Dun Laoghaire Harbour sailor Charlie Cullen grabbed a bronze podium position at the Waszp Italian Cup event last weekend just over a month after he finished eighth at the Waszp European Championships in Spain.

This bodes well for the 20-year-old sailor's campaign towards the Waszp Worlds that will be held in Lake Garda Italy this July.

The first stop for the 2021 U20 & Slalom European Champion was the Italian Cup event held last weekend in beautiful Circolo Vela Bellano on Lake Como. All the top Italian sailors met at the event, including 2022 Waszp European Champion Francesco Bertone, and top 10 finishers Enzio Savoini & Emanuele Savoini.

Day 1 of racing saw unusual conditions with a very gusty and shifty north breeze, making for exciting and tactical racing. Charlie told Afloat, “ I had to ensure that I stayed in the pressure and just sail my own race. If we didn’t get it right the boat would fall into no wind and fall off the foils”.

The young sailor stayed consistent and grabbed himself a bullet in race 2 after an exciting, tactical downwind battle with 2022 European Champion Francesco Bertone. After day one Charlie lay in third overall with Enzio Savoini in 1st and Francesco Bertone close second. Day two saw light winds with only one race being held.

“Delighted to finish third on the podium in a fleet of 33 boats after such tough conditions, it’s promising going forward this summer into the worlds and foiling week”, said Charlie.

There is a strong Irish contingent planning to compete at the Worlds this summer with the fleet expecting to reach nearly 200 boats.

Gonzaga College was crowned as the Schools National Team Racing Champions 2022 at the event hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Since the event's inception in 2004, it is the first occasion that a Leinster School has taken this much-sought trophy.

Captained by Trevor Bolger, the Gonzaga Team attained a 100% race win victory over their competitors.

The team showed a first-class mastery of team racing tactics as they controlled all their races.

Photo: Andrew Conan

On average, their winning positions were from the pre-start and by mark one were clear with a 1 and 2 position.

The third helm focused on covering their opponents, and from there on, the opposition was playing catch up.

The Gonzaga Team were Trevor Bolger Helm 1, Jacques Murphy Helm 2, Archie Daly Helm 3, and the crew were Ethan Hunt, Cathal O'Reagan and Jules Start.

13 Schools competed in the event, 6 Munster, 1 Connacht and 6 Leinster, which was an excellent turnout as the maximum number of qualifiers were 14.

Irish Schools National Team Racing Champions 2022 Results

There was another event included in the weekend championships, the Munster Provincial event, which did not take place this year for several reasons.

Munster Schools

Rochestown College was crowned the Munster Schools Team Racing Championships for 2022.

Running racing proved to be very challenging for Race Officer David Bolger as, at minimum the event had to complete 80% of the Round Robin, which was a schedule of 85 races, to achieve a result.  Congratulations to David on achieving this, as the wind was not playing ball with us over the two days.

Photo: Andrew Conan

Saturday started with the wind at 230 degrees at 6-8knots when racing commenced. The wind died entirely and swung to 130 degrees. Reset the course and swapped positions for start and finish boats. Later in the afternoon, the wind died again and reappeared at 250-270 degrees. This lost a minimum of 40 minutes of racing time. Max wind strength for the day was nine knots.

On Sunday, the course was set close to the Carlisle Pier with 250-260 degrees wind direction. On occasion, there were gusts of up to 12 knots, and the racing started at 9.42.

Photo: Andrew Conan

There was a significant wind shift in the middle of race 53, with the direction being 010. It was allowed to settle at 310-320. The course was repositioned around the committee boats in a new direction.

The wind continued to shift left and organisers continuously shifted the course accordingly.

After race 63, repositioned the course to the centre of the harbour with consistent 6-8 knots from 250 to 270 degrees.

Finally, at Race 73, the event hit the magic number of 80% when the wind died off.

Photo: Andrew Conan

No event takes place without the support and hard work of the volunteers. Organises say thank you to Team Leaders David Bolger Race Officer, Robbie Walker, P.R.O, Keith Start Beach Master/Changeover Coordinator and Lorraine O'Connor Results/Race Office, and their crew of volunteers, club members, and school representatives.

Photo: Andrew Conan

The S.S.A.I. would like to thank the following Royal St. George Yacht Club and Flag Officers for hosting the event, Ronan Adams, Sailing Manager, Karin Ryan, Sailing Secretary, Catering and Boat House staff.

Eunice Kennedy elected as Chairperson Schools Sailing Association of Ireland

The Schools Sailing Association of Ireland held their Annual General Meeting on Saturday evening (30th of April 2022), and Eunice Kennedy was elected as Chairperson. 

Schools National Team Racing Champions 2022 Photo Gallery by Andrew Clonan

Twelve Dun Laoghaire Harbour Laser/ILCA sailors competed last weekend at the XIV edition of the Spanish ILCA Masters, at picturesque Calella de Palafrugell on the Costa Brava coast.

