Melges 15 Sprints Adopt ILCA Worlds Medal Series Format

25th September 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Medal Dash: The Melges 15 fleet will bring a two-race Medal Series finale to Dublin Bay for its final class championship of the 2026 season. Photo: [CREDIT]

Medal Dash: The Melges 15 fleet will bring a two-race Medal Series finale to Dublin Bay for its final class championship of the 2026 season Credit: Afloat

The Irish Melges 15 class will borrow from the format used at this summer’s ILCA World Championships on Dublin Bay when its fifth and final class event of the 2026 season concludes with a two-race Medal Series at the Royal St George Yacht Club.

A 12-boat fleet is expected for the Melges 15 Sprint Championships, with eight short races scheduled for Saturday followed by another four on Sunday morning.

Once that 12-race qualifying series is completed, the top half of the fleet will progress to a two-race Medal Series designed to produce a decisive finish to the championship.

ILCA Format Gets Melges 15 Trial

The format follows the two-race finales used for the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship and ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship staged in Dún Laoghaire in August and September.

As with the ILCA format, qualifying points will be halved before the Medal Series, with the scores from the two concluding races non-discardable.

Each of the preliminary races has a target duration of around 20 minutes, making for a concentrated programme of short-course racing.

12 Boats for Season Finale

The Sprint Championships complete a busy domestic season for the growing Irish Melges 15 class, which held regional championships at Lough Derg and Howth before its 22-boat National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in August.

Royal St George pairing Sean Donnelly and Greg Arrowsmith won those Melges 15 National Championships by a single point after a closely fought seven-race series.

Barry O’Neill and his race management team will oversee this weekend’s programme using the Vakaros RaceSense system adopted by the class for its events.

Medium to fresh winds are forecast for Dublin Bay, which, if they materialise, should provide fast planing conditions for the asymmetric dinghies.

Champions Cup Next for Melges 15

The Sprint Championships will not quite mark the end of Melges 15 activity in Dún Laoghaire.

The class has also been selected to host the 2026 Irish Sailing Dinghy Champions Cup on 3–4 October, before local winter Frostbite Series get underway.

Published in Melges 15, RStGYC

Published in Melges 15

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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)