With expanded staff and premises, plus a brand new website and online offerings, the Tralee boatbuilders and dealers emerge from the storm of the recession ship-shape for the future

Wow, what a brutal storm. Even stronger for those further west!

Spinnaker up, absolutely flying along at well above hull design speed. Pushing hard, clinging on to the surfing waves, getting the most out of every surge. Everyone and everything working to the maximum limit, anticipating the next wave, the next sail change or even dropping that spinnaker, consider play safe or continue flat out. And then bang: that rogue wave, that slight misjudgment and it was crashing down around us.

In many ways, we realised very early on what was happening, but we could never have anticipated the extent of that crash. Who else did? Fortunately, we recovered quickly, assessed the situation as calmly as possible and planned the next steps. With a great crew on board, we managed to limber home, battened down the hatches, licked our wounds and came back fighting fit, ready to take on whatever was thrown at us.

That describes the economy in Ireland after September 2008 and what happened to most businesses, especially in the marine trade. We at O’Sullivans Marine were no different.

But we steadied the course, fixed what wasn’t perfect, trained up the crew, brought in new skill sets and were ship-shape once again.

Busy reception are at OSmarine.ie

History of O’Sullivans Marine

We have been around for over 50 years, and boy has that time gone by in a flash.

It all began in 1963 when Jerry O’Sullivan started the business and we built our first boat – which was in timber, believe it or not. Within two years we had already progressed to building our first fibreglass boat. And since then the business has moved several times, always getting bigger and more ambitious.

The staff grew, too. Jerry’s son Brian joined in 1978, coming home after college with the intention of staying around for a year or two. More than three decades later, he’s still an integral part of the team.

In 1980, we built a new factory on the outskirts of Tralee where we manufactured boats, but we still ran a shop in Tralee town centre. We subsequently moved everything marine in to that purpose-built development in 1990, with over 12,500 square feet of boat-building space, a service bay, offices and the marine shop.

Why Tralee? True, it’s not the centre of Ireland’s marine trade. The simple answer is that it’s a great place to live, but that’s not all. Coming from two large families in Kerry, both Jerry and his wife Noreen had strong connections all around them and, indeed, had several other business interests on the go at the time in Tralee. To relocate to a stronger market location might have made good business sense, but with a large family of their own, the thought was never really entertained. 

In any case, Kerry has its own strong maritime traditions. Being a founder member of Tralee Bay Sailing Club in the late 1950s, Jerry had saltwater running through his veins, and to go into the marine business just seemed a natural progression.

By the time the 1990s were over, the aforementioned development outside Tralee proved too small once again. So out came the diggers to expand over the next seven years with up to 30,000 square feet of covered space with another 20,000 of outdoor storage space, along with a private car park, and still allowing room for further expansion. We completed that round of developments by May 2007 – probably not great timing in retrospect.  

We have seen recessions before and probably will again, but we believe that the worst is over with this one, and we’re climbing back up the graph. We also believe that now is the time to prepare for the next phase and be ready for that filling tide. Reports confirm daily that Ireland is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe yet again, if not the fastest.

All the signs are positive, so we must be ready to catch the breeze as it picks up and avail of whatever opportunities come our way.

The USP of OSM

Our unique selling point here at O’Sullivans Marine is our very extensive selection of boats that we build here in Tralee, ranging in size from 2.5 to 8 metres. 

Many of the ‘old reliables’ are still being built; they’re truly ageless. Take the 19’ Mayfly, for example, or the 18’ Sheelin. Several decades on, these boats are still in strong demand. And the major advantage these models have over other lake boats is the fact that they are all fibreglass with practically no timber above the waterline, so maintenance is minimal.

If a sea boat is more to your liking, we have quite a selection in stock and ready to order, both brand new and second-hand (and many available at special prices). All are fully certified and all pass with flying colours the requirements of the Recreational Craft Directive, the EU statutory regulation determining safety and build standards. Being CE certified, you can also rest assured all our craft are high-quality builds, safe and seaworthy. 

