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Howth's Sienna Wright Wins Silver at ILCA 6 Youth Championships

19th April 2025
First look - Sienna Wright (IRL) (left) takes silver after a stellar performance at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Portugal. Hermione Ghicas (GRE) wins gold (centre); Alina Shapovalova (UKR) secures bronze
Sienna Wright (IRL) (left) takes silver after a stellar performance at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Portugal. Hermione Ghicas (GRE) wins gold (centre); Alina Shapovalova (UKR) secures bronze.

Ireland has won a silver medal at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Portugal, thanks to Howth's Sienna Wright, who was the only sailor in the 100-boat fleet to score all top ten results across the 12 races of the championships at Vilamoura.

Last year’s Under 17 champion, Hermione Ghicas GRE, secured the overall gold medal this time to claim back-to-back ILCA 6 Youth European titles. The Greek sailor delivered an impressive and consistent performance, leading the fleet throughout the entire week. She won five of the twelve races and discarded a 12th-place finish as her worst result, ending the championship with just 26 points.

Howth's Sienna Wright on her way to European silver in VilamouraHowth's Sienna Wright on her way to European silver in Vilamoura

It was also a great championship for reigning ILCA 6 Youth Under 17 World Champion, Sienna Wright IRL, who closely chased the leader throughout the week in second place. She finished just 10 points behind, placing between first and eighth in all twelve races.

Third place overall was for last year’s Gold medalist in Northern Ireland, Alina Shapovalova UKR, who signed off with back-to-back wins on Saturday in the final two races.

Carlingford's Lucy Ives finished just outside the top ten in 11th place

Top 5 overall:

Hermione Ghicas GRE 26 pt
Sienna Wright IRL 36 pt
Alina Shapovalova UKR 46 pt
Gaya Datiashvili ISR 60 pt
Hannah Rogowska POL 80 pt

Full results here

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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

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