When a sailing school boat of a certain maturity starts to show consistently well in open competition in the decidedly challenging Rolex Fastnet Race, people start to take notice. And as the new-style and longer Fastnet of 2021 progressed, that attention increasingly focused on Irish Offshore Sailing of Dun Laoghaire's Sunfast 37 Desert Star. She was skippered by Ronan O Siochru (RStGYC) with Conor Totterdell (NYC) as his right-hand man, but otherwise crewed by keen-to-learn sailors of limited offshore experience but boundless enthusiasm.

With such a setup, the watching pundits expected that Desert Star would soon drop out of her position in the top three in Class 4, and would probably be in double figures by the time she'd negotiated the final difficult approach to the finish. But far from faltering, she never put a tactical foot wrong, and in Cherbourg she was just ten minutes short of winning Class IV overall. As it was, second in one of the biggest classes was a sensational performance, and her entire crew share our Sailors of the Month (Offshore) award for 2021.

The vintage Sunfast 37 Desert Star – she has sailed every Fastnet Race since 2015, and several Dun Laoghaire to Dingles as well.

In addition to Ronan and Conor they are Pat Hogan, originally from Limerick, now living in Dun Laoghaire; Tony Brennan, working in senior management in the civil service, marathon runner, from Cork originally; Eoin Cullinane, an engineer living in Co. Meath; Wayne Tyrrell, a pilot and barrister in the Air Corps where he was a lieutenant colonel, he was about to start a new job in civil aviation; Fergus McDonnell from Galway, very fit at 69, and the oldest crew member, a former rugby player who has his own online DIY business; and David O Connell, a witty GP from Dublin.

The doctor will see you now…….Dave O'Connell, missing from the header photo as he was the one who took it, on Desert Star's wheel during the Fastnet Race 2021. In another life, he is the skipper of the Howth 17 Anita

The restoration of all seven original Dublin Bay 21ft One-Designs (the oldest of them date from 1903) is still work in progress. But a major milestone in the process - the Cape Horn of a unique voyage – was safely put astern on Friday, July 30th, when the first three superbly-restored boats sailed back into Dun Laoghaire after an absence of 35 years. Many craftsmen have been involved in this - most notably Steve Morris and his team at Kilrush Boatyard - but none of it would have happened without the undying belief of Fionan de Barra in the value of the project and its meaning for Dun Laoghaire and its maritime community, combined with the inspired support of Hal Sisk in fulfilling a vision which is a great service to sailing not only in Dublin Bay, but nationally and internationally as well.

The restored DB21 Garavogue (built James Kelly of Portrush in 1903) sails north into Dalkey Sound on Friday July 30th 2021, 35 years after she'd last sailed through the Sound, bound for Arklow and an uncertain future. Photo courtesy DB21 Assoc.

Time was - when a victorious Royal Cork YC vessel returned after "success abroad" - that she received a nine-gun salute on arrival from the Club battery. Even though we live in more noise-conscious times, the RCYC can still wheel out a five gun salute when appropriate, but it is used very sparingly. However, on the sunny evening of Monday, June 15th when the Murphy family's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo returned to Crosser fresh from a brilliant overall win in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, she got the full and richly-deserved treatment from Admiral Colin Morehead and his members.

And though offshore racing is the boat and crew's speciality, subsequently in the more inshore conditions of the Sovereigns Cup Coastal Division at Kinsale, Nieulargo was still right in the picture to place second overall, making for a remarkably well-balanced month of achievement.

We can only hope that next week's up-grading of our sailing from training events to official racing will hold up through a steadily developing season, despite the many challenges to continuing emergence from the pandemic. If it does, then when the full story of the sailing season of 2021 is finally analysed, it will be seen that the victory of John Minnis with his First 31.7 Final Call in last weekend's Scottish Series is in fact the first major "official" racing success this year, and a worthy "Sailor of the Month" winner for May.

Skipper Minnis and his keen crew are no strangers to being in the frame both in First 31.7 and handicap racing. But it took a special level of enthusiasm for a flotilla of cruiser-racers from Belfast and Strangford Loughs to cross the North Channel for a very controlled Scottish series in which the racing was certainly real and officially recognised, but just about everything else was virtual and socially distanced, with three different venues being used in the eastern Firth of Clyde.

Thus it wasn't felt appropriate to declare an overall winner, but had they done so, Final Call's very impressive scorecard and clear class win would have made her the favoured contender for the top title.

Final Call racing in the First 31.7 Class in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019, when she finished second overall in a class of 14 boats. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O'Brien

The pandemic lockdowns divided the sailing world into those who complained constantly about all restrictions and did little or nothing, and those who made the best of what was permissible. Maire Breathnach and her husband Andrew Wilkes, with their challenging but rewarding 64ft steel-built gaff cutter Annabel J of 1996 vintage, had a busy 2020, with a voyage from Waterford to South America – which, like North America, they circumnavigated on a previous cruise – being temporarily curtailed in the Canaries with the need to replace part of their wooden mainmast. Lockdown arrived, they endured it in extremely restricted circumstances for two months, and then as some local sailing became possible, they cruised the Canaries in detail.

Meanwhile, as Honorary Editor of the Irish Cruising Club Annual, Maire inspired her fellow members to make a special effort and produce "Narratives of Nostalgia" if they hadn't managed a cruise of some sort. The result was an eclectic production, one of the most interesting ICC Annuals of modern times. And at the ICC Virtual AGM in February, Maire was awarded the ICC's Rockabill Trophy for seamanship in recognition of the competent way in which she and Andrew had dealt with the demands of mast and rigging problems at sea, with just the two of them on a hefty ship which could handily carry a crew of six.

