RStGYC's Donnelly and Arrowsmith Win Melges 15 National Championships

24th August 2025

Afloat.ie Team

2025 Melges 15 champions - RStGYC Pairing of Sean Donnelly and Greg Arrowsmith

RStGYC Pairing of Sean Donnelly and Greg Arrowsmith are the winners of the Provident CRM Melges 15 national championships after a runaway win in the last race to beat Marty and Rachel O'Leary on countback. Three races were sailed today in the patchy 6-13 knot conditions to complete the full 7-race series.

A similar pattern emerged again on Sunday, with the top 3 teams dominating the narrative, leaving the remainder of the 21-boat fleet to fight it out. A final race shoot-out with this trio decided the title with a brave call to gybe set at the first windward mark, giving Donnelly and Arrowsmith a lead they would never relinquish. After winning 3 of the 7 races, it was a title well earned.

Gary and Will Cullen competing at the Howth Yacht Club hosted 2025 Melges 15 national championships

The RaceSense System used by the class ensured no general recalls all weekend, despite many OCS starters in the Spring Ebb tides that swept the fleet up to the line all weekend. Learning to be cool and not pull the trigger too early with the other boats is a new skill the sailors are picking up, knowing that an immediate OCS signal on the early starters will quickly correct things.

The first French Melges 15. Pepe and Nico compete at the Irish National Championships at Howth

Many new teams competed at the third Irish Championships, with the boat proving itself popular across all ages and genders, with the youngest crew at a combined 28 years old, racing hard against the oldest team at 111 years old. To quote Mark Twain, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter"

Locals Karena Knaggs and Lynn Henderson competing at the Howth Yacht Club hosted 2025 Melges 15 national championships

Jamie Tingle, elected as the new class president, finished fourth alongside Euro-winning Cathal O'Regan, ensuring a Corkonian presence at the top of the fleet. Sister and Brother pair Kate and Morgan Lyttle took the top family prize in 7th place.

With 37 boats now in the country the class is looking forward to the announcement of the 2026 calendar already.

2025 Melges 15 champions - RStGYC Pairing of Sean Donnelly and Greg Arrowsmith with HYC Commodore Kevin Monks

Race Results

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Published in Melges 15, RStGYC

Published in Melges 15

Tagged under

Melges 15

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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.

At a Glance - Melges 15 Specifications

LENGTH 15 ft
BEAM 5 ft 6 in
DRAFT 2 ft 7 in
HULL WEIGHT 230 lbs
SAIL AREA
MAIN 93.6 sq ft
JIB 39.8 sq ft
ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKER 156 sq ft
CREW 2

At a Glance - Irish Melges 15 class calendar for 2026

April 18–19 – Western Championships, Lough Derg Yacht Club
May 23–24 – Eastern Championships, Royal Irish Yacht Club (as part of Dun Laoghaire Cup)
June 20–21 – Northern Championships, Howth Yacht Club
July 3–5 – European Championships, Riva del Garda, Italy
August 22–23 – Irish National Championships, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dublin Bay
September 19–20 – Sprint Style Event, Royal St. George Yacht Club (16 races targeted)
Winter 2026/2027 – Additional frostbite racing (dates TBC)