Baltimore Sailing Club ILCA Sailors Clinch Two of Three Munster Titles on Home Waters of West Cork

10th April 2023

2023 Munster Championships ILCA winners at Baltimore Sailing Club Credit: Robin Bateman

After six races, host club sailors won two of three divisions of the 2023 Munster ILCA/Laser Championship honours in Baltimore, West Cork.

Both Fionn Lydon in the ILCA 7 division and youth sailor Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin in the ILCA 4s, held on to their overnight leads on Saturday to claim the titles after two final races on Sunday.

In a change to the schedule in a successful bid to complete the minimum races for a championship, the three races on Saturday and three on Sunday format was changed by Principal Race Officer Ciaran MacSweeney to four races on Saturday and two on Sunday before forecasted strong winds blew in Sunday lunchtime.

As Afloat reported previously, to the surprise of some seasoned observers, the first ILCA championship of 2023 produced an extensive fleet in West Cork.

The Standard fleet was noticeably strong with 25 entries, but 44 are also competing in the ILCA4s (formerly 4.7s), and the ILCA 6s (Radials) are solid with 39 boats.

A mixture of courses was used, but mainly trapezoid, to avoid the three fleets meeting with a single jury boat in operation.

Southerly winds ranged in strength from 10 to 20 knots in the gusts. The race area saw the upwind leg run from the sound at Sherkin Island to a buoy under the land at Baltimore Harbour.

West Cork Sailors are 1,2,3 in ILCA 7

Lydon, a former Olympic Finn dinghy campaigner, took the title but only after the tie-break rule was applied in his favour. Sharing the same 11 points, rival West Cork sailor Michael O'Súilleabháin from Kinsale took second place. Ballyholme Yacht Club Master Colin Leonard from Belfast Lough, who was lying third in the 25-boat fleet overnight, was overtaken on Sunday for the bronze medal position by local Rory Lynch.

East Antrim's Coulter Keeps the Cool for ILCA 6 Crown

There was no change to the overall position overnight in the Radial/ILCA6 class. Counting two wins win and three second places, consistent East Antrim Boat Club ace Tom Coulter is the ILCA 6 division champion. The Larne youth had a margin of three points over RStGYC's Fiachra McDonnell on 11 points. Third was McDonnell's clubmate, Sam Ledoux on 15 points.

The 108-boat fleet rig up for what is expected to be a blustery Sunday of the Laser Munster Championships at Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork

Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin Tops ILCA 4s on Home Waters

Baltimore Sailing Club youth Sorcha Ní Súilleabháin maintained her one point lead at the top of the ILCA 4.7s, but Carlingford Sailing Club's Lucy Ives overtook Howth Yacht Club's Cillian Twomey for silver on 22 points thanks to a final race win. Twomey took third on 25 points after counting 8,3 on the final day.

The results are below.

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

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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):