National Yacht Club's Madigan and McDaid Win the 29er Nationals on Tralee Bay

12th August 2025

Afloat.ie Team

Tralee Bay Sailing Club commodore Cormac Murphy (left) and 29er coach Thomas Chaix present the 29er National Championship trophy to National YC partnership Theo Madigan and Daniel McDaid

The 29er class may be small at present, but it certainly keeps delivering fast and fun sailing for a few keen, talented sailors.

It was indeed a very small fleet that gathered in Kerry at the weekend, joining the Fireballs competing at their nationals. Yet, it delivered adrenaline-packed, competitive sailing with boats swapping positions around the course, keeping everyone guessing who would come on top until the final race. The big breeze added to the thrill and fun with high-speed chases downwind. 5 races were completed over the two days.

29ers back racing on Tralee Bay for 2025 national championship honours

Eventually, National YC partnership Theo Madigan and Daniel McDaid secured the final race and the championship, edging out Gemma Brady and her crew, Grace Keating. Completing the podium were Rory Whyte and Riona McMorrow Moriarty (who swapped the helm for a trapeze harness).

Louise Hanley and Hannah Walsh were just off the podium, just ahead of fast learners Juliet Ryan and Ella Rock.

The Westerns trophy was presented by Tralee Bay Sailing Club in 2019 when the first 29er Westerns was sailed in the Bay. It was great to see the 29ers back where it all started.

Published in 29er, National YC

Published in 29er

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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.