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Sailor of the Month
Cian Guilfoyle of Dun Laoghaire, Afloat Sailor of the Month after winning the 44Cup World Championship aboard Aleph
A top pro-sailor of the calibre of Cian Guilfoyle of Dun Laoghaire will inevitably find his name linked with several high-profile boats as his career progresses, but Guilfoyle and the RC44 Aleph go back quite a long way. Indeed, Afloat’s…
Roger Craig of Dun Laoghaire, Afloat Sailor of the Month for September 2026
It was a matter of celebration for Irish sailing when Dun Laoghaire’s Roger Craig snatched gold in the final race of the fiercely-contested Masters division at the 2026 ILCA Masters European Championships in La Baule, France, on September 25th. Craig,…
Cup Retained: Daniel Copithorne and Matt Mapplebeck (centre) celebrate a second successive Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup victory in Schull, with bronze medallists Dylan O’Driscoll and Aidan O’Reilly (left) and silver medallists Leo West-Hurst and Jackson Clark (right)
Daniel Copithorne of Schull and Matt Mapplebeck of Crosshaven are Afloat.ie’s “Sailors of the Month (Junior Nationals)” for September. Autumn sailing and the Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup at the Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre in Schull are now neatly…
Brian Craig, left, and Con Murphy, Afloat.ie Sailors of the Month for Services to Sailing
Con Murphy and Brian Craig of Dún Laoghaire are Afloat.ie’s “Sailors of the Month (Services to Sailing)” for September. It would be well-nigh impossible to list everyone who makes a significant input into the process of converting Dún Laoghaire into…
Eve McMahon racing at the 2026 ILCA 6 Women's World Championship on Dublin Bay
There was enormous expectation surrounding Eve McMahon when the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship came to Dublin Bay in September. The Howth Yacht Club sailor arrived on home waters after a season which had already established her among the leading…
Simon Knowles' J/109 Indian, ISORA Class 2 winner for 2026
In the hyper-busy contemporary sailing programme available to cruiser-racers, it can be something of a jigsaw puzzle putting together your optimal crew in order to hit top form just when it is needed. Simon Knowles of Howth, with the J/109…
“The
The Royal North of Ireland YC at Cultra on Belfast Lough had quite a month of it in August with the hosting of the hundred-strong fleet racing in the GP14 Worlds. And then, in the very last weekend of the…
Ger Owens and Mel Morris racing their GP14
A successful 27-year south/north championship dinghy racing crew combination would be unusual enough in any country, and in Ireland it’s a beacon of goodwill with its own special messages for all sport. Not least of the messages is that you…
Finn Lynch racing at the 2026 ILCA 7 World Championship on Dublin Bay
Finn Lynch may have been disappointed that his home ILCA 7 World Championship on Dublin Bay did not produce the medal he wanted, but eighth overall in the 141-boat fleet was another remarkable demonstration of his consistency at the very…
John Swan’s Harmony racing at the Half Ton Nationals on her home waters of Howth
While sailors at home in Ireland basked in the heat of high summer, in mid-August away to the north at highly scenic Hangko in Norway, the weather was sometimes decidedly rugged for the international fleet of 42 Classic Half Tonners…
Team Spirit – Pat Kelly's J/109 Storm under sail at Cork Week, where Rob O'Leary helped bring the Baltimore Lifeboat crew together to win the Beaufort Trophy in close-fought racing.
It would be difficult to think of two places in Ireland more different than Baltimore in rocky West Cork, and Rush on the sandy Rogerstown Estuary in Fingal north of Dublin on the East Coast. Yet at Cork Week in…
Champion's Course – El Syd, skippered by Frank Whelan of Greystones Sailing Club, under sail. The Sydney 43 secured the ICRA National Championship at Cork Week, earning Whelan Afloat.ie's July Regatta Sailor of the Month.
The results of the sun-filled Cork Week in July could be analysed in several different directions though a number of systems, but there at the heart of it was the Irish Cruiser-Racing Association IRC National Championship. Frank Whelan of Greystones…
Golden Return – Olympic medallist Annalise Murphy of the National Yacht Club is Afloat.ie's July Dinghy Sailor of the Month after a commanding ILCA 6 performance on Dublin Bay.
The presence of an Olympic Medallist certainly adds to the style of any sailing event, and Annalise Murphy’s convincing victory in the ILCA 6 in the Grant Thornton Nationals on Dublin Bay in July spiced up the show no end,…
Crew's Touch – Stephen Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club, (left) Afloat.ie’s July Sailor of the Month (Crewing), has excelled across multiple classes, underlining his reputation as one of Ireland’s top racing crews.
GP14 sailor Peter Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club has a real problem. His father Stephen who regularly crews with him is also one of the most sought-after crews in all Irish sailing. Thus if Boyle Jnr is unable to take…
Offshore Honour — Johnny and Suzie Murphy's J/109 Outrajeous races off Wicklow Head during the 2026 Round Ireland Race, where she finished third overall and won the Corinthian Division and Class 4.
In what was probably the most competitive Round Ireland Race from Wicklow in the event’s 46-year history, Johnny & Suzie Murphy’s immaculately prepared and presented J/109 Outrajeous from Howth lived up to her name by spending an outrageous amount of…
Golden Standard — National Yacht Club sailor Mark Lyttle has been named Afloat.ie Sailor of the Month for June after winning the 2026 ILCA 7 Grand Masters World Championship in Athens.
With the world-beating Laser/ILCA Class’s recent much-celebrated achievement of its Golden Jubilee, there is now very serious competition in the various Masters Divisions, with the main focus on the Grand Masters. Mark Lyttle of the National YC – a sailor…