Racing in nine ILCA 6’s (Radials) and three ILCA 7’s (Full rigs), the sailors came from RStGYC, NYC and the Coal Harbour.

Ireland was also represented on the water by our International Judge/Umpire Michael O’Connor, from Kinsale.

This is one of the most popular regattas on the popular EuroMasters circuit which attracts over 700 ILCA sailors to various wonderful venues each year. For this regatta, hosted by the hospitable Club Vela Calella, there were 64 ILCA 6s and 34 ILCA 7s.

(Above and below) The Spanish ILCA Masters at picturesque Calella de Palafrugell on the Costa Brava coast

Sailed in glorious sunshine throughout and very pleasant temperatures, the regatta began on Thursday, April 28 with an epic practice race in 15-20 knots, followed by Day 1 proper with 3 races in 10-14 knots but, by the weekend, competing weather systems left the venue windless and only one more race was possible on the Sunday. So Friday was key and, despite a very one-sided first beat, results were very up and down as starts were congested (especially with the 6’s) and finding lanes on the favoured port lay line was absolutely treacherous.

The Irish squad proved that the vibrant local Masters' scene means our sailors are very competitive and all acquitted themselves well. Off the water too, where the team represented the second-largest contingent after the hosts, among the 13 countries represented!

In the ILCA 6’s, Monica Azon claimed first overall for Spain, proving her pedigree as a dual Olympian from 2004 and 2008. She was pushed hard by Max Hunt (GBR), very well known for his specialist ILCA parts business. Next were Dutch and Mexican competitors (the latter preparing for the Master Worlds in Mexico in June) and the top 5 was rounded off by Sean Craig (RStGYC), a result which also gave him a podium 2nd in the 28-boat Grand Master category. The next best of the Irish was Judy O’Beirne in 28th overall (and 6th lady overall), followed by Sean Flanagan in 32nd, Shirley Gilmore in 34th and Michael Norman in 37th.

In the ILCA 7’s, the Spanish dominated, taking the top 6 overall and the great Jose Luis Doreste (470 Gold in 1984 Games and Flying Dutchman Gold in 1996 Games) didn’t actually make top three. Best of the Irish was Theo Lyttle in 17th overall who had the satisfaction of a win in the Practice race.

The Irish competitors were ; Alison Pigot (NYC), Ali Robinson (RStGYC), Judy O’Beirne (RStGYC), Shirley Gilmore (RStGYC), Michael Norman (Coal Harbour/Wicklow SC), Hugh Cahill (Coal Harbour/DBSC), Sean Flanagan (RStGYC), David Cahill (NYC), Sean Craig (RStGYC), Theo Lyttle (RStGYC), Conor O’Leary (RStGYC), Chris Arrowsmith (RStGYC)

The 2022 ILCA Master European Championships will take place not far up the coast from Calella de Palafrugell, in October, at L’Escala. A strong Irish team is expected to compete.

Results of the 2022 Spanish Masters are downloadable below

Saturday’s (April 9th) Lift-in of yachts and boats at Dun Laoghaire Harbour in perfect calm and sunny conditions marked the opening of the 2022 summer sailing season on Dublin Bay. 

In the harbour, the National Yacht Club and neighbouring Royal St. George YC lifted in approximately 30 sailing cruisers apiece using mobile cranes in the day-long operation. 

The boats had wintered ashore on hardstanding at the club premises.

After the weekend lift-in, the summer sailing season will commence on Dublin Bay with a 35-mile ISORA coastal race and the Dublin Bay Sailing Club summer season, starting on April 23rd.

The annual lift in of boats at the Royal St. George Yacht Club

At Ireland's biggest boating centre, the fine Spring weather and good sailing breezes have seen several yachts based at the town marina already back on the Dublin Bay race track.

Slalom and U20 European Waszp Champion Charlie Cullen of the Royal St. George Yacht Club finished third in his first event of the season held in Imperia Italy. The event run by Dry Laps and Yacht Club Imperia from March 11th to 13th had a small but strong contingent of sailors, four of whom, including Cullen, finished in the top ten at last year’s Europeans in Lake Garda.

The three days followed with tight and tricky racing, with Imperia delivering big waves and strong winds. “It was great racing, after 10 races the top 5 boats were within 1 point of each other going into the last race, so I couldn’t have asked for a better challenge to start off the season,” said the Dun Laoghaire Harbour sailor.

Ettore Botticini of Italy took first overall with Enzio Savoini taking second and Cullen (second from right) taking the final spot on the podium

The next stop on the international Waszp calendar is the European Championships in Mar Menor Spain from April 11th to 17th where over 80 boats are expected to compete.

When renewing their annual membership subscription, all the Royal St George Yacht Club members are given the opportunity to make a voluntary contribution to charitable causes. For 50 years up to and including 2020, the money raised was spent on hosting pensioners living alone and from nursing homes in the parish and nearby to an Annual Lunch held during the Christmas period.

