29er Youth Skiff Dinghy

Two of eight Irish teams are competing in the 50-boat gold fleet of the 29er World Championships in Weymouth

Dun Laoghaire's 29er Van Steenberge and Riordan Siblings On Form at Weymouth World Championships

4th August 2023 29er

Two sets of Irish siblings are showcasing their skills in the final gold fleet series racing of the massive 29er World Championships in Weymouth. In the Open fleet, the National Yacht Club sister and brother Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge…

The eight-boat Ireland 29er World Çhampionship team are competing this week at the 2012 Olympic venue of Weymouth

National Yacht Club's Van Steenberges Open 29er World Championships Account in Style at Windy Weymouth

31st July 2023 29er

A silver medal at last week's 29er UK National Championships in Weymouth for recently crowned Irish national champions Ben O'Shaughnessy (RCYC) and Ethan Spain (NYC) set the Cork-Dublin duo up nicely for this week's world championships at the same venue. 410 sailors making…

Action on the water from a previous RYANI Youth Nationals event

Entries Now Open for Return of RYANI Youth Championships With New Title Sponsor

6th July 2023 RYA Northern Ireland

RYA Northern Ireland has issued the Notice of Race and opened entries for the 2023 edition of the RYANI F10 Marine Youth Championships, which will take place on the weekend of 9-10 September. Following the cancellation of last year’s championships…

Five races were held in breezy conditions on Sunday on Dublin Bay to decide the Irish 29er Championships

O’Shaughnessy and Spain are Crowned 29er National Champions at Dun Laoghaire

2nd July 2023 29er

The overall winners of a cut-short Irish 29er National Championships were Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, who took three wins from five races in today's single day of competition at the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire Harbour. With days one…

The 29er Skiff National Championships at the National Yacht Club are curtailed due to strong winds

First 29er Skiff National Championship Races are Cancelled at the National Yacht Club

1st July 2023 29er

Strong northwesterly gusts have cancelled 29er Skiff National Championship racing at the National Yacht Club. Friday evening and Saturday's schedules were both scrubbed because of the high winds. Racing is scheduled again for tomorrow (Sunday) on Dublin Bay. As Afloat…

Close racing in the 29er class on the last day of Kiel Week. There was no room for mistakes, with just one discard in the 13-race series

Van Steenberge Siblings Finish Fifth Overall as Irish 29ers Put on a Strong Performance at Kiel Week

26th June 2023 29er

Sister-Brother duo Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge (NYC) finished up fifth and first mixed duo, having led the 29er fleet for the first three days in Kiel Week in Germany. As Afloat reported earlier, the Dun Laoghaire siblings showed strong…

Irish sister-brother crew Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge is the top team after seven races in the 29er Eurocup series regatta at Kiel Week, Germany

National Yacht Club's Van Steenberge Sister-Brother Duo Lead 29er Eurocup at Kiel Week, Germany

23rd June 2023 29er

Ireland’s Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge of Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club have extended their overall lead in the 29er fleet at Kiel Week 2023 in Germany to three points after winning two of their three races today. It's not…

The mixed crew of Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman of the host club won the 29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. Scroll down for photo gallery of day two action

Twomey and Bateman Take 29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club

7th May 2023 29er

The mixed crew of Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman of the host club clinched the 29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. The Crosshaven pair's one-point overnight lead was swallowed up when they posted a third in the first…

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman are leading at the 29er Southern Skiff championships hosted by Royal Cork Yacht Club

Royal Cork Crews in Charge at 29er Southerns on Home Waters

6th May 2023 29er

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman have a one-point lead after four races sailed at the Irish 29er Southerns Championships in Cork Harbour. Royal Cork skiff sailors also hold second and third places overnight in the 11-boat fleet. A…

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain (right) were the overall winners of the Irish 29er Youth Sailing Nationals oat Howth Yacht Club

O’Shaughnessy and Spain Take 29er Irish Youth Sailing National Championships at Howth Yacht Club

16th April 2023 29er

A Cork-Dublin partnership won the 29er Investwise Irish Youth Sailing National Championships at Howth Yacht Club on Sunday. The double-handed skiff title was won by reigning Irish 29er class national champions Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork YC) and Ethan Spain of the (National…

The Optimists will have the biggest fleet at the four-day Investwise Youth Nationals 2023 which get underway at Howth today

Youth Sailing Nationals Move In On Howth With 168 Boats As Storm Antoni Moves Out

13th April 2023 Howth YC

Storm Antoni has been making quite a lot of noise and bother all over Ireland in recent days, but now he has moved east just in time for the Investwise Youth Sailing Nationals 2023 to move in on Howth from…

Erin McIlwaine (left) of Kilkeel and Ellie Cunnane of Tralee are teaming up in an Irish skiff partnership for Los Angeles 2028

Erin and Ellie Team Up for 49erFX 2028 Olympic Bid

24th December 2022 29er

Erin McIlwaine is an 18-year-old sailor from Kilkeel on the South Down coast and a member of the nearby Newcastle Yacht Club and Royal St. George in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay. Erin has recently teamed up with Ellie Cunnane…

The final 29er skiff dinghy Eurocup of the year saw the National Yacht Club van Steenberge siblings, Clementine and Nathan, finish second overall and top mixed team on Lake Garda

National Yacht Club's Van Steenberge Siblings Wrap up Superb Month of Skiff Sailing

30th October 2022 National YC

The final 29er skiff dinghy Eurocup of the year always attracts the cream of the fleet. Once more, with 153 entries from 20 countries, the event proved to be very competitive and can easily be considered the 'Autumn Europeans'. Three…

Irish 29er dinghy star Alana Twomey is presented with the Royal Cork Yacht Club's perpetual Pyewacket Trophy for her outstanding achievements by (left) Maurice Collins and Admiral Kieran O'Connell

Top Royal Cork 29er Crew Alana Twomey Awarded Pyewacket Trophy at Club's Junior Laying Up Dinner

24th October 2022 Royal Cork YC

The national and international achievements afloat of Irish 29er dinghy star Alana Twomey were recognised ashore at the weekend at Royal Cork Yacht Club when the Irish female champion was presented with its perpetual Pyewacket Trophy. As regular Afloat readers will recall, Twomey…

Lucia Cullen (Royal St George YC) and Alana Twomey (Royal Cork YC) won Gold and took the U17 29er Female World Title in Spain

Lucia Cullen (RStGYC) and Alana Twomey (RCYC & CHSC) are "Sailors of the Month (Junior)" for August

4th September 2022 Sailor of the Month

Lucia Cullen of Dun Laoghaire and Alana Twomey of Cork - both 16 - have combined to form one of Ireland's most successful 29er teams to such good effect that during August at El Bais in Spain, they became the…

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain (right) were the overall winners of the Irish 29er Nationals on Dublin Bay

Royal Cork & NYC 29er Pair O’Shaughnessy and Spain Win Royal St. George Yacht Club National Championships

21st August 2022 29er

With three race wins on their scoresheet, Royal Cork Yacht Club and National Yacht Club's Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain claimed the Mervue Laboratories 2022 29'er Irish National Championships with a 12-point win margin. After eight races sailed at the Royal St. George…

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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 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.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2

ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2

ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2