All of this from a renowned boat-building yard that had 70 Cork 1720 sports yachts on the start line at Cork Week in 2000, some of which are still racing competitively throughout Ireland and abroad to this day. The same can be said for most of the leading boats in the National 18 class a few years later.

Now we are producing another racing craft: the Irish Coastal Rowing Federation’s own one–design coastal rowing yawl. This is a four-man (plus a coxswain) specialist coastal rower, proving extremely popular throughout the coast of Ireland. We build these to a high standard and to a strict weight tolerance and design.

Our steadfast crew

OSM staff; Maurice O’Sullivan, Jo Quirke, Brian O’Sullivan and Thomas Gibney

We have reinforced our already excellent crew this year and are looking at some further reinforcements for 2016.

Thomas Gibney has been added to take charge of the technical IT side along with social media and other marketing roles. He joins our seasoned campaigner Maurice O’Sullivan, who has been integral to the team for over 30 years along with Jo Quirke, who has been and is at the front line for almost two decades now.

Brian O’Sullivan is our ever-present skipper at the helm and the main driving force behind the whole campaign. Born into the business, Brian has cut his teeth in the marine industry and still runs a tight and competitive ship. 

This team is the backbone of the business, and with Sean, Bernard, Ian, John and David coming into the team with their complementary skill sets, this makes for a pretty formidable outfit in any situation.

Our loyal suppliers

Overview of some of OSM boats including some Linder Aluminium boats and OSM's Irish made 18’ Sheelin

At O’Sullivans Marine, we are fortunate to be able to count on several big names in the marine industry who have supported us over many years with the supply of excellent products.

We have long-established relationships with many leading brands in the business, such as Linder Aluminium Boats from Sweden; Gemini Ribs and inflatables from South Africa; Poseidon Boats from Greece; Tohatsu Outboards from Japan (one of our longest contracts, in fact – we’ve been selling Tohatsu in Ireland since 1975); Brenderup Trailers from Denmark; Garmin and Raymarine from UK and USA; Sole, Yanmar and Volvo inboard diesel engines; Ultraflex steerings; International Paints and Precision Paints from the UK; Whale from Northern Ireland.

And that’s to name but a few of our vast selection of quality and reliable brands – a selection that’s grown since our expansion into the online marketplace.

New website homepage – www.osmarine.ie

Going online

Our most significant development as of late here at O’Sullivans Marine is our new website and online shop at OSMarine.ie – expanding our already significant online marine presence by growing our chandlery and spare parts section, covering the proverbial needle to the anchor.

This has been and still is a massive undertaking, with an inventory of several thousand products, and more being added on a weekly basis. But it’s very much worth it, as for one, it renders our location on the Wild Atlantic Way practically insignificant.

That’s also thanks to our network of delivery companies shipping out overnight to most parts of the country, and within two days to the UK and Europe. We’ve only just begun and have already sold to as far afield as Belgium, Spain, Finland and even Greenland.

These are again exciting times. We believe our prices to be very competitive and our goal is to remain competitive by giving you the best value on the market today.

Facebook competition

The O'Sullivans Marine page on Facebook is a real winner – simply log on to OSMarine.ie to connect with our Facebook page, click 'Like' and you'll be entered in a draw for some brilliant prizes!

Special boat/trailer offer

O'Sullivans Marine currently has a special offer on the 18' Sheelin all-fibreglass, fully CE-certified lake boat, equipped with a Tohatsu 6hp four-stroke engine and with oars and stainless steel pins as standard. The deal includes a Brenderup galvanised trailer, with both boat and trailer covered by five-year warranties. And all for the special price of only Ä5,885 inc VAT. It's first come, first served on this very limited offer!

Our future goals

So much has happened throughout the history of our business, with wind shifts all over the place. And as any good sailor will know, if you don’t keep on top of the shifts, you will find yourself left behind, even on the start line. 