Due to Covid, this has not been possible in 2021 and 2022. However, the members of the George have continued to give generously, and the Club’s charitable fund has grown in that time. Like many other sports clubs, the pandemic had a positive side effect in that their membership grew as people sought out ways to spend family time together in a healthy environment. Hence, the Royal St George’s membership grew by over 200 new members since 2020.

From left to right: Robert Fowler, Conor Hickey (Crosscare), Richard O’Connor and Alan Kirwan

Therefore, in consultation with the Trustees of the charitable fund Robert Fowler and Alan Kirwan, the Operational Board are delighted to donate €6,000 to charities active in Dun Laoghaire. Cheques of €2,000 each were presented on Saturday to St Vincent de Paul, Crosscare and The Lions Club at the Royal St George.

Garry (SVdP volunteer) with RSTGYC's Richard O’Connor 

Commodore Richard O’Connor, along with Alan and Robert, were there along with representatives of each of the charities for the handover. Speaking at the event, he said, “These charities all do tremendous work in our local community. It is a real privilege to represent the Members of our Club giving back to those in need of help here in Dun Laoghaire.”

The Royal St George members also donated €2,000 to the RNLI earlier this year.

Former Flying Fifteen British Isles and Irish Champion Gerry Donleavy who died last year is one of three members of the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen class to be honoured at the 2021 FF15 Trophy Awards Dinner in Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Friday.

The Royal St. George Yacht Club hosted event will celebrate the season's achievements on the water but the class will also commemorate its former helmsmen Donleavy, Jack Roy and Ross Doyle who all died in 2021.

Rosemary Roy, Jack's wife and flagship partner and the Chairman of the Irish Flying Fifteen Association of Ireland, Hammy Baker are guests of the Dun Laoghaire class for the evening.

The occasion will also be the last official function of outgoing Dun Laoghaire Class Captain, Neil Colin of the DMYC.

The successful defence of the Irish National FF Championships by Dun Laoghaire's John Lavery and Alan Green on Strangford Lough last August that will be saluted again on Friday was also rewarded last weekend with the National Yacht Club's O’Leary Cup for the best performance of the year in one designs.

Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Dragon Sailing Team finished in sixth place overall at the Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal on Saturday.

The Royal St George team comprised Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms.

The small 12 boat but very competitive fleet was topped by European Champion Jens Christensen from Denmark who launched a brand new Dragon for this event and won by six points.

Recent Gold Cup winner and Vendee Globe competitor Pieter Heerema from the Netherlands was second with the holder of the Marblehead Trophy and current European Champion Pedro Andrade from Portugal in third.

Results are here

The Royal St George Yacht Club has endorsed former Commodore Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team as their representative at this week's Dragon Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal.

A four-time winner of the Irish Dragon Championship and a former Edinburgh Cup (British Nationals) winner Byrne has been competing on the international Dragon circuit for a number of years. But Covid related restrictions has curtailed his team’s activities over the last two seasons.

Normal service has almost resumed and his Jaguar Sailing Team is located in Vilamoura, Portugal for the Dragon winter series.

This week they compete in the prestigious Marblehead Trophy where they will be one of the only Corinthian teams in a small but very hot lineup of international Dragon champions which includes the current Gold Cup and European Champions as well as multiple Olympic medalists.

It’s no surprise that Byrne’s crew includes Adam Winkelmann (RIYC) who has shared in all of the team's successes and is completed by Laser veteran and offshore helm John Simms from Royal Ulster YC.

Byrne’s told Afloat he was relieved the team successfully negotiated the crew weigh-in procedure and that their impressive form in the recent Portuguese National Championships, where they were unlucky to finish 5th, would be no indication as to the "daunting challenge" facing them this week.

More here

15 Waszp foiling dinghies, including with three from the UK, contested last weekend's National Championships on Dublin Bay.

As Afloat reported earlier here,  it was hard, fast sailing in heavy winds and choppy conditions at the Royal St George Yacht Club event.

Now a class video (below) shows off more of the high speed foiling action from the Bay. 

UK sailor Ross Banham as overall winner in 8.2 m fleet, followed by Arthur Fry, both from Hayling Island sailing club, UK. Henry Start of the RSGYC came a close third overall and was National Waszp champion in this fleet.

In the 6.9m fleet overall winner and national winner was Emily Conan RSGYC, followed closely by Kate Tingle RSGYC /RCYC in second and Tom Hogan RSGYC in third place.

Tom was also first master. Elysia O’Leary RSGYC was first Irish female in 8.2 fleet and Max Goodbody RSGYC/RIYC was first under 19 years in the 8.2m fleet.

Prizewinners are photographed below by Simon McIlwaine

Waszp 2021 National Championship Prizewinners at the Royal St. George Yacht Club Photo: Simon McIlwaine