Eve McMahon (18) returned to top form for Ireland with two more bullets in today (Saturday's) final three races in the ILCA6/Laser Radial Youth Worlds 2022 at Houston in Texas.

After six straight wins in the first four days, there was a blip yesterday (Friday) when Germany's Linda Hensel took the wins while the Howth sailor recorded a second and third.

But today's final races have seen McMahon firmly back in front with a net scoreline which leaves her (after discarding a fourth in the final race) on a massive points win of 13 to the 26 of Hensel and the 33 of Croatia's Tea Peteh.

Eve McMahon at the Youth Worlds in Shoreacres. Competing in the single-handed ILCA6 class (Laser Radial) the Howth Yacht Club sailor has added this second world title to Gold medals at the Youth Sailing World Championships in the Netherlands and the Youth ILCA6 European Championships in Greece.Photo: Eric Andresen

Dun Laoghaire's Fiachra McDonnell had got the series off to a flying start with a win in the first race in the men's division Qualifying Series, but his reasonably consistent performance thereafter was upset by a UFD in Race 8 om Friday, and a 31st, 22nd and 28th since have left him at 18th in the Gold Fleet. Rocco Wright was 32nd in the Gold Division, and third in the U17s. Meanwhile, Luke Turvey of Howth finished 20th in the 52-strong Silver Fleet.

For Eve McMahon, July 2022 has been a month of sensational success, with wins in three major championships, one at European level, and the other two for World titles.

A homecoming welcome is planned for Dublin Airport on Monday morning (1 August) for the full Irish team.

Houston provisional results are below. Read more on Eve McMahon, Irish Sailor of the Year, and her Paris 2024 campaign here

Fresh from winning two major international championships in Europe already during July, Howth's Eve McMahon (17) has launched her campaign in the Laser Radial/ILCA6 Youth Worlds at Houston in Texas in appropriately rocket-assisted style with four bullets in a stellar fleet of 50.

And while clubmate Rocco Wright (15) has been mixing it among the numbers in the Men's Divisions, he has recorded a best result of 2nd and currently lies 14th overall with Ireland's Fiachra Mcdonnell lying third.

Latest results from Houston are below

Despite the gathering record-breaking heatwave over Europe as July progressed, Ireland’s Eve McMahon (17) won Gold at both the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) European Youth Championship in Greece, and then Gold again at the 2022 World Sailing Youth World Championship in The Netherlands, where her Howth YC clubmate Rocco Wright (15) also collected Gold after a masterful final race.

But as world climate observers never tire of telling us, what is currently regarded as extreme heat in mid-Europe is simply thought of as fairly normal summer in places like southern Texas.

Yet a six-strong Irish ILCA team is now bound for the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) Youth World Championships at Houston in Texas (starting Monday, July 25th) where the typical forecast for the city this afternoon (Thursday) predicts a temperature of 37C. However, it will feel like 41C owing to an underlying high level of humidity (86% at night) which does admittedly fall to 42% when the afternoon’s 15 kmh southerly breeze sets in.

Double Gold – Eve McMahon & Rocco Wright after total success in The Hague

But whether it’s a case of out of the frying pan into the fire or not remains to be seen. In the stellar Netherlands championship, their coach Vasilij Zbogar commented on how cool the two young stars stayed throughout. And though that was about their general state of mind, it’s a very useful foundation to have in place when you’re dealing with the added challenge of searing heat.

Also racing for Ireland is Sophie Kilmartin. Fiachra McDonnell, Luke Turvey and Oisin Hughes, with Liam Glynn as coach. 

Next week’s hot spot for world youth sailing. The Houston Yacht Club is – meteorologically speaking - the coolest place in town

In Texas, the Irish team will face a wide field of 212 sailors from 35 countries. All sailors are under 18. The regatta is held over a week from Monday 25 July to Saturday 30th July. There are two races scheduled per day, each lasting approximately 50 minutes. Hosting the event is the Houston Yacht Club, based in Shoreacres, Texas, USA and the International Laser Class Association (ILCA).

While it may take a day or two for the full significance of the Gold Medals won in this week's World Youth Sailing Championship in The Netherlands by Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright to sink in among the population at large, at the top level it was quickly recognised, and on Friday the message came loud and clear from President Michael D Higgins in Aras an Uachtarain in the Phoenix Park: "Congratulations to Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright. Both of Ireland's single-handed sailors won Gold Medals at the Youth Sailing World Championships in The Hague yesterday. A fantastic achievement for the two sailors from Howth Yacht Club".