Over the past 12 months, we have changed tack yet again, and decided the other side of the course was better going forward. That meant heavy investment in our IT side, with new systems and new crew to get us fully race-ready with our ‘secret weapon’ – our aforementioned new website and online shop. 

But we bring another dimension to the marine industry in Ireland and to all customers, both returning and potential, by stressing value for money with excellent service and back-up. 

Our experienced and well-trained staff know the industry, know the products and go the extra yard to satisfy the requirements of every customer. We cover all aspects of owning a boat, including engines and trailers, not to mention safety equipment, servicing, maintenance and, of course, repairs. 

And yes, we still build our own range of boats, truly ‘made in Tralee’.

As with any new developments, there are plenty of challenges, some foreseen and some totally unpredictable. But isn’t that what makes life really interesting?

#Rescue - Emergency workers with Irish heritage from all over the world are being invited to celebrate Heroes Week in Tralee this June.

As part of The Gathering 2013 initiative, the chiefs of Co Kerry's emergency services will welcome first responders with Irish heritage - or an affinity for Ireland - for a week-long reunion among colleagues in Ireland.

That means any members of the police, fire service, coastguard, ambulance service, the Red Cross and the RNLI the world over!

Visitors will be declared 'guests of honour' in Tralee for the week, and among the various events planned between 12-17 June, they will have a chance to trace their Irish roots, and sightsee around one of Ireland's most picturesque spots.

And what's more, the not-for-profit event aims to raise funds for vital local rescue and lifesaving services.

As reported on Irish Central, Mayor of Kerry Terry O'Brien said: “We salute the men and women who go to work each day with only one purpose in mind – to protect and save lives. Many of them have Irish roots and we want to invite them home.

"Kerry has a strong tradition of volunteerism and a collective pride-of-place that will see us roll-out the red carpet to welcome our Heroes home to the Kingdom County. I hope you can join us and we assure you of a memorable visit with us and a warm Irish welcome.”

Full details of the event, including booking information, are available on the Heroes Week website HERE.

#cruiserracing – The town of Fenit in County Kerry is getting ready to host a combination of national and regional sailors when it stages both the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) National Cruiser Championship & Corinthian Cup along with the WIORA Regional West Coast Championships & White Sails event this June.

As it is a combination of two events, the Regional West Coast Championships commences on Wednesday, June 12th and finishes on Friday, June 14th with the ICRA National Cruiser Championships commencing on Thursday, June 13th and finishing on Saturday, June 15th, for two days out of the four there will be dual scoring for both events.

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA), together with the West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA) and host club Tralee Bay Sailing Club (TBSC) have been very busy over the winter months organising the ICRA National Cruiser Championships / Corinthian Cup and WIORA's Regional West Coast Championships / White Sails which will take place from the 12th – 15th June 2013.

With the ICRA National Cruiser Championships been a NON DISCARD event for the first time in its history a lot of competitors have also entered the regional event (WIORA) to get their boats up to speed the day before the Nationals commences. WIORA have opted to keep with their traditional stance on Discards - one discard will apply, if six or more races are sailed and in their White Sails division one discard will apply, if five or more races are sailed.

On the water Alan Crosbie, David Lovegrove, Peter Moore and teams will be ensuring the course will be of the highest quality and varied to satisfy the competitors with Mike Butterfield officiating as chairperson in the protest room and Denis Kiely & Peadar Murphy looking after the prompt posting of the results.

Tralee Bay Sailing Club boasts views of Tralee bay, with spectacular race courses easily followed from various spectator spots along the shore line. The organising committee under Brian O'Sullivan are finalising an exciting and varied racing programme over the four days, along with an excellent social programme of shore side activities including a crew tug of war sponsored by Walsh Brothers Shoes of Tralee. With ten weeks to go to first gun and over fifty confirmed entries to date, it will be a very special event both on and off the water. For non-sailors joining the event, they will be interested to know that there is a lot to see and do locally, and the organisers are running a fashion show in aid of the RNLI on Friday afternoon in the club.

