Over 78 Afloat.ie Sailors of the Month in 2024 demonstrate the strength and diversity of the sport of sailing in Ireland.
Afloat's review of individual sailors, pairings and crews (below) is a roll call of all those who have excelled in their respective disciplines, be it offshore, dinghy, cruising, windsurfing, sailing administration, plus some amazing achievements in ocean rowing too.
In February, Afloat's judging panel will announce the Irish Sailor of the Year 2024 — and you can have your say by voting in our poll on any page of the Afloat website (voting open from January 17th -31st). More details at the bottom of this article.
JANUARY
Mark Bolger of Baltimore and Amir Anwar-Hameed of Bray are "Sailors of the Month (Ocean Rowing)" for January
Transatlantic “cruise”, anyone? The very functional Out of the Blue was rowed to Transatlantic success by a Delft University crew which was 50% from Irelan
As January progresses, the news starts to zip back from the finishes in the Caribbean of the Transatlantic rowing races from the Canaries, and last year it was a Wicklow team that successfully hit the headlines. This year half of the crew were Irish on board Out of the Blue, the entry from the highly-regarded Delft Technological University in The Netherlands. Amir Anwar-Hameed of Bray was one of the Out of the Blue foursome from Delft that placed second overall in a very competitive field, and so too was Mark Bolger. He is best known for his Baltimore Sailing Club links, but before that he was active in college racing, and was twice awarded the Irish Universities Sailing Association "Sailor of the Year" title.
Finn Lynch Of National YC is "Sailor of the Month (Olympic)" for January
Finn Lynch of Ireland (222017) finished ninth overall in the ILCA7 World Championships in Adelaide, Australia
When Finn Lynch finally secured his Olympics 2024 ILCA 7 place last August when qualifying opportunities seemed to be rapidly evaporating, he said it was "like getting a monkey off my back". Since then, he revelled in the final week of January in Australia, with the challengingly breezy 2024 ILCA 7 Men's Worlds on Adelaide's renowned open waters.
In a truly global fleet of 152 boats, the Carlow sailor ripped round the long courses in real style and then some, and at one stage was looking at sixth. He stayed in single figures to come in ninth at the end, with the long list astern reading like a Who's Who of top ILCA 7 sailing.
Sienna Wright Of Howth YC is “Sailor of the Month (Junior International)” for January
Sienna Wright won the Silver Medal in the ILCA 6 Youth Women’s Worlds in Argentina, coupled with her total victory in the U17 Championship in the same series
Although Sienna Wright of Howth is just 15, she approaches sailing in particular and life generally with remarkable sophistication and style. Thus her mid-January winning of the Silver Medal in the ILCA 6 Youth Women’s Worlds in Argentina, coupled with her total victory in the U17 Championship in the same series seemed to flow on seamlessly from a podium place in the Youth Worlds in December.
FEBRUARY
Colin Leonard of Strangford Lough and Ballyholme is "Sailor of the Month (International & Cruising)" for February
Double jobber…..Colin Leonard of Strangford Lough and Ballyholme won Silver at the ILCA Masters in Australia in February, and also collected an Irish Cruising Club award
There seem to be two Colin Leonards prominent in the sailing scene in the north, but in fact it's one. Colin Leonard of Ballyholme was tops in the medal stakes in the Irish squad in the ILCA Masters in Adelaide in Australia with the Silver in the Apprentice Masters division confirmed on 10th February. And then a week later in his Strangford Lough hat, he was awarded the Wybrants Cup of the Irish Cruising Club for a brisk ten day cruise in the family's attractive Strangford Lough-based Starlight 35 Ariadne to St Kilda, away to the west beyond the Outer Hebrides.
Ed Wheeler of County Down is Afloat.ie "Sailor of the Month (Voyaging & Services to Sailing)" for February
Man in charge – in addition to long distance cruising, Ed Wheeler has given years of service to the Irish Cruising Club and the Royal Ulster Yacht Club
Ed Wheeler's extraordinary career in sailing has ranged from racing the first International Cadet dinghy to be seen on Belfast Lough in the early 1950s (he won Ballyholme YC's famous Lufra Cup for the big-fleet end-of-season pursuit race) to solo voyaging for thousands of miles along the Australian coast in a 28-footer. And now he is the latest awardee (for the second time) of the Irish Cruising Club's premier trophy, the Faulkner Cup, for exceptional passage making over 3,500 often rough miles in 2023 with the Contessa 35 Witchcraft, from Strangford Lough to Madeira for the ICC Conor O'Brien/Saoirse Centenary Rally, and then home via the Azores, often with a newby crew.