Annabel J, a hefty 1996-built steel ship that could handily carry a crew of six, has made many long passages with just two on board

Who gets your vote as Afloat Sailor of the Year 2019? The past year, in the view of Afloat's Winkie Nixon, has produced the 'crème de la crème' of the sport in Ireland, and Afloat has picked out 30 individual sailors and pairings who have excelled in their respective disciplines, be it offshore, dinghy, cruising, windsurfing, or sailing administration.

In February, our judging panel will announce the Sailor of the Year  — and you can have your say by voting in our poll on any page of the Afloat website.

As in previous years, the boating public and maritime community can have their say to help guide judges in deciding who should be crowned Ireland's Sailor of the Year for 2019 by using our online poll (see right of this page). The judges welcome the traditional huge level of public interest in helping them make their decision but firmly retain their right to make the ultimate decision for the final choice while taking voting trends into account.

Please note: One vote per person. Your vote DOES NOT necessarily determine the overall winner.

The national award is specially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing's elite. After two decades the awards has developed into a premier awards ceremony for water sports.

As in previous years, the overall national award will be presented to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to, Irish sailing during 2019. You can read more from Afloat's WM Nixon here.

By supporting your favourite nominee you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.

Voting online is open to public view from Thursday, January 2 until Friday, January 31st 2019.

CLICK THE LINK ON EACH SAILORS' NAME TO READ THEIR ACHIEVEMENT FROM 2019 AND VOTE FOR YOUR SAILOR in the right-hand column (on desktop machines) and below on tablet and mobile.

ABOUT THE AFLOAT.IE SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Created in 1996, the Afloat Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene.

Since it began over 24 years ago the awards have recognised nearly 500 monthly award winners in the pages of Ireland's sailing magazine Afloat and these have been made to both amateur and professional sailors. The first-ever sailor of the year was dinghy sailor Mark Lyttle, a race winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The Irish sailing and boating season seems to get longer and more complex with every passing year, yet the vast majority of us would like it all to happen on days of floating summery perfection, with the ideal weight of breeze for the boat type we prefer. But those days of idyllic waterborne sport are sought within the tightening timeframe of modern life which – in 2019 – led to the “Seven Week Scrunch” between late May and mid-July, during which half a dozen major events of wide interest were staged, with some of them barely done and dusted before the next one was shaping up.

Somehow we all survived it, and with boat numbers showing healthy levels in most regattas and other majors, the national enthusiasm for sailing has largely been maintained, despite it being a summer of decidedly volatile weather.

But the weather in Ireland is only part of the story, as our sailors are competing abroad all over the globe in increasing numbers. Thus in making their monthly assessments, the adjudicators in the Sailors of the Month awards have to balance between Corinthian sailors who live more in the moment, and the long-term full-timers who aspire to the Olympics and other major challenges on the professional circuit.

In such complex circumstances, the still-extant traditional structure of Irish sailing is a blessing, as the big summertime successes at home by amateur sailors can be immediately acknowledged and celebrated, while a major professional breakthrough of lasting significance can be highlighted at a time when things are quieter on the domestic front. For although going afloat is seasonal for many, interest in sailing news - and preferably good news for Irish sailors at that – is very much a year-round affair.

And each year develops a unique character. 2019 had a vigorous life of its own, but it was also sailed in the knowledge that the buildup to the 2020 Olympics in Japan is increasing in intensity, while at home, 2020 will bring the Tricentenary of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the 40th Anniversary staging of the biennial Round Ireland Race, and many other major events including two world championships.

We may look forward to 2020. But for now, we focus on the sailors who have emerged as the crème de la crème from the diversity of 2019, and the Sailor of the Year will be presented at a ceremony in Dun Laoghaire on March 21st 2020.

A new year of sailing gets underway in January with a new inter-schools trophy, the Shanahan Cup, donated by 2015 Sailor of the Year Liam Shanahan. He seen here fourth from right with the winning Gonzaga College Team at the hosting Irish National Sailing Club, part of the INSS in Dun Laoghaire

JANUARY

Jack Fahy

With his captaining of the successful Gonzaga College team in the inaugural Shanahan Cup raced at the Irish National Sailing School on January 16th, noted junior sailor Jack Fahy became the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” for January 2019. Competing against eight other top school teams, the Gonzaga squad including Andrew Conan, Henry Higgins, Finn Cleary, Tom Higgins and Con Murphy put in a convincing performance under the race direction of team racing guru Vincent Delany to become the first winners of a cup donated by the 2015 “ Sailor of the Year” Liam Shanahan. 

JANUARY

Pierce Purcell (Services to Sailing)

When Pierce Purcell of Galway officially retired from the marine business on the 31st January, it didn’t end his association with boats, the sea and sailing. Almost his entire life has been devoted to helping others get afloat, and with “retirement”, sailing plans have been already mapped out, and there is no doubt that he will be continuing to extend a helping hand to fellow enthusiasts for many years yet.

In 1970 he was a founder (and later Commodore) of Galway Bay Sailing Club. He also established Galway Sailing Centre in 1973 as a training establishment, he ran a boat sales and marine equipment centre where everything was sold with the most useful advice and encouragement, he was awarded the Irish Sailing Association “Volunteer of the Year” accolade in 2009, in 2011 he became a Vice Commodore of the Cruising Association of Ireland, and from 2012 to 2016 he served on the Board of Directors of Irish Sailing.

