILCA 6 Female

1. Shirley Gilmore RstGYC and 1^st Grand Master
2. Ali Robinson RstGYC and 1^st Master
3. Mary Chambers RstGYC and 1^st Great Grand Master

Marco Sorgassi of the host club leads after three races sailed in the ILCA 6 rig at the Masters' Championships sailing under the burgee of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The regatta opened in light easterly winds and bright sunshine on Dublin Bay.

The Italian Master on 12 has a one-point lead over Australian Great Grand Master Robert Jeffreys. In third place is Irish Grand Master Shirley Gilmore with 15 points.

Twenty-seven are competing. 

Flannigan from Belfast Lough leads in ILCA 7s

In the ILCA 7 rig, Ballyholme Yacht Club Great Grand Master Gareth Flannigan from Belfast Lough leads overall by four points from Apprentice Conor Byrne of the host club. Queen Mary SC's Rupert Bedell lies third on 14 points.

Twenty-three are competing. 

Racing continues on Sunday. 

Eight ILCAs from the Royal St George YC competed in the EurILCA Master Series Spain 2023 in Calella de Palafrugell on May 5, 6 & 7.

The PRO managed to get three races in each day in very shifty conditions varying from 5 to 20 knots.

In the ILCA 7, Conor Byrne, warmly welcomed back to the Irish fleet from a period working in the USA, was 3rd in the Apprentice Master Category, a hugely competitive fleet peppered with Olympians.

In the ILCA 6 Mens, Sean Craig maintained his form from Barcelona the previous week and, with a bullet in the last race, won the Grand Master category and moved to 4th overall.

In the ladies' ILCA 6, Shirley Gilmore won the Grand Master category and was 4th lady overall.

It is worth noting that 1st and 2nd prizes in the ILCA 6 fleet overall were won by Spanish female sailors Monica Azon and Miriam Carles Tolra Sallent, with very dominant performances.

Others competing in what was a very challenging regatta were Chris Arrowsmith, Theo Lyttle and Conor O’Leary in the ILCA 7. Ali Robinson and John Curran ILCA 6. 

This regatta is highly recommended, and a larger group will return to Calella next year. Calella is a beautiful seaside village, launching off the beach with a very short sail to the race area. There was also a large support crew accompanying the sailors with plenty of beautiful walks, spots to swim, restaurants and bars to keep everyone entertained.

ILCA 6 results here and ILCA7 here

Focus now turns to the Irish Master National Championships hosted by the RstGYC on May 27 & 28. Thanks to a recent international rule change, entry is open to all 30 years of age and over on May 27th.

Rocco Wright won a home waters victory at the Investwise Youth Sailing National Championships in Howth on Sunday.

Wright took the ILCA 6 Youth National Champion title by a clear margin of ten nett points after ten races sailed across a range of conditions that concluded in light winds.

The Howth Yacht Club sailor was followed by his clubmate Luke Turvey on 25 points. One-time series leader Tom Coulter of (East Antrim Boat Club) was third on 29 points in the 33-boat fleet.

Wright, of Howth Yacht Club, adds the domestic title to his recently won bronze in the ILCA 6 Men’s class at the ILCA European Championships in Andora, Italy, as Afloat reported here.

ILCA 4 Title for Pierse

The ILCA 4 title was won by Royal Cork’s Oisin Pierse, with Krzysztof Ciborowski (Royal St George YC) and Cillian Twomey (Howth YC) in second and third place.

Results are below

It’s over 300 miles from Belfast to Baltimore in County Cork, and for many Northern Ireland Laser enthusiasts, it was a worthwhile trip last weekend for the ILCA Munster Championships.

Twelve sailors from East Antrim, Portrush and Coleraine in Co.Antrim, and Ballyholme, Strangford Lough YC and East Down in Co. Down competed across ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 in a gathering of just over 100 in the Munster Championships hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club.

Tom Coulter from East Antrim BC and Portrush YC produced the best result with a win in the ILCA 6 fleet, and it was in this 36-strong division that creditable scorings were achieved by Ballyholme’s Daniel Palmer, who came 5th, and Lewis Thompson, who finished 7th with Charlotte Eadie also BYC at 9th. 17th was Callum Jackson of Coleraine and Portrush, with Sam Kelly from East Down 23rd. Jenna Reid (County Antrim YC/East Antrim BC came 30th.

Tom Coulter of EABC was the winner of the 2023 ILCA 6 Munster Championships in Baltimore, West Cork 

And even Performance Committee Member Colin Leonard BYC/SLYC showed he can still compete in the ILCA 7 Class with a 4th overall and a race win.

Lucy Ives from Carlingford SC finished a close second in the ILCA 4, losing out on the win by just one point, and Autumn Halliday finished 29th in the 42-strong fleet.

RYA Northern Ireland said this was “a well-organised event both on and off the water with first-class hospitality”.

After an eleven-race series at the ILCA 6 European Championships, defending title-holder Rocco Wright (Howth Yacht Club) took home the bronze medal after a close final day of racing in Andora, Italy. 

