#sailability – On the 26th June four sailing cruisers from Lough Foyle will set off from Greencastle in Donegal on a round trip passage of Ireland stopping at each Sailability Club around the coastline of Ireland. This is to promote Sailability - sailing for disabled people in Ireland. Sailability Ireland is the new name for the Irish Disabled Sailing Association (IDSA) which was established in 1980 to introduce and encourage people of all ages with disabilities to take up sailing. Thirty years later, Sailability Ireland members are involved in all levels of the sport, from regular club racing, through international championship, to Paralympic Campaigns.

The cruisers will arrive in Dun Laoghaire for the day on Monday 29th June where they will be hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Sailability. D/L Sailability run a very successful programme of courses for disabled children throughout the Summer. 35-40 children are involved in the sailing thanks to the support of the four waterfront clubs, the Royal St. George, the National, the Royal Irish and the DMYC, as well as their instructors and volunteers.

To mark the occasion Sailability sailors from Dun Laoghaire will meet the Lough Foyle Crews for a BBQ at the Royal St. George and then head off in local cruisers at 6pm and accompany the Lough Foyle as far as Dalkey Island or perhaps Killiney Bay as they head towards the next port of call Kinsale.

Sailing for disabled people in Ireland has blossomed over the last few years and there are now centres in all provinces in Ireland. In Dun Laoghaire the programme started 6 years ago and has grown every year to the extent that all of the events this season are full, from the regular Sunday morning sailing to the week courses in June and August .

This year the Royal Irish are hosting the Presidents Cup an all-Ireland competition for disabled sailors with a team from each Province competing in 4 different types of boats. the event will be held in Dun Laoghaire harbour on 22nd and 23rd August

#optimist – Optimist dinghy ace Micheal O'Suilleabhain of Kinsale Yacht Club took a well earned win on home waters yesterday with a ten–point margin in the senior fleet after six races sailed at the Munster championships. The 13–year–old beat the Royal St. George's Tom Higgins with Howth Yacht Club's Jamie McMahon third in the 41–boat main fleet. In the junior fleet 12-year–old Robert Keal beat club mate Harry Twomey in a one–two for Royal Cork Yacht Club. Results for both fleets are available to down laod below as jpeg files.

The Optimist Munsters had an excellent entry of 36 boats in the Regatta fleet, all very enthusiastic and rearing to go in the excellent conditions prevailing on Saturday. They sailed against the magnificent backdrop of Charlesfort and, with the promise of more wind for Sunday, the Race Officer got in four races on the day. The very active youngsters came ashore tired but vey satisfied with their day and looking forward to enjoying some time in Kinsale but aware of the fact they had to be rigged and ready to go to sea at 9.30am on Sunday. 

Following all this activity the young competitors set about tidying and packing away their gear in preparation for the journey home. The Regatta prizegiving was held separately from the Senior and Junior fleets. Some of the regatta sailors and their families were then able to leave early for the journey home to various parts of the country with a large contingent heading for Dublin.

Others had older brothers and sisters sailing in the two higher fleets and they were able to enjoy themselves around the club facilities while waiting for the second prize giving to finish.

#dlhc – Royal St. George Yacht Club Commodore Justin McKenna has resigned as a board member of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company (DLHC) with immediate effect. 

McKenna told members of his decision at a meeting of the country's biggest sailing club last Friday. The meeting was held to discuss controversial DLHC proposals on the new cruise liner berthing arrangements inside the harbour that has drawn the ire of many Dun Laoghaire sailors.

The Minister of Sport appointed McKenna to the Harbour Company Board  in March 2014, as Afloat.ie reported at the time. 

As the Irish Times reported last Friday there is growing dissatisfaction among 5,000 sailing and boating fans over proposals that, say objectors, will curtail sailing inside the harbour walls.

Royal St. George members have been urged to let their views be known on the 435–metre long quay to be built next to their clubhouse. The club also wants individual sailing classes to make submissions.

It follows an online petition set up by sailors that has attracted 1500 signatures to save 'Dun Laoghaire dinghy sailing' 

Friday's meeting was followed by an open session for Royal St. George members. An 'abbreviated version' of the points raised has appeared on club facebook page as follows:

• The councillors should be advised that the city of Venice is considering banning all big cruise liners because they are causing untold damage to the fabric of the city. The income from these liners is valued at 10c per passenger

• Cruise ships are good for Dun Laoghaire, anchored in the bay and we welcome SMALL ships in the harbour.

• Each sailing class should make a submission and encourage submissions

• The economic benefit to Dun Laoghaire is not good from the passenger perspective. There will be initial public interest. However, this will fall off over time as people become bored with them

• The only beneficiaries will be the coach tour operators

• Some basic calculations would indicate that it will take + 100 yrs. to recover the construction cost

• The Dublin Port proposal is in direct competition yet it is only a few miles away.

• The consultation period closes next Monday and it is important that the club advises members to object to the planning board a.s.a.p.

• Dun Laoghaire is the major centre for youth training on the island of Ireland. This proposal will have a detrimental if not fatal effect on this activity

• The scale of the ships is difficult to comprehend and is out of character with a Victorian harbour.

• International Sailing events will not come to Dun Laoghaire. Tourism Ireland will not be happy.

• The Water wag class commenced sailing in the harbour in 1887 and is one of the oldest racing classes in the world.

• Irish Lights have conducted many studies of the harbour bed and a considerable area is covered in granite. Dredging cost numbers will be almost double the cost estimated and Dublin Port will be gaining from the anchoring dues.

DLHC says the plan is to facilitate some of the world's biggest cruise liners berthing inside the harbour. The aim is to regenerate the harbour and town following the loss of the HSS Stena car ferry between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead in February.

A total of 22 cruise ships are expected to berth this summer, bringing up to 100,000 passengers and crew to the port bringing up to €7m in revenues, 30% of whicdh will be spent locally in Dun Laoghaire, according to DLHC.

