East Antrim Boat Club in Larne were the host of the Optimist Ulster Championships last weekend.

75 sailors and their families were warmly welcomed by Jill Doig and Gordon Kane, event manager and their team of volunteers. The event was sponsored by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and Squall sailing. The sheltered waters of Larne were almost too sheltered on Saturday as the fleet had to wait for the wind to get going. In the main fleet, three starts were held with two races being completed.

Better wind arrived on Sunday with three races being completed in light to medium breezes. A family race office team of Richard Doig looked after the main fleet, and Gavin Doig looked after the regatta fleet.

With five of the top sailors in the fleet currently away at the World Championships in Spain, it offered the chance to see some new talent coming through. Waterford sailor Rory Whyte of WHSC topped the event. He had a tie break on 10 points with Royal St George sailor Max O’Hare. Rory with more first places than Max took the event trophy. Max’s Royal St George club mates; Conor Cronin, Juliet Ryan and Lily Donagh were 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively.

Some of the competitors at the Optimist Ulster Championships at East Antrim Boat Club  Photo: Sue Patterson

In Junior main, Maeve Donagh of the Royal St George was the winner with all first places. Patrick Fegan – Malahide Yacht Club, Basile Dion – National Yacht Club, Tomas A Coistealbha – Malahide Yacht Club and Eoin Pierse of Royal Cork Yacht Club rounded out the top 5.

Regatta Racing, a very important fleet to IODAI, allows the younger and less experienced sailors to hone their skills on shorter courses closer to land. With six races held, the National Yacht Club’s Louis Trickett pipped overnight leader the Royal St George sailor Jessica Walsh, to take the event win. Malahide sailor Arthur Fegan was 3rd with Josephine Dion – National Yacht Club and Zoe O’Hare – Royal St George Yacht Club coming home in 4th and 5th place. IODAI Coach Adam Walsh was on hand to help this fleet refine their racing and prepare them to have fun, learn and give their best.

The Regatta Coached fleet looks after the newest and youngest sailors in the fleet, with the reassuring presence of coaches on the water and land to help them learn racing skills. The 8 sailors in this group were all winners, many competing in their first regatta. Coach Sophie Gorman was delighted how all sailed and we look forward to seeing them all at future events. EABC Commodore Lucy Whitford commented on how positive and supportive the class is.

The fleet travels to Dunmore East next for the Munsters hosted by Waterford Harbour Sailing Club on July 1st and 2nd. A big reminder to all sailors to register for the Nationals as well – the event is now open on the website www.iodai.com

Full results below 

Spare a thought for PRO Michael Tyrell and his team, who had to wait until Sunday afternoon to deliver three races so that the Optimist Leinster could have a championship, writes Brendan Foley of the IODAI.

After waiting in vain for wind on Saturday, thankfully, on Sunday, a weak easterly breeze was enough to get racing and complete three races, thereby constituting a championship.

The Leinsters hosted by the National Yacht Club were supported by sponsors Viking Marine, Keorgh’s Pop Corn, Craftinsure and 1 Minute 40.

133 sailors competed, 44 in the main fleet senior, 35 in the main fleet junior, 39 in regatta racing and 15 in the regatta coached. For many sailors, this was their first Optimist event, and the gentle conditions meant singing, paddling and chatting to friends was as much a part of the weekend as racing.

The younger fleets of Racing Regatta and Coached Regatta were based in the harbour and had some success with a few races completed on Saturday and a full complement on Sunday. The short sail to the race area and lack of current in the harbour allowed for some great racing. Regatta Racing was won by Louis Trickett of the host club, and Regatta Coaching won by Tom Fitzgerald of the Royal St George. The top 5 in each fleet were;

Regatta Racing
1st Louis Trickett
2nd Kate Kovtun
3rd Arthur Fegan
4th Jackson Clark
5th Brendan Hughes

Regatta Coaching
1st Tom Fitzgerald (Most improved)
2nd Catherine Walsh (Sportsmanship)
3rd James Keating
Best youngest Sailor Freddie Hoefler
Most determined Alannah Wheelan
Best local sailor Charles Richard

The main fleet who raced in Seapoint Bay had to wait until Sunday afternoon for three races, with light weather ace Harry Dunne of Howth pipping Caoilin Geraghty McDonnell for the championship win in Senior Gold. Gemma Brady, Conor Cronin and Carolina Carra completed the top 5.

Senior Gold
1 Harry Dunne
2 Caoillin Geraghty
3 Gemma Brady
4 Conor Cronin
5 Carolina Carra

In Senior Silver it was Kate Spain who led the way.

