Howth Yacht Club boats have moved into the top ten of their respective events on the second day of French Olympic Week at Hyères on the Cote D'Azur, France, one of the last big regattas before the Olympic Games itself.

Eve McMahon Fifth

Both McMahon siblings from Howth Yacht Club fared well with Irish Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon now in fifth overall after her three opening races - Monday's racing for her women's single-person dinghy event (ILCA6 class) was cancelled due to difficult wind conditions.

"It's only the first day, but so far, it's very good, though it was very tricky - there's some wild results on the sheet, so I'm happy to keep my results low," said Eve McMahon. "I've done my time fighting at the back of the fleet and now I feel it's my time to be fighting at the front of the fleet - and I'm enjoying every single minute of it!"

Ewan McMahon Eighth

Her older brother Ewan had a mixed day in the men's single-person dinghy (ILCA7 class) with a 26th, which he was able to use the event discard to drop, so he counts Monday's ninth place, followed by a 13th for the second race of today.

Howth's Ewan McMahon lies eighth overall at French Olympic Week in Hyères with six more races scheduled Photo: Sailing Energy

"It's going well. I'm just keeping everything really simple, especially as it's so shifty out there with the breeze coming off the land," said Ewan McMahon. In a 70-boat fleet with a lot of guys to consider, executing the start is about 70 percent of the race, and then you switch your focus to the next leg ahead of you."

He now lies eighth overall in his event with six more races scheduled for the coming days.

Finn Lynch looking forward to Mistral conditions

Although Eve McMahon is confirmed as the nominee for Team Ireland at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Ewan McMahon lost out in the selection trials to Rio 2016 veteran Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club).

However, the Carlow sailor has been unable to find form so far this week after 55th and 46th places today saw him drop to 49th place overall in the 69-boat men's single-person dinghy event (ILCA7 class).

"I had a bad day on the water but I think we'll have three races tomorrow," said Lynch after racing ended. "We're expecting strong Mistral (wind) conditions so I'm looking forward to that.

"My speed is okay but with 70 boats on the starting line it’s all about strategy."

49er Trial

Meanwhile, Ireland has two boats contesting a selection trials to decide on the Team Ireland place for the Men's skiff event (49er class) with French Olympic Week the second of three events.

Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) competing at French Olympic Week at Hyères Photo: Sailing Energy

Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) had a solid day, with two top-ten places moving them into eighth overall in their event. Having held second place for most of the second race of the day, the Dublin pair were unlucky to miss a windshift and dropped back to eighth place.

"With two top tens from two races we're pretty happy," said Dickson after racing. "Some of the (training) work since Lanzarote (world championships) has paid off."

However, their rival Irish crew of Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) were unlucky in their second race of the day when the mainsail halyard broke and they scored maximum points.

The Cork pair have dropped to 24th place in the 30-boat fleet, though with potentially nine more races before Saturday's medal race final, they have scope to regain a foothold in the series.

Organisers of the annual French Olympic Week (SOF) are running two regattas concurrently, double the usual number of events with the 'Last Chance Regatta' to decide the 50 remaining nation places for Paris 2024 alongside the usual World Cup of Sailing series.

Results here

French Olympic Week kicked off on Monday, 22nd April 2024, at Hyères (Cote D'Azur). More than 800 sailors from 90 nations competed, including a full Irish squad just months before the Olympic regatta.

The week-long event is the last major competition before the Paris 2024 Games. At this 'Last Chance Regatta', 50 places for the Games across all ten Olympic events will be decided.

Ninth for Ewan McMahon in ILCA 7

While the top Olympic athletes are racing this week, the Irish team is competing in the ‘Qualified Nations’ series as all three Irish events have already qualified. Day 1 saw some impressive performances, with Ewan McMahon from Howth Yacht Club topping the Irish results with a ninth place in the men's single-handed event (ILCA7 class).

Finn Lynch from National Yacht Club took 20th place in the single race of the day, but this year's regatta has 70 contenders in its event with no qualification round for the Gold fleet. "It wasn't a disaster, but I would've preferred to have had a better race," Lynch said after racing. We have 70 boats, so strategy becomes very important—you can't be in the middle because you'll have 30 boats either side of you."

No racing for ILCA 6

Unfortunately, the women's single-handed event ended the day without a race due to "cold conditions", which means Ireland's Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) will have to wait until Tuesday for her first race as she plans her debut Olympic appearance in July.

Irish 49ers in action

The Irish men's skiff entry, secured last Autumn by Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club), is also competing in the French Olympic Week. The Dublin pair had a mixed day from their two races and lie 14th overall in their 30-boat event. Their rival contenders, Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club), also had mixed fortunes and ended the opening day in 20th place.