A public consultation is underway following DLHC presentations with over 20 separate stakeholders groups.

Observations or comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by post to Jean Finnegan, Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, Harbour Lodge, Crofton Rd, Dun Laoghaire, anytime up to 5pm on Monday, 13th April 2015.

A copy of the DLHC presentation is HERE.

#d2d – The canting-keel Cookson 50 Lee Overlay Partners skippered by Dun Laoghaire's Adrian Lee is the latest high profile entry into this June's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race. The Royal St. George yacht is a proven offshore winner, taking the inaugural 2009 RORC Caribbean 600 race and overall victory (as Chieftain) in the 2007 Fastnet Race.

Most recently, in 2013, the globe trotting 50–footer set a course record of 2 days 53 minutes and 40 seconds and the overall win in the 360– mile race from Dubai to Muscat in Oman. In what is looking like a potent line-up for the 12th edition of the National Yacht Club race, this Dun Laoghaire entry joins the Commodore's Cup winning Ker 40, Catapult skippered by Anthony O'Leary of Cork, Afloat's 2014 Sailor of the Year. 

#dusc – Dublin University Sailing Club will be holding it's second Alumni Regatta at the Royal St. George Yacht Club this March 7. The event was founded with the aim of uniting Trinity sailors throughout the ages.

It was seen to be a great success with Sean Craig, Marshall King and Theo Lyttle, class of 86, 87 and 87 respectively, fighting through into the finals to go up against the Trinity I team and defeat the young pups to take home the trophy.

This year the event will take place once again in the Royal St. George Y.C. on March 7th and we are hoping to see a great turn out both on and off the water, says the RSTGYC's Eunice Kennedy.

It will be sailed in the Trinity fireflies with teams of 3 helms and 3 crews. 

The event will culminate with a black tie dinner held in the Dining Room. Graduates and undergrads of different generations will be asked to stand up and share some stories from their golden days in Trinity sailing.

More details downloadable below.

#sb20 – The Irish SB20 class has announced its 2015 programme that includes an expanded Dublin Bay racing programme with a 'user friendly' combination of ten Sunday races and four Saturday races all over preferred windward–leeward courses on the capital's waters.

Dun Laoghaire will host one SB20 regional event hosted by the Royal St George YC. The SB20 Nationals will sail from the nearby Royal Irish YC.

Download the full SB20 Irish fixtures programme for 2015 below.

Topping this off is the biennial Volvo Dun Laoghaire race week which means a whole summer's racing without ever leaving Dun Laoghaire.

National Yacht Club sailor James Gorman is the new Dun Laoghaire class captain who has overseen the new programme.

Howth YC is hosting the popular Spring Warmer sails and class president Justin Burke says this season starter 'dovetails nicely into the SB20 Easterns the following week'.

Royal Cork YC will host the SB20 Southerns and this will be the final warm up before the SB20 Worlds in Lake Garda where a large fleet is expected.

A new venue for the SB20 class will be in Northern Ireland at Whiterock on Strangford Lough Yacht Club in September.

The final event of 2015 will again be on the midland lakes in October.

#euromed2014 – The Royal St. George's Grace O'Beirne was the top Irish youth sailor at the Malta based Euromed 2014 Optimist championships held immediately before Christmas. Nine races were sailed with two discards In a series sailed largely in winds from five to ten knots that were shifty and gusty. 

Unfortnuately, some of the Maltese series sailed at Mellieha Bay left a lot to be desired with only 13 finishers and 90 plus blackflag disqualifications in one afternoon on the water. 

O'Beirne finished 14th with a seventh in race four as her best result. Next – in a team of 17 Irish sailors – was Michael Carroll in 33rd place. Full results here

The Irish ambassador to Malta, Mr Padraig MacCoscair was at Mellieha Bay to welcome all the Irish sailors off the water at Euromed 2014.

 

 

#dbsc –The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) prizegiving is a highlight of the Dun Laoghaire sailing season with an array of magnificent and ancient yachting silverware. This year's event was especially so because it marked the close of DBSC's 130th season.

Prizes were awarded in all of DBSC's 22 classes by Commodore Pat Shannon at a packed Royal St.George YC clubhouse last Friday night.

DBSC historian and Hon Sec Donal O'Sullivan provided insightful commentary to the award winners – and the trophies –  and we reproduce a sample flavour of this with Donal's citations for the club's 'Premier awards' below.

In its 130th season, the club – one of the largest yacht racing clubs of its type in Europe – was acclaimed by Afloat blogger WM Nixon who posed the question: Is Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) The Most Effective Sailing Organisation in the World?

Scroll down for awards photography of the evening by DBSC photographer Joe Fallon plus the full DBSC 2014 awards table.

PREMIER AWARDS

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Trophy
This is for the best new boat racing in the DBSC fleet. Cruisers I, with its strong contingent of J109s, is a vigorous, competitive fleet. Though a newcomer, the winning boat more than held her own in a very competitive racing environment – Jigamaree, Ronan Harris.

The George Arthur Newsom Cup
An important figure in the Dublin commercial life of his day, a director of Jacobs, of biscuit fame, Newsom was one of the early Dublin Bay pioneers who raced competitively in a number of fleets and contributed much to the development of DBSC. When he died in 1933 his wife presented this cup in his memory.
The owner and skipper of the winning boat in 2015, through her family has deep roots in the Dublin Bay sailing community. Besides racing locally, she has also sailed off-shore, bringing and navigating a boat on one occasion, I recall, to Iceland. The winning boat this year is the Shipman Gusto, Christine Heath.

The Waterhouse Shield
There has been a Waterhouse Shield at this event since the 1890s. Waterhouses were jewellers in Dame St and they used to do the engraving of the club's trophies in its early days. There are great names among the winners of the Waterhouse Shield and this year it's our pleasure to add a very competitive Cruiser 2 to the list- Red Rhum, sailed by the Nicholson brothers, Jonathan and Chris.

