Thomas Chaix and his 11-year-old son Ben emerged as RS200 Irish National Champions as Killaloe Sailing Club staged its largest event to date, bringing more than 120 sailors to Lough Derg for the combined RS200, RS400 and RS Feva Nationals.
More than 60 boats competed over three days from August 21st to 23rd, with highly variable lake conditions producing shifts of up to 50 degrees and winds ranging from almost calm to 15 knots.
Chaix Pair Take RS200 Title
The 19-boat RS200 championship produced five different race winners from the six completed races, with Thomas and Ben Chaix (NYC/TBSC) eventually taking the title on consistency. James Waugh and Annabel Ridout (CAYC/BYC) finished runners-up, with Luke Simpson and Ben Ferris (CAYC) completing the championship podium.
Opening day immediately showed how difficult it is to race on Lough Derg. An initial race was abandoned after a major wind shift before Jakub Ozarek and Abbie Stocking took the restarted opener.
Fleet Mix – RS200s race on Lough Derg with the RS Feva fleet also in action in the background during the combined Irish Nationals at Killaloe Sailing Club. Photo: Declan Carey
Calum and Rory Pollard won the second race, while Waugh and Ridout claimed the third.
Chaix and his son opened Saturday with a race victory before Waugh and Ridout responded with another win. Simpson and Ferris took the day's third race after a particularly shifty contest in which positions changed repeatedly. A further race appeared to be heading decisively in favour of Ozarek and Stocking before the breeze collapsed and the race was abandoned.
Colour Run – The 19-boat RS200 fleet powers downwind under spinnaker on Lough Derg during a testing Irish Nationals at Killaloe Sailing Club. Photo: Declan Carey
Sunday offered another brief racing opportunity in a six-to-seven-knot northerly, but the attempted race was also abandoned, leaving the six completed races to decide the championship.
Sean and Cian Hanley of Greystones, the Inland champions, secured the season-long RS200 Traveller Trophy.
Blessington Pair Win RS400 Championship
Blessington Sailing Club's Chris Helme and Alan Claffey won the RS400 Irish Nationals after six completed races and one discard.
RS400: Blessington Sailing Club’s Chris Helme and Alan Claffey celebrate winning the RS400 Irish National Championship at Killaloe after three race victories and an eight-point overall score. Photo: Declan Carey
Helme and Claffey finished on eight points, seven clear of Greystones pair Sean and Annalise Cleary on 15. Gareth Flannigan and Knox Wilson took third on 21 points and also secured the RS400 Traveller Series Trophy.
Helme and Claffey won the opening two races before Stephen McLernon and Jake Little took the third.
Sean and Annalise Cleary began Saturday strongly with consecutive victories, while Helme and Claffey added another race win later in the day.
Attempts to add further racing on both Saturday and Sunday were thwarted by the fading and unstable breeze.
22 Boats Contest RS Feva Nationals
The RS Feva championship attracted 22 boats, with six races completed across Friday and Saturday before Sunday's light winds prevented further racing.
RS Feva: Lough Erne Yacht Club’s McCaldin brothers celebrate their RS Feva Irish National Championship success after a consistent six-race series on Lough Derg. Photo: Declan Carey
The McCaldin brothers from Lough Erne Yacht Club led the way on the opening day with scores of 1,2,1, while RNIYC's Ellie Nolan and Niamh Coman and former champions Jessica Dadley-Young and Sally Nixon of Ballyholme were also prominent.
Dadley-Young and Nixon produced three consecutive race wins on Saturday, while the McCaldins remained consistent with 3,2,2 and Nolan and Coman strengthened their position with 2,4,3.
Sunday's lighter and increasingly variable breeze led to several unsuccessful attempts to race before the fleets returned ashore.
Robotic marks were used during the championships to help maintain the windward-leeward courses as the breeze shifted around Lough Derg.
Mark My Words – Robotic marks are prepared for action at Killaloe Sailing Club, where they helped keep the RS Feva Nationals courses fair as the Lough Derg breeze shifted. Photo: Declan Carey
The combined championships brought 63 boats and more than 120 sailors from clubs around Ireland to Killaloe, with the 2026 Irish RS Traveller Series also drawing to a close.
