William Walsh and Eoin Byrne Win 29er Nationals in Dublin Bay

7th May 2025

Thomas Chaix

Exciting sailing at the Dublin Bay Skiff Nationals –Champions crowned in 29er and 49er classes after three action-packed days of racing Credit: Sean Hannon

What a weekend it was in Dublin Bay! The National Yacht Club hosted the first 29er and 49er combined national championships. Nine races were completed in conditions ranging from 6 to 20 kts, leading to fast and furious downwinds ( and a few gear failures) and tactical races in less breeze. Race officer Eddie Totterdell even added a fun final 10th race for the 49ers. Initially labelled as the “Olympians versus the world”, it became “Can the crew drive the boat?” The atmosphere was brilliant, linking competitive racing with good laughs and friendship.

Day one looked promising with a medium forecast, but once the wind clocked Northerly, the waves started to come in, and it became a display of the skills and survival of the more experienced sailors. The fleet started all together on the start line, which allowed an unofficial overall ranking to be calculated under PY.

Fast 29er sailing on Dublin Bay Photo: Sean Hannon

The breeze suited NYC boys William Walsh and Eoin Byrne on their 29er. Their level of skills and strong boathandling gave them three race wins on both the overalls and the 29er fleet. Riona McMorrow Moriarty chased them around the course, crewed by “old” 29er ace James Dwyer. Emily Conan and Jessica Riordan completed the podium on the day for the 29ers.

The 49ers, who survived the wind, had some adrenaline-rush sailing. Former 29er champions Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, in a full rig, took the lead over the FX girls. Erin McIllwain and Ellen Barbour were close second on the day, whilst Lauren O'Callaghan and Charlotte Eadie had to battle fast-progressing young guns Oisin Pierse and Fionn Daly.

Day 2 was meant to be lighter, so the forecast said! And sure, it was not! The solid breeze meant faster downwind legs, more capsizes and a few extra casualties, with a few sailors wisely opting for a shorter day. And the tally went up to 6 races completed.

The 29ers repeated day 1, with William and Eoin firmly gripping both the overalls and the 29er fleet. Riona and James faced gear issues, but by finishing race two, they could discard race 3 and their early sail-in. This allowed Theo Madigan and Daniel McDaid to squeeze two very strong second-place finishes.

Erin and Ellen jumped at the opportunity to take a race win from Ben and Ethan, who capsized on their final gybe before the finish. The boys got back on track, securing the day's other two races.

And the fleet enjoyed a great evening at Milano… the definition of “packing an Italian”.

The final day was a bit lighter with 8-10 kts for the northeast (so the waves were still big enough). Guest stars Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove joined the racing. If the titles were no longer in doubt in each class, the unofficial skiff supremacy could still be taken away from the strong 29er pairing of William and Eoin, with the lighter breeze suiting the experienced 49er teams. And it did with Ben and Ethan managing to edge the 29er boys right on the final race.

There were battles at all levels, with Ben and Ethan fending off our double Olympians around the course, the FX teams having gybing battles, and the lead changing each lap. The 29ers also saw some changes, with Riona and James taking two races away from William and Eoin. The ever-consistent Louise Hanley and Hannah Walsh secured their grip on bronze with yet another three solid races.
And to finish the day, six 49ers completed a final race with the crews stepping at the back of the boat. If the handling definitely did not look as slick, there were a lot of laugh, close battles and great entertainment for the NYC team of volunteers. The race was won by

Ethan and Ben just about edged Sean and Rob. Third place was close, too, but Johnny Flynn and Thomas Chaix managed to squeeze ahead of the FX squad.

After nine races, William Walsh and Eoin Byrne are the 29er national champions, and Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain are the 49er national champions.

49er titles

Gold: Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, RCYC/NYC
Silver: Erin McIllwain and Ellen Barbour, RstGYC (1st FX)
Bronze: Lauren O Callaghan and Charlotte Eadie, NYC (2nd FX)

49er national champions - Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, RCYC/NYC

29er titles

Gold: William Walsh and Eoin Byrne, NYC
Silver: Riona McMorrow Moriarty and James Dwyer, TBSC/RCYC (1st mixed)
Bronze: Louise Hanley and Hannah Walsh, NYC (1st girls)

29er national champions ( boys and girls) - William Walsh and Eoin Byrne, NYC and Louise Hanley and Hannah Walsh, NYC (1st girls)

It was an absolutely terrific weekend, and massive thanks must go to our sponsor, Covy Watersport, for sorting prizes, to Race Officer Eddie Totterdell and his team and to Paddy Madigan and his safety team (they got busy enough on the first two days).

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in 29er, National YC

Published in 29er

Tagged under

29er
49er

About The Author

Thomas Chaix

Email The Author

Thomas Chaix is Head Coach at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. He currently sails the 49er dinghy (for fun) but raced the Laser for 25 years and has been a member of French and Irish teams

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About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The class is targeted at youth sailors aiming at sailing the larger 49er which is an Olympic class.

The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.