The Dr.Alf Delaney Cup
Dr Delaney first joined DBSC in 1932 and raced competitively until a few short years ago.This cup commemorates Alf's achievements as a sailor, both locally and elsewhere- he was one of the Irish team in one of the post-war Olympics. It's for the best boat on the dinghy course and this year it goes to the almost unbeatable Fireball 15061, sailed by Stephen Oram.

The Brendan Ebrill Cup
Brendan was my predecessor as hon secretary and organised this event over many years. The Ebrill trophy commemorates Brendan's' life-long commitment to DBSC. It's awarded to the highest-scoring boat with the highest attendance not winning a major trophy. The owners of the winning boat frequently grace this event, but this year they are without their partner, who died earlier this year. So, the winner of the Brendan Erill trophy in 2015 was Something Else – John and Brian Hall and the late Sue McDonnell.

The Viking Award
This award is for a notable able contribution to sailing. The recipient this year is an occasional DBSC Flying 15 sailor when he has the time but his greatest achievement in sailing was in a Fireball in 1995 when with John Lavery they won the Fireball Worlds. He is mostly known today as a marine journalist and publisher, performing a valuable public service in bringing maritime matters to public attention. He is chairman of the Irish Marine Federation, which inter alia, organises the boat show.
As publisher and editor of Afloat Magazine, despite a daunting publishing environment, he has continued over many years to maintain the magazine's high journalistic, typographical and design standard. Its associated web site is an extraordinary achievement - drawing news, information and comment from a wide range of sources in the maritime world. It's DBSC's pleasure this year to present the Viking Award to David O'Brien

 

