The Dublin Bay Laser fleet based in Dun Laoghaire Harbour are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Laser class with a novel one-day sprint regatta on July 25th.

The single-handed Laser remains one of the most popular one-design dinghies since it was officially unveiled at the New York Boat Show in 1971. Since then nearly 220,000 Lasers have been produced with ILCA class associations in 120 countries globally including Ireland.

The Dublin Bay Laser fleet is the largest in Ireland with over 100 boats sailed out of the RStGYC alone this season and many more launching from across the NYC, RIYC, DMYC, INSC clubs in addition to the Coal Harbour.

A limit of 100 boats can attend the Laser 50th celebrations on Dublin Bay

To mark the 50th anniversary, the RStGYC is hosting a special sprint regatta event, sponsored by Grant Thornton on Sunday, July 25th. The event is open to all Laser sailors across Dun Laoghaire both junior and adult and in all rigs.

With the first gun at 2 pm, there will be a minimum of five sprint races in quick succession for each fleet, with each race lasting between 20-30 minutes. Prizes will be awarded for the top three positions in each fleet with males and females ranked separately in 4.7s and Radials.

Racing will take place in Dublin Bay, which means that this will be a great practice event for local 4.7 sailors who are taking part in the ILCA 4.7 World Championship which is hosted in Dun Laoghaire between August 7-14.

50th anniversary Laser racing will take place on Dublin Bay

The Laser has been an Olympic class boat since 1996 and this year Ireland is being represented once again by Dun Laoghaire sailor Annalise Murphy in the Radial rig. This Dublin Bay event will coincide with the first Laser race in the Tokyo Olympics.

All activities will take place in accordance with government Covid-19 guidelines with briefing and other communications taking place virtually. A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club from 7 pm.

A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club

Early bird entry fee for the  Grant Thornton sponsored event is €20 with entry limited to 100 boats. Entry and further details are available on the Rstgyc website.

Laser racing is back! After a long absence from top-level racing, the Irish Laser Association has staged two highly successful events in the last three weeks with the third event slated for 17/18 July.

The ILCA Masters Championships in May at the RStGYC in Dun Laoghaire attracted a fleet of 63 ILCA sailors and the ILCA Ulster Championships recently hosted by CAYC in Whitehead hosted 56 boats.

On the weekend of 17/18 July, the 2021 ILCA Connaught Championships will be hosted by Wexford Harbour Boat & Tennis club and will be limited to a maximum of 100 sailors. With many top sailors returning from international events and the recent success of the Ulsters, it is expected that the cap of 100 sailors could indeed be reached. Entries close on 12th July and no late entries will be accepted.

Laser ace Sean Craig has been on top form in June. In addition to his usual input into racing and sailing administration, he's in the frame in both the two Laser local weekly series currently being staged by DBSC.

Meanwhile at national level, he retained the Laser Masters Radial title at his home club of Royal St George in mid-June from a record fleet, and then in the final weekend of June in brisk conditions at Whitehead on Belfast Lough, he became the winner of the Laser Radial Ulster Championship hosted by County Antrim YC, the oldest winner (at 57) of any open Laser regional event in Ireland.

The 56 strong fleet of Laser sailors competing for the Ulster Championships was greeted last weekend with steady northerly winds of 12-18 knots on Saturday and 18-25 knots and sunshine on Sunday, for the first The ILCA (Laser) regional event of the year.

The Ulster championships were hosted by County Antrim Yacht Club in the beautiful village of Whitehead on the north shore of Belfast Lough. Competitors contended with strong tidal currents on a trapezoidal championship course managed by race officer, Sheela Lewis.

Ulster Championships Laser racing at Whitehead Yacht Club on Belfast Lough Photo: Kathryn Anderson

In the prizegiving, Sean Craig paid tribute to the friendly welcome offered by the CAYC, a sentiment that was greeted with enthusiastic applause by all participants. The impeccable hospitality was certainly a highlight of the event.

Royal Cork Yacht Club sailor, Ed Rice Photo: Kathryn Anderson

Youth sailors entering the ILCA 7 fleet are a challenge to the senior sailors

Finlay Tulett, a youth sailor from Dalgety Bay SC in Fife in Scotland, won the ILCA 7 (Laser Standard) fleet of 13 boats. RCYC sailor, Ed Rice, placed second, and third place was awarded to RstGYC sailor, Ross O’Leary. It was good to see youth sailors entering the ILCA 7 fleet and challenge the senior sailors.