Pierce Purcell has been central to the development of Galway Bay sailing for more than fifty yearsDonal Walsh of Dungarvan successfully dealt with some decidedly rugged weather during his accomplished award-winning cruise to seven countries in northwest Europe.

FEBRUARY

Donal Walsh (Cruising)

Cruising and its organisations move at their own serene speed, and when Donal Walsh of Dungarvan received Irish Cruising’s supreme trophy - the Faulkner Cup - in February, it was recognition by his peers of an outstanding achievement made in the summer of 2018. Sailing the Ovni 385 Lady Belle and crewed throughout by Clare Morrissey, with others on board from time to time, Donal Walsh made a seamanlike odyssey of 80 days and 3,450 miles to seven countries in northwest Europe.

FEBRUARY

Rob & Peter O'Leary

The Crosshaven brothers were celebrated for their Bronze Medals at the talent-studded Star Junior Worlds in Florida in the first week of February. The unique attraction of the International Star draws in a substantial fleet of world-class sailors from many disciplines, and the fluctuations in placings can be unnerving. However, with a strong finish the brothers not only kept themselves in the frame, but they moved into the medals to collect the Bronze while they were at it.

Racing an International Star at world level is a unique challenge, but Royal Cork’s Rob and Peter O’Leary are very much up for it

MARCH

Harry Durcan

It was Cork crews all the way in the intensely-fought final in the two-day Student Keelboat Nationals in the J/80s at Howth in the last weekend of March. But in the end victory was taken by Cork Institute of Technology helmed in style by Harry Durcan. That said, the final margin over University College Cork may only have been one point, yet CIT were not only Irish keelboat champions 2019, but they then became the Irish team in the US Open College Invitationals in California, and took the Bronze in a very high-powered series. Next up for the same team is the European Student Championship in France in March 2020.

The Cork Institute of Technology team helmed by Harry Durcan at the US Intervarsity Invitationals 2019 in California, when they took the Bronze Medal

James Dwyer Matthews in command in brisk conditions at Howth, on his way to his second major victory of the year in August, when he added the Irish Open Optimist title to his win in the British Spring Opens in March

MARCH

James Dwyer Matthews (Junior)

Fifteen-year-old James Dwyer Matthews, who registers as both Kinsale and Crosshaven, was to reach his 2019 peak in August when he won the Irish Open Optimist Nationals at Howth from a fleet of 185 boats from eleven nations. But he had already put down a formidable award-winning marker in March by carrying off the overall win in the British Spring Opens with its fleet of 155 in Lymington to inspire a formidable 28-strong Irish campaign, making him a clear winner of the Afloat.ie Sailor of the Month Junior Title. The August success in Ireland was the icing on the cake.

The UCD team (captain Lucy McCutcheon third right) in celebratory mood at Lough Key in Marc

MARCH

Lucy McCutcheon (Team Racing)

Lucy McCutcheon, Commodore and Team Sailing Captain of University College Dublin SC, became the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month (Team Racing) for March after her squad’s victory in very close racing in the Irish Universities Team Championship staged at Lough Key off the Upper Shannon March 9th & 10th.

The organisers for 2019 at this unusual but very attractive venue were Dublin University SC. But in a nail-biting final with UCD, they were bested by their longtime rivals, and while it was very much a team success, we follow established precedent in awarding the SoM accolade to the UCD Captain, her team being Jack Higgins, Patrick Cahill, Daniel Raymond, Alanna Lyttle and Katie Cassidy. 

White-water sailing….April winner Jamie McMahon in action. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’Brien

APRIL

Jamie McMahon (Junior)

Jamie McMahon (Howth YC), put in a convincing performance at the Irish Youth Sailing Championships at Royal Cork YC in the final weekend of April to emerge as Laser Radial overall champion, seeing off some determined challenges from a fleet of 27 from all over the country in a championship contested in decidedly unsettled weather patterns to make him one of two Junior Sailors of the Month from the same family for April.

APRIL

Eve McMahon (Junior)

Eve McMahon was to achieve her personal best for 2019 in July by winning the Gold in the Under 17 Division in the Laser Youth Worlds in Canada. But she was already among the title holders from the Irish Junior Championship at Crosshaven in April, when the then 15-year-old was very much in improvement mode as the series progressed, notching three fourth places to finish at fifth overall. This made her winner of the girls’ division by five clear points, and thus well entitled to bring the McMahons a second Junior Sailor of the Month accolade for April.

Eve McMahon’s emergence as top girl sailor in the Laser Radials at the Irish Youth Nationals in April was only the beginning – in July she went on to take U17 Gold at the Laser Youth Worlds in Canada

Solo campaigner Finn Lynch has muscled up with numerous contests and training worldwide

APRIL

Finn Lynch (Olympic)

Dedicated Olympic solo sailor Finn Lynch (National YC) was “Sailor of the Month” for April on the strength of his closely-focused campaign towards qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. In three major international regattas during the first part of the year he always concluded with an overall placing within the top ten, and in the most recent event at Genoa he was overall leader at one stage, and a slight turn of fortune would have seen him in the medals. His solid performance has moved him up to 15th in the world rankings.

Birthday boy. Andrew Craig with the trophy for the overall winner of the Scottish Series. When he was declared Sailor of the Month for May on June 1st, it turned out this was his birthday.

MAY

Andrew Craig

Andrew Craig of Dun Laoghaire’s very clearcut overall win with his J/109 Chimaera in the Scottish Series, incorporating the Scottish IRC Championship 2019, was a superb demonstration of boat and logistics management, personnel selection, and good old-fashioned sailing skills at the sometimes very flukey venue off Tarbert on Loch Fyne.