"It was a long day with big (wind) shifts and big wind range - it was very cold," commented Guilfoyle after racing. "We got caught out with the wrong set-up for the first race as we had 10 knots before the race started, but by the time we got into the race, it was over 20, so we just managed around the course. It was a bit unfortunate, but we've learned for the future. It’s going to be a long week, so no point focusing on results."

Racing will continue daily until Friday, with the top ten boats in each event advancing to a medal race final on Saturday. However, with the Last Chance regatta taking priority, racing for the 'Qualified Nations' sailors is likely to be delayed until the end of each day. The intention is to complete a minimum of six races for their respective series.

Full results from the Last Chance Regatta are available via the Semaine Olympique Française website.  

The Irish Laser Class Association (ILCA) has announced that its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held virtually on April 17th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be followed by a live Q&A session with the ILCA representatives who will be competing at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

The ILCA is the national governing body for Laser sailing in Ireland, and the AGM is an opportunity for members to discuss the association's progress and plans for the future. The meeting will cover a range of topics, including reports from the committee, financial updates, and proposed changes to the association's constitution.

After the AGM, Brendan Hughes, an experienced sailor and member of the ILCA, will host a live Q&A session with Finn Lynch and Eve McMahon, the two Irish Laser sailors who will be representing the country at the Paris Olympics.

Register in advance for this webinar below 

Click Here to Register

ILCA AGM Agenda 17th April 2024

More on the Irish efforts for the Paris Olympic sailing regatta here

Olympic ILCA 6 qualified Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club), the 2023 Irish Sailor of the Year, had the best result of the Irish Team at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, finishing 14th overall out of 114 boats after a 5th place finish on her final day of racing.

This marks significant progress for the 20-year-old Dublin sailor in her first full year of senior fleet sailing after qualifying for the Paris Olympics earlier this year at the ILCA 6 World Championships in Brazil.

Following some tricky conditions, Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) earned their first Gold Fleet position of the season in the 49er fleet. They went on to finish the event in 23rd in what turned out to be one of the better performances of their campaign so far.

The National Yacht Club’s Finn Lynch completed the regatta in 21st after a testing final day with his highest score of the regatta. Fellow ILCA 7 sailor Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) concluded his regatta by gaining nine places on his final day of sailing, jumping from 38th to 29th overnight.

Read more from the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma here and more on Eve McMahon here

On light-wind day four of the World Cup Series event at the 53 Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca, Irish competitors maintained their overall positions, with one day left to sail before the medal races on Saturday.

The light sea-breeze condition on the Bay Of Palma today proved especially testing for the giant fleet, and even many of the event leaders struggled to record consistently top finishes as the winds moved around in direction and pressure.

In the ILCA 7 men’s dinghy, after two general recalls, Britain’s Micky Beckett pushed too hard on the first start and landed a BFD [black flag disqualification]. However, his overall margin at the top of the Gold fleet is a very tidy 14 points over Germany’s past world champion Philipp Buhl.

Poised behind Buhl is Australian Olympic and world champion Matt Wearn, who is now 14 points behind the German. Buhl commented: "The winds were light and quite shifty, the wind strength pulsating, sometimes more, sometimes less, not rhythmic, difficult to predict. That's why I'm very happy with my results. On a day like today, there is about 30 to 40 per cent unpredictability. On normal days, it's more like 10 per cent. If you then manage to be alert and very focused you can determine the other 60 to 70 per cent."

The National Yacht Club's Paris-qualified Finn Lynch dropped moved up one to 14th after scoring a 21 and 26 in gold fleet races seven and eight.

Howth Yacht Club rival Ewan McMahon, who moved up from 40th to 26th on Wednesday, has dropped back to 38th.

ILCA 6

Australian Mara Stransky maintained her lead in the ILCA 6 women’s dinghy event, counting a 16th from the second race as Hungary’s European champion Maria Erdi proved the most consistent of the title contenders in another fleet which again saw many land one good result and one bad.

Ireland's Paris-qualified Eve McMahon of Howth Yacht Club has moved up two places overall to 20th.

49er

Poland’s Lukasz Przybytek and Jacek Piasecki made a vital move to the top of the 49er Skiff leaderboard. 

This regatta is a selection event for Poland’s Olympic team and Przybytek and Piasecki are strengthening their claim to the coveted Olympic ticket for Paris 2024 this summer. Ninth at Tokyo 2020, the duo are tied with Spain’s Diego Botín and Florian Trittel who were fourth at the last Games.

“Our race course was close to the shore and the left side paid all the time,” said Piasecki. “We got good starts and made four solid races. Last time here we just missed the Medal Race so this time we are aiming to make it, and then who knows? This and Hyères [Semaine Olympique Francaise] are our final trial events. We got a seventh at the Worlds but when it’s not based on points then it is always hard to say who will be selected.”

17, 20 scored by Royal Cork duo Seafra Guilfyole and Johnny Durcan moved them down one place to 25th overall. 