Finlay Tulett, a youth sailor from Dalgety Bay SC in Scotland Photo: Kathryn Anderson

Irish Laser Association is expecting to see a growing number of youth sailors entering the ILCA 7 (Laser Standard) fleet and this opening event of the season gave a glimpse of the challenge that the younger sailors pose!

Christian Ennis of the National YC Photo: Kathryn Anderson

Gruelling beats and fast downwind surfing

The ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) fleet was won by Christian Ennis of the National YC in a tightly contested event, where conditions made for gruelling beats and fast downwind surfing. Mark Henry of the RStGYC placed second and Zoe Whitford of East Antrim BC in 3rd. Further congratulations to Zoe Whitford who was also the first-placed girl in the ILCA 4 fleet. In the prize-giving, a special mention was made of RstGYC sailor, Krzysztof Ciborowski who was in 2nd place after day 1 but had to retire due to injury.

Whitehead sailor Ellen Barbour Photo: Kathryn Anderson

Sean Craig of the RstGYC finished in first place overall in the ILCA 6 

The Radials made up the biggest fleet (28 entries) and it was great to see ILCA 6 sailors from all corners of Ireland of all ages, coming together for the first serious racing for almost two years. First female overall was local Whitehead sailor Ellen Barbour, who counted two excellent third place finishes. Following his recent Master Nationals win in Dun Laoghaire, Sean Craig of the RstGYC finished in first place overall in the ILCA 6 but was pushed extremely hard by many younger, rising stars. Chief amongst them was 2020 RYANI Youth Champion Tom Coulter from East Antrim BC in Larne, who showed a lot of speed and was just edged out of first place in a few races. This performance gave Coulter second overall, a few points ahead of 2018 Topper Worlds runner-up Hugh O’Connor (National Yacht Club). Each day, O’Connor won the middle race in the tough six-race series, sailed in super conditions with great downwind surfing and tough beats, into the tide. RO Sheela Lewis had to contend with many general recalls, and there were black flag casualties when the tide turned, and the ebb started flowing hard out of Belfast Lough.

RYANI Youth Champion Tom Coulter from East Antrim BC Photo: Kathryn Anderson

After the success of the Ulsters and the return of many top sailors from international events, the Irish Laser Association are expecting an excellent turnout for the ILCA (Laser) Connaught Championships, which will be hosted by Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club on the weekend of 17/18 July. 

Additional reporting from the Irish Laser Association

The inaugural Kindergarten Laser Race Series was run for the Dun Laoghaire Harbour 'Kindergarten' fleet by the Royal St George Yacht Club over three Friday evening in June.

Attracting a total entry of 13 boats the fleet largely is comprised of beginner/improving sailors looking to learn more about sailing and improve their skills.

There were six races in total for the two desperate rigs (full and radial) on triangular courses inside the harbour. Safety and comfort were paramount with no racing attempted in wind over 15kts.

As Afloat reported in February, the whole idea was to give less experienced dinghy sailors a fun but competitive environment. The sailors also received some on-course coaching from some of the clubs 4.7 and Radial sailors who were in the patrol boats on the water.

The RSTGYC Laser 'Kindergarten'

They also received really valuable feedback from the race management team which included Sean Craig, newly crowned Irish Radial Masters Champion, Judy O'Beirne newly crowned Irish Ladies Radial Champion and Shirley Gilmore one of Ireland's most successful Masters sailors in recent years.

Laser Kindergarten Series at Royal St. George Yacht Club

Laser Kindergarten Series at Royal St. George Yacht Club

The video (below) by Darina Loakman also shows the competitors had a great dinner after the event where the Kindergaten groups driving force Rachel Crowley thanked all the competitors, helpers, organisers and club staff.

Also pictured is Commodore Richard O'Connor maintaining social distancing requirements with everyone except his wife Lorraine who finished in third place behind David Bolger and Heather Craig in the Radial while George Misstear won the full rig fleet.

In spite of two days of incredibly varying conditions, there were no major surprises at the winners' enclosure in this year’s MGM Boats Irish Laser Masters Nationals hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

Dublin Bay served up its usual blend of light winds, sea breezes and 15 knots, all in one race. While the conditions challenged race officer Harry Gallagher and his team, they led to dramatic results in some races.