It can take a crew of nine with complementary abilities to race a J/109 flat out. Yet the varied group brought together to race Chimaera were warm in their praise of Craig’s talent in assembling a team who were personally compatible, with matching skill sets to make Chimaera a successful and happy ship.

That winning feeling…..Paul O’Higgins aboard his JPK 1080 Rockabill VI in Dingle in June after successfully defending the title in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race. Photo: Dominick Walsh/D2D

JUNE

Paul O’Higgins (Offshore)

Defending the title with the same boat in the biennial 270-mile Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race is a real challenge at a time when the cruiser-racer fleet is expanding with some very hot new designs. But Paul O’Higgins (Royal Irish YC), with his well-tested JPK 1080 Rockabill VI, was up for it by becoming the first skipper to win two in a row in a race which demonstrated the need to be able to maintain top performance right to the end. He then augmented his 2019 honours by winning his class at the ICRA Nationals in June, Calves Week in August and clinching the ISORA title in September.

The Shanahan family’s J/109 Ruth at the start of the Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Race, skippered by 19-year-old Tom Shanahan. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’Brien

JUNE

Tom Shanahan (Junior)

The Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race is now such a significant event that inevitably it attracts the involvement of professional and semi-professional talent. But so many boats sail determinedly within the Corinthian ideal that in effect they created an extra Division within the race. No boat better typified this than the National YC of Dun Laoghaire’s Shanahan family with their J/109 Ruth, where they deferred to one of the youngest on board - 19-year-old Tom Shanahan - as skipper. He called the shots very well indeed, with Ruth taking over the lead in the J/109s at the Fastnet, and handling the tricky beat from there to the finish so well that they placed a close fourth overall in the total fleet, and clear Corinthian winners.

JUNE

Caroline Gore-Grimes (National Championships)

In some of the more compact cruiser-racers, the owner-skipper’s preferred role is as crew boss, and this is the approach of HYC Honorary Sailing Secretary Caroline Gore-Grimes on her family’s well-tested X 302 DUX. It’s an arrangement which worked a treat at the Frank Keane ICRA Nats from June 7th to 9th at the Royal St George YC in Dun Laoghaire. IRC Division 3 mustered a fleet of 23 boats, including many with impressive racing records. But DUX - having started cannily with a couple of useful thirds - then logged a scoreline of 1,1,1,1,2 to give her IRC 3 by a very clear margin, and make her ICRA Overall Champion as well.

DUX, skippered by Caroline Gore-Grimes to become overall champion in the Frank Keane ICRA Nationals 2019. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’BrienFrank Whelan at the helm of his Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera preparing for foredeck action. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’Brien

JUNE

Frank Whelan (Inshore)

The Greystones-based Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera (Frank Whelan) is a byword for enthusiasm, both for the dedication of her amateur crew in preparing the boat for the season, and in the way her owner/skipper and his top lieutenants lead them to success. This reached a new height at the end of June in the Sovereign’s Cup Regatta at Kinsale where Eleuthera achieved a clean sweep of five wins in Class 0 to emerge as the popular winner of the overall trophy, the Sovereign’s Cup itself.

JULY

David Gorman & Chris Doorly

Very few sailors can ever have experienced anything comparable to the elation of discovering that their racing pride-and-joy has been declared “Boat of the Week” from within the 498-boat fleet at Ireland’s biggest regatta. But this is what happened to David Gorman and Chris Doorly of the National Yacht Club when their clear overall victory in the large Flying Fifteen Class was declared the event’s peak of achievement at the marathon prize-giving at the conclusion of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019, making them unrivalled for the accolade of Afloat.ie “Sailors of the Month” for July.

Powering along – Chris Doorly and Dave Gorman revelling in Flying Fifteen racing Photo: Afloat.ie

“Freshwater ocean….” The J24s in their 2019 Nationals on the broad expanse of Lower Lough Erne

AUGUST

Cillian Dickson (Keelboats)

When the J/24 Headcase snatched the overall win in the final races of the J/24 Nationals 2019 on Lough Erne, inevitably it was a team effort with the boat carrying the usual complement of five. But as we have to narrow it down, the title goes to helmsman Cillian Dickson of Lough Ree and Howth. Yet it has to be said that he drives for a formidable and truly all-Ireland squad. Four of Headcase’s crew own her together – they are Cillian Dickson (LRYC & HYC), Sam O’Byrne, (HYC), and Louis Mulloy and Marcus Ryan, both of Mayo SC, while the fifth hand is invariably Ryan Glynn of Ballyholme YC on Belfast Lough.

AUGUST

Shane McCarthy & Damien Bracken (Dinghies)

The 2019 Irish GP 14 Nationals at Skerries in breezy August weather defied its title by having a truly international turnout, but then it was seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s GP 14 Worlds at the same venue. The competition was ferocious, with the lineup reading like a Who’s Who of top GP 14 sailors. However, former Irish champion Shane McCarthy of Greystones Sailing Club teamed up with his old crewmate Damien Bracken, and they pulled the overall win out of the fire of red-hot racing to make them worthy winners of our dinghy title for August 2019.

Experienced duo – Damien Bracken (left) and Shane McCarthy, Irish GP 14 Champions 2019
Chris & Olin Bateman powering along to victory in the National Junior Championship in Schull at the end of September. Photo INPHO/Bryan Keane

SEPTEMBER

Chris & Olin Bateman (Junior)

Chris Bateman of Cork has been cutting a swathe through the dinghy sailing scene in Ireland at both junior and open level in a number of classes for some time now, and as he turned 18 on September 23rd, his 2019 national title in the RS 200s provided a final opportunity to put his stamp on the All-Ireland Junior Championship. But as it was to be raced in the relatively small TR 3.6s in Schull, his size meant that - to be competitive – he had to find a pint-sized crew, and the hand of destiny fell on his youngest brother, 9-year-old Olin. The pair of them raced a truly masterful championship. But it’s not easy being the little guy crewing for the hyper-talented big guy, so we reckon that September’s Junior Sailor of the Month award should be shared between Chris and Olin.