Mattia Cesana of Italy edged ahead to become the new ILCA6 men's champion.

Along with Greek sailor Athanasios Kyfidi who took the silver on tie-break, the leading trio had enjoyed a week-long duel at the front of their 71-boat event across a range of conditions.

Good breeze of around 10 knots and a good swell allowed for three more races on the final day.

Final Results – ILCA 6 Men

1. Athanasios Kyfidis GRE 27 pt
2. Mattia Cesana ITA 28 pt
3. Rocco Wright IRL 37
4. Mario Novak CRO 67 pt
5. David Ponseti ESP 68 pt

These sailors are all Under 21, so they were also declared U21 champions.

At Monkstown Bay Sailing Club in Cork Harbour, where eleven races have been sailed in the club’s Winter Laser League, racing resumed on Saturday when Kieran Dorgan from Cove Sailing Club just around the corner at Whitepoint, continued to lead the fourteen boats entered.

With three discards applied in the eleven races, he has a total of 18 points, but it is a narrow lead over the home club’s Ronan Kenneally, who is just one point behind on 19. There is a big gap then to third-placed Robert Scallan who is on 33 points.

So the battle for overall honours as the league enters its final stage this Saturday is between Dorgan and Kenneally.

The Dun Laoghaire Laser Masters fleet gathered over the weekend for a glitzy award ceremony to celebrate what they’re calling an “epic” season for the class. Hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the fleet’s end-of-season event recognised the achievements of adult Laser sailors from across the Dun Laoghaire clubs.

Adult Laser sailing has been on the rise in recent times, especially since the Pandemic when at one point, it was one of the few boats that could be sailed under government regulations. In order to encourage continued adult participation through 2022, local fleet organisers laid on a range of additional racing formats to supplement the regular winter and summer sailing offered by the DMYC and DBSC clubs, respectively.

In addition to the ever-popular DBSC summer schedule, sailors were treated to four one-day sprint regattas sponsored by Grant Thornton, an eight-week Friday night series sponsored by MGM Boats plus three ILCA Ireland national and regional events. The National Yacht Club hosted the ILCA Ireland Masters National Championships in May, while the Royal St. George Yacht Club hosted the ILCA Ireland Leinsters in July and the ILCA Ireland End of Season regatta in October.

Last weekend’s award ceremony recognised the achievements of local Laser sailors across Dun Laoghaire events, plus at national and international events. A roll of honour highlighted the top achievers, including stalwarts such as Royal St. George member Sean Craig. Sean was the leading adult sailor nationally in 2022 taking more masters titles than any other sailor, having won masters titles at the ILCA Ireland Munsters, Masters Championship, Connachts, Ulsters, Leinsters and End of Season events, in the ILCA 6. Sean also took Bronze at the Eurilca European Masters Championship held in L’Escala, Spain.

Other notable achievements across the season included George member Judy O’Beirne, who took the Female Masters title at the ILCA Ireland Munsters and Masters Championship. Judy was also the leading lady locally this year winning the DMYC Frostbites and DBSC series in the female category. It was announced on the night that Judy will be taking over as local class captain in 2023. Hot on Judy’s heels for silverware in the Female category was Shirley Gilmore (winner of ILCA Ireland Ulsters and Leinsters) and Ali Robinson (winner of ILCA Ireland End of Season regatta).

In the ILCA 7, Dan O’Connell led the way with the most national and regional events. Dan won the ILCA Ireland National Championships in Tralee Bay Sailing Club in August. Other silverware on his sideboard this year include the ILCA Ireland Leinsters and End of Season events. Locally, Gavan Murphy scooped up most of the prizes having won the DMYC Frostbites, the DBSC series, the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R series, in addition to being the leading master at the ILCA Ireland Ulsters.

A special mention on the night went to the “Ones to Watch for 2023”, including Michael Norman (winner of the DBSC series and the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R) and Conor Clancy (winner of the DMYC frostbite series); both in the ILCA 6 category. Rachel Crowley, who recently graduated from the local “Kindergarten” for adult beginner sailors, won the MGM Boats Friday Night R&R series and many are expecting more silverware for her in 2023.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, outgoing class captain of the fleet locally, Brendan Hughes, said “We’ve had an epic season in 2022 with really great racing provided to us through the DBSC summer series, the DMYC frostbite series and the range of events hosted by the George and National Yacht clubs this year. In addition, we had the four local club regattas, so really there was an unparalleled opportunity to race in Dun Laoghaire this summer. A massive thanks goes out to everyone who made this possible.”

The local sailing community also demonstrated the true spirit of camaraderie this summer with the fundraising activities that took place for a Royal St. George Yacht Club member, Kevin Doyle, who was sadly injured while competing in a Laser earlier in the season. It was revealed at the award ceremony by Royal St. George Commodore Richard O’Connor that a total of €25,000 was raised through the combined efforts of the club and ILCA Ireland.

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch scored a 16th-39th-32nd dropping him to 32nd place overall in a light wind three race penultimate day of the ILCA/Laser European Championships in Hyeres, France.