Tralee Bay Sailing Club has partnered with the Brandon Hotel (Please call reservations on (066) 7123333 and Quote ICRA) to bring a very special accommodation deal for the duration of the event and reservations are open until 19th April. Also, locally there are houses available to rent - for more information please go to www.traleebaysailingclub.com. The committee advises to book accommodation early, as availability of houses is not limitless!

Entries for the National Cruiser Championships, West Coast Championships, and ICRA Corinthian Cup & WIORA White Sails can now be made on line at www.traleebaysailingclub.com. Entry fee for combined events is €225 – single event €175. To encourage early entries a discounted entry fee for combined events of €175 – single event €125 applies until the 27th April 2013. Entry closes 04th June 2013.

 

#SAILING SCHOOL – Tralee Bay Sailing School was one of the 15 winners, out of over 600 applicants, in the Island of Ireland 'Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund' awards.

Tralee Bay Sailing School has been awarded €5,000 euro to develop its Tralee Bay Access Sailing programme for people with physical and sensory disabilities in Kerry. The award will go towards a mobile hoist to enable people with disabilities to get in and out of a range of water based craft along with some equipment to upgrade the fleet of boats and equipment used to teach people with disabilities how to sail, kayak or use a power boat.

There were a couple of stages to this competition. Firstly the 600 entries were narrowed down to a shortlist of 45. This 45 then went to the public vote during the month of September. During that period the judging panel also came together to vote. Following the outcome of both the judges and the public vote the winning 15 groups were decided on.

The award ceremony took place in the Royal College of Physicians and was attended by Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, Mr Fergus O'Dowd TD.

The judging panel was made up of a variety of community leaders who were selected because of their proven track-record in making positive contributions to society. As well as Coca-Cola members included Dame Mary Peters, Past Olympian, Sarah O'Connor, Executive Director at The Federation of Irish Sports , Michael Ewing, CEO, Irish Environmental Network, Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael TD , Deirdre Garvey , CEO, The Wheel and James Laverty, NICVA.

Pictured at the presentation of the Coca Cola 125 Thank You Fund Award from left to right are: Jenny Heaphy, Coca Cola Ireland, Jacqui Browne, Tralee Bay Sailing School, Minister Fergus O'Dowd and Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel.

Peadar O'Loughlin's Sigma 33 Reconnaissance was the overall winner of Tralee Bay Sailing Club's race from Fenit to Dingle this October but only after a great comeback in the last two miles of this County Kerry race.

The first boat in was Galileo, with Reconnaissance hot in his tail and Jaguar not far behind either, with Rooster coming in shortly afterwards. Abandon Office, Powder Monkey and Ridire Ban (previous class winner in Dun Laoghaire - Dingle race) retired. On corrected time, first place in IRC went to the Sigma 33
-Reconnaissance, having made a great comeback to steal it from Jaguar in the last two miles.

Lifting the O'Connell Cup, the last feature race of the Tralee Bay Sailing Club season. The Cup was Sponsored by Finbar O'Connell Jewellers, Tralee and was won by Reconnaissance, a Sigma 33, owned by Peadar O'Loughlin and crewed by Brian O'Sullivan, Frances Clifford, Fergus Kelliher, Kieran Kelliher, John O'Mahony and Eoin Nolan.

This was the last feature race in the 2011 Tralee Bay Sailing Club calendar. The October series continues 'til the end of the month, and an End of Season Party will be held on the last weekend of the month, after racing that day.

Kerry Boat-builder O'Sullivan's Marine (OSM) is bucking the trend in the depressed marine industry. The Tralee firm have a busy order book  and report strong demand for its traditional lake boat marque but it also has interest in more exotic boats too for the emerging nature tourism market.

Tried and tested, the new Safari boats are ready for Lee Valley

The first of the orders processed in Tralee is the supply of four Pioner Multi boats with Motor Guide 24v Electric Outboards for the local Lee Valley Development, a new eight hectare (20 acre) eco-tourism development comprising a Nature Park. The four boats will be used for safari-style boat rides.

