An ambitious ILCA Ireland calendar for 2025 is out early, as the association aims to help sailors and families with their planning and ensure it secures the best race officials for its nationwide events.

"We have already agreed with host clubs on the appointment of top Race Officers for the Nationals and all five regional events", says ILCA Chair Sean Craig.

The calendar is similar to previous years, but with a new event date two weeks before the traditional Easter curtain-raiser in Baltimore,West Cork.

With Easter late next year, ILCA Ireland is holding its Ulster Championships at Larne on April 5/6.

"We think this will give youths even more top-level race practice ahead of the IS Youth Nationals at the month's end, " Craig told Afloat.

ILCA Ireland Calendar for 2025

The only other points of minor difference are the dates for both Master Nationals and the Nationals itself. The Masters moves back a few weeks in May to give club sailor Masters more time to prepare, while the Nationals will be a week earlier than usual because of the ILCA Under-21 Worlds jointly hosted by Royal St George and National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

ILCA Chairman Sean Craig of Dun Laoghaire - the class association has been working hard to boost interest among 16-20-year-old sailors Photo: Afloat

"This event has already seen a massive boost in interest amongst our 16-20-year-old sailors. Indeed, ILCA Ireland has, for the last three years, already been granting free entry to events for all its sailors aged 18-30 (at huge expense to the Class Accounts), so to see this cohort so buoyant in 2023 and 2024, with a home-based Worlds to still to come, is really exciting", Craig notes.

Finally, ILCA is visiting Killaloe Sailing Club for the first time for its  Western Championships (although Laser veterans may remember the Laser team racing event held a bit further south, nearer Killaloe itself and the river, back in the 70s and 80s). KSC is a beautiful setting on Lough Derg with a new clubhouse and a growing ILCA fleet. The freshwater club have hosted successful Fireball and GP14 events in recent years.