Senior Silver
1 Kate Spain
2 Niamh Baynes
3 Jonathan Dempsey
4 Nathan Harris
5 Aoife McEligott

Senior Bronze
1 James Crawford
2 Kate Doolan
3 Nathan Rothl
4 Will Cullen
5 Tom Darcy 

The junior fleet for sailors under Oppie age of 13 saw a 1, 2, for sisters Maeve and Emily Donagh with Patrick Fegan coming home in 3rd place.

Junior Gold
1 Maeve Donagh
2 Emily Donagh
3 Patrick Fegan

Junior Silver
1 Basile Dion
2 Thomas Coistealbha
3 Abigail O'Sullivan
4 Eoin Pierse

Junior Bronze
1 Jacob Browne
2 Isaac Vaughan
3 Angus Huang
4 Charlie McKibben
5 Holly Cantwell

In very tricky conditions, a huge thanks are owed to the Flore and Aileen class captains at the National Yacht Club and to the race officers and volunteers that made the event a success.

Lough Ree Yacht Club were host to the fun, friendships and team-building experience by the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI) Development Squad and the U12 team last weekend when the teams came together for the first time to train, writes Brendan Foley of the IODAI

Two great days of sailing commenced with light winds and sunshine on Saturday before returning to shore for our very own battle of the provinces in a rugby match on the lawn of Lough Ree YC whilst the BBQ was prepared. The Development Squad were presented with their Team Gear by Head Coach Adam Walsh, with a special thanks to sponsor Grant Thornton. The U12 Team were presented with their Team Gear by their Head Coach, Frances Corkery, who will travel with the U12 Team to Weymouth in August for the British Optimist Nationals.

The IODAI Development Squad includes Oliver Ryan, Dylan O’Sullivan, Aurèle Dion, Charlie McKibben, Senan Rowan, Aisling Cronin, Rossa Mitchell Ward, Louie Murphy, Niamh Baynes, Kate Byrne, Judith Boyd, Ella Manion, Jack Doolan, Aoife McElligott, Sarah McLoughlin, Penny Doig, Amy Shelley, Angus Huang, Amy O’Halloran, Jack O’Halloran, Isaac Vaughan, Blake Vaughan, Patrick McNaughton, Alex Butcher  Photo: IODAI

Sunday saw stronger winds on the lough and an opportunity for this promising group of keen sailors to test their skills and continue improving their technique under their coaches' watchful eye. Following the debriefing, cars, boats, trailers, tents & campervans were all packed up along with tired sailors, all eagerly anticipating the first event of the season next weekend in Dun Laoghaire, the Leinsters hosted in the National Yacht Club. Whilst the weekend was a tremendous success and will no doubt provide lasting memories for the new friendships formed, supporting sailors at this early stage of their journey secures the future of the class.

Development Squad
Oliver Ryan, Dylan O’Sullivan, Aurèle Dion, Charlie McKibben, Senan Rowan, Aisling Cronin, Rossa Mitchell Ward, Louie Murphy, Niamh Baynes, Kate Byrne, Judith Boyd, Ella Manion, Jack Doolan, Aoife McElligott, Sarah McLoughlin, Penny Doig, Amy Shelley, Angus Huang, Amy O’Halloran, Jack O’Halloran, Isaac Vaughan, Blake Vaughan, Patrick McNaughton, Alex Butcher.

U12 Team
Abigail O’Sullivan, Tara Hayes, Basile Dion, Eoin Pierse, Emily Donagh, Maeve Donagh, Tomás A Coistealbha, Hugo Breen, Holly Cantwell, Donnchadh Duane, Clara McElligott, Lucy Scott, Patrick Fegan.

2023 got off to an 'optimistic' start at the Youth Nationals at Easter. Much has already been written about the Howth Yacht Club event last weekend, and the largest fleet with the youngest sailors that saw Optimists produce some thrilling racing over four days.

Forty-three of the more experienced sailors of the class took to the water representing their clubs from throughout the country.

The event yielded ten races in a variety of conditions that tested all the sailors. Fickle light winds, 180-degree shifts, yellow flags, squalls and strong tides pushed the sailors hard, with most having to discard some high-scoring races.

The fact that Race Officer (PRO) David Lovegrove got a 10th race in was hugely significant as it allowed a second discard to come into play. There were very few protests and the atmosphere, as noted by the PRO, between the sailors, was very supportive and positive.