'We carried out water trials yesterday, all is in order and the fully fitted out boats are being delivered this week', says managing director Brian O'Sullivan.

OSM's Brian O'Sullivan with one of the new Pioner boats

OSM, a member of the Irish Marine Federation, is also supplying two lake boats to Creeslough Angling Association in Donegal. Six Irish built boats have also been ordered by Dunfanaghy Angling Association in Donegal. Five more lake boats are also going to Waterville, Co. Kerry. All orders are for November delivery! Recession? What recession?

OSM have a selection of used craft on the boats for sale website. See them here

While it might be an exaggeration to say that all of the 21 crew members of Rambler 100 owe their lives to the Irish Search and Rescue service, there are certainly five people whose future prospects were greatly improved by the operation off the Fastnet Rock on August 15th. A lot of media focus has been on Coxswain Kieran Cotter and the crew of Baltimore Lifeboat as well as lifeboat mechanic Jerry Smith, whose dive boat, on charter to the media team of one of the competitors, was on hand to search and recover the five drifting crew. There is no question that this focus is appropriate. RNLI crews all over the UK and Ireland deserve the attention, not only because of their extraordinary voluntary dedication to the cause, but also because such publicity helps swell the coffers of the charity. The service could not operate without the generosity of the donors and incidents such as these help fill the blue boat-shaped boxes held by even more RNLI volunteers.

Saved: Ireland's Rescue Services Answered the Call of the capsized Supermaxi Rambler 100 off the Fastnet Rock. Photo: Team Phaedo

The dramatic stories and pictures dominating the media show the front line of a quite wonderful resource that is Search and Rescue in Ireland today. Baltimore Lifeboat was at the coal face of an intricate network of operations, triggered by the crew's EPIRBs. Irish Coast Guard radio officers in Valentia responded almost immediately tasking the rescue resources, working the phones and computers to confirm that this was not an accidentally triggered EPIRB, contacting RORC HQ, determining search patterns and relaying the information to the scene. It was the backroom contacts between RORC and the Coast Guard in endeavouring to contact Rambler 100 using satellite phones that confirmed the possibility of a catastrophic incident involving the Supermaxi. The subsequent tasking of the Shannon and Waterford based Sikorsky helicopters led to the medevac of crew member Wendy Touton and timely treatment of her hypothermic condition, initially by the on-board paramedics and later at Tralee General hospital. And Coast Guard involvement didn't end with the successful rescue – the shoreside operation to provide food and shelter in Baltimore was coordinated by Coast Guard personnel and the salvage operation of the hull of Rambler 100 was overseen by the Irish Coast Guard.

Rambler crew are recovered from the water after a SAR operation by the Irish Coastguard Photo: Team Phaedo. More photos here.

That Ireland has probably one of the best Search and Rescue services in the world goes back to the campaign initiated in 1988 by Joan McGinley, following the death, within sight of land of Donegal fisherman John Oglesby, whose leg was severed in a trawl winch. Eamon Doherty, the late former Garda Commissioner chaired the review group established in response to the campaign and his report led to the establishment of the Irish Marine Emergency Service, subsequently the Irish Coast Guard. Under the guidance of Director Capt Liam Kirwan, the new service moved quickly to become not only the central co-ordinating body for Search and Rescue, but developed its own resources, notably the helicopters, previously tasked in from Irish Air Corps and UK SAR.
Another element that will feature in the Rambler 100 incident is the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB), set up from recommendations arising from a review of the handling of investigations into marine casualties.

It might be thought that the incident is now closed, but there are many unanswered questions and the investigation will be looking at these and making recommendations that should improve safety in this sector. These questions will include EPIRB performance, liferaft deployment and grab bag usage, but perhaps the key issue yet to be determined is why the response from fellow competitors didn't appear to happen. Even if Channel 16 wasn't being actively monitored, and if not why not, shouldn't the Mayday set off by the Coast Guard have set off the DSC alerts on the radios of Rambler 100's fellow competitors? Had the incident occurred several hours later or earlier when Rambler 100 could have been up to 100 miles from the nearest land, when conditions worsened, we could be looking at much more serious consequences.

