The attention of the sailing community is understandably focused this weekend on the opening stages of the ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds 2026 in Dublin Bay, and the wonders of the ways in which the National Yacht Club and the neighbouring Royal St George Yacht Club are pooling their organisational resources of personnnel, amenities and facilities with the temporarily re-purposed boat park of the Carlisle Pier, all to host a large fleet of international superstars in Dun Laoghaire.
The fascinating bit of water that is Dublin Bay. The recent Men’s ILCA 7 Worlds experienced mostly onshore easterly winds, but it looks as though next week’s Women’s ILCA 6 Worlds will have offshore westerlies
DUBLIN BAY EMPHASIS
Yet although Dun Laoghaire is very much the focal point, as was recently discussed here the world beyond is left in no doubt that the sailing is taking place on Dublin Bay. Our beloved Poolbeg smokestacks at the head of the bay have been elevated to sacred structures in the very attractive events logo which – as we have been informed right from the very top – is planned for ongoing promotion of Dublin Bay as the scene of the action simply because non-Gaeilgeoirs – and it seems there are quite a lot of them out there on Planet Earth and beyond – simply haven’t a clue as to how Dun Laoghaire should be pronounced.
The Championships Logo acknowledges that Dublin Bay is more easily pronounced and better recognised than Dun Laoghaire.
“DUNLEARY” WORKED WELL ENOUGH FOR SAOIRSE
Conor O’Brien was well aware of this when he set off on June 20th 1923 on his successful global circumnavigation with Saoirse. So as the place had been called Kingstown for barely a hundred years, he simply reverted to the generally-used pre-Kingstown name of Dunleary. Which is simple enough, but then it ignores the fact that Dunleary is important for the maritime world only because it gives rapid sailing access to Dublin Bay.
DUBLIN IS A WORLD CITY
Dublin itself is now a world city, and as the choice has had to be made, we go for Dublin Bay and realise that the unused but lovingly preserved smokestacks are works of art, super-slim expressions of the creative engineering traditions that make classic lighthouses like Haulbowline at the entrance to Carlingford Lough such a joy to behold.
The definitive classical engineering of a lighthouse, as seen in Haulbowline at the entrance to Carlingford Lough
This obsession with the subtleties of the shapes of prominent creations is not something to be taken lightly. As Dublin Bay has its smokestacks, so too does Belfast Lough have the mighty chimney at Kilroot Power Station on its northern shore. Yet the Kilroot chimney is just a crude fat tube, and when a Belfast newspaper ran a quiz for the most disliked structure in Northern Ireland, it was no contest - the Kilroot tube ran away with it.
Eve McMahon storming along to the Bronze Medal at the 2025 ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds. Photo: ILCA
THE BAY OF MANY MOODS MAY BRING INDIAN SUMMER
But though Dublin Bay is now the headliner for championships big and small, it is a Dublin Bay of many moods. Thus although the ILCA 7 Men’s Worlds which concluded on Sunday August 30th had been dealing with mainly easterly winds, it now seems that the sou’west monsoon - heavily seen in some places in recent days - may be of brief duration, and much of the ILCA 6 Worlds may be raced in west to nor’west winds with high pressure to the south.
With the chance of the occasional plume of sub-tropical warmth making its way into the mixture, it could well be that we’ll get a touch of Indian Summer, which is one huge bonus when you’re taking the gamble of running a World Championship on Dublin Bay in mi-September.
As it happens, wind conditions were extremely unsatisfactory for the 2025 ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds in a place far away, with only two days of anything approaching real racing weather. So if next week Dublin Bay serves up anything like what some of the more optimistic forecasts are predicting, Ireland is going to be in fine shape when a certain visitor arrives, ultimately bound for Doonbeg.
DEFENDING CHAMPION
Meanwhile in the Dublin Bay sailing, Louise Cervera of France – Gold Medallist in the 2025 Worlds whatever the weather – is very much on Dublin Bay to defend her title, as is Silver Medallist Agata Barwinska of Poland and the Bronze Medallist Eve McMahon, of whom more anon.
As for the Gold Medallist in the 2024 Olympics, that was Marit Bouwmeester of The Netherlands, with her Gold making her the most successful female Olympic sailor ever, upon which she decided to retire from competition at this level. However, 2024 Olympic Bronze Medallist Line Flem Host of Norway – her country’s first Olympic Medallist in the Class - is in town and will be out on the bay.
PROMISING LINEUP FOR IRELAND
All of this hovering around the recent medallists is only a ploy to avoid facing the reality that Ireland seems to be going into this championship with a very formidable lineup. It’s ten years since Annalise Murphy of the National YC won Silver at the Rio Olympics, and who can forget being in the crowd from every corner of Ireland who swamped the National YC to welcome her home?
They came from every corner of Ireland…the crowd swamping the National YC to welcome home Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy in 2016. Photo: W M Nixon
Yet this year she’s back, making her debut at the Irish Nationals on Dublin Bay at the end of July, and coming out first with a scoreline of 1,3,1,2,2,1 to the (15), 1,2,7,3,3 of one of the youngest of the rising stars, Sienna Wright of Howth, who has since gone on to win Silver at the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds at Aaarhus in Denmark.
The Comeback Kid. 2016 Olympic Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy has already made her mark back in the ILCA/Laser scene with victory in the 2026 Nationals
Add to that the Bronze medal of Eve McMahon at the 2025 Worlds, with Lucy Ives to complete the fab four Irish sailors in next week’s championship, and we’re looking at something that could be very special indeed.
USING 200-YEAR-OLD BASIC STRUCTURE
Thus the fact that it is all being run from a harbour whose basic structure was literally set in stone nearly 200 years ago, from clubhouses, moreover, the youngest of which was built in 1870, and you get some idea of the unique attraction of Dun Laoghaire as a very workable sailing centre for people who are more accustomed to totally modern but somewhat soul-less precisely purpose-built facilities.
The eternally fascinating Dublin Bay with Dun Laoghaire just out of the picture. How about a useful little harbour at the south side of the outer end of the South Bull Wall to increase boating access to the bay?
Yet the fact that everyone who uses it, whatever their interest afloat, has to depart and return through the one relatively narrow Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance makes one wonder whether or not the pressure could be relieved a bit by another recreational facility accessing directly onto the bay, for Sutton Dinghy Club is almost totally tidal, as too is Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club, while Poolbeg Y&BC’s marina is a long way upriver and dinghy parking is very limited.
The annual Cruising Association of Ireland Three Bridges Rally (2026’s is today) passing under the Eastlink Bridge.
Sails in the City – the CAI Rally passing the Tall Ship Jeanie Johnston
THREE BRIDGES TODAY
But appreciation of Dublin Bay need not be limited to major dinghy championships. Today sees the Three Bridges Rally in Dublin Port, with the Cruising Association of Ireland leading a motley fleet through the three opening bridges on the Liffey to immure themselves for the night right in the heart of the city. It’s an event that requires goodwill on all sides, but is ultimately another way of celebrating this extraordinary place we call Dublin Bay.
The CAI Three Bridges Rally in the heart of Dublin is noted for the variety of its participating boats.
