Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association will continue with its coaching arrangements in 2023, IODAI President Paddy Ryan has confirmed. Dennis Paaske, Soren Laugesen and Thomas Chaix will resume their roles from the successful National Training Week on Lough Derg last November.…

IODAI Communications Officer Brendan Foley reports on a recent Optimist dinghy class survey What do Junior sailors and their families want from Oppie sailing? That was the key question that IODAI, the organising body for Optimist sailing in Ireland, wished…

The membership of the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI) met through Zoom for their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday the 13th of December 2022. With an outgoing President and three senior committee members, there was much change but…

You’ll never forget the first time you drive into the Weymouth and Portland RYA Sailing Academy sailing base. It’s massive, writes Brendan Foley of the IODAI. The venue for the London Olympics in 2012 is simply stunning. Its sheer scale and…

Now in its second year running the National Training Week for Optimists provides an end-of-season opportunity for sailors to get together to learn from fantastic coaches. Hosted by Lough Derg Yacht Club, the event was a huge success. Running from…

135 young sailors aged 7 to 15 gathered in Lough Derg YC, Dromineer, for the Annual IODAI Optimist national Training week, three days of coaching and fun followed by the final event of the year, the Hallowe'en cup incorporating the…

Oppie sailors took to Galway Bay at the weekend for the resumed Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) annual regatta. Challenging conditions off An Spidéal the previous weekend had restricted racing to the mixed fleet of 420, Laser, Pico and Topaz…

The host club's Lucy Moynan was the winner of the Royal Cork Optimist Cobbler League Series 2022 Second was RCYC's Andrew O'Neill, with clubmate Dougie Venner third. The League took place across the first four Sundays of October and ran until…

Exciting times for the Irish Optimist fleet with momentum quickly building towards the IODAI National Training Week taking place from the 2nd to the 5th of November. Scheduled over four days, with over 130 participating young sailors from 16 different…

In the 69-boat Optimist dinghy Senior Fleet, Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Royal St. George Yacht Club had eight sailors in the top 15 of the 2022 IODAI National Rankings, namely Jules Start (1st boy and 1st overall), Caoilinn Geraghty- McDonnell (1st…

The preparations in Dromineer (LDYC) for the second edition of the Optimist National Training Week are well underway. Building on the lessons of last year and under the leadership of three experienced international coaches, home-based Thomas Chaix and Danish coaches…

The Optimist dinghy Cobbler League will take place across the first Sundays in October; 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven in Cork Harbour. Racing will take place for Junior and Senior fleets with separate…

Howth Yacht Club delivered 145 Optimist dinghies for IODAI's Ulster Championships, over the Maritime Festival weekend and with the support of Fingal County Council. The IODAI Optimist regional had its biggest Irish fleet last weekend with 85 main fleet and…

Cove Sailing Club's foray into Optimist junior sailing in 2021 bore fruit last weekend when the Cork Harbour club hosted its inaugural Optimist dinghy Regatta. Building on CSC participation at the IODAI Munster Championships earlier this year at Royal Cork and a…

The four Northern Ireland competitors at the Irish National Optimist championships at Royal St George YC certainly had four days of valuable race experience last week which will stand them well for the future. The four, three siblings from the…

The final day of the four day, Grant Thornton, Avolon and SeaChange Now sponsored Irish Optimist National Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club brought further light winds and blistering sunshine to Dublin Bay. The hope was to sail…