However, across two days and six races, there were no upsets in this year’s event. First place in the Standard fleet was taken by Howth’s Paul McMahon with a first and three-second places his best results. Royal Cork’s Nick Walsh came in a very close second trailing by just 2.5 points. Meanwhile, Darragh Kelleher of Skerries Sailing Club came in a close third having one in the last race of the event.

Irish Laser Master Champion (standard rig) Paul McMahon of Howth is congratulated by Royal St. George Yacht Club Commodore Richard O'Connor

In the larger Radial fleet, Dun Laoghaire dominated the leader board. Sean Craig and Conor Clancy led the tussle for first and second place over the weekend, with Craig eventually arriving on top. He was glad to be able to discard the ninth place from the first race on Sunday, which he had been leading until the wind dropped to zero before the last mark. There’s a new challenger in town in the form of the George’s Marc Coakley who finished in third just one point behind Clancy.

2021 Radial Champion Sean Craig

In the Ladies fleet, as was predicted Judy O’Beirne and Shirley Gilmore fought it out for the title. O’Beirne proved more consistent across the two days and varying conditions to take first place. Alison Pigot of the National Yacht Club came in third behind Gilmore in second.

Ladies Champion Judy O’Beirne

This year saw the introduction of a Novice format for those who had not previously taken part in a national Laser event. The best scores from two races were accumulated across 17 participants in this category with joint first place going to Michael Norman of Wicklow Sailing Club and Hugh Cahill of DBSC. This format proved popular with participants noting how friendly and supportive the rest of the fleet and support crew were across the two days.

The event was operated under Covid-19 guidelines and could provide a template for the efficient running of future events. All communication in advance and during the event was managed through email and a dedicated WhatsApp group. Registration took place online, the race officer’s briefing and protest committee were convened via Zoom. The final socially distanced prize ceremony was live-streamed via Instagram. Competitors were able to dine outdoors at their respective clubs, so the social side of the event did not suffer greatly. Overall this approach led to a very efficiently run event with lots of paperwork and time delays eliminated.

Full results from the event are available on the Royal Saint George Yacht Club website here

The MGM Boats Laser Master Championships kicks off Saturday morning at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour and was setting a number of precedents before sailors even took to the water.

This year’s event has seen record entries with a total of 63 boats registered from Laser sailors aged 35 and upwards. For the first time since this competition format was introduced in 2009, with 35 entries there are more Radial rigs competing than the original Standard rig, with 28 entered.

An unprecedented total of nine ladies are competing for the new Ladies Radial Trophy. With the upsurge in interest in the Laser class over the past couple of years, it is perhaps no surprise to see a total of 17 adults in the new Novice Cup format.

With such a large fleet and a range of formats, it is expected that the competition will be intense right through the fleet. In the Standard rig, previous winner Nick Walsh from RCYC and Howth’s young gun Paul McMahon are hotly tipped, with the forecast favouring McMahon.

Dun Laoghaire expects to control the Radial fleet with Sean Craig and Conor Clancy expected to dominate over the two day event. In the ladies category, Shirley Gilmore and Judy O’Beirne are considered to be the ones to beat this weekend.

In keeping with Irish Sailing’s guidelines for events, the event organisers have confirmed that the event is going virtual. Race officer, Harry Gallagher will be delivering a virtual briefing to all competitors via Zoom. Arbitrations and protests will also be facilitated via Zoom by the Protest Committee, lead by Cxema Pico.

Prize-giving on Sunday will be live streamed on the Dun Laoghaire Laser Instagram page and presumably there will be plenty of virtual cheers for the winners. All in all, it looks like that aside from sailing and socially-distanced outdoor dining on Saturday evening, this will be a truly virtual event.

Full details of the event including results are available at the Virtual Race Office on the RSGYC website.

Two tough days of light, fickle breeze were replaced with 9-11 knots of breeze in Medemblik, The Netherlands as Irish interest in the Allianz Regatta's ILCA 6 fleet includes this weekend.

Howth Yacht Club teenager Eve McMahon dropped back from 11th to 23rd overnight with Tokyo bound Annalise Murphy moving up four places from 32nd to 28th overall. McMahon's club mate Aoife Hopkins is 43rd in the 58-boat fleet.

Every sailor in the ILCA 6 fleet has a high score that they are using as their discard and this has led to high-pressure situations on the racecourse, as sailors avoid making the same mistakes that could severely punish them and see them drop.

