Dublin Bay Frostbites regulars Roy Van Maanen (Greystones SC) and Noel Butler (National YC) both finished second in their respective fleets at the RS Aero US Midwinters in Florida last weekend.

Varied conditions tested sailors in all wind strengths in very pleasant Florida temperatures across the race week held at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa.

Butler had a consistent performance in the shifty breeze on day two in the 7 fleet, scoring 3,2,3 to secure his podium, while Van Maanen enjoyed a game battle with Philip Myerson of Cedar Point YC in Connecticut for first in the 5 fleet, with the US sailor coming up trumps this time out.

The Irish contingent also competed in the Florida State Championship, with Butler taking third place and Van Maanen placing a more than respectable sixth.

And in the Round the Bay Long Distance Race on 8 February, Butler narrowly missed out on first place — under 10 seconds on handicap — to make it a trifecta of podium finishes.

Noel Butler and Roy Van Maanen (right) at dinner with fellow RS Aero sailors during the race week | Credit: Noel Butler

Butler commented on social media: “Delighted to finish 2nd 7 rig in the RS Aero Class North America Midwinter Championships and 3rd in the Florida State Championships

“Thanks to organiser Ryan Schenck and all at the beautiful Davis Island Yacht Club for the hospitality and a great event.

“Thanks to the Cedar Point Yacht Club RS Aero sailors for providing charter boats and driving them all the way from CT to FL and back!

“Thanks to the Hummingbird Gang (Jeff Dunmall, Madhavan Thirumalai, Boris Mezhibovskiy, Roy Van Maanen) for the epic accomodation, food and fun!”

Both are back in action in Ireland this weekend, with the INSS RS Aero Super Series on Saturday and the DMYC Frostbites on Sunday.

Members of the National Yacht Club are invited to a talk on safe navigation in Dublin Bay, hosted by Dublin Port Company on Thursday 23 February at 7.30pm.

The talk will be will be presented by members of the port operations team.​ For details contact the NYC office.

Noel Butler of the National Yacht Club is Stateside this week for the 2023 Florida RS Aero Winter Series in Tampa.

Davis Island Yacht Club — known for its steady winter winds ranging from 8-15 knots on any given day — is hosting the weeklong event that comprises the Florida State Championships on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February, the Round the Bay long-distance race on Wednesday 8 February and the Midwinters over the weekend of 10-12 February.

In the meantime, Butler’s absence will give his fellow competitors in the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite Series a chance to reshuffle the leaderboard.

Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club has announced it will be hosting its first Student Match Racing Invitational on the weekend of 1-2 April.

The Student Match Racing Invitational will bring together the top varsity sailors in the country in what promises to be an exciting weekend of match racing, adding the discipline to the already packed university sailing calendar.

The event will include round robins, a knockout series as well as finals racing.

The Notice of Race is available from the NYC website and university teams can register their interest HERE.

The National Yacht Club will take applications online for winter platform parking from 6pm on Monday 17 October.

As space is at an absolute premium, priority will be given to dinghies actively taking part in either the Turkey Shoot, DMYC Frostbite racing series or NYC’s junior training programmes.

Dinghies taking part in either the junior training sessions or the DMYC Frostbite racing series must complete the form prior to bringing their boats back on the platform.

The club advises that the Boathouse Sub-Committee and Sailing Manager reserve the right to control who pays and applies. Please also note that platform parking does not reopen before this Saturday 22 October.

Afloat.ie has learned that the National Yacht Club’s pandemic-delayed 150th anniversary gala dinner has sold out in under 24 hours.

The event on Saturday 22 October marks the club’s sesquicentennial some two-and-a-half years late, after COVID restrictions forced the cancellation of the originally scheduled dinner in March 2020.

While the €90-a-plate night is a black-tie affair, the club says “pops of colour” will be “very much encouraged”.

It adds that the evening will commence with pre-dinner drinks, moving onto a superlative five-course meal with wine accompaniment, covering the vernacular of classical and nouvelle cuisine by club chef Cormac Healy, which will be interspersed with and followed by entertainment until late.


“We hope that all who wish to attend can make it to celebrate the past, present and future of the National Yacht Club,” the club says.

“The committees of the National Yacht Club look forward to seeing you there and belatedly ushering in the next 150 years of our exceptional club in appropriate style.”

The National Yacht Club is hosting its annual Davy Junior Regatta in Dun Laoghaire next Wednesday 13 July.

Registration will take place the prior evening Tuesday 12 July from 5pm to 6.30pm and again on Wednesday morning from 8.15am to 9am, ahead of the competitors’ briefing at 9.15am.

Three races are scheduled for the day, Launching for both junior sailing fleets is scheduled to commence at 10am with the first warning signal for the Harbour Fleet at 10.45am and the Main Fleet at 11.15am.