Time was when the Hill of Howth was the only part of Ireland above water. Admittedly that was about 600 millions years ago, and our rare old Howth rocks were down around where Australia is now located before they took off on their wanderings to fetch up in a damp corner of what became the North Atlantic. But now that - as of Thursday afternoon - Howth Yacht Club is home to two World Sailing Youth Gold Medallists, it’s time to take stock of our position. Because it seems that whatever we’ve all been doing on the formerly wandering Peninsula, some of us have been getting it very right indeed, with locally-based branches of the McMahon and Wright families setting a truly remarkable sailing pace.

Looking back over the years, for what seems like aeons we’ve become accustomed to the countdown to the final races at some major international event when all sorts of permutations have to be produced to show how an Irish helm might stay in the top ten, or even the top three. And now and again, there’s even a frisson of excitement that suggests a pattern of complex final race placings – usually frustrated - that could get our sailor a Gold Medal.

A star in the making – young Rocco Wright making an impact in the Optimists three years ago

Zen and the Art of Laser Racing….Rocco Wright, now aged 15, racing to world success in The Netherlands this week Photo: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

But until now, we have never ever been in the position where an event of the status of the Youth Sailing Worlds 2022, staged at The Hague in The Netherlands through this past week, has approached the final day with one of our helms seemingly unbeatable for Gold, while another might just see the chips fall okay to get a Silver.

In fact, somewhere in the recesses of the collective Irish sailing mind, various synapses were already interacting to prepare a viable explanation as to why, in the end, even the Irish Gold failed to materialize, while the Silver was fantasy.

Eve McMahon in the lead. In times past, most Irish observers of this photo would have wondered how many of the following fleet would have rolled over the Irish leader by the finish. But in The Netherlands this week, Eve McMahon forcefully demonstrated that she knew how to get in front and – more importantly – how to stay there. Photo: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Then the news came through very loud and clear to Howth YC on Thursday’s otherwise extremely somnolent afternoon. Seventeen-year-old Eve McMahon had raced serenely on to get that Gold. And 15-year-old Rocco Wright had sailed a final race of Machiavellian skill to secure the Gold in his division.

Faced with information-absorption of this enormity, the fuses popped. We simply couldn’t properly grasp the full meaning of the news, partly because we were trying to keep the tabs on the successful progress of the Howth contingent in the complexity of a Cork Week which was suddenly finding itself on the fringes of an off-stage international drama concerning much yacht expenditure involving a millionaire French actor and a supposed Irish aristocrat.

You really couldn’t make that one up, and it will doubtless eventually make for a Netflix drama that will go on and on and on. But meanwhile, the sheer perfection of discovering that there will now be additional real gold to add to the very few existing seams on the ancient Hill of Howth is something to be savoured at leisure, and fully appreciated in due course.

A casual observed might think this is Rocco Wright making a great start in his familiar home waters off the Velvet Strand in Portmarnock, but in fact it’s the beach at The Hague in The Netherlands, and he’s on his way to a Gold Medal Photo: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Please God, though, that we don’t have the usual hoary old clichés about Ireland punching above our weight. After all, we have just emerged from a Wimbledon in which the women’s tennis final was played out between champions from Azerbaijan and Tunisia. Whatever their merits, neither Tunisia nor Azerbaijan would count as world powers, nor even regional powers. Indeed, until they shone at Wimbledon, the vague perception would be of two rather troubled little countries whose problems make Ireland’s various difficulties look like a cakewalk.

A peaceful start, yet fraught with deeper meaning – the two boats nearest the line are from Belgium and Ukraine Photo: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Yet both little places produced individuals of such talent that they successfully took on the world in the high-profile setting of tennis in its Mecca. And in the end, that is what it is all about in solo sailing. It’s one hyper-talented individual at the pyramid of a strong supportive structure of coaching and training and campaigning and quiet confidence, usually – particularly in the Irish context – based on a vibrant family setup further supported by a circle of friends.

In all this, the role of the coach Vasilij Zbogar cannot be over-estimated. He’s from Slovenia – another of these smallish countries whose healthy reality is often at variance with some popular misconceptions – and in the past year he has already helped Finn Lynch re-discover his mojo, while with the two new junior Gold Medallists, there’s a mutual admiration society.