It is heartening to think that, in this small country of ours in troubled times, not only do we have a shining star in our search, rescue, recovery and restore system, involving professionals and volunteers cooperating for the greater good, we also have a system that determines the nature of incidents so that we can all learn from the experience.
And let us not forget those people and services, such as the Gardai, Navy, Army and the community of Baltimore who are outside the media spotlight who contributed to this happy ending.

Afloat's Latest Coastguard News

Afloat's Latest RNLI Lifeboat News

Afloat's Latest MCIB News

 

 

27 knots was never going to stop Sophie Browne and  the brave sailors of the Irish Optimist class at Tralee Bay Sailing Club, Fenit, Co.Kerry. The fleet was in town for the Optimist Munster Championships and the local girl proved unstoppable in the six race series. Brian Carlin took the photos in two albums on the Afloat gallery HERE. and HERE.

 

Former Olympic sailor, Laser, Flying Fifteen and Squib champ Peter Kennedy from Strangford Lough produced an overall win in the weekend's SB3 Southern Championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club. Only 16 boats travelled to Europe's most westerly port for the six race series. Kennedy, the 2009 class champion, ended on 11 points counting only one result out of the top three. He was three points clear of Milvus Milvus (R. Howe) and Howth's Ben Duncan in third on 15 points.

After an unfortunate collision at the end of race three between Kennedy and Royal St. George helm Sean Craig, Kennedy was left with an un-raceable boat until, sportingly, Craig offered his as a replacement. Craig and his crew then sat out what has been described as a 'champagne sailing day' and watched his boat and Kennedy race to victory from the club house.

SB3 Southern Championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club

IRL3500	Ridgefence.com	P. Kennedy	11	1	4	2	1	3	1	6
IRL3338	Milvus Milvus	R. Howe	14	2	2	5	2	1	9	4
IRL3287	Sharkbait	B. Duncan	15	3	17	8	1	3	2	1
IRL3537	Boomsticks	B. Reilly	16	4	3	3	3	17	4	3
IRL3045	Bullet	T. D'Arcy	21	5	1	7	5	7	6	2
IRL3324	Sibelus	K. Dorgan	21	6	7	4	9	2	3	5
IRL3281	Le Bateau de Bang Bang	O'Leary/Roche/Andrews	37	7	5	10	10	17	5	7
IRL3484	Seriously Bonkers 3	Cuppage/Lee	43	8	12	17	7	5	10	9
IRL3062	-	R. Downing	43	9	17	6	6	6	17	8
IRL3570	Yeti	S. Craig	45	10	6	1	17	4	17	17
IRL3164	Sacre Bleu	D. Smith	49	11	9	13	15	9	7	11
IRL3433	Mr. Bump	D. Taylor	49	12	11	9	8	11	11	10
IRL3323	Alert Packaging	J. Burke	52	13	8	12	12	8	12	14
IRL3257	Kick'er off	Cook/Dicker	52	14	10	11	13	10	8	13
IRL3273	Belfast Kitchen Company	T. Molloy	68	15	17	15	11	17	13	12
IRL3532	Bungle B	F. Loughrey	70	16	13	14	14	12	17	17

Royal Cork Yacht Club sailors have lifted two national titles at the 2011 Mitsubishi National Youth Sailing Championships this afternoon in a series cut short today by gale force winds on Dublin Bay. SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS AFTERNOON'S PRIZEGIVING PHOTOS.

Local knowledge offered no advantage as Dun Laoghaire co-hosts the Royal St. George YC, the National Yacht Club and the Royal Irish YC won none of the five national titles inspite of strong turnouts fielded by each of the waterfront clubs.