The entry fee for the regatta is €15 for single-handed boats and €25 for two-handed boats.

Meanwhile, the current entry list, Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions can be found on the NYC website.

Click HERE to enter the regatta — entries close at 9pm on Tuesday 12 July.

The National Yacht Club is holding its biennial Regatta presented by main sponsor Davy this Saturday 18 June, and the Notice of Race and online entry are now available.

The Dun Laoghaire waterfront club promises a great programme of entertainment ashore and guaranteed great racing on the water on a date that’s not to be missed.

The National Yacht Club seeks a Head Coach, part time or full time, to lead high-quality learning throughout the club’s general membership, racing yachts, performance sailing, all coaches and instructors, junior section and cadet members.

Based on the Dun Laoghaire waterfront, the club has a membership of around 400 members, including more than 200 junior sailors, taking part in the sport throughout the year. 

The successful candidate for NYC Head Coach should have the following broad aims:

• To uphold and enhance the mission of the NYC.
• To raise the sailing standards of members, instructors and junior sailors of the club.
• To enhance the club’s participation at all levels among junior and adult sailors.
• To drive presentation and performance of the club’s sailors at regional and national sailing events.
• To build an excellent coaching and performance culture and environment.
• To grow the pipeline of youth membership and establish a pathway from junior sailors to adult membership.

The Head Coach should undertake the following activities:

• To lead all sail training and performance coaching programmes for junior and adult sailors: match, team and club racing, WoW, U25s and junior training.
• Develop and implement programmes for all members, including individuals, teams and different cohort.
• Oversee the development of the club’s Performance sailors and put in place a schedule of performance sailing coaching sessions at the club and external events.
• Select, develop and retain all instructors and coaches and provide support with training execution and review.
• Review and ensure compliance with schedules, pathways, standards, protocols, course, infrastructure and processes for all coaching.
• Increase coaching revenue at the club.
• Coordinate and communicate with coaches and sailing stakeholders.
• To work with the boathouse to ensure the club infrastructure, boats, rescue etc required to compete and provide training are maintained to a high standard.
• To work with the sailing manager and administrative team to ensure that all administrative tasks required to manage the course programme are executed in a timely manner.

The Head Coach should have the following skills and competencies:

• Trained in coaching, first aid and safeguarding through Irish Sailing.
• Highly experienced with 10-plus years and expert in sailing and racing as subject matters.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including coaching and mentoring.
• Effective communication and leadership skills required to manage all stakeholders.
• Proven track-record of working as part of a team in a similar position is desirable.
• Full, clean drivers licence (with trailer).

This role is accountable to the club’s Junior Organiser and General Committee.

Applications for this role should be sent to [email protected] by Monday 20 June.

Mark Hassett came out on top to win the inaugural National Yacht Club Match Racing Invitational on Sunday 5 December.

With his team of Adam Hyland and Robbie English, Hassett beat an impressive field of national champions and Olympic sailors to come out victorious.

After a postponement on Day 1 due to unfavourable conditions, the fleet of seven teams finally got out in the NYC’s fleet of purpose-built Elliott 6M match-racing boats. After multiple attempts and gusts upwards of 35 knots, it was decided to cancel racing for the day and have an early start the next day instead.

As Sunday rolled around, teams pitched up at 8am to a fantastic sunrise and ideal match racing conditions. Race officer Will Byrne cracked off 21 races to complete the round robin in impressive time. The top four teams — Mark Hassett, Brendan Lyden, Tom Fitzpatrick and Seafra Guilfoyle — proceeded to finals.

As top ranked team after the round robin, Hassett opted to face Guilfoyle in the first semi, leaving Lyden to go up against Fitzpatrick in the other side of the first to two wins in the semi-finals. Hassett had two clean wins against Guilfoyle to proceed to the finals.

Racing in the NYC’s Elliott 6M fleet in the club’s inaugural match racing invitational | Credit: Guy Boggan

Lyden vs Fitzpatrick was not so simple. Fitzpatrick took the first win with Lyden taking the second. Going in to the final race, it was neck-and-neck at the top mark, but a MOB on Fitzpatrick’s boat all but scuppered their chances of making the finals, allowing Lyden to sail to victory.

Then the finals were upon us: Hassett vs Lyden, who were also the top two teams after the round robin.

Hassett got the first Starboard entry start as top seeded sailor and the two locked horns for two very intense final races. Hassett won race one and looked to be trailing in the second but a smart tactical move, gybe setting at the top mark while Lyden sailed in to the lee of the west pier allowed them to regain the lead and sail to a 2-0 victory, winning the event overall.

Diana Kissane and her team of Ellen Cahill and Cliodhna Connolly also came away as top female team of the event.

Organisers offered “massive thanks” to Jones Engineering and Hyland Shipping for backing the evemnt. “Without the generous support of the sponsors, this event could not have been the success it was,” they added.