All prizegiving photos by Joe Fallon

TROPHY	CLASS	Yacht	1ST NAME	SURNAME	SERIES
Centenary Trophy (4)	Cruisers 0	Lively Lady	Derek	Martin	Saturday Echo overall
Knox-Gore Cup (2)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Saturday IRC overall
Knox-Gore Bowl (1)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Thursday Echo overall
Martin Cup (3)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Thursday IRC overall
Tiamat Trophy (6)	Cruisers 1	Black Velvet	Leslie	Parnell	Thursday Echo overall
Weir Cup (8)	Cruisers 1	Bon Exemple	Colin	Byrne	Saturday IRC overall
West Pier Officers cup (7)	Cruisers 1	Bon Exemple	Colin	Byrne	Thursday IRC overall
Osterberg Cup (5)	Cruisers 1	Jump the Gun	Jn. Kelly &	Ml. Monaghan	Saturday Echo overall
Centenary Cup (10)	Cruisers 2	Antix	Derek	Ryan	Thursday ECHO overall
T.P. Early Cup (11)	Cruisers 2	Bendemeer	L J.Casey &	Denis Power	Saturday Echo overall
Briscoe Trophy (9)	Cruisers 2	Bendemeer	L J.Casey &	Denis Power	Tuesday Echo overall
Silver Foam Trophy (77)	Cruisers 2	Black Sheep	Eoin	Healy	Most improved boat
Silver Salver (12)	Cruisers 2	Red Rhum	Jon.& Chris	Nicholson	Saturday IRC overall
Lady Shamrock Trophy (13)	Cruisers 2	Red Rhum	Jon.& Chris	Nicholson	Thursday IRC overall
Smalldridge Cup	Cruisers 3	Quest	B.Cunningham	& Jonathan Skerritt	Thursday IRC overall (3a)
Jack Kennedy Memorial Cup (15)	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Saturday IRC overall
Mercia Cup (16)	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Saturday Echo overall
Viking clock Trophy	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Thursday Echo overall
Whimbrel Rose Bowl (19)	Cruisers 3(b)	Eezee Tiger	Olivier	Prouveur	Thursday Echo overall
Sanderling Trophy (14)	Cruisers 3(b)	Gung Ho	Grainne & Sean	O'Shea	Thursday IRC overall (3b)
Annette Cup (90)	Cruisers 3(b)	Papytoo	M.Walsh &	Frank Guilfoyle	Tuesday overall
White Sail Class Trophy (21)	Cruisers 5	Persistance	Charles Broadhead, Ian	Stuart & Jerry Collins	Saturday IRC overall
Burford Trophy (23)	Cruisers 5	Persistance	Charles Broadhead, Ian	Stuart & Jerry Collins	Thursday IRC overall
Anna Livia Trophy (22)	Cruisers 5	Sweet Martini	Bruce	Carswell	Saturday Echo overall
Gerry Henry Salver (20)	Cruisers 5	Warrior	David	Shanahan	Thursday Echo overall
Rupert Bowl (26)	Sigmas 33	Leeuwin	Henry & Caroline Leonard	Robert Kerr	1st Saturday Series-Trophy
Bective Lights Crystal Trophy (27)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Saturday overall
Fireseal Sigma 33 Trophy (24)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Thursdays overall
J.B. Stephens Trophy (25)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Thursday & Sats combined
Horrigan Cup (28)	31.7s	Fiddly Bits	PJTimmons,W.Quigley	G.Murray, D.Breen	Thursday Overall -Echo
Feanor Trophy (31)	31.7s	Levana	Jean	Mitton	Thursday overall One-Design
Long John Silver Cup (29)	31.7s	Levante	Michael Leahy &	&John Power	Saturday Overall- Echo
Arandora Trophy (30)	31.7s	Magic	David	Espey	Saturday Overall-One Design
Oxford & Cambridge Cup (33)	Dragons	Diva	Rick Johnson	& R.Goodbody	Thursday overall
Old Time Cup (87)	Dragons	Diva	Rick Johnson	& R.Goodbody	Combined Sunday & Thursday
RIYC Cup (32)	Dragons	Phantom	David J.H	Williams Esq	Saturdays Overall
Torry Cup (88)	Dragons	Whisper	Michael	Cotter Esq	Special conditions
Pterodactyl Cup (34)	Glens	Glendun	Brian	Denham	Thursday overall
Glen Challenge Trophy (35)	Glens	Glendun	David	Houlton	Crews races
Pair of Silver Vases (39)	Glens	Glendun	Alison	OBrien	Ladies Race
Hamilton Reid (38)	Glens	Glendun	Brian	Denham	Dalkey Island Race
Harry Maguire Memorial Cup (36)	Glens	Glenluce	Donal and Rd	O'Connor	Saturday overall
The McMullen Cup (37)	Glens	Glenluce	Donal & Richard	O'Connor	Sts & Thurs combined + regatta
Commodore O'Meara Trophy	Glens	Glenluce	Donal and Richard	O'Connor	Olympic races
John Donnelly Perpetual Cup (41)	Ruffians	Alias	David Meeke	& Martin McCarthy	Best Tuesday Boat
British Airways Trophy (44)	Ruffians	Bandit	A Kirwan, B Cullen	C Brown	Saturday Overall
Huet Trophy (43)	Ruffians	Diane II	Chris Helme &	Alan Claffey	Thursday overall
J.Lamont Brown Trophy (42)	Ruffians	Ruffles	Michael	Cutliffe	Sat & Thurs overall
The Shipman Perpetual Trophy (47)	Shipmans	Curraglas	John	Masterson	Special conditions
The Malindi Cup (46)	Shipmans	Gusto	Christine	Heath	Saturdays overall
The Midweek Trophy (45)	Shipmans	Gusto	Christine	Heath	Thursdays overall
Sunday SB3 Cup (51)	SB3	Should be	Michael	O'Connor	Sunday overall
Bealtaine Trophy (49)	SB3	Should be	Michael	O'Connor	Special Conditions
Equinox Trophy (50)	SB3	Should Be	Michael	O'Connnor	Special Conditions- 3rd series)
Crichton Trophy (52)	SB3	Should be....	Michael	O'Connor Esq	Thursday overall
Lunasa Trophy (48)	SB3	Venuesworld.com	Ger	Dempsey	Special Conditions (Sunday Series 2 etc)
G.Pugin Melden Trophy (53)	Water Wags	Swift	Guy	Kilroy	Wags Series 2
Goldsmith Cup (54)	Water Wags	Swift	Guy	Kilroy	Wednesday Overall
Blue Bird Trophy (55)	Water Wags	Tortoise	William & Linda	Prentice	Wags Series 1
Brian S.Ryan Trophy (57)	Flying 15's	Fflogger	Alan	Dooley	Saturday overall
Flying Fifteen Gun (56)	Flying 15's	Frequuent Flyer	Chris Doorley &	Alan Green	Thursday overall
Fifty Something Cup	Flying 15	Thungamabob	Tom	Galvin	First Thursday Series
Blake Cup (89)	Flying 15's	Thingamabob	Tom	Galvin	Special Conditions
Stella Cup (60)	Mermaids	Aideen	Br. Martin	& Dan Brennan	Thursday;special conditions
Amy Cup (58)	Mermaids	Aideen	Br. Martin	& Dan Brennan	Tuesday Overall
Iolar Cup (59)	Mermaids	Jill	Paul Smith &	Patrick Mangan	Saturday overall
J.B.Kearney Shield (61)	Mermaids	Tijuana	David	Stedmon	Saturday-special conditions
Shannon Cup (62)	Squibs	Perfection	Jill	Fleming	Saturday Overall
Minx Trophy (63)	Squibs	Perfection	Jill	Fleming	Thursday Overall
The Saturday Cup (65)	Fireballs	Licence to Thrill	Louis	Smyth	Saturday Overall
Nuits St.George Trophy (64)	Fireballs	15061	Stephen	Oram	Tuesday overall
Melampus Cup (78)	IDRA 14's	Dart	Pierre	Long	Special conditions
Crews Challenge Cup (79)	IDRA14's	Dunmoanin'	Therese	Clarke	Special Conditions
The Kennedy Cup (66)	IDRA 14's	Dunmoanin'	Frank	Hamilton	Saturday overall
Bay Cup (67)	IDRA 14's	Slipstream	Julie	Ascoop	Tuesday overall
Half-Way Trophy (80)	IDRA 14's	Spray	Chris	Corrigan	Special Conditions
The Windmill Cup (68)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	Tuesday overall
Sailcraft Tray (69)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	Combined Saturday & Midweek
Early Bird Trophy (71)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	1st series Tues, & Sat.combined
Lanaverre Cup (70)	PY	177852	Richard	Tate	Saturdays overall
Seapoint Cup (82)	Optimists	1475	Clare	Gorman	Optimist September Series
Mitchell Cup (83)	RS Feva	1588	Laura	Coleman	RS Fever September Series
PY Junior Trophy	PY	8655	Helen	Sheehy	PY September Series
Lawson Cup (84)	Toppers	46767	Oscar	Gleeson	Topper September Series
Pioneer Trophy (85)	Lasers 4.7	170857	Toby	Hudson Fowler	Laser September Series
Jimmy Mooney Goblet (86)	Laser Radial	180244	Finn	Coolican	Laser Radial September Series
Dr Alf Delaney Cup (73)		Fireball 15061	Stephen	Oram	Best Boat on dinghy course
Newsom Cup (74)		Gusto	Christine	Heath	Best one -design boat
Dun Laoghaire Harbour Trophy (72)		Jigamaree	Ronan	Harris	Best new Boat
Waterhouse Shield (75)		Red Rhum	Jon. and Chris	Nicholson	Best Cruiser on handicap
Brendan Ebrill Memorial Cup (81)		Something Else	John & Brian	Hall & Sue McDonanell	Special conditions
Viking Trophy (76)			David	O'Brien	Notable contribution to sailing

#irishsailingreview – 2014 has been the year in which Irish sailing regained its international confidence afloat by re-capturing the Commodore's Cup. Having won it in 2010, the national economic collapse prevented any defence in 2012, but in July 2014 the stain and shame of 2012's non-appearance was emphatically wiped from memory with a convincing team victory led by Anthony O'Leary.