The restored 1926 56ft ketch Ilen – her traditional square sail to Conor O’Brien’s own design proved its worth on the voyage home to Ireland from Greenland. Photo: Gary Mac Mahon
Ilen Project Director Gary Mac Mahon aboard the restored ship in Nuuk in Greenland. Photo: Chelsea Canavan

SEPTEMBER

Gary MacMahon & Paddy Barry (Voyaging)

The long story of the re-birth of the 1926-built 56ft Conor O’Brien trading ketch Ilen of Limerick was acquiring an almost wraith-like aspect until in 2019 – the restoration job completed – she undertook the very tangible 5000 miles Salmons Wake voyage to Greenland for inter-cultural exchange, research into salmon migration, and data-acquisition on climate change. Project Director Gary Mac Mahon – whose unflinching faith has kept this extraordinary concept moving ahead – was skipper for the outward passage from Ireland, whiled seasoned voyager Paddy Barry – who was aboard throughout the time away from Ireland – brought Ilen home safely across the restless North Atlantic in September in unsettled early Autumn conditions.

Paddy Barry, a man of the mountains and the sea and high latitude voyaging

SEPTEMBER

Anthony O’Leary (Racing)

RCYC’s Anthony O’Leary’s Bronze Medal in the 20-team New York YC International Invitational at Newport, RI in September was an astonishing achievement when we remember that many of the other top-level Corinthian crews had been practising in the new Mark Mills-designed Melges IC 37s throughout the summer. Yet O’Leary and his Crosshaven squad stepped aboard as strangers to the boat with only a few days to go to the start of a very intense series. However, his legendary speed abilities with the Cork 1720 Sportsboats under asymmetrics proved to be a great strength, and by the time the series concluded he was steadily climbing the ranks with high-level performance across the board, with the Royal Cork YC’s third overall snatched from the final race a testament to skipper and crew alike.

Anthony O’Leary credits his many years of successful 1720 racing for his expertise in quickly learning the ways of the new Mark Mills-designed IC 37

OCTOBER

Michael O’Connor

Michael O’Connor of Royal St George YC emerged as the 73rd All-Ireland Champion Helm after a ding-dong two-day final raced in Flying Fifteens from the National Yacht Club on October 5th & 6th. No stranger to success, O’Connor was the Corinthian Champion in the SB20 Worlds in Cowes in 2017, and this year he secured his place in the all-Ireland with victory in the SB20 Nationals at the RIYC.

Michael O’Connor (right) 73rd winner of the Annual All-Ireland Helmsmans Championship, with his shipmate Davy Taylor (left) celebrating his second all-Ireland win as a crewman. Photo: Irish Sailing/David Branigan

David Taylor (Special Award)

Every keen helmsperson needs a Davy Taylor as his or her right-hand man when the chips are down. In 2013, he was there to help fellow SB20 sailor Ben Duncan win the All-Ireland in J/80s, and then in 2019 he was the efficient and essential crewing presence to get Michael O’Connor over the line as the 73rd All Ireland Champion in Flying Fifteens. He gets the October Special Award by popular acclaim, and in honouring Davy we honour crews everywhere.

OCTOBER

Rocco Wright (Junior)

Optimist ace Rocco Wright of Howth found it was tough at the top when the 185-strong 11-nation fleet gathered at his home port for the Irish Open Nationals in August. After he’d won the first race, he was a marked man, and had to be content with fourth overall by the finish. But back in July, he’d taken 10th overall in the Worlds in Antigua (the best ever by an Irish helm) and then in October he notched 2nd overall in the North Americans, giving him Ireland’s top international Optimist performance in 2019.

Rocco Wright in the Optimist North Americans 2019, in which he placed second.

Click here for November and December 2019 award winners. 

The Afloat.ie and Irish Sailing Sailor of the Month Awards and the Irish Sailor of the Year Award will be presented in March 2020

Andrew Craig of the Royal Irish Yacht Club’s very clearcut overall win with his J/109 Chimaera in the Scottish Series, incorporating the Scottish IRC Championship 2019, has been a superb demonstration of boat and logistics management, personnel selection, and good old-fashioned sailing skills at the sometimes very flukey venue off Tarbert on lovely Loch Fyne.

It can take a crew of nine with complementary abilities to race a J/109 flat out. Yet the varied group brought together to race Chimaera were warm in their praise of Craig’s talent in assembling a crew who were personally compatible, with matching skill sets. Chimaera was a happy and successful ship, and her owner-skipper thoroughly deserves the “Sailor of the Month” title.

Who gets your vote as Afloat Sailor of the Year 2018? The past year, in the view of Winkie Nixon, has produced some 'extra-special sailors', and over the past 12 months we have picked out 26 individual sailors and pairings who have excelled in their respective disciplines, be it offshore, dinghy, cruise or windsurfing.

On Friday, February 8, our judging panel will announce the Sailor of the Year at the RDS in Dublin — and you can have your say by voting in our poll on any page of the Afloat website. 

The overall award will be announced at a ceremony which will also see each Sailor of the Month individually honoured.