Consistency is really at a premium in the ILCA 6 fleet, but Marie Barrue of France has been doing enough all week to cling on to her lead. She is eight points clear of Dutch favourite and Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Marit Bouwmeester (NED).

Bouwmeester had the best day on the water with a 2-4 scoreline, and the next best performer was Hungary’s Maria Erdi who moves into contention for the medals, sitting just six points off third-placed Agata Barwinska (POL).

After racing, Erdi commented, “We finally had some more breeze so we got some hiking in. It was still pretty tricky. The startline was crazy with a lot of general recalls. I was just trying to get off the line. I got in really risky spots, and I just took it from there with good starts and good speed.

“I was always rounding the top mark in the top ten. I was able to make up a few places in the first race but lost some in the second but today was a good day and I’m happy with it.”

Hempel World Cup Series – Allianz Regatta is an important event for the athletes targeting Tokyo 2020 as it’s their final opportunity to test themselves before they head to Enoshima.

Erdi knows a good performance here can set the tone come Games time. She continued, “This is our last regatta before the Games, so we really want to put things together. We’re trying to improve and see how it goes.

“We decided pretty early we were going to come here because there was not much racing anywhere. We didn’t want to arrive at the Games and think ‘ahh, so this is the startline!’ We wanted to get racing and we’re happy that everyone else followed and is here.

“I have a camp with my group at the end of this month and then we fly out to Japan on the 12th for the Games.”

The ILCA 6 fleet will sail two races on Saturday before the deciding race on Sunday.

Racing continues on Saturday 5 June from 10:30 local time.

Full results here

After months of doubt as to whether Covid related travel restrictions would prevent the Laser ( now known as the 'ILCA' 4.7) World Championships from going ahead in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the organisers have confirmed the August event is proceeding.

The event is being co-hosted by the National Yacht Club and Royal St. George Yacht Club from August 7th to 14th.

Entry offers will be limited to 240 total (140 boys / 100 girls) to maintain a single course with four starts.  Current applications are running at 135 boys / 90 girls.

"The final piece of the jigsaw that allows us to proceed is the announcement that from July 19th travellers from the EU and the US will be able to enter Ireland without any quarantine or self-isolation requirements provided they are vaccinated or have a negative PCR test", event chairman Ian Simington told competitors by email.

As it was with the 301-boat Laser Masters Worlds in Dun Laoghaire in September 2018, the huge administrative challenge ashore and afloat is being undertaken in full partnership by the Royal St. George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club. In fact, with boat numbers this size, it becomes a true Dun Laoghaire Harbour communal effort in order to keep everything on track, with Ian Simington heading a central committee which in turn is supported by several specialist sub-groups. 

More from Winkie Nixon who wrote about the event planning back in January here

The Irish Laser Association's Masters Championship is for the first time introducing an innovative Novice Cup to encourage newer adult sailors to participate.

This year's Irish Laser Association's Masters Championship, sponsored by MGM Boats and taking place in Royal St. George Yacht Club is introducing a new format specifically for first-time adult competitors.

Less experienced sailors who enter the two-day event taking place on June 12th and 13th can elect to participate in the Novice Cup format. Only those who have not competed in a regional or national Laser event in the past 5 years can participate.

Participants will race in the same races as all other sailors but will only have the scores from their two best race results across both days counted. Participants can therefore choose to race on just one or both days and can decide to join in on however many races they wish.

Explaining the rationale behind the concept, local event chairperson Brendan Hughes said, "We've identified that some of our newer adult sailors in the Laser fleet across the country are somewhat intimidated by the thoughts of two full days on the water but would really love to participate in such a fun championship event. Therefore, we feel that this approach offers the flexibility to sail on one or two days and to sail as many races as people feel comfortable with."

The so-called Master's category of Laser sailing is for sailors aged 35 and over. While traditionally, the Masters is a smaller proportion of the overall fleet, there has been a massive upsurge in adults sailing Lasers across the country over the past 12 months.

Rachel Crowley who organises the Dun Laoghaire 'Laser Kindergarten' group for adults said; "The concept of the Novice Cup is brilliant. We are already planning a buddy system for newer sailors at this event; pairing them up with more experienced sailors who can give them support on and off the water. The Novice Cup means that everyone can compete at their own level and have lots of fun along the way!"

The early bird entry for the event closes this Sunday, May 30th. Anyone who enters before that date can benefit from a reduced fee plus entry into a raffle for a £100 voucher from Lennon Racewear.

Full event details are available here