Excellent Results for the National Yacht Club Weekend Warriors

27th June 2024

Three National Yacht Club sailors travelled to Carnac in Brittany to compete in the RS Aero Europeans

The longest day of the year just passed... so we are halfway through summer, aren't we?

Events were run across Ireland (and abroad), with the National Yacht Club represented at many of them. The week started on Wednesday with the first couple of races completed at the Flying15 UK nationals in Strangford Lough. A day later, the RS Aero Europeans kicked off in Carnac (France). The weekend concluded a great week of sailing races with the Topper Southerns organized by the club, the Fireball Westerns in Galway, and the ILCA Ulsters in Whitehead.

Flying 15 UK Nationals

With 41 entries, the event delivered a competitive 10-race regatta. The National Yacht Club was represented by four partnerships. Shane McCarthy and Hugh McNally had a strong start to the event, scoring four top-10s early on and eventually settling in 9th overall. Tom Galvin and Cormac Bradley had a great final day, scoring their best race (a 3rd) to end their challenge 23rd.
David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne, as well as Niall and Laura Coleman, also competed.

RS Aero Europeans

8 races were completed in all 4 rigs over the course of the event. Three NYC sailors travelled to Carnac in Brittany to compete. Noel Butler had a very strong series in the 6 rig earning 5th overall with a series including a race win. Damien Dion also competed in the 6 rig finishing at a creditable 28th. Felix Dion tasted the RS Aero only a few weeks ago and continued his progress whilst racing. he finished his event with a race win and a second earning him 8th overall.

Fireball Westerns

With our two front runners of the last event away on other fronts, the opportunity to shine for others was too good to be missed. Youth 29er sailor Lisa Flynn teamed up with Cork sailor Chris Bateman and the tryout weekend ended up in success with the title secured after 6 races. Stephen Oram got himself an experienced helm to replace Noel Butler. Francis Cassidy certainly can still compete and the pair ended their challenge in 5th overall. In 10th overall Cariosa Power and Marie Barry won Silver fleet wrapping up a good weekend for the club sailors.

The NYC's Lisa Flynn teamed up with Cork sailor Chris Bateman for the Fireball Open in Galway Bay Photo: Frank Miller

ILCA Ulsters

Academy member Charlie Keating was NYC's sole representative at the event racing in the ILCA6 class. The conditions remained very light and only 4 races could be completed. He secured 7th overall.

Topper Southerns

The National YC ran a great event with great seabreeze. The NYC team may have missed the title but they showed the depth of the group taking the following 5 positions, Gemma Brady leading the group in 2nd, ahead of Kate Kenny, James Gorman (also top junior U14), Rory Brennan Hobbs and Grace Keating.

The National YC ran a great Topper event with great sea breeze

Other club sailors competing were Max Swan, Ruth Thomson, John Kenny. Jacob Browne and Jonathan Dempsey completed their first event. Louis Trickett, also on his first event, competed in the 4.2 rig scoring a creditable 3rd in race 4.

The longest day of the year certainly offered great sailing all around... Next stop, the RS fest in Lough Derg in July.

Published in National YC

Tagged under

National Yacht Club

About The Author

Thomas Chaix

Email The Author

Thomas Chaix is Head Coach at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. He currently sails the 49er dinghy (for fun) but raced the Laser for 25 years and has been a member of French and Irish teams

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

National Yacht Club Facilities

Facilities include a slipway directly accessing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, over eighty club moorings, platform parking, pontoons, fuelling, watering and crane-lifting ensure that the NYC is excellently equipped to cater for all the needs of the contemporary sailor. Berths with diesel, water, power and overnight facilities are available to cruising yachtsmen with shopping facilities being a short walk away. The club is active throughout the year with full dining and bar facilities and winter activities include bridge, snooker, quiz nights, wine tasting and special events.

National Yacht Club History

Although there are references to an active “club” prior to 1870, history records that the present clubhouse was erected in 1870 at a cost of £4,000 to a design by William Sterling and the Kingstown Royal Harbour Boat Club was registered with Lloyds in the same year. By 1872 the name had been changed to the Kingston Harbour Boat Club and this change was registered at Lloyds.

In 1881. the premises were purchased by a Captain Peacocke and others who formed a proprietary club called the Kingstown Harbour Yacht Club again registered at Lloyds. Some six years later in 1877 the building again changed hands being bought by a Mr Charles Barrington. and between 1877 and 1901 the club was very active and operated for a while as the “Absolute Club” although this change of name was never registered.

In 1901, the lease was purchased by three trustees who registered it as the Edward Yacht Club. In 1930 at a time when the Edward Yacht Club was relatively inactive, a committee including The Earl of Granard approached the trustees with a proposition to form the National Yacht Club. The Earl of Granard had been Commodore of the North Shannon Y.C. and was a senator in the W.T.Cosgrave government. An agreement was reached, the National Yacht Club was registered at Lloyds. The club burgee was created, red cross of Saint George with blue and white quarters being sky cloud, sea and surf. The Earl of Granard became the first Commodore.

In July of 1950, a warrant was issued to the National Yacht Club by the Government under the Merchant Shipping Act authorising members to hoist a club ensign in lieu of the National Flag. The new ensign to include a representation of the harp. This privilege is unique and specific to members of the National Yacht Club. Sterling’s design for the exterior of the club was a hybrid French Chateau and eighteenth century Garden Pavilion and today as a Class A restricted building it continues to provide elegant dining and bar facilities.

An early drawing of the building shows viewing balconies on the roof and the waterfront façade. Subsequent additions of platforms and a new slip to the seaward side and most recently the construction of new changing rooms, offices and boathouse provide state of the art facilities, capable of coping with major international and world championship events. The club provides a wide range of sailing facilities, from Junior training to family cruising, dinghy sailing to offshore racing and caters for most major classes of dinghies, one design keelboats, sports boats and cruiser racers. It provides training facilities within the ISA Youth Sailing Scheme and National Power Boat Schemes.

Past Commodores

1931 – 42 Earl of Granard 1942 – 45 T.J. Hamilton 1945 – 47 P.M. Purcell 1947 – 50 J.J. O’Leary 1950 – 55 A.A. Murphy 1955 – 60 J.J. O’Leary 1960 – 64 F. Lemass 1964 – 69 J.C. McConnell 1969 – 72 P.J. Johnston 1972 – 74 L. Boyd 1974 – 76 F.C. Winkelmann 1976 – 79 P.A. Browne 1979 – 83 W.A. Maguire 1983 – 87 F.J. Cooney 1987 – 88 J.J. Byrne 1988 – 91 M.F. Muldoon 1991 – 94 B.D. Barry 1994 – 97 M.P.B. Horgan 1997 – 00 B. MacNeaney 2000 – 02 I.E. Kiernan 2002 – 05 C.N.I. Moore 2005 – 08 C.J. Murphy 2008 – 11 P.D. Ryan 2011 – P. Barrington 2011-2014 Larry Power 2014-2017 Ronan Beirne 2017 – 2019

At A Glance - National Yacht Club 2024 Events