Maeve Donagh of the Royal St George Yacht Club and Lough Derg Yacht Club has extended her lead in the Senior fleet of the Irish Optimist National and Open Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club after two more races on Saturday.
The 15-year-old added another race victory in Race Six before an eighth in Race Seven, which is now her discard. Donagh leads the 56-boat fleet on 13 nett points, four points clear of Britain's Charlie Holland on 17.
Royal Cork Yacht Club's Dylan O'Sullivan remains firmly in the championship hunt in third. He produced a 2,4 Saturday scoreline to move to 20 points, seven behind Donagh with the final day to come.
Irish Optimist Nationals 2026 - Day Two Photo Gallery by Bob Bateman
Donagh Wins Again
Donagh's Saturday race win was her second victory of the series and continued a remarkably consistent championship. Her six counting results are now 4,3,2,1,2,1, with Saturday's eighth discarded.
Holland, who began the championship with two victories, scored 3,19 on Saturday. The 19th becomes his discard, leaving the British sailor on 17 points.
O'Sullivan's 2,4 was the strongest Saturday performance among Donagh's immediate Irish challengers. His counting scores now include three top-two finishes from seven races.
Britain's Finn Byrne has moved up to fourth overall on 40 points after an impressive 4,3 on Saturday, while Royal Cork's George Creighton is fifth on 54.
Behind them, Royal Cork and Waterford Harbour's Lilly Sheridan is sixth on 56, while Britain's Zoe Green is seventh on 59. Emily Donagh of the Royal St George and Lough Derg is eighth on 62.
Hayes Holds Junior Lead
There is an even tighter contest at the head of the 56-boat Junior fleet, where Royal Cork and Monkstown Bay sailor Brody Hayes carries a three-point advantage into the final day.
Hayes scored 11,2 in Saturday's two races and leads on 18 nett points after six races and one discard.
Britain's William Foster is second on 21 points, with Howth Yacht Club and Sutton Dinghy Club's Rory Barron only another two points behind in third on 23.
Lough Ree and Royal St George sailor Rian Foy Joyce is fourth on 28 after winning Saturday's opening Junior race, while Monkstown Bay and Royal Cork's Jack Ryan completes the top five on 37.
Williams Builds Regatta Racing Advantage
Hugh Williams of Strangford Lough Yacht Club has strengthened his grip on the Regatta Racing fleet.
Williams added 1,3 on Saturday and now leads the 35-boat fleet on 12 nett points after eight races, with seven results counting.
Monkstown Bay and Royal Cork's Dara O'Suilleabhain remains second on 23 points after scoring 3,4, while Britain's Grace Anderson is third on 27 after finishing sixth and first.
American Hannah Butler is just one point further back in fourth on 28, with Sutton Dinghy Club and Howth Yacht Club's Heidi Murray fifth on 33.
The championships conclude at Royal Cork Yacht Club on Sunday with Donagh defending a four-point Senior advantage, Hayes holding a three-point Junior lead and Williams carrying an 11-point cushion in Regatta Racing.
Senior Fleet results are published below. Full results for the Junior Fleet and Regatta Racing Fleet are available at the links.