Three more races were held today by all the fleets, with shifty and patchy 8-12 knots of breeze. There were many ups and downs that made the sailing conditions very tricky for all the 350 competitors, with significant changes in the standings.

"We just didn't find the right mode to get in front of the fleet at the beginning," commented Vasilij Zbogar, Lynch's Laser coach. "The truth is... I don't know; we were going so well before the event, but now we have different conditions.

"Finn mentally was prepared well and is feeling well. We're struggling a little bit for speed in these conditions for the set-up we have could be a little bit better."

Zbogar, a triple Olympic medallist, pointed to Lynch's improved performance in the upper wind range earlier in the week, calling it a "huge step forward." Normally, the Rio veteran would be expected to perform well in the conditions of the past two days.

"I'm not feeling great - I need to be doing better," Finn Lynch said after racing ended. "There is a lot of luck involved in these conditions, but I need to be better so that I can afford to have bad luck."

For the remaining two races, Lynch will be aiming to finish on a high with individual best results though both the podium and, most likely, the top ten are beyond his reach.

It was not a good day for the overnight leader and reigning 2021 Senior European champion Michael Beckett GBR (22-25-2), losing the top spot for the first time in the event. He’s now in second place but only 2 points behind the new leader Pavlos Kontides CYP (4-3-1), who’s counting 32.

Finland’s Kaarle Tapper FIN (5-23-3) is now third with 50. 7 points after him is Jonatan Vadnai HUN (8-18-17) on fourth.

Lorenzo Chiavarini ITA (6-17-13) and Sam Whaley GBR (24-6-10) are tied in 66 points on places fifth and sixth.

Provisional ILCA 7 European Top 10 after 10 races:

1. Pavlos Kontides CYP 32
2. Michael Beckett GBR 34
3. Kaarle Tapper FIN 50
4. Jonatan Vadnai HUN 57
5. Lorenzo Chiavarini ITA 66
6. Sam Whaley GBR 66
7. Niels Broekhuizen NED 72
8. Tonci Stipanovic CRO 74
9. Hermann Tomasgaard NOR 75
10. Jean Baptiste Bernaz FRA 85

Download results below

The HYC Dinghy Frostbites kicked off its 2022/2023 season in perfect conditions on Sunday, with 40 boats entered, blue skies, and a warm southerly breeze putting on a special show of benevolence for the first of the planned 18 weekends of dinghy racing writes Conor Murphy.

The regulars welcomed newcomers from all over Dublin and further afield.

Also joining the fleet were some long-time HYC members - lately more used to keels and crew delegation - who have swapped their usual chariots to experience hiking pads, toe-straps, and the challenges of verticality - welcome to Colin and Ronan. The 22/23 series is a first for the long-running event in that a PY class is competing alongside the traditional Laser/ILCA competitors.

Racing kicked off after a slight delay, due to the shifting southerly breeze coming over the Head. A highly qualified team of Neil Murphy, Richard Kissane, and Liam Dineen started all the Classes together. The strong ebb tide, and an excess of enthusiasm by some to bag a front-row spot, saw the fleet immediately earn the first General Recall of the winter. A successful restart under the U flag sent the fleet on their triangular course.

Due to some challenges in finding the gybe mark (or at least the correct one from the selection available) in the rougher water of the Sound, a windward-leeward course was set for the second race, which got away cleanly on the first attempt.

Competition is tight across all ILCA fleets, with 4 of the top 5 Irish-ranked sailors competing in the ILCA 7 fleet. The 7s saw very close racing with multiple lead changes throughout both races, as each sailor sought the best breeze and least tide on a challenging race track.

Series regulars Ronan Wallace of Wexford (1, 2) and Daragh Kelleher of Skerries (3, 1) lead the fleet, followed by event newcomer Rory Lynch (2, 3). A special shout-out goes to Conor Costello for finishing the first race before accepting defeat and acknowledging that the bung is definitely a critical piece of equipment and best fixed in the transom
before going afloat - he thankfully made it back to the Club before going into full submarine mode.

The ILCA 6 fleet saw extra competition this year, with two Dun Laoghaire Masters joining the fray. RStGYC’s Marco Sorgassi showed the fleet a clean pair of heels with two wins, showing good pace to keep up with a lot of the ILCA 7s. HYC’s Una Connell follows, leaving Hugh Delap and Fiachra Farrelly tied in 3rd.

A strong turnout in the ILCA 4s sees Howth’s Cillian Twomey leading the pack, with Ciara McMahon, Des Turvey, and Aisling Kelly trailing, only a point separating them.

The new PY fleet had a mix of participants and is being led by ex-ILCA 4 sailor Abby Kinsella in her RS Aero 6, winning convincingly over Aoibhinn Farrelly’s RS Feva and Hugo Micka’s Fireball. Competition is sure to ramp up over the coming weeks, with more RS Aeros already entered, as well as an RS800.

The series continues next week, and all dinghies from all clubs are welcome to take part in some of the best winter racing in the country.