In the end, the following sailors accepted places on the IODAI teams;

IRISH OPTIMIST WORLDS TEAM 2023

• Harry Dunne HYC/NYC
• Caoilinn Geraghty McDonald RstGYC
• Andrew O’Neill RCYC
• Gemma Brady NYC/LDYC
• Jules Start RstGYC

IRISH OPTIMIST EUROPEANS TEAM 2023

• Conor Cronin RstGYC
• Abby Murphy RstGYC
• Maeve Donagh RstGYC
• Max O’Hare RstGYC
• Jude Hynes Knight TBSC
• Rory Whyte RCYC/WHSC
• Carolina Carra RstGYC

IRISH OPTIMIST DEVELOPMENT TEAM 2023

• Dougie Venner RCYC
• Emily Donagh RstGYC
• Kate Spain HYC
• Louise Hanley NYC
• Anabelle Wilson KYC
• James Gorman NYC
• Finn Foley RstGYC
• Patrick Fegan MYC/RstGYC

Marcus Shelley of the RstGYC qualified for the IDT but was unable to take up his place. Unfortunately, Juliet Ryan of the same club was also on target for a team but had to pull out on the last day due to illness.

The teams will now start training in earnest to compete at the various events. The World Team are coached by Denis Passke of Denmark and will be sailing their championship in Costa Brava, Spain, from the 15th-25th of July.

The Europeans Team is coached by Soren Laugesen, also of Denmark; they will sail in Thessaloniki, Greece, from the 15th to the 22nd of July.

The Irish Development Team is coached by Tomas Chaix of France and Ireland, who will bring his charges to Perros Guirec in France from the 15th to the 21st of July for the Coupe Internationale d’été Optimist.

The International Optimist Dinghy Association Ireland (IODAI) represents Irish Optimist Sailors aged 15 and under.

The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association will continue with its coaching arrangements in 2023, IODAI President Paddy Ryan has confirmed.

Dennis Paaske, Soren Laugesen and Thomas Chaix will resume their roles from the successful National Training Week on Lough Derg last November.

Paaske will lead the Irish Optimist Worlds Team to Spain, Laugesen the European Team to Greece and Chaix leads the development team to France.

Ryan will host an information session on the 20th of March at 8 pm on the Youth Sailing Nationals at Howth in April and International Teams 2023 that includes how the team selection process will work.

IODAI Communications Officer Brendan Foley reports on a recent Optimist dinghy class survey

What do Junior sailors and their families want from Oppie sailing? That was the key question that IODAI, the organising body for Optimist sailing in Ireland, wished to find out from their members. All members were sent a link to a survey, and 66 families responded.

Many interesting insights arose, which are outlined here;

• The average number of sailors per family is 2.
• 69% of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with IODAI – only 1% were somewhat dissatisfied.

• When asked, “what do you like most about sailing an optimist ?” the overwhelming theme was friendship and fun followed by racing.
• From a parents' perspective, they appreciated the confidence building, family focus and independence that the class offers.
• When asked about what changes members would like to see, three main themes arose;

• More support at events.
• Have more regional training options.
• Make team racing part of IODAI events.

From a pathway in sailing perspective, IODAI were keen to understand what classes people would sail after leaving Optimists;

• The Mirror was not included in the list, but in “other”, three people indicated that as their next boat.
• ILCA 4, RS Feva and team racing were the most popular next boats for most sailors.

The final question was an open-field option to give any feedback that people wished to the committee. While it was clear there is a need to try to manage costs, vary venues and communicate these early, thankfully, the key takeaway here was, “You are doing a great job – keep it up”.

The newly formed IODAI Committee have already acted on some of the feedback and is committed to keeping an open dialogue with members to ensure the class can work for all. Our operating principle is to focus on the 80% rather than the top 20%, to continually encourage participation and create sailors for life.

The membership of the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI) met through Zoom for their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday the 13th of December 2022.

With an outgoing President and three senior committee members, there was much change but firstly, Alex Walsh looked back at the past year and the overall achievements of the committee throughout its tenure.

It has been a busy twelve months and the class has grown from strength to strength. Event participation has grown by over 50% and with a spread of events nationally, this has seen general uplift in the class from around the Country. Initiatives such as the Racing Regatta Fleet and Development Squad and the very successful National Training Week have helped underpin this growth. Darragh Brady was roundly acknowledged for his significant contribution to the great success of the National Training Week.