As in previous years, the boating public and maritime community can have their say to help guide judges in deciding who should be crowned Ireland's Sailor of the Year for 2018 by using our online poll (see right of this page). The judges welcome the traditional huge level of public interest in helping them make their decision but firmly retain their right to make the ultimate decision for the final choice while taking voting trends into account.

Please note: One vote per person. Your vote DOES NOT necessarily determine the overall winner.

The national award is specially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing's elite. After two decades the awards has developed into a premier awards ceremony for water sports.

As in previous years, the overall national award will be presented to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to, Irish sailing during 2018. You can read more from Afloat's WM Nixon here.

By supporting your favourite nominee you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.

Voting online is open to public view from January 1 until Friday, January 25th 2019.

CLICK THE LINK ON EACH SAILORS' NAME TO READ THEIR ACHIEVEMENT FROM 2018 AND VOTE FOR YOUR SAILOR in the right-hand column (on desktop machines) and below on tablet and mobile.

ABOUT THE AFLOAT.IE SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Created in 1996, the Afloat Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene.

Since it began over 20 years ago the awards have recognised over 360 monthly award winners in the pages of Ireland's sailing magazine Afloat and these have been made to both amateur and professional sailors. The first ever sailor of the year was Dinghy sailor Mark Lyttle, a race winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

As we begin to contemplate a 24th year for the Afloat.ie/Irish Sailing “Sailors of the Month” assessments in 2019, it’s time and more for a look back to the people and the achievements which defined our top performers in and around boats during 2018 writes W M Nixon.

Once again, it is the sheer variety of the people, the boats, the successes, and the watery places in which it all happened that give us our abiding impression of the complex Irish sailing and boating scene. In fact, were it not for the structure which the Sailor or Sailors of the Month assessments provide – admittedly it’s a sometimes very flexible structure, but it’s a structure nevertheless – then we would not be fully aware of the mind-boggling diversity of the group of very special people of all ages who will gather in the RDS in Dublin on Friday, February 8th 2019.

There, their achievements will be applauded by enthusiasts from all over Ireland and abroad, and they, in turn, will be able to join in the applause to honour the new Volvo Sailor of the Year at what is an extraordinary and very Irish celebration of our sport of all kinds, and in boats of every type.

JANUARY

Gary MacMahon

In the depths of winter, traditional boat enthusiasts worldwide were thinking of Oldcourt in West Cork, where the traditional Conor O’Brien-inspired Irish ketch Ilen, having completed her basic restoration, had to be moved in difficult and cramped conditions to her refit berth. The job was successfully done, and though many people have been involved, the man who fulfilled the dream of bringing the retired Ilen home from the Falklands for restoration is Gary MacMahon of Limerick, who has kept the flame of hope for Ilen alive for twenty years.

Gary MacMahon is greeted by President Higgins and his wife Sabina in Limerick in October after Ilen’s restoration in Baltimore had been completed, and the historic ketch had returned to the Shannon Estuary after 92 years away

FEBRUARY (Offshore)

Conor Fogerty

Less than a fortnight after he’d been declared the Afloat.ie/Irish Sailing/Volvo Sailor of the Year 2017 in Dublin, Conor Fogerty of Howth was back on the podium in Antigua, having been declared runaway winner of Class 3 in the RORC Caribbean 600 2018. Fogerty had experienced exceptionally heavy weather when he achieved his outstanding solo success of 2017 in winning the Gipsy Month Trophy in the OSTAR with his Sunfast 3600 Bam!. Yet far from being sunlit therapy to counteract memories of that experience, the 2018 sailing of the RORC Caribbean 600 was the toughest yet in all its ten years, but Conor Fogerty won again.

Conor Fogerty has now won Class 3 in the RORC Caribbean 600 on both of the times he has competed with his Sunfast 3600 Bam! 

FEBRUARY (Cruising)

Maire Breathnach

The award during February of the Irish Cruising Club’s premier trophy - the Faulkner Cup - to Maire Breathnach of Dungarvan was another highlight in a remarkable cruising career. The trophy was for the voyage she made with her husband Andrew Wilkes in their 64ft gaff cutter Annabel J to northeast Greenland. Maire first came to notice with a mostly single-handed round Ireland cruise with a Hurley 22, and since teaming up with Andrew Wilkes, she has circumnavigated both South America including Cape Horn, and North America via the Northwest Passage.

Maire Breathnach on the helm at Cape Horn

FEBRUARY (Inshore)

Peter & Rob O’Leary

The International Star Class is both historic and completely up-to-the-minute, and competition in it is razor-sharp. In getting a clear series win in their debut majors – the Walker Cup - in this very special class in early February in Miami against sailors like Paul Cayard and Eric Doyle, Crosshaven brothers Peter and Rob O’Leary made their mark. They were sailing a new boat that they were still tuning, yet they gave a text-book demonstration of how to put a championship together, making them our February “Sailors of the Month (Inshore)”.

Peter & Rob O’Leary won international success in their first campaign with the new Star

MARCH (Offshore)

Enda O'Coineen

“Inspirational” is the word that has leapt out of every set of reports and comments about Enda O’Coineen’s achievement in getting the IMOCA 60 Souffle du Nord/Team Ireland to Les Sables-d’Olonne on Sunday. Although his lone voyage from New Zealand to France may have started on January 27th and finished on April 1st, it was during the final stages in March that he overcame the Atlantic at its most challenging to bring his ship home to a port which truly appreciates his courage and tenacity, making him a very worthy “Sailor of the Month”.

