Displaying items by tag: Jamie McMahon

1st April 2024

Jamie McMahon & UCD Dinghy Squad are “Sailors of the Month (Intervarsity Dinghies)” for March

The annual moveable feast that is the Irish Universities Annual Dinghy Team Challenge is not something to be undertaken lightly, as it aims to draw in more than 160 college sailors to some attractive venue that has to provide good sport afloat and ashore.

But despite March’s decidedly mixed weather, the very hospitable and experienced (you might even say battle-hardened) West Cork port of Schull was able to do the business for 2024, and the University College Dublin team, with ILCA ace Jamie McMahon in one of the key roles, emerged as this year’s champions and thereby worthy Sailors of the Month (Dinghies) for March.

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25th August 2022

Eve McMahon Starts Week Off Strong at ILCA U21 Worlds in Portugal

Tuesday’s first day of racing saw Eve McMahon take third in the overall ILCA 6 standings — and first among U19s — at the ILCA U21 World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal this week.

The Howth Yacht Club prospect is part of a youth sailing fleet that enjoyed champagne sailing conditions in the Algarve in the early part of this week — though lack of wind meant day two on Wednesday (24 August) saw no racing.

Eve is no doubt eager to hold her place at the top of the table to challenge for the podium this weekend — and close out a successful summer after her return with a gold medal from the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds besides two other major titles.

And she isn’t the only McMahon in action in Vilamoura, as her brother Jamie placed 11th overall in the ILCA 7 after two races. Fellow Irish competitors Tom Higgins (Royal St George YC) and Jonathan O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork YC) were in 60th and 73rd respectively.

The ILCA U21 Worlds continue till this Sunday 28 August. The latest standings can be found on the event website HERE or below

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26th May 2019

Jamie McMahon Takes U21 Laser Radial Title At Laser Europeans

Racing on the final day of the 2019 Laser Europeans in Porto

Some dazzling performances in the week’s final races saw Howth Yacht Club youth prospect Jamie McMahon sail 11 points clear of his closest rival to clinch the U21 Laser Radial title at the Laser European Championships in Porto yesterday (Saturday 25 May).

It’s been a high-achieving month for April’s Junior Sailor pick for Afloat.ie, as he and his sister Eve both qualified for the Irish Youth Sailing Team to compete at the Youth Worlds in Poland this July — the first Irish sibling pair to do so.

Jamie Medal Howth's Jamie McMahon on the Laser European Championship podium in Porto Photo: Irish Sailing/Twitter

Jamie McMahon in action | Photo: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Elsewhere, Finn Lynch (National YC) nabbed 18th place in the senior men’s division while Ewan McMahon — Jamie and Eve’s older brother — held on to his respectable 24th position in his first senior European championship. Liam Glynn was 78th.

In other results, Aisling Keller (Lough Derg) and Aoife Hopkins (HYC) were close in the final tally at 43rd and 45th respectively in the women’s Laser Radial, while Tom Fox (HYC) placed 26th in the U21 Men’s Laser Radial.

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2nd May 2019

Jamie McMahon is Junior Sailor of the Month for April

Jamie McMahon (Howth Yacht Club), put in a convincing performance at the Irish Youth Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club 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 for April.

Jamie McMahon negotiates a leeward mark approach Photo: Bob Bateman

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7th August 2017

McMahon's Best of Irish at UK Laser Opens

Ireland was to the fore at the UK Laser Nationals in Abersoch, North Wales

Current Youth Sailing Champion Ewan McMahon may be in the superstar role in Irish junior sailing, but the Sutton, County Dublin family who sail out of Howth Yacht Club have a new wave of talent coming along. This was shown in strength at the UK Laser Open & Nationals 2017 which concluded this weekend across channel in Wales at Abersoch.

While there no doubting the weekend competition this side of the Irish Sea for Laser Leinster honours in Rush, there was also a strong Irish showing on the Llyn Peninsula.

Young Jamie MacMahon counted scoreline of first Radial Junior, first Junior boy, first Irish Radial boy, and seventh overall out of 74.

Meanwhile his sister Eve, was carving out her own line of success, which amounted to first Lady, first Junior girl, first Irish 4.7, and fourth overall in a feet of 49.

Full results. including all other Irish results here.

Published in Laser

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Ireland & La Solitaire du Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, was originally called the course de l’Aurore until 1980, was created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault.

Half a decade later, the race has created some of France's top offshore sailors, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new boat equipped with foils and almost 50 skippers Including novices, aficionados and six former winners.

The solo multi-stage offshore sailing race is one of the most cherished races in French sailing and one that has had Irish interest stretching back over 20 years due to the number of Irish stopovers, usually the only foreign leg of the French race.

What Irish ports have hosted The Solitaire du Figaro?

The race has previously called to Ireland to the following ports; Dingle, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

What Irish sailors have raced The Solitaire du Figaro?

So far there have been seven Irish skippers to participate in La Solitaire du Figaro.

In 1997, County Kerry's Damian Foxall first tackled the Figaro from Ireland. His win in the Rookie division in DHL gave him the budget to compete again the following year with Barlo Plastics where he won the final leg of the race from Gijon to Concarneau. That same year a second Irish sailor Marcus Hutchinson sailing Bergamotte completed the course in 26th place and third Rookie.

In 2000, Hutchinson of Howth Yacht Club completed the course again with IMPACT, again finishing in the twenties.

In 2006, Paul O’Riain became the third Irish skipper to complete the course.

In 2013, Royal Cork's David Kenefick raised the bar by becoming a top rookie sailor in the race.

In 2018, for the first time, Ireland had two Irish boats in the offshore race thanks to Tom Dolan and Joan Mulloy who joined the rookie ranks and kept the Irish tricolour flying high in France. Mulloy became the first Irish female to take on the race.

Tom Dolan in Smurfit Kappa competed for his third year in 2020 after a 25th place finish in 2019. Dolan sailed a remarkably consistent series in 2020 and took fifth overall, the best finish by a non-French skipper since 1997 when Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre finished runner up. Dolan wins the VIVI Trophy.

Dolan finished 10th on the first stage, 11th on the second and seventh into Saint Nazaire at the end of the third stage. Stage four was abandoned due to lack of wind.

Also in 2020, Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball became the eleventh Irish sailor to sail the Figaro.

At A Glance – Figaro Race

It starts in June or July from a French port.
The race is split into four stages varying from year to year, from the length of the French coast and making up a total of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,700 to 2,300 mi; 2,800 to 3,700 km) on average.
Over the years the race has lasted between 10 and 13 days at sea.
The competitor is alone in the boat, participation is mixed.
Since 1990, all boats are of one design.