A rundown of the events from 2022 by the Events Co-Ordinator Tom Mapplebeck painted a healthy picture of a class that built participation with each event. Aligned with that was the strong volunteer base the class and host clubs benefit from.
Honorary Treasurer, Dominic Byrne outlined the finances from the published accounts for 2021 and set out the income and expenditure for 2022. While the association is in a healthy financial position, like all clubs and associations, there was some tempering in expectation given the overall increases in costs which are likely to arise in the coming years.

Alex Walsh thanked the current committee for their hard work and dedication to the association and class. In this regard, he specifically acknowledged Tom Mappleback, John Scott and Derek Moynan who were all stepping down. Alex also acknowledged the work done by Aidan Staunton and Roger Conan as directors who stepped down. In their place, Andrew Crosbie and Alex Walsh were elected as directors to support Christina Arigho, who remained as a director. Before concluding, he gave ‘a very strong endorsement of the incoming committee who have great passion and drive for the Association and the IODAI is in very good hands going forward lead by Paddy Ryan’

A new Committee was then elected to ratify the appointments of Darragh Brady, Neil Spain and Steve O’Sullivan and identifying the roles of the various members within the group.

Newly elected President, Paddy Ryan first spoke to the tenure of the outing committee and specifically in relation to the hard work, dedication and commitment of Alex Walsh. Paddy said that ‘In any period, the work done by Alex would have been acknowledged as been significant but with the additional complications of Covid-19 his contribution to the association and class was simply immense’.

Paddy then addressed the membership with regards to the continuity which the new committee would work to and also what it hoped to achieve in the following year. Highlighting that it was important to continue to build on the strengths of previous committees and maintaining good governance, a health spread of high quality events around the country and to continue to support local club sailors, he also identified areas which would see the class continue its growth. After briefly touching upon the areas of sportsmanship, fair sailing, team racing, performance training and pathways and well as the development of sailors for life while continuing to make the class welcoming and appealing to all, the meeting was closed.

With Ballyholme Yacht Club now secured as hosts for the National Championships in August 2023 certainly sounds like it is going to be an interesting and exciting year for the class.

The Committee for 2023 is as follows;

• President Paddy Ryan (MYC)
• Vice-President Ross Gorman (NYC)
• Hon. Secretary Ian Venner (RCYC)
• Hon. Treasurer Dominic Byrne (LRYC)
• Teams Stephen O’Sullivan (RCYC)
• Communications Officer Brendan Foley (RStGYC)
• Events Officers Flore Dion (NYC)
• Neil Spain (HYC)
• Training & Development Darragh Brady (LDYC)
• Sailor Progression Gill Doig (EABSC)

Paddy Ryan has been involved with IODAI committee since 2020 and is an active member of Malahide Yacht Club, the Royal St. George and Howth Yacht Club. He has two children in the Optimist fleet and races regularly himself. He can be contacted at [email protected]

You’ll never forget the first time you drive into the Weymouth and Portland RYA Sailing Academy sailing base. It’s massive, writes Brendan Foley of the IODAI.

The venue for the London Olympics in 2012 is simply stunning. Its sheer scale and continuous slipway can see 300 boats launch at the same time to sail in the sheltered waters of the bay.

It’s the home for the Optimist British National Championships in 2023, running from the 5th-11th of August, which will see IODAI send a team of Under 12 sailors. The British National Championships go to Weymouth every second year and in many ways, it’s like a European Championship with teams from all over Europe coming to compete.

The venue has a unique feature in Chesil beach made up of 180 billion pebbles and, interestingly, is shaped like an aeroplane wing which accelerates the wind from the West into Weymouth Bay, creating stronger breezes even in Summer. Due to these conditions, you’ll also see the amazing foiling IQ Windsurfers training there for the Olympics.

Frances Corkery of Kinsale and RCYC is the team coach. The squad will train in Lough Ree on the 13th & 14th of May 2023, with the focus on team connection and developing skills together. This team is selected based on the end-of-year ranking and is made up of sailors who are Optimists age 12 or younger in the year they travel with the team.

It will be an exciting trip and the first overseas for many sailors. Apart from the team, a large contingent of older Irish Oppie kids and their families are expected to travel to the competition and renew friendships with UK sailors who visited the Irish Nationals at the Royal St George this year.

The Irish Optimist team for Weymouth 2023 is;

Now in its second year running the National Training Week for Optimists provides an end-of-season opportunity for sailors to get together to learn from fantastic coaches. Hosted by Lough Derg Yacht Club, the event was a huge success. Running from the 2nd to the 5th of November, wintery weather was to be expected. Wednesday greeted the sailors with 30-40 knots. Luckily Lough Derg offers some shelter even in these winds and a small group of sailors went out for a blast. Once downwind, the oppies were airborne, planning from wave to wave and massive smiles all around. The younger sailors did theory and games ashore. 