Ashore meanwhile, it had taken longer in some quarters for the economic realities to become fully evident and accepted. But for the Irish Sailing Association, a grassroots revolution within the national authority and sailing in general in 2014 resulted in a root-and-branch analysis of the workings of the Association, which had been heading towards financial disaster through a combination of over-staffing, grandiose schemes of expansion and empire-building, and an emphasis on activities and programmes which were remote from the needs of ordinary sailors throughout Ireland.

It took six months to turn round the course of the Association. But on November 5th 2014 the new ISA President, David Lovegrove, was able to announce a far-reaching re-structuring which is already resulting in a leaner and fitter body, better able to provide a realistic service for clubs and the huge diversity of recreational activity on Ireland's seas and lakes.

While all this high profile activity and action has been taking place at international and national level, those Irish sailors who had managed to keep up their sport through the financial downturn – albeit in often very reduced circumstances – continued to sail their boats with the attitude that, while the economic situation was disastrous, it mustn't be allowed to become serious, and in some ways the best course out of the recession was to sail through it. W M Nixon casts an eye over the year's main activities.

In the Irish sailing year, Christmas Day is New Year's Eve. Next morning, on December 26th – St Stephen's Day or Boxing Day or whatever you're having yourself – the annual 628-mile Sydney-Hobart Race starts. It may be on the other side of the world, and it may still be in the very last days of the old year. But Irish interest at home and in Irish-Australia is always high, and in the sailing community it's seen as the start of the new season.

December 26th 2013 was in line with this, as we'd ex-Pat superstar Gordon Maguire – a previous Hobart race overall winner – very much in contention with Matt Allen's totally new Carkeek 60 Ichi Ban, we also had Sean McCarter of Lough Swilly YC skippering Derry/Londonderry in the warmly-welcomed Clipper Fleet of 70-footers designed by Tony Castro (formerly of Crosshaven) which were taking in the Hobart race as part of their global circumnavigating race, and we'd Barry Hurley and Kenny Rumball on the First 40 Breakthrough knowing that in the 2010 Hobart race, the new design's race debut, First 40s had taken first and second overall.

In a rugged race in which the wind got up to gale force and more towards the end, it was a much-loved hundred footer, Bob Oatley's continually-modified Wild Oats XI, which stole all the headlines with line honours, a course record, and a class win. Irish hopes were best met by Sean McCarter, who logged a very clear win in the Clippers. As for Ichi Ban, while she was third in IRC Div 1 and 8th overall, it wasn't quite a stellar performance, reinforcing the views of those of us who think the boat may be just a little too plump by today's lean and hungry standards. And aboard Breakthrough, they'd 8th in class and 29th overall, a useful performance perhaps, but Barry Hurley will be back on December 26th 2014, boosted by his first in class and second overall in October's Middle Sea Race.

Matt Allen's Ichi Ban in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race of 2013, with Gordon Maguire as sailing master. To some observers, the very new Carkeek 60 seemed distinctly plump in her hull form forward compared to her closest competitors

In late January 2014, attention focused on the Quantum Key West Regatta in the Florida Keys, where Irish Olympic sailor Peter O'Leary of Cork was on the strength of New York art dealer Marc Glimcher's completely new and very potent looking Ker 40 Catapult. The boat did the business afloat in Florida, but further business was done ashore, as Anthony O'Leary himself was in Key West to see if he could sign up Catapult to be the secret ingredient in Ireland's Commodore's Cup team, for which at that stage the only certainty was his own older Ker 39 Antix. There seemed to be agreement, but in the volatile world of international trading and snap decisions in which top modern sailing operates, there can be sudden reversals of fortune, and O'Leary later admitted that until Catapult was actually unloaded from a ship in Europe, he hadn't been a hundred per cent certain she'd show.

Key West had further Irish interest in that veteran skipper Piet Vroon's Ker 46 Tonnere de Breskens – a former Round Ireland Race winner – was another star in the show, but much was to happen in Irish sailing before the Round Ireland 2014 got under way in Wicklow on June 28th.

With March slowly showing signs of Spring, university racing came centre stage, and it was University College Dublin which came through on top to qualify as Ireland's representatives in the Student Yachting Worlds in France in October, the team led by Philip Doran.

Another team was emerging as the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) announced that our Commodore's Cup squad would be Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix, Marc Glimcher's Catapult, and the Grand Soleil 43 Quokka chartered by Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling, with Anthony O'Leary as team captain. He in turn would be supported by the shore management team, for a very intense week of racing, of Barry Rose and Fintan Cairns, with Mike Broughton in what would prove to be the particularly onerous task of Team Meteorologist.

As 2014 was exactly midway between two Olympiads, top level international dinghy sailing to Olympic standards might have been expected to be on the back burner. But Ireland's Olympians were very much on track on the international scene, and busy with their own programmes which culminated in the ISAF Worlds in Santander where Olympic places in Rio de Janeiro for 2016 were secured by James Espey in the Laser, Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern in the 49er, and Annalise Murphy in the Women's Laser Radial. All were of course also seen in other boat types from time to time, with Annalise in particular bringing some glamour to the growing class of foiling Moths in Ireland.

Annalise on the foiling Moth

Other top international women sailors had descended on Ireland in early June with the ISAF Women's Match Race Worlds at Crosshaven. It's very much a specialist sailing interest, but aspiring Irish woman sailors attracted to this discipline found that this successful regatta provided some very useful networking contacts and future crewing possibilities, while the racing itself saw Sweden's Anna Kjellberg of the Royal Gothenburg YC become the new champion after defeating Camilla Ulrikkeholm of Denmark in the final.