The “Coach of Coaches” – Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia is now very beneficially intertwined with top-level Irish sailing

This has seen Vasilij praising, in particular, their remarkable maturity, notably involving Rocco’s calculated mind-set in that crucial final race, in which he seems to have got himself into an almost Zen-like state while physically performing in active genius style.

And for Eve McMahon, there was a particularly Irish twist with which everyone can identify. She has returned to sailing this month after taking total time out to focus on her Leaving Cert exams: “After weeks of revising and study and then doing the exams, it was fun to get back to sailing”. ILCA6 European Youth Champion at Thessaloniki on July 6th? And now World Sailing Female Youth Champion at The Hague on July 14th? We certainly have a new and stimulating definition of fun.

Making his Laser debut – class newbie Rocco Wright successfully racing the Irish Youth Nationals in Cork. Photo: Robert Bateman

Both of Ireland's single-handed sailors have won Gold medals at the Allianz Youth Sailing World Championships in The Hague this afternoon (The Netherlands, Thursday 14th July 2022)

Eve McMahon, the 2021 Irish Sailor of the Year, and Rocco Wright, both from Howth Yacht Club delivered stellar performances over their seven-races series that started on Sunday.

More Gold for Eve

McMahon led her 55-strong field from day one, scoring all top three results for the week including four race wins. Her worst result of the week - a sixth place - only came in the final race today that was beset by light winds.

"It feels amazing - last year's fourth place in Oman was so disappointing," McMahon said shortly before the medal ceremony. "I'm so proud of Ireland to achieve Gold at the worlds and to make it a double in the same year is history-making."

ILCA 6 Girl's Youth Gold - Eve McMahon. After just missing out on the podium last year, McMahon has worked hard at her racecraft and her fitness. The Irish sailor won gold by a big margin ahead of Evie Saunders (AUS) and Roos Wind (NED) who took silver and bronze. "I’m really proud of what our small team has achieved here," said McMahon of Ireland’s all-round performance in The Hague. "Compared with Oman, I think I brought a different mindset this year. There are so many variables in sport so I’m just trying to keep everything consistent and everything in perspective." Photo: Sailing Energy

Female One Person Dinghy ILCA 6

• Gold: Eve McMahon (IRL)
• Silver: Evie Saunders (AUS)
• Bronze: Roos Wind (NED)

Gold for Rocco

ILCA 6 Boy's Youth Gold - Rocco Wright. The 15-year-old only graduated from the Optimist to the ILCA 6 dinghy a few months ago but is clearly a fast learner and one to watch for future years at Youth Worlds. It was a very close battle between multiple sailors in the last-race showdown. Wright took gold by a single point from last year’s winner Sebastian Kempe (BER). Kempe won silver by beating Ole Schweckendiek (GER) on tiebreak, so bronze to Germany.Photo: Sailing Energy

Wright made his mark in the Male single-handed event on his first ever appearance at a Youth Worlds by ending the penultimate day in second overall but only separated by tie-break from the leader.

"I tried not to think about the others around me and just sail my own race," said Wright about keeping focussed at his first Youth Worlds appearance. "I didn't expect to win so it's all a bit mind-blowing really."

A confident start in the final race saw the Dublin sailor beat Ole Schweckendiek by finishing fourth, one place ahead of his German rival which was enough to break the points tie as American Peter Barnard missed the podium with a 14th place.

"I came here hoping for a top 10 but not really knowing if I was good enough," said Wright. "To win here at my first world championships is a dream come true. I’m just amazed and really excited. I can't wait to celebrate with my friends and family and obviously, it's been a pretty good day, a pretty good week actually."

"I was so surprised that Rocco displayed such maturity at such a young age (15) as he remained calm and executed the result," said Vasilij Zbogar, Irish Laser Coach. "Two Irish winning Gold in the ILCA6... I still can't quite believe it; the work is paying off - all of us are on the right track."

In claiming gold, the online tracker here reveals just how close things were. In the closing stages of race 7 on the Tracker, given IRL ended up 1 point only ahead of both BER (finished second in race 7) and GER (finished third). It's incredibly tight, Wright ends up winning gold by half a boat length. It certainly looks like the HYC youth also had to contend with an Israeli who retired just before the finish but could have influenced points too. 