Thursday and Friday were mild with light winds and even sunshine, helping the 136 sailors to get great roll tacking and light wind sailing in. Led by a trio of International coaches Thomas Chaix, Soren Laugeussen and Denis Passke, the fleet gained new skills and were supported by excellent young and upcoming Irish coaches. It was also a chance for the newly formed Development Squad led by Peter McCann to meet up for the first time and also the u12 Team that will travel to the British Nationals in Waymouth next year with the their lead coach Frances Corkery. Finn Walker and Cillian Madigan led the Regatta Fleet coaching and racing fleets, where sailors as young as 7 met new friends and sailed in perfect lake conditions.

National Training Week had a wide ranging questions and answers sessions on all things Optimist

A disco on the Thursday night and sit-down meal had a great family vibe with a congo snake of parents and sailors at one stage stretching the whole way around the yacht club building. Dargah Brady the event organiser’s hotelier background ensuring that people were well fed.

While the senior and junior fleets were learning more advanced sailing, the youngest sailors in the regatta fleet were in amazement each day as the water levels rose in the lake, eventually submerging the piers. Everyday they had to move their boats further back from the shore. The locals told the coastal sea sailors not to worry – that the clubhouse had not flooded in 200 years! The humour and can do attitude of the LDYC volunteers helped make the week a great success. The event would have generated significant income for the club, the local restaurants and accommodation providers at a quiet time of year. To run an event like this is a big undertaking, but thankfully, Grant Thornton (Mick Shelley) CH Marine (Nick Bendon), Dinghy Performance (Thomas Chaix) and 4orm Apparel Ltd contributed as sponsors.

‘a smooth sea never made a sailor’- research is showing that the ability to handle adversity is one of the core traits for sporting success

The training week ended with prize giving where coveted coaches beanies where presented to those sailors that stood out for their efforts during the week and also in recognition to sailors that had shown great sportsmanship, a topic which was at the core of the coaching program. The overall coaches award was presented to Kate Spain (HYC) who had embraced the week and excelled on and off the water. The prizegiving was followed by an ‘in-it-to-win-it’ draw, a highlight for many of the kids as the top prize was a new Olympic Optimist sail provided by Tomas Chaix.

Some of the attendees at Optimist National Training Week at Lough Ree

The sailors got to practice what they learned over the week, with Saturday being the regatta day. 4 races were held in light conditions for both the regatta fleet and the main fleet. Junior Main and Senior Main raced together (they are normally separate), giving the Juniors a chance to have a go at the Seniors! Race officers John Leech and Liam Moloney did a super job providing a fitting positive end to a great week of friendship, learning and family fun. Both the National Training Week trophy and President’s Prize was won by Lily Donagh (LDYC), with another local sailor, Aoife McElligott, winning the long-standing Crosbie Cup

The National Training Week 2023 will be hosted by RCYC in Crosshaven during the Halloween mid-term break.

Results of the Crosbie Cup and National Training Week Regatta below;

Oppie sailors took to Galway Bay at the weekend for the resumed Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) annual regatta.

Challenging conditions off An Spidéal the previous weekend had restricted racing to the mixed fleet of 420, Laser, Pico and Topaz dinghies, and freshening winds forced an early finish on safety grounds.

Lighter winds on Sunday (October 23) and a rare absence of rain after a week of broken weather and heavy showers allowed the club’s Oppie fleet to launch for a series of three races set by officer of the day Stephen O’Gorman and commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle.

The winner in the Oppie fleet was Liam Riggott, and Padraic Halliday, also of CSS, took second place.

Seán Ó Conghaíle took third, and Sarah MacAodha finished in fourth place.

Participation by Picos has also been cancelled on safety grounds the previous week. CSS sailing duo Sarah Donald and Rory McHale were presented with the overall Pico trophy for their participation.

CSS regatta 2022 Oppie fleet winner Liam Riggot with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle Photo: Jamie Donald

CSS regatta 2022- Padraic Halliday took second place in Oppies with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle Photo: Jamie Donald

CSS regatta 2022 third place winner Seán Ó Conghaíle with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle Photo: Jamie Donald

CSS regatta 2022 - Oppie sailor Sarah MacAodha who took fourth place with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle Photo: Jamie Donald