In an entirely different area of sailing and life afloat, the traditional boat scene had come early to life with the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival at the end of May. In the Irish climate after a particularly damp Spring, it reflected great credit on those involved that there was such a good turnout, ranging from the Shannon Gandelows from Limerick recently returned from their historic visit to Venice, through the many restored classic yachts of the region, also including the lovely Shannon cutter Sally O'Keeffe from Kilrush, and going on into the restored traditional mackerel and lobster yawls which make West Cork their home.

Shortly after their historic visit to Venice, the Shannon gandelows built by the Ilen School took part in the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival at the end of May. The gandelow here, rowed by Liam O'Donghue, Anthony Kenny and Robert Samlle, is headed across Baltimore Harbour towards the gaff ketch Sile a Do.

The pride of the Shannon Estuary - Sally O'Keeffe was built in a community effort in Querrin on the Loop Head peninsula.

The traditional lobster boat Saoirse Muireann (left, Cormac Levis) and the mackerel yawl An tiscaire (Uilliam O'Lorcain) are a familiar sight in the waters of West Cork. Photo: Brian Marten

They were to re-appear in even greater numbers at the Ballydehob Gathering of the Boats in early August, a month during which the classic Galway Hookers of the West Coast were at their busiest on their home Atlantic waters, but the East Coast also had its moments with the Riverfest in Dublin's Liffey in early June seeing traditional and classic craft in a lively mix.

Sails in the City – two of the 1898 Howth Seventeens racing in the heart of Dublin in the Liffey Riverfest. Photo: W M Nixon

It could almost be Connemara, were it not for the Puppeteer 22s – the Galway Hooker Naomh Cronan in the new Classics & Traditional Division in Howth's annual Lambay Race, which was marking its 110th anniversary in 2014. Photo: W M Nixon

Indeed, so strong is the growing interest in classics and trads on the East Coast that to celebrate the centenary of the Lynch family's Howth 17 Echo (one of the newest of the class, the most senior ones were built in 1898) Howth YC provided a traditional Lambay Race course – simply up around Lambay and back to Howth Harbour – for the Seventeens and a new Classics Division, with the Howth 17s seeing the first two places taken by 1898 boats – Rita (John Curley & Marcus Lynch) and Aura (Ian Malcolm) – while Old Gaffers Association International president Sean Walsh won the classics with his Heard 28 Tir na nOg from the Clondalkin team's Galway Hooker Naomh Cronan. As for the overall prize among the large fleet of more modern boats sailing their more complex course, that was won by Colm Bermingham's Bite the Bullet.

The countdown to the Commodore's Cup had continued with inspirational performances by Anthony O'Leary in the Easter Challenge in the Solent, where he won his class with Antix, and then in June he did the same again with the British IRC Championship. Back home, ICRA held their Nationals with the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire in mid-June, and out of a fleet of a hundred plus boats it was the vintage Marcus Hutchinson/Rob Humphreys designed Quarter Tonner Quest (Jonathan Skerritt, RIYC) which was best overall scorer, a notably impressive performance also being put in by the Ker 36 Jump Juice (Denise Phelan) from Crosshaven.

The 27-year-old Quarter Tonner Quest (Jonathan Skerritt) was overall winner in the ICRA Nats at the RIYC in Dun Laoghaire. Photo: David O'Brien

Downhill battle at the ICRA Nats with the Mills 36 Raptor (ex-Aztec) in foreground, while beyond is Peter Dunlop of Pwllheli's J/109 Mojito against the XP33 Bon Exemple (Colin Byrne, RIYC). Photo: Davd O'Brien

The Ker 36 Jump Juice (Denise Phelan) dominated Class 0 at the ICRA Nats. Photo: David O'Brien

The end of June, and it was Round Ireland time. Thirty-six boats started from Wicklow, 33 finished in a race which was mostly on the slow side, with mid-size boats having their day. The winner was Richard Harris's Sydney 36 Tanit from Scotland by just six minutes from the home favourite, Liam Shanahan's J/109 Ruth from the NYC in Dun Laoghaire. The French defending champion, Laurent Gouy's Ker 39 Inis Mor which sails in Ireland under the burgee of Clifden Boat Club, placed third while Frank Doyle of Cork, second generation round Ireland aristocracy as son of Denis of Moonduster fame, was fourth with his A35 Endgame.

The start of the Round Ireland Race 2014 well illustrates the eclectic nature of the fleet. In right foreground is Richard Harris's Sydney 36 Tanit which was overall winner by just six minutes from the J/109 Ruth (Liam Shanahan), just beyond with the black jib, while the Volvo 70 Monster Project (David Ryan) comes thundering through the fleet at the beginning of a performance whch would see her take line honours win and thd class win in the CK Div.. Photo: Kevin Tracey

The same weekend as the Round Ireland race started, Lough Foyle sent the Clipper Fleet on their way after a week's festivities in Derry/Londonderry, made even more festive by the fact that Sean McCarter and his crew with the home town's boat had crowned their win in the Sydney-Hobart race with victory in the Transatlantic leg to Derry.

Clipper fleet in Derry

Crosshaven fairly leaped to life with Cork Week in July, and after several hitches in various boat-shipping plans, it was notable as the first time the Irish Commodore's Cup Team 2014 were seen together, and mighty impressive they looked too, with Quokka proving best on the Cork Week leaderboard.

Michael Boyd (centre behind cup) and his Quokka crew, a member of Ireland's Commodore's Cup team, were overall winners of Cork week 2014. Photo: Bob Bateman

In the F18 Worlds at Ballyholme, Dutch skipper Gunnar Larssen (crewed by Ferdinand van West) is seen here putting in the smooth performance which saw him winning the worlds at his thirteenth attempt. Photo: W M Nixon

While all this excitement in racing boats with lids was building on the south coast in July, up north on Belfast Lough at Ballyholme the F18 Worlds were held for one of global sailing's most popular catamaran classes. Though the entry of 56 boats didn't match the 150-plus entries they get when the class has its worlds in its Mediterranean heartlands, the sailing was good and a popular winner emerged in longtime F18 sailor Gunnar Larsen, who is Dutch despite his Scandinavian name.

