Howth’s Rocco Wright Stays on Target with Lake Garda Optimist Success

29th June 2021

WM Nixon

Coming clean out of the melee - Rocco Wright (1636) gets himself clear of a packed start on Lake Garda

Howth’s Rocco Wright is continuing his successful countdown to the Optimist Worlds 2021 with a runaway big-fleet win on Lake Garda. Promoted as the best warmup opportunity before this week’s World Championships, the 46th Trofeo Optimist d’Argento ended on Sunday at the Circolo Vela Torbole with 31 nations participating and nearly 300 entries. The young Irish sailor led the charge from the start, and won overall by an extraordinary 9 points, ahead of top American sailor James Pine - brother of Nathan who won in Howth at the Irish Nationals in 2019.

The World Championships start on Lake Garda on Wednesday, June 30th and runs until July 1.

Published in Optimist, Howth YC

Published in Optimist

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Rocco Wright

About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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2026 IODAI Optimist Calendar

Sprint Series – February–March: 3 single-day events. Details to follow. (Suitable for seasoned main fleet sailors in winter programmes only)
Irish Sailing Youth Nationals, Ballyholme Yacht Club – 9–12 April (Invite only)
Junior and Senior Development Squads Training, Lough Ree Yacht Club – 2–4 May Bank Holiday (Squads only)
U12 Training, Lough Ree Yacht Club – 2–4 May (Bank Holiday) (Squad only)
Ulsters, Strangford Lough Yacht Club – 16–17 May (Open)
Munsters, Waterford Harbour Sailing Club – 13–14 June (Open)
Leinsters, Howth Yacht Club – 18–19 July (Open)
=National Team Racing Champs, Royal Cork Yacht Club – 12 August (Open)
National Championships, RCYC – 13–16 August (Open)
Connachts, GBSC – 12–13 September (Open)