Enda O'Coineen

MARCH (Inshore)

Brendan Lyden

The annual Irish University Sailing Association Team Championship is the first major event to signal the new season, and 2018’s - at Kilrush on the weekend of March 9th to 11th – was vintage stuff. There were 28 teams and 194 sailors taking part in a 188 race series in an event jointly organised by University College Cork and National University of Ireland Galway. The final in a perfect team-racing breeze saw University College Cork 1 winning from the Scottish national team, with UCD 1 placing third. As Captain of victors UCC, Brendan Lyden of Baltimore gets the award.

University College Cork Sailing Team continued with such success that they were honoured with he UCC “Team of the Year” accolade. Included in the squad were Fionn Lyden, Liam Manning, Mark Hassett, Cian O Regan, Brendan Lyden (capt), Aodh Kennedy, Eoin Lyden, Lisa Smith and Jill McGinley

APRIL

Justin Lucas

A stellar international performance in the Magic Marine Easter Regatta in The Netherlands, and an overall victory in the Irish Sailing Youth Pathway Nationals in Dublin Bay in the Optimist, made Justin Lucas of Tralee Bay SC and Royal Cork YC our “Sailor of the Month” for April. At 14 years “Optimist age”, he is probably the youngest sailor ever to be on his own on the monthly podium. But with a good second in a ferociously competitive fleet in Dutch waters, and then maintaining his lead in the final day’s incredibly flukey conditions in Dublin Bay, young Lucas is in a class of his own.

Rising star – despite the Spring’s wintry weather, Justin Lucas was one of the hottest performers in both The Netherlands and Dublin Bay as the new season got under way.

MAY (Offshore)

Pat Kelly

Pat Kelly and his family and friends from Rush in the heart of Fingal certainly enjoy their sailing. But they work hard to ensure that their all-conquering J/109 Storm is in peak condition as the new programme starts, and they got the 2018 season off to a flying start with a victorious tour of Scotland. Storm won overall at the Kip Regatta, and then retained the title of Overall Champions in the annual Scottish Series on Loch Fyne, and in August she was to win the Welsh title too.

Mighty men…..the Kelly family and friends on Storm after winning the Silvers Scottish Series. Photo: Marc Turner

MAY (International)

Tom Dolan

Ireland’s Tom Dolan found he was in a different world entirely when he moved up from racing a Minitransat to competing in the legendary Figaro Class. Here, the competition is so hot that being first rookie in any race is regarded as a huge achievement. Yet Tom has done that on his first Figaro Transatlantic, and by being the top rookie ahead of - among many others - Minitransat winner Erwan le Draoulec, makes Tom Dolan the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month (International)” for May.

Tom Dolan found he’d moved up several gears by moving into the Figaro Solo circus

JUNE

Dave Cullen

Howth’s Dave Cullen recorded a stellar series of performances with his classic Half Tonner Checkmate XV. He emerged as clear overall champion in Howth’s successful Wave Regatta at the beginning of the month, and then went on to record outright class wins in both the National and Royal Irish Yacht Club Regattas. A skilled helmsman himself, Cullen is noted for his ability to provide
impressive standards in boat management programmes, and top level personnel resources to match them, resulting in success
continuing with overall victory in the Half Ton Classics in Belgium in August.

Dave Cullen is one of Ireland's most competent boat managers and campaigners

JULY

Barry Byrne

July 2018 will go down in Irish sailing history as one of the busiest months ever experienced, including as it did the Volvo Round Ireland Race and Volvo Cork Week. In this hectic period, Commandant Barry Byrne of the Defence Forces was arguably the most active sailor on our seas, as he skippered the Irish Defence Forces on the J/109 Joker 2 to victory in the Corinthian Division in the Round Ireland Race in which he was also second overall, and in Volvo Cork Week he not only played a key role in organizing the highlight event - the Beaufort Cup series for services crews - but he successfully defended it, again skippering Joker 2.

Commandant Barry Byrne had an exceptionally successful month of sailing in July, skippering a Defence Forces’s crew to win in the Round Ireland Race from Wicklow, and then leading a successful Defence Forces retention campaign in the Beaufort Cup at Volvo Cork Week. Photo Angela Higgins
JULY (Offshore)

Niall Dowling

The achievement of Niall Dowling of the Royal Irish YC in taking both Line Honours and the Overall Win in Wicklow’s Volvo Round Ireland Race 2018 with the Ker 43 Baraka GP is put into its proper perspective when we remember that at the halfway stage, Baraka was way down the rankings despite a tactically brilliant performance. Until then, conditions had been completely stacked against her, such that off the coast of Mayo, she was in lowly 24th overall. But then things started to turn in her favour, and with more brilliant tactics and sailing, they took the fullest possible advantage of every helpful slant to achieve success.

Niall Dowling and his crew on Baraka GP kept their cool despite being back at 24th overall off the Mayo coast during the Round Ireland Race, and sailed such a brilliant second half that they took line honours and the overall win

JULY (Olympics)

Liam Glynn

Liam Glynn of Ballyholme is July’s “Sailor of the Month” (Olympics) after taking the Bronze Medal in the U21 World Championship in Poland. Glynn was Topper World Champion in France aged 13 in 2013, now at 19 he has demonstrated the success of his transfer to Lasers with this very competent third place in difficult sailing conditions, racing against a fleet of 133 boats from 40 nations.

Liam Glynn’s Bronze Medal was won against 40 other nations
AUGUST (Inshore)

Ross Kearney

Ross Kearney took the Silver Medal in 117-boat fleet for GP 14 Worlds in England at beginning of August, and then became new Irish GP 14 National Champion at Sligo (crewed by his wife Jane) later in same month. Ross was formerly a professional sailor as a sailmaker, but he escaped the marine industry grind at least two years ago, and is enjoying his reinstated Corinthian standing and the pure pleasure of sailing for its own sake.