Dinghy attention was also very closely focused on Dublin Bay, with an enormous fleet of Optimists at the Europeans hosted by Royal St George YC from 12th to 20th July, and Dun Laoghaire really showing what it can do in being a major international regatta centre. France's Enzo Balanger was tops from Sweden's Kasper Nordenram, while best of the Irish in the Gold Division was Royal Cork's James McCann in tenth – not surprisingly, he was to go on to win the Nationals at his home club in August.

Nations from across Europe and beyond were at the Optimist Euros at Dun Laoghaire

Finn Lynch racing at Douarnenez in France where be became the new U19 Laser Standard world championPhoto: Trevor Millar/Sail Coach

On the broader international scene, former Opty stars Finn Lynch (National YC) and Seafra Guifoyle (Royal Cork) were to turn in outstanding results during 2014, with Guilfoyle firmly in the frame through the ISAF Youth Worlds in the Laser, eventually coming home from Tavira in Portugal with the Silver, while Finn Lynch was on top form to clinch the Gold in the Under 19 Laser Standard Worlds at Douarnenez in Brittany.

Back aboard the boats with lids, late July had brought the Commodore's Cup in the Solent, and if anyone out there doesn't know who won, we'd like to hear from them, as the state of total seclusion which this implies is surely something which could be packaged and marketed to our hyper-informed and over-crowded world. The comprehensive Irish victory just seems better and better with the passage of time, and for Anthony O'Leary it was the highlight of a fantastic season which in September was to see him win the Helmsman's Championship of Ireland (admittedly by just a whisker) in J/80s in Howth to set up a national double for Royal Cork, as young Harry Durcan of Crosshaven was winner of the Junior Helmsmans. O'Leary meanwhile went on to win the 1720 Nationals in Baltimore later that month, and then in November his beloved Antix was named RORC Yacht of the Year.

Antix in the Commodore's Cup, hanging in well coming to the weather mark to stay ahead of the newer Ker 40 Cutting Edge. Photo: Rick Tomlinson)

Even as Antix and her team mates were racing on towards glory in the Solent, in Clew Bay the West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA) were staging their annual championship at hospitable Mayo SC, and it saw a good spread of results, with the overall winner being Galway's Liam Burke with his Corby 25 Tribal, while the runner-up was the McGibneys' Dehler Optimum 101 Dis-a-Ray, which sails under the Foynes YC burgee, but her home port is Tarbert further west along the Shannon Estuary.

August was busy with events for enjoyment. Eighty boats raced in Calves Week in West Cork, which has now been compressed to a four day regatta which means, as one sage family man observed, that you can take a house in Schull for a week's holiday, and then just as the wife and kids are getting fed up with having the ould fella always about the place, doesn't he absolutely have to go off and spend the last four days of the holiday sailing with his mates? That one of the top boats was Colman Garvey's True Penance maybe says it all.

Calves Week 2014 entries were up 25% in 2014. Photo: Bob Bateman

The GP14 Worlds at East Down YC in Strangford Lough launched a hundred boats every day in smooth style. Photo: W M Nixon

The biggest dinghy event of all (other than the Laser Nationals, which as ever are in a league of their own) was the GP 14 Worlds in mid-August at East Down YC in Strangford Lough, which had its excitement in a sudden storm on the Monday, but it all turned out okay. Boats involved were just over the hundred mark, the best boats were built in Northern Ireland by Alistair Duffin, and winners were English crew of Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe from Burwain, while top Irish were John and Donal McGuinness of Moville in Donegal, they were sixth.

At the other end of the intensity scale, down in Howth they had their first cruiser-racer two-hander for the Aqua Restaurant Challenge. Despite very restrained pre-publicity, it attracted 34 boats for a race round Lambay and the Kish. Stephen O'Flaherty's elegant Spirit 54 Soufriere, fresh from a win in the Panerai Classics in Cowes and co-sailed by David Cagney, took line honours and almost won, but the vintage Humphreys Half Tonner Harmony (Peter Freyne and Jonny Swann) just pipped them at the end.

Sailed in summery weather, the new Howth two-handed was about as different as possible from another two-handed experience in August, that of Liam Coyne (NYC) and Brin Flahive (Wicklow) in the 1800 mile RORC Seven Star Round Britain and Ireland. They didn't have to be two-handed, there were fully crew boats involved including the 70ft–trimaran Musandam in which Ireland's Damian Foxall played a leading role in taking line honours in record time, but aboard the First 36.7 Lula Belle the Irish duo just toughed it out despite sailing the last 500 miles with virtually nothing functional, they simply decided to see it through, and to their amazement found they'd won Classes V & VI.

Lula Belle on her way out of the Solent with 1800 miles to race. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Brian Flahive & Liam Coyne back in Dun Laoghaire on the morning of their return from the finish of the Round Britain & Ireland Race. Photo: W M Nixon

As for the Laser Nats, they were at the end of August and another Ballyholme event, with Johnny Durcan of Royal Cork winning from Rory Fekkes of the home club, while the radials saw Annalise Murphy keep her hand in with a win from Cork's Cian Byrne.

After some rugged August weather, particularly on Ireland's East Coast, September was utterly blissful and it sweetly rounded out Dublin Bay Sailing Club's 130th season, the birthday being marked by a fairly epic dinner in the National YC. September also saw the conclusion of the slowly but steadily reviving Irish Sea Offshore Racing programme, with the end-of-season race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire seeing Liam Shanahan's J/109 Ruth confirmed as the overall winner of the series. Among locally campaigned dinghies, meanwhile, Dun Laoghaire's keen Fireball Class kept its annual programme in lively shape, and the season drew a close with Barry McCartin and Conor Kinsella winning overall from Noel Butler and Stephen Oram.