Over 1,100 sailors from 75 countries have arrived in the Bay of Palma, Mallorca, Spain for the 53rd edition of the Trofeo Princess Sofia, which is set to run from April 1 until April 6. Among the participants are Irish sailors aiming for the Paris Olympic Games later this year.

In the ILCA 7 class, the National Yacht Club’s Finn Lynch, who is selected for Paris, and Howth’s Ewan McMahon (no longer an 'independent' campaigner but back on the national squad) will be competing against the top sailors in their class, striving for a podium place and testing their skills ahead of the summer’s major regattas.

Meanwhile, recently crowned Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year 2023, Eve McMahon, will represent Ireland in the ILCA 6 class. McMahon, who finished fourth at the U21 ILCA European Championships in Pollensa, Spain, last week, will be up against a strong fleet that includes current world champion Anne Marie Rindom from Denmark.

The Royal Cork duo of Seáfra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, who are still in the running for the Irish berth in the 49er class for the Paris 2024 games, will be the only Irish 49er attending this event.

After spending their entire winter season training in Lanzarote, which has similar conditions to Palma, this regatta will serve as a good test for the pair. However, it is important to note that this World Cup will not stand as a test event for the Irish Olympic boat selection, led by Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove.

Both the men's and women's dinghies will have 10 races plus a medal race, while the men’s skiff will have 15 races plus a medal race.

A retiral in race nine of the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships dropped Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, off the podium. 

Just crowned Irish Sailor of the Year recovered four places overall but despite scoring a second in race ten missed the podium in today's final round of the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships in Mallorca.

The Irish girl, who will be Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, led the regatta most of the week, but a below-par performance on Thursday saw her relinquish her lead. 

The Howth Yacht Club sailor finished overall on 120 points in the 65-boat fleet.

Poland's  Lilly May Niezabitowska is the new 2024 ILCA 6 Under 21 European champion Photo: Thom Touw

Overnight leader Lilly May Niezabitowska POL was finally crowned the new 2024 ILCA 6 Under 21 European champion, showing a solid performance during the whole week. By finishing nineteenth today and staying ahead of her closest competitor, Emma Mattivi from Italy, she successfully secured the Gold medal.

Spanish sailor Claudia Adan Lledo ESP had a fantastic conclusion to the championship, claiming first place in today’s race and climbing from third to second to earn the Silver medal.

Top 10 European sailors – ILCA 6

1. Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 60 pt
2. Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 83 pt
3. Emma Mattivi ITA 95 pt
4. Eve McMahon IRL
5. Alina Shapovalova UKR
6. Alice Ruperto ITA
7. Ginevra Caracciolo ITA
8. Marga Perello ESP
9. Pia Conradi GER
10. Alenka Valencic SLO

Howth sailor Eve McMahon won the prestigious Irish Sailor of the Year, presented by Afloat Magazine this evening, Friday 22 March, at the Irish Sailing Awards in Howth Yacht Club, Co. Dublin.

Former Irish Sailing Youth Sailor Awardee Eve was nominated following a phenomenal 2023, which saw her progress from junior to senior competition, and she won the under-21 World Championships in Tangiers, Morocco.

Eve McMahon will join Finn Lynch at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer, with the 49er team still to be decided.

The Irish Sailing Youth Sailor of the Year Award went to Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain of the Royal Cork Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, respectively. Ben and Ethan are current 29er European champions and secured the bronze medal at the Youth Sailing World Championships. They are also the Irish National champions and brought home a silver medal at the British Nationals.

CEO of Irish Sailing, Tim Bourke, said, “We are thrilled to have such a wealth of talent represented and celebrated here tonight. Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon’s hugely successful progression from youth to adult sailor is an encouraging reflection of Irish Sailing athlete development and, when you couple that with the amazing achievements of Youth Sailors Ben and Ethan, it gives us a lot to be hopeful about for both this summer and the future of Irish Sailing on the international stage. We are also delighted to have another ten awards representing commitment and success across the many activities of our sport and the recognition of all nominees from the sailing community in these awards is something we can all be proud of.”

Galway Bay Sailing Club took home the popular Irish Sailing Club of the Year award, having been nominated as the winner of the West Region. The two other nominees were Howth Yacht Club (East Region winners) and Bantry Sailing Club (winner of the South Region).

Catherine O’Brien of Dungarvan Harbour Sailing Club won the Irish Sailing Cruise of the Year for her inspirational approach to taking up the sport of sailing.

Leonie Conway from Sailing into Wellness won the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award for her work on programmes that catered nationwide to those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Volunteer of the Year went to Aisling Gillen of Sligo Yacht Club and Senior Instructor of the Year Award went to Sophie Crosbie of Royal Cork Yacht Club.

