Irish Olympic Sailor is First to Complete Round Antigua Race Course By Dinghy

19th January 2016

Afloat.ie Team

Dublin Bay sailor Timothy Goodbody was welcomed ashore with a couple of beers by a visiting Royal St George YC party on Pidgeon Beach after the circumnavigation of Antigua by Laser dinghy at the weekend

2008 Irish Olympic Finn sailor Timothy Goodbody completed the Round Antigua race last Saturday covering the course of just over 50 nm in a Laser dinghy in a time of 10 hours and 48 minutes.

According to an Afloat.ie source, no dinghy has ever entered the race before, so the Irish helmsman from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire picked up a "double" first for his efforts. The organisers have now set the time as a race record to be beaten.

Down the north side of the island Goodbody sailed through a sea of turtles in great big surfing rollers. He ran out of wind at the bottom of the island and then had a long beat to the finish line in Falmouth Harbour. Goodbody reckons with the right conditions it could be done in approx nine hours.

He carried a VHF, EPIRP, GPS and about 10 litres of water for the circumnavigation.

Published in Laser

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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

ILCA 2026 Calendar

Apr 04–05 — Munster Championships — Baltimore SC
Apr 09–12 — Irish Sailing Youth Nationals — Ballyholme YC
May 09–10 — Ulster Championships — East Antrim BC
May 23–24 — Masters National Championships — Howth YC
Jun 27–28 — Leinster Championships — Skerries SC
Jul 24–26 — National Championships — Royal St. George YC
Sep 11–12 — End of Season Championships — Waterford Hrbr. YC

2026 ILCA World Championships

Men ILCA 7: Aug 23 – Aug 30
Women ILCA 6: Sep 04 – Sep 12
Royal St. George Yacht Club & National Yacht Club (Dublin Bay)

At A Glance – Laser Dinghy Specifications

Designer Bruce Kirby & Ian Bruce

Year 1969

Crew 1
Draft 0.787 m (2 ft 7.0 in)
Hull weight 58.97 kg (130.0 lb)
LOA 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
LWL 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.39 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mainsail area 7.06 m2 (76.0 sq ft)

Racing D-PN 91.1 RYA PN 1088 PHRF 217