Howth's Rocco Wright Wins ILCA 6 European Championships in France

22nd November 2022

Afloat.ie Team

Sixteen-year-old Rocco Wright is the 2022 ILCA6 Men's European Champion and U21 Champion Credit: Yepa/Eurilca

Sixteen-year-old Rocco Wright has won the ILCA6/Laser Men's European Championship on the Côte d'Azur today.

The Howth Yacht Club youth also won the U21 division, and this event is added to his Youth World Championship Gold won in the Netherlands in July.

His result came down to the final race on the last day that he started on level points but ahead on a tiebreak from Cypriot Georgios Yiasemides. Wright kept his nerve to place fourth while staying well in front of his main rival, who placed 13th.

"I'm just speechless to be world and European champion this year. It was always a dream of mine to win a worlds and a Europeans and to do it the same year... I'm just over the moon!"

Wright's immediate goal is to resume working on his skills at a training camp in Valencia next weekend.

As Afloat reported earlier, Wright regained full control of the fleet and led both the overall and Under 21 European championships from the penultimate day.

2022 EurILCA 6 Men Senior European Overall Podium:

Rocco Wright IRL 55
Georgios Yiasemides CYP 64
Kacper Stanislawski POL 93

2022 EurILCA 6 Men Senior European Under 21 Podium:

Rocco Wright IRL 55
Georgios Yiasemides CYP 64
Daniel Cardona Balsa ESP 11

Full results below

Downloads

ILCA_6_MEN_OVERALL_EUROPEAN_TROPHY_2022.pdf (165 Downloads)
ILCA_6_MEN_U21_EUROPEAN_TROPHY_AFTER_9_RACES.pdf (154 Downloads)

Published in Laser, Howth YC, Youth Sailing

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Published in Laser

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Rocco Wright

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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