ISORA Champion Ruth skippered by Liam Shanahan jnr from the National Yacht Club

Across country in Limerick, the CityOne dinghies and the traditional Shannon gandelows created in projects of the Ilen Boatbuilding School made their debut in the city centre on one of the last days of the Indian summer, and then they were put on display in a Naumachia in St Mary's Cathedral which was officially opened by Michael Noonan TD, and later formally visited by President Higgins.

The hopeful new spirit of Irish sailing in 2014 was evident in St Mary's Cathedral in Limerick, when the CityOne dinghies built by volunteers in an inner city revitalisation project went on display in a Naumachia in the Cathedral on September 26th, after their first regatta on the Shannon in the heart of Ireland's City of Culture 2014. With the boats in the cathedral were (left) Brother Anthony Keane of Glenstal Abbey (Director, the Ilen School), Limerick's senior TD and Ireland's Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, and Gary MacMahon (right) Director of the Ilen School & Network for Wooden Boatbuilding. Photo: Press22

And then more vigorous winds returned in October, with the Freshwater Keelboat event on Lough Derg – originally just an exclusive Dragon thing – finding itself swamped with sixty and more boats from five classes and increasingly rugged conditions, such that only the Dragons and Squibs managed to get in any meaningful racing, with Neil Hegarty (RStGYC) winning the Dragons while James Matthews and Rob Jacob of Kinsale topped the Squibs.

Dragons in Autumn action on Lough Derg – Neil Hegarty (right) was overall winner from runner-up Richard Goodbody (left) Photo: Gareth Craig

Squibs on Lough Derg – it may look like perfect sailing, but the top came off the weather very soon afterwads. Photo: Gareth Craig

The Student Yachting Worlds in La Rochelle in October had some hiccups in UCD's campaign for Ireland, but while they very narrowly missed the podium in a truly international event, they stayed put at fourth overall. And round in the Mediterranean, a record fleet for the Rolex Middle Sea Race from Malta saw entries soar through the 120 mark for the first time, and the 606 mile race had its first half in light breezes, but the second half was in pure Mistral, with people talking of "winds easing to 44 knots....." A Maltese-owned J/122 won, but second overall and first in her class was the Xp44 XpAct (Josef Schultheis) with a strong Irish emphasis in her crew including Barry Hurley, Andy Boyle, Kenny Rumball and Phillip Connor.

Soon afterwards, the Volvo World Race got under way with first stage from the Med to Cape Town, and Ireland's Justin Slattery on the winning boat on Leg 1. Back home, Autumn leagues had seen renewed enthusiasm as though people had suddenly re-discovered their sport, and the great sailing year of 2014 drew towards its close with the Lasers in Howth starting their 40th winter of annual frostbite racing. This means that HYC have now had a continuous sailing programme since April 1974, while across in Dun Laoghaire the DMYC Frostbite Series must be the most senior of all winter events. Winter Leagues attract more aficionados, with the popularity of the Dublin Bay Turkey Shoot in particular providing a forceful reminder that Dun Laoghaire is the principal sea access for a notably affluent and very large population in South Dublin. With the Turkey on its way, soon it's Christmas. And then the new Irish sailing season will begin on the blue waters of Sydney Harbour.

Justin Slattery on Volvo World Race 2014. Photo: Volvo Ocean Race

#lasermasters – There's a strong contingent of Irish competing in the Laser Masters Worlds taking place from the 4th - 11th October in Hyeres, France this week.

The event has broken records for the number competing which topped out at an eye watering 499.

The logistics and challenges for the event organisers of dealing with a fleet this size both onshore and afloat are daunting but COYCH are managing.

Masters fleets are divided by age brackets. The youngest competitors are 35 in the apprentice fleet. At 45 these "young guns" graduate to Masters and so on as the bands continue up in blocks of 10 years.

The Irish team consists of Worlds stalwart and Great Grand Master Denis O'Sullivan. Chris Arrowsmith from RStGYC is in the Grand Master category. Ed Rice and Nick Walsh from Royal Cork YC along with Colin Galavan from RIYC and Kevin Currier from Ballyholme are in the Masters fleet. The team is rounded out by three Apprentice Masters, Dan O'Connell from RCYC, sailing coach Thomas Chaix and Paul Keane also from RIYC.

The weather has not played ball for the organisers who have been plagued by light airs and blue skies. Nice for the beach, of which there are plenty, but not for sailing. After two days of light racing some fleets have only two results but the Great Grand Masters have yet to finish a race.

After coming second in the Pre Worlds and winning the practice race Thomas Chaix was confident going into the first race but there is no quarter being given in the Apprentice fleet which includes 2 current and a very large percentage of ex Olmypians. The start line and contested mark roundings are not for the faint of heart.

The Masters fleet is around 130 boats so it's further split into Yellow and Red fleets. In the Red fleet Nick Walsh is on the hunt for some good results after a very successful domestic sailing season. Nick's sparring partner from home, Ed Rice is in the Yellow fleet and after a shaky first race put the demons behind him to score a decent result in the 2nd.

Well known RStGYC sailor Chris Arrowsmith had a middle of the road result in the first race but a strange abbreviation "PTSr" appeared beside his and others scores. This seemed to be "Penalty turns, retrospective" i.e. you're not whistled by the jury on the water but they take your number and penalise you after the race. An Australian team sailor was also penalised in this way and took the RC to the protest room where it seems to have been dropped. In the second race Chris scored a very respectable 11th. Onwards and upwards.

The forecast for the next few days is quite mixed. Last night a big rainstorm went through the area and there is a current "Orange" weather alert. Tomorrow the sun is due to come back and the wind is forecast in the 12-18kt range from a stable Easterly direction. This means waves in Hyeres Bay. Sun, Waves and Breeze for a Laser Sailor is better than a lotto win.

There is so much more to say about this event I could go on but I've just heard a gun and the AP is being lowered so I've got to go and get out on the water. For a very well observed flavour of the "internationality" of this event read USA team member Joe Berkeley's piece here 

Event photos are here and results here