Ross and Jane Kearney on their way to winning the Irish GP 14 Nationals at Sligo in August
AUGUST (Classics)

Darragh McCormick

Talented all-round sailor Darragh McCormack of Foynes (he’s a noted J/24 sailor) still has the classic 1932-vintage 17ft Mermaids as his first love, and in a thrilling National Championship at Foynes from August 1st to 5th with a fleet drawn from all the Irish centres, he won, sailing a boat he built himself, crewed by his brother Mark and Johnny Dillon in a nail-biting finish to give Foynes its first Mermaid National Title.

Darragh McCormick’s own-built Innocence makes her debut at the 2015 Mermaid Nationals. He has now won the Nationals for the first time, and at his home port of Foynes

AUGUST (Junior)

Hugh O’Connor

Young Hugh O’Connor (15) of Dun Laoghaire is currently No 1 in the International Topper Class in Ireland, and he fulfilled his role at the August 2018 Topper Worlds in China by placing second overall in a fleet of 260 boats in a difficult event plagued by extreme humidity, light winds and unfinished races.

Hugh O’Connor (15), No 1 Topper sailor in Ireland, placed second overall in a fleet of 260 boats at the 2018 Worlds in China

SEPTEMBER

Mark Lyttle

Mark Lyttle, our Olympic Sailor at Atlanta in 1996 when he won a race in the Laser’s first outing in its very effective career as an Olympic boat in addition to its myriad other duties worldwide, has continued his love affair with great little boat by winning the World Title in the Grand Masters Division (ages 55-65) in the Laser Masters Worlds in September at Dun Laoghaire, a magnificent event which attracted 302 entries. Lyttle’s win was particularly popular – in a long sailing career, he has put even more back into sport than he has taken from it.

Mark Lyttle in training in Dublin Bay for the 1996 Olympics. Back in Dublin Bay twenty-two years later, he won the Laser Worlds Grand Masters. Photo: Afloat/David O’Brien 

SEPTEMBER (Special Award)

Gregor McGuckin

Being dismasted during a shattering 360 degree roll in the tumultuous Southern Indian Ocean in the roughest part of the Golden Jubilee Golden Globe Race would have created an extreme survival situation for most sailors. But after it happened to Gregor McGuckin with his vintage Bowman 36 ketch Hanley Energy Endurance, he soon heard that, 90 miles away, rival skipper Abilash Tomy was in an even worse situation, dismasted and incapacitated by injury. McGuckin immediately set about clearing his vessel and erecting a jury rig, as at that time he appeared to be the only vessel near enough to bring help in time to Tomy. He had got to within 30 miles of the crippled boat when help arrived earlier than expected through an Antarctic Fisheries Patrol vessel, but Gregor McGuckin’s selfless heroism is deserving of the highest praise.

Gregor McGuckin on his arrival in Perth, West Australia, after his controlled mid-ocean evacuation from his dismasted ketch Hanley Energy Endurance

SEPTEMBER (Olympic)

Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove

The Olympic 49er skiff is one of sailing’s greatest challenges, but Robert Dickson (21) of Howth and Sean Waddilove (20) of Skerries have determinedly battled their way up the class’s international performance ladder. Their total dedication was rewarded in September at the Class’s Under 23 Worlds at Marseille. There, the Mediterranean provided a wide variety of conditions, yet they suited Dickson & Waddilove every which way, and they came home with the Gold Medal, their first major win.

Welcome home and well done! Howth YC Commodore Joe McPeake (centre) at the reception in the clubhouse to welcome home the new Gold Medallists Robert Dickson (left) and Sean Waddilove. Photo: Ian Dickson

SEPTEMBER (Junior)

Atlee Kohl & Jonathan O’Shaughnessy

The classic 12ft Firefly dinghy may have been the single-handed boat in the1948 Olympics when the Gold Medallist was Danish legend Paul Elvstrom. But as an enduring class in Ireland, they’re ideal for team racing and junior championships requiring a “neutral” boat. And despite the Elvstrom precedent, having a good crew is vital. So although Royal Cork’s Atlee Kohl (16) is the new All-Ireland Junior Champion after an intensely-fought cracker of a series at Dun Laoghaire in September’s final weekend, his 14-year-old crew Jonathan O’Shaughnessy also deserves to be up there in the spotlight.

All-Ireland Junior Champions – Royal Cork YC’s Atlee Kohl and Jonathan O’Shaughnessy
OCTOBER

Peter Kennedy

Peter Kennedy of Strangford Lough became “Sailor of the Month” for October after his victory in the breezy and hard-fought 71st Annual All-Ireland Championship, sailed in SB20s (of which he’s National Champion) on Lough Ree. Once the top contenders had reached the final stages, his closest competitors had got to grips with the SB20, and two in particular – 2016 All Ireland title holder Alex Barry (Royal Cork YC) of the RS 400s, and GP 14 star Rob Kearney (Royal North of Ireland YC), were to give him a real challenge before he was finally able to hold the historic silver salver aloft.

2018 All Ireland Champion Peter Kennedy (left) with his regular crew Stephen Kane after winning on Lough Ree. Photo: Irish Sailing/David Branigan

November and December 2018 award winners will be linked here

The Afloat.ie and Irish Sailing Sailor of the Month Awards and the Irish Sailor of the Year Award will be presented at the Volvo Irish Sailing Awards on February 8th 2019.