#Topper - Hugh O’Connor of the National Yacht Club was presented with the Topper Challenge Cup for the series last weekend at Rush Sailing Club.

Afloat.ie’s Junior Sailor of the Month for August amassed a string of impressive victories this season, including the second and third Traveller events, the Southern Championships and the O’Tiarnaigh Topper Challenge.

Ireland’s number-one Topper sailor also placed second in the Irish Nationals and Winter Championships — not to mention his stellar podium performance at the Topper Worlds in China.

Fellow NYC sailor Natasha Hemeryck was presented with the overall third place trophy in the series for 2018. Over the year, Hemeryck came in first in the Winter Championships, second at the Traveller 2 and Northern Championships and fifth at the Irish Nationals.

Caoimhe Seymour (NYC) came second overall for the series in the 4.2 Rig and was presented with her trophy at Rush Sailing Club, where the NYC was well represented for the fifth Traveller and last Topper event of the 2018 calendar.

Seymour maintained a consistent place through out the series, coming in third in the Irish Nationals, Winter Championships and Northern Championships, and first in the Traveller 4.

Meanwhile, NYC sailors in Rush included Seymour (third in the 4.2 rig), Adam Irvin, Eoghan Turner (second overall), Deirdre Turner, Mathew O’Brien Holohan and Hugh O’Connor, who finished third in the U17 amid challenging, windy and gusty conditions.

Sixty-two competitors signed up for the event, which the class association said was a fantastic number for the final Topper Traveller in the 2018 series.

#Topper - Hugh O’Connor of the National Yacht Club took second place among the biggest fleet yet at at the Topper World Championships in Shenzhen, China earlier this week.

Conditions were light and wet with lots of humidity, and with only two races completed in the 5.3 fleet an official world champion could not be crowned.

Despite the difficult sailing conditions, O’Connor topped a list of strong results for the Irish in Shenzhen.

Erin McIlwaine of Newcastle YC finishd as first lady and sixth overall, while the Royal Cork’s Hugh Lynch and David Jones were fifth and ninth respectively.

In the 4.2 fleet, Joe O’Sullivan (RCYC) was the top Irish sailor with a 14th-place overall finish.