This year’s Awards included three new categories – Class of the Year won by Irish Laser Class Association, Secondary School of the Year was won by St Andrew’s College in Dublin whose sailing programmes puts up to 250 student sailors on the water annually and the Woman on the Water Award won by Aideen Kilkelly of the Galway Hookers Sailing Club.

The Irish Sailing Training Centre of the Year Award went to Irish Offshore Sailing for their programme of offshore races such as The Round Ireland race, The Fastnet Race and The Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race.

The Irish Sailing President’s Award was given to Ailbe Millerick and Eunice Kennedy for their lifetime contribution to the development of Team Racing in Ireland at both school and university level.

Full list of winners at the 2023 Irish Sailing Awards, 22 March 2024

Irish Youth Sailor of the Year
Ben O’Shaughnessy & Ethan Spain, Royal Cork Yacht Club & National Yacht Club

Irish Sailing Cruiser of the Year
Catherine O’Brien, Dungarvan Harbour Sailing Club

Irish Sailing Training Centre of the Year
Irish Offshore Sailing

Irish Sailing Senior Instructor of the Year
Sophie Crosbie, Royal Cork Yacht Club

Irish Sailing Class of the Year
International Laser Class Association

Irish Sailing Volunteer of the Year
Aisling Gillen, Sligo Yacht Club

Irish Sailing Secondary School of the Year
St Andrew’s College, Dublin

Irish Sailing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award
Leonie Conway, Sailing into Wellness

Irish Sailing Club of the Year
Galway Bay Sailing Club

Woman on the Water Award
Aideen Kilkelly, Galway Hookers Sailing Club

Irish Sailor of the Year presented in association with Afloat Magazine
Eve McMahon, Howth Yacht Club

Irish Sailing President’s Award
Ailbe Millerick & Eunice Kennedy

A retiral in race nine of the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships dropped Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, off the podium in Mallorca this afternoon.

The Irish girl led the regatta most of the week, but a below-par performance on Thursday saw her relinquish her lead. 

The Howth Yacht Club sailor is lying eighth overall on 120 points in the 65-boat fleet, with the final race to sail on Saturday.

The day started with a two hours postponement onshore due to lack of wind. Sailors were only called to the water for their first race of the day at 13:10, with a 10-knot breeze blowing from the East.

All three fleets had a clear start and commenced racing consecutively. However, the breeze gradually diminished, leading the Race Committee to shorten the course. Only the ILCA 6 fleet completed the original course, with the first boat crossing the finish line after 59 minutes.

Polish sailor Lilly May Niezabitowska continues to show a solid performance. She further extended the lead over her nearest rival by finishing eighth today in the single race.

As the competition enters its final day on Saturday, she now holds 41 points, a significant 31 points fewer than the second-placed Emma Mattivi ITA from Italy.

Spanish sailor Claudia Adan Lledo ESP is also well-placed for the final day with 82 points and benefiting from a lower discard (30 points compared to Emma’s 45 or Lilly’s 38).

Alice Ruperto ITA (2nd today) and Marga Perello ESP complete the provisional Top 5 with 97 and 99 points, respectively.

European Top 10 after 9 races

Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 41 pt
Emma Mattivi ITA 72 pt
Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 82 pt
Alice Ruperto ITA 97 pt
Marga Perello ESP 99 pt
Ginevra Caracciolo ITA 109 pt
Alina Shapovalova UKR 111 pt
Eve McMahon IRL 120 pt
Pia Conradi GER 122 pt
Linda Dokoupilova CZE 127 pt

Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon (47-33-12), relinquished her lead in the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after eight races sailed in Mallorca on Thursday after maintaining the top position since the start of the regatta.

A below par performance in the afternoon races pushed the Howth Yacht Club sailor down to third place with 72 points in the 65-boat fleet. The new leader is Polish sailor Lilly May Niezabitowska POL (5-2-38) with 33 points, precisely half of the total points held by her closest competitor, Emma Mattivi ITA (44-6-1), who now sits in second place.

Spanish representatives Claudia Adan Lledo ESP (10-7-30) and Marga Perello ESP (24-50-13) complete the top 5 with 75 and 80 points respectively.

Winds fluctuating between 7 to 12 knots facilitated the addition of three new races across all three fleets, bringing the total to eight.

The day witnessed a mix of highs and lows within the fleets, resulting in some shifts at the top of the championship standings.

As the competition enters its final day on Saturday, the current provisional leaders stand as follows:

European Top 10 after eight races

1. Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 33 pt
2. Emma Mattivi ITA 66 pt
3. Eve McMahon IRL 72 pt
4. Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 31 pt
5. Marga Perello ESP 25 pt
6. Alice Ruperto ITA 95 pt
7. Ginevra Caracciolo ITA 96 pt
8. Alina Shapovalova UKR 99 pt
9. Irene de Tomas Perello ESP 103 pt
10. Pia Conradi GER 107 pt