Cypriot Olympic medallist Pavlos Kontides says the sailing culture he witnessed in Dún Laoghaire during the ILCA 7 World Championships is something he dreams of developing in his home country.
Writing on LinkedIn after the championships concluded on Sunday, Kontides said it was not the racing that prompted him to reflect on his Irish experience, but the depth of the local connection with sailing and the sea.
The 36-year-old, who won Cyprus's first-ever Olympic medal with silver in the Laser at London 2012 and added another silver at Paris 2024, had spent two weeks training in Dún Laoghaire in June before returning for the Worlds in August.
Kids, Clubs and Irish Weather
Despite encountering rain, cold weather and sea temperatures of around 13°C during his June visit, Kontides said he was struck by the sight of children continuing to play and sail on the water.
He even recalled youngsters improvising with what he described as "garbage bags" to propel boats in windy conditions.
Next Generation: Young sailors take to Dún Laoghaire Harbour during the ILCA 7 Worlds, reflecting the everyday connection with sailing and the sea that Kontides says he would like to foster in Cyprus Photo: Afloat
More significant for Kontides was how normal participation in sailing appeared to be across different ages and abilities.
"Weekends are for sailing," he wrote, describing people heading onto the water for fun, away from mobile phones and spending time together.
For an athlete from Cyprus, where warmer weather and sea conditions might appear to provide an obvious advantage in encouraging watersports, the contrast made an impression.
"We are more blessed than them with the weather and conditions we have for sea activities, including sailing," Kontides said.
But, he added, Cyprus does not yet appreciate or exploit that opportunity to the same extent.
Hundreds of Young Sailors Wait in the Rain
Kontides said he was also surprised by the scale and age range of the volunteers involved in staging the ILCA 7 Worlds.
But his defining memory came on the final day.
With rain falling as a weather front crossed Dublin Bay, he said hundreds of children waited on the pontoon to applaud the top ten sailors as they returned, seeking photographs and autographs from some of the world's leading ILCA sailors.
Heroes' Welcome: Young sailors and families crowd the Dún Laoghaire waterfront to welcome the ILCA 7 fleet ashore and congratulate the new world champion, part of the sailing culture that made a lasting impression on Pavlos Kontides. Photo: ILCA
The reception afforded Ireland's Finn Lynch particularly caught his attention.
When Lynch was called forward for eighth place at the prizegiving, Kontides said "it was as if he'd won the worlds".
He described seeing pride stretching from the youngest sailors through to older generations who had spent much of their lives around Dún Laoghaire's sailing clubs.
'We Are Lucky in Dún Laoghaire'
The observations prompted a warm response from members of the Irish sailing community in responses on LinkedIn.
Stephen Browne said it had also been inspiring for young sailors to discover how approachable the Olympic-class competitors were during the championships.
Judy O'Beirne summed up the local perspective more simply: "We are lucky in Dun Laoghaire and our young sailors love meeting their heroes."
Kontides's observations perhaps underline something easily overlooked from inside Irish sailing: its strength is not simply measured in championship results, boats or facilities, but in the accumulated culture surrounding them.
For Kontides, that culture is something worth trying to reproduce.
A Cyprus Sailing Culture
"One of my dreams is to create this nautical culture in Cyprus," he said.
His vision extends well beyond competitive dinghy sailing. He wants a generation comfortable with understanding wind direction, tying knots, sailing and handling motorboats, as well as fishing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and paddleboarding.
Most importantly, he said, young people should learn to respect the sea and nature, to love it without fearing it.
Kontides believes hosting major championships can help create that relationship rather than simply delivering an economic return to a host town or region.
"World championships and big events are organized in nations not only for the financial benefit of the region, but to impact the community in a deeper and more meaningful way," he said.
And having seen that relationship at close quarters in Dún Laoghaire, the Cypriot finished his reflection with a question of his own:
"Are we interested in hosting the 2029 ILCA 7 World Championship in Cyprus?"
Culture Course: Cyprus Olympic medallist Pavlos Kontides racing on Dublin Bay during the ILCA 7 World Championships, after which he said one of his dreams was to create a similar nautical culture in Cyprus. Photo: Afloat
Kontides's observations also add an international sailor's perspective to Dún Laoghaire's proposed National Watersports Campus plans. As Afloat reported during the Worlds, the campus is intended not only to improve the harbour's capacity to stage major championships, but to make it easier for more people to get on the water and strengthen the connection between the public and watersports.
Read: ILCA Worlds Put Dún Laoghaire's Watersports Campus Plans to the Test