With winds gusting up to 25-30 knots and easterly winds causing a big swell, sailing for the final day of the ISA Mitsubishi National Championships was cancelled leaving the 300 sailors ashore. However all classes had completed sufficient races to complete the series.

The event was an important test event for Dun Laoghaire organisers of the Youth Worlds which will be held in the same venue from 12 -21 July 2012.

In a show of strength from the regions the three other titles went to other east coast clubs at Howth, Ballyholme and Courtown.

Immediately after the prizegiving, (photos below) Olympic Team Manager James O'Callaghan named the Irish team for the 2011 ISAF Youth World Championships in Croatia in July based on the weekend results. Listen to the podcast with the team manager, talking about the stand out performances of the weekend,  the current strength of youth sailing in Ireland and the prospect of a top finish in Croatia.

Royal Cork YC achieved two national titles with Laser 4.7 event favourite Seafra Guilfoyle winning the title having previously dominated the Optimist fleet in previous years.

Brother and sister team Patrick & Chloe Crosbie also from Royal Cork won the 420 National title and Patrick was awarded the Training Grant for the most promising sailor at the event.

This event was the national trials for the Optimist class which was won by Tralee Bay sailor Sophie Browne who will travel to New Zealand in December to compete in the Optimist World Championships.

Irish optimist sailors are performing well internationally at the moment finishing fourth and fifth at the Braassemermeer Easter regatta. Other events during 2011 where there will be Irish representation include the European Championships in Portugal and the National Championships in Germany and the UK.

Top three results below. Click the links for full results class by class.

Laser Radial - full results here
National Champion: Philip Doran (Courtown Sailing Club)
2nd  Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough YC)
3rd Eoin Keller (Lough Derg YC)
1st Girl Sophie Murphy Quoile Yacht Club

Laser 4.7 - full results here
National Champion: Seafra Guilfoyle (Royal Cork YC)
2nd Darragh O'Sullivan (Kinsale YC)
3rd Finn Lynch (NYC/Blessington SC)
1st Girl: Sian Kneafsey (National YC)

420 - full results here
National Champions:  Patrick Crosbie & Chloe Crosbie (Royal Cork YC)
2nd Aodh Kennedy & Daniel Browne (Kinsale YC & Tralee Bay SC)
3rd Emma Geary & Niamh Connolly (Royal Cork YC & Baltimore SC)

Feva - full results here

National Champions: D Johnston & L Flynn Byrne (Howth YC)

2nd C Totterdell & S Craig (National YC/Royal St. George YC)

3rd  C Mollard & J Harris (Howth YC)

Topper - full results here
National Champion:  T Brow (Ballyholme YC)
2nd Laura Gilmore (Strangford Lough YC)
3rd  Andrew Penney (East Antrim BC)

Optimist (Championship fleet)
1st Ben Walsh (Skerries SC)
2nd Ross Quirke (National YC)
3rd Colin O'Sullivan (Malahide YC)

Optimist National Trials
Sophie Browne (Tralee Bay SC) won the trials and took the option of travelling to New Zealand in December 2011 to represent Ireland at the Optimist World Championships.

The following sailors were selected by the trial process to represent Ireland at the European Championship which will be held in Portugal in July 2011: Sean Donnelly, HYC, Peter McCann RCYC, Harry Whitaker RCYC, Eoin Lyden RCYC, Jil McGinley RCYC  Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain KYC and Megan Parker SSC

The team selected to travel to the German National Championships include Robert Dickson HYC , Daire Cournane KYC, Sean Waddilove Skerries SC,  Richard Hogan HYC, Adam Hyland RSGYC, Ronan Cournane KYC, Sean Gambier Ross KYC and Fergus Flood HYC, Aoife Hopkins and Alacoque Daly Tralee Bay SC.

In addition 10 sailors were chosen for the Irish under 12 squad who will compete in the Optimist UK National Championships.

All our youth sailing news aggregated here

Prizegiving photos by Gareth Craig below. For daily on the water action: Day one photos here. Day two photos here. Day three photos here.