Who Will Be Named Irish Sailor Of The Year This Friday?

5th February 2019

The wait is nearly over to find out who will be named Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year for 2018 at the star-studded Volvo Irish Sailing Awards in Dublin’s RDS this Friday 8 February.

Once again the country’s finest sailors will be recognised for their achievements across a host of categories including youth sailing, training, inclusion and sustainability.

However, the award most pertinent to Afloat.ie readers will be the one they’ve had a hand in selecting from a year of remarkable feats at home and abroad via our online poll of the boating public and maritime community.

Winkie Nixon rounds up the worthy nominees from Afloat.ie Sailors of the Month between January and October, while the final list added five more picks from November and December: speed sailor Oisin Van Gelderen; offshore pair Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop; Donal O’Sullivan, who recently retired as DBSC Honorary Secretary; Dun Laoghaire’s Fintan Cairns; and classic boat sailor Darryl Hughes.

Sailing’s best and brightest won’t be the only VIPs in attendance, as Minister of State Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Sport Ireland chief John Treacy and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Cathaoirleach Ossian Smyth will be on hand to present awards on the night.

In addition, luminaries from Irish club and high performance sailing, national champions, class captains, club commodores, previous Sailors of the Year, and world and Olympic veterans and hopefuls alike will be among the more than 400 guests gathered at the RDS this Friday night for the annual celebration of excellence in Irish sailing, hosted by returning master of ceremonies Fiona Bolger.

Guests will also have an opportunity to get a special up-close look at some of the very boat models sailed by this year’s award nominees.

The dinghy scene will be represented by chandleries CH Marine and Viking Marine displaying the Laser Radial, Topper and Optimist, while the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School’s RS200 will also be in the hall — and yacht broker MGM Boats will have a scale model of the new Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 that wowed the Paris Boat Show in December.

In all it’s shaping up to be another fantastic night toasting the very best sailing in Ireland has to offer — and if you can’t be there in person on the night, be sure to stay tuned to Afloat.ie this Friday evening for the announcement of 2018’s Sailor of the Year.

Published in Sailor of the Year, ISA

Published in Sailor of the Year

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Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.