Male One Person Dinghy ILCA 6

• Gold: Rocco Wright (IRL)
• Silver: Sebastian Kempe (BER)
• Bronze: Ole Schweckendiek (GER)

Both McMahon and Wright now switch their attention to Texas later this month where they compete in their ILCA6 class world championships, a stand-alone event that differs from this week's championship where all disciplines are in competition.

McMahon is defending her 2021 world title in the class and this week's result, coming on top of her European title win last week in Greece leaves her in a strong position. Along with Zbogar, she planned a Summer of three major events and a pathway to victory in each.

Meanwhile, Ireland's third boat at the event featuring Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan (Royal St. George YC) finished with their best day of two ninth places and improved to finish 15th overall in their 23-strong 29er female skiff event.

Results here

Howth Yacht Club ILCA 6/Laser Radial sailors look set for podium finishes in both boys and girls finishes at the Allianz World Youth Sailing Championships in The Hague on Thursday.

Dubliner Eve McMahon sailed out of her skin to notch up scores of 3,1,1, moving the Irish sailor out to a comfortable lead ahead of the ILCA 6 Female fleet.

As regular Afloat readers know, the Irish Sailor of the Year for 2021 already holds ILCA class youth World and European Championship titles secured in her Olympic campaign towards Paris 2024. 

Having finished fourth in Oman last year, McMahon has a steely determination to finish off her youth career in the best way possible. She will settle for nothing less than gold, and is well placed to do so. Counting four first places, one second and discarding a third, The Irish sailor sits on six points with Australia’s Evie Saunders 14 points behind. USA, the Netherlands and Spain are all within striking distance of second place.

“It was really nice to stretch the legs again and put the fitness to work in some stronger wind,” said McMahon. “It was really nice conditions, good fun working the waves. I’ve been working hard on my fitness and I’ve improved my light airs sailing since Oman. I’ve been focusing on my consistency, not putting too much pressure on myself. I’ve done three Youth Worlds now, 15th in 2019, 4th in 2021 and now I want to finish off my time in the youth fleet the best that I can.”

Rocco Wright

McMahon's club-mate Rocco Wright is in a three-way tie for his event in the One-person ILCA 6 Male dinghy event. After posting a consistent day of two seventh places and a sixth, he is currently second overall on tie-break.

Rocco Wright is in a three-way tie for his event in the one-person Male dinghy event. After posting a consistent day of two seventh places and a sixth, he is currently second overall on tie-break. File photo: Bob Bateman 

Last year’s champion in the ILCA 6 male one-person dinghy struggled in today’s three races. Sebastian Kempe (BER) has worn the leader’s yellow bib since day one but he goes into the final day wearing a standard bib having dropped to fourth overall. Just four points ahead of him are three sailors all tied at the top on 26 points: Peter Barnard (USA), Rocco Wright (IRL) and Ole Schweckendiek (GER). With two races still to be sailed on Thursday, any one of these four, along with the Israeli and Slovenian sailors, have a realistic shot at gold.

In Oman seven months ago, Kempe came from behind to steal gold at the very last gasp of the 2021 Youth Worlds. This might give him confidence that he can pull off the same trick in The Hague. The Bermudian was having none of it. He doesn’t believe in history repeating itself. “Every day is different. Every boat race is different. We'll see how it goes. I'll give it everything I have. Today I felt the pressure of the yellow bib and I didn’t deal well with it. I was too conservative on the starts. But tomorrow the pressure’s on someone else and I’ll be able to sail my own race again.”

Barnard was surprised and delighted to learn he’ll be wearing the yellow bib for the first time at his first Youth Worlds. “It’s a great feeling because I think it’s been a while since we’ve had anyone from the USA wear the ILCA bib at this regatta,” said Barnard from Chicago. “Today I was just thinking about having a good consistent day. I didn't want to try to blow it out of the park today. I just wanted to get three good results and have a good day going into tomorrow. I’ll take the same approach on the final day. The points are too close to do anything other than sail the best race you can.”

However things turn out for Wright in the blue bib, the Irish sailor has enjoyed his first time at a Youth Worlds. “Meeting people from all around the world, and seeing some of my old friends from the Optimist fleet, it’s been a really nice week. I just wanted to get a top 10, so I’m really excited to be where I am in the fleet and I’ll give it my best shot tomorrow.”

Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan

Meanwhile, Ireland's third boat at the event features Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan (Royal St. George YC) are 18th overall in the 29er skiff event and count an eighth place on Sunday as their best of the regatta so far.

Leader Eve McMahon and second overall Rocco Wight in the girls and boys singlehanded dinghy did not race yesterday at the World Youth Sailing Championships as light winds thwarted racing. 

The winds of five knots meant no racing for some fleets.

The slowest boat in the Youth Worlds line-up, the ILCA 6 dinghy struggles the most with punching into an adverse current.

Meanwhile, Ireland's third boat at the event features Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan (Royal St. George YC and National YC) who are 19th overall in the 29er skiff event after six races sailed. 

Results here

Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon continues to lead her 56-boat one-person dinghy fleet at the World Youth Sailing Championships counting two race wins so far.

It was a long day on the water for the ILCA 6/Radial competitors, and only one race was completed for the Male and Female fleets in The Hague.

The slowest boat in the Youth Worlds line-up, the ILCA 6 dinghy struggles the most with punching into an adverse current.

McMahon had gone to Oman seven months ago as one of the favourites for a medal in the Female ILCA 6 fleet. However, the light winds of Oman didn’t agree with the Irish sailor.

She has returned to the Youth Worlds (with World and Euro class ILCA 6 titles) with a different attitude and is looking very at home in the light airs seen in the first two days of the regatta. “It’s feeling pretty good so far,” said today’s race winner. “I was expecting more breeze than we’ve had but I’m happy to take any conditions that we get this week.” Australia’s Evie Saunders was second in the race and holds second overall just one point off the Irish lead.

ILCA 6 Male - Rocco Wright

McMahon's clubmate, Rocco Wright also had a good day and after a clean start was able to maintain a good position in the leading group to finish fourth. A second place from Sunday leaves him second overall in his one-person male event.

After a disappointing opening day, Lorenzo Mayer (FRA) came good in today’s only race for the Male ILCA 6 fleet. The French sailor won the race by more than 50 metres, a huge margin in such a tight fleet of 61 international competitors. “I was more aggressive today at the starts and on the race course,” said Mayer. “I was angry with myself yesterday but that helped me to get in the right mindset for today.” Mayer sits in 11th overall while it’s the defending champion from Bermuda, Sebastian Kempe, who continues to wear the yellow bib despite only finishing 11th today.

29er girls- Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan

Meanwhile, Ireland's third boat at the event features Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan (Royal St. George YC and National YC) are 18th overall in the 29er skiff event who count an eighth place on Sunday as their best of the regatta so far.

Results here

After the first day of competition, Ireland's Eve McMahon has gone straight into the lead of the World Youth Sailing Championships at the Hague in the Netherlands.

 McMahon, who is competing in the Girls Single-handers class, arrived in the Hague as the newly crowned European Youth ILCA 6 champion following last week's domination of a 53-boat fleet in Greece and resumed her position at the top of the international fleet counting a second in race one and a win in race two. 

The Howth teenager, who is also the World youth champion and Irish Sailor of the Year, now leads the 56-boat fleet by a margin of five points from Australia's Evie Saunders on eight points. Third is Dutch girl Roos Wind also on eight points who finished fifth at last week's Euros.

Irish girls skiff pair, Emily Conan and Lauren O'Callaghan lie 11th in their 29er fleet.

On Saturday night, the competitors from 67 nations came together for the Opening Ceremony on Scheveningen beach.

The weather forecast points to a light to medium north-westerly breeze blowing at around 8 to 10 knots when racing starts at 1100 hours, although it could get a bit softer during the afternoon.

The tide and current are likely to have a strong effect on the race courses, and learning to understand the effects of the current has been a strong focus for sailors in the build-up to the championship.

There are five-course areas:

• Course A - two races each for the Male/Mixed and Female Two Person Dinghy fleets (420 class)
• Course B - two races each for Skiff Male and Skiff Female (29er class)
• Course C - two races each for One Person Dinghy Male and Female fleets (ILCA 6 class), then three races for Multihull Mixed (Nacra 15 class)
• Course D - four races each for Windsurfing Male and Female (Youth iQFOiL)
• Course E - four races each for Kiteboarding Male and Female (FormulaKite)

Every boat and board is carrying a GPS tracking unit supplied by TracTrac, which means you can watch all the racing live on SAP Sailing Analytics here

Racing continues until Thursday.