Melges15 Dinghy Demo Sails This Sunday at Dun Laoghaire

17th September 2024

Karena and Florence Knaggs Butler of the host club competing at the Irish Melges 15 Championships in Howth

Sailors are invited to come to the Royal Saint George Yacht Club on Sunday, 22nd September, at 09:45 to test out the world's fastest-growing dinghy class writes John Sheehy

With 24 Melges 15 dinghies now sailing in the country and 19 at the Irish Championships in Howth last month, the class is welcoming new faces to try the boat and see what all the fuss is about. Several M15s will be ready to sail, along with class members ready to jump in, sail, and offer advice.

Host club rivals battle downwind at the 19 boat Irish Melges 15 Championships in Howth

Sailors are also welcome to turn up with their own crew.

Those interested can book in here

Melges Ireland will also be providing a limited number of cool Melges hats to participants!

Jack Fahy and Ronan Murphy chased hard by Theo and Clodagh Lyttle at the Irish Melges 15 Championships in Howth

Black Friday starts early

As part of the ongoing promotion of this new class into Ireland, orders taken now for Spring 2025 delivery will include a free cover and a free launching trolley. This offer is limited to the next 6 boats ordered and ends on Black Friday 29th November.

A boat for all ages

A key factor in the boat's rapid growth both here and in Melges' home country America is that the 15 is a boat that anyone can sail; any age, any shape, any experience. Designers Reichel Pugh have produced a hull shape with inherent stability and performance, suitable for a broad crew weight while Melges have provided a comfortable cockpit with simple clean easy control systems. The end result is a high-performance dinghy which can be pushed to the limits by the more experienced while providing a safe stable ride for the less practiced.

This was evident at the nationals in Howth, where helms aged from 13 to 60 and crew weights across broad ranges were pushing for the win.

Nationals Video wrap

Bringing people back to dinghy sailing

Another pattern which has been consistent both in Ireland and the US is that the boat is bringing sailors back into dinghy racing rather than sailors leaving an existing class to join the fleet. Family has been a consistent theme too with the podium at the Irish Championships consisting of Brothers in law winning, an Uncle Niece combo in second and a Father Son duo in third place. The youngest sailors at 13 or 14 were either helms or crews sailing with their Mums and Dads.
In Howth Yacht club the arrival of the 12 boat container in May has seen a resurgence in Dinghy sailing across all classes with events such as the upcoming Claremont league being dusted off and relaunched after being idle in recent years. As Cormac Farrelly owner of the first 15 into Howth says,
"We are getting some of the older folks out, some of the younger guys out. It's actually helping some of the other classes come together as well because we are getting more boats on the water, so overall it's just been brilliant"

Try a Melges 15 dinghy this weekend

2025 calendar

The class association is currently working on the calendar for 2025. The most exotic location will be Cascais in Portugal where an existing charter fleet will be utilized to run the Irish South Coast Championships over Easter next year. With Melges opening a new factory an hour up the coast this, venue may also suit the new buyer who wishes to collect their own boat and launch it first in warmer waters. The Dun Laoghaire regatta will also be hosting the class enabling sailors to enjoy high quality racing afloat and fun and entertainment ashore.

Class promoter John Sheehy can be reached at [email protected]

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About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance.

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.