In addition, he has served for years as Chairman of ICC Publications, and also put in long service to Royal Ulster Yacht Club, concluding in December 2023 when he stood down after many years in the senior executive role of Vice Commodore.
Mark Lyttle of the National YC is February "Sailor of the Month (International)
Sea, sun and a brisk breeze – Mark Lyttle in his element at Adelaide
Mark Lyttle's devotion to the Laser/ILCA class is truly world league, as he has continued to race the boat for decades, from success at junior level right up to becoming World Grand Master Champion on Dublin Bay in 2018. There's no sign of letup, as February's ILCA World Masters in Australia saw him regularly on the podium, and he finished a sunlit but extremely demanding series with the Bronze in the main division.
Andy Thompson of East Antrim BC is “Sailor of the Month (Worlds)” for February
Andy Thompson on the wire and helm Tom Gillard after their convincing win in the Fireball Worlds 2024 in Australia Credit: Down Under Sail
We’ve become accustomed to veteran dinghy racing superstar Andy Thompson of Larne suddenly emerging into the spotlight again at some world championship, and he has already made his annual mark for 2024 by brilliantly crewing for Tom Gillard at Geelong in Australia in February’s Fireball Worlds to clearly retain the title they won on Lough Derg in 2022.
As another of his top helms, Shane McCarthy has put it: “When Andy gets into your boat, it’s like she has come to life”, making the Larne ex-Pat our “Sailor of the Month (Worlds)” for February.
MARCH
Jamie McMahon & UCD Dinghy Squad are "Sailors of the Month (Intervarsity Dinghies)" for March
Never mind the weather – UCD’s successful Intervarsity Dinghy Squad at Schull were Jamie McMahon, Leonie Judge, William Lacy, Tom Higgins, Peter Fagan, and Cian Lynch " title=" Never mind the weather – UCD’s successful Intervarsity Dinghy Squad at Schull were Jamie McMahon, Leonie Judge, William Lacy, Tom Higgins, Peter Fagan, and Cian Lynch
The annual moveable feast that is the Irish Universities Annual Dinghy Team Challenge is not something to be undertaken lightly, as it aims to draw in more than 160 college sailors to some attractive venue that has to provide good sport afloat and ashore. Despite March's decidedly mixed weather, the very hospitable and experienced (you might even say battle-hardened) West Cork port of Schull was able to do the business for 2024, and the University College Dublin team, with ILCA ace Jamie McMahon in one of the key roles, emerged as this year's champions and thereby worthy Sailors of the Month (Dinghies) for March.
Micheal O'Suillebhain & University College Cork are "Sailors of the Month (Intervarsity Keelboats)" for March
Testing conditions. In the Irish Intervarsities Keelboat Champs at Howth in the final weekend of March, UCC Captain Michael O’Suillebhain has shown that he has maintained the skills that got him onto he podium in the J/24 Euros at the same venue
Michael O'Suillebhain did some skilled helming to bring Kinsale YC's J/24 Kinsailor onto the podium in the J/24 Europeans at Howth in 2022. But his skills were as sharp as ever as he led the UCC squad to victory in the hard-fought intervarsity Keelboat Championship this Easter 2024 weekend at the same venue, even if this time they were racing the host club's multi-purpose flotilla of J/80s in breezy conditions.
Rose Michael is March 2024 Sailor of the Month
March 2024 Sailor of the Month Rose Michael accepting yet another significant cheque on behalf of the lifeboats, this time from Cormac Lowth representing the annual “All In A Row” multi-boat event on Dublin’s River Liffey
In the third weekend of March, two nautical gatherings in the Cork area were painlessly relieved of around €5,000 for Irish lifeboats, with much of the background work to ensure that this went through smoothly being seen to by longtime RNLI collector Rose Michael of Malahide. She is well into at least her fourth and possibly fifth decade of voluntary RNLI fund-raising as the Lifeboat Institute celebrates its Bicentenary.
This was only a small part of her continuous lifeboat fund-raising. Before that, in mid-February, another highlight had been the acceptance of a cheque for a cool €10,000 from nautical polymath Cormac Lowth on behalf of the many and varied participants in the "All In A Row" multi-boat event in the heart of Dublin in the River Liffey.
It was eleven years ago, with the RNLI's Gold Medal award in 2013, that Rose Michael received the recognition she so well deserves. But if anything she has stepped up the pace since, and is a very worthy Sailor of the Month for March in this special Bicentenary Year for the lifeboat service.
APRIL
Royal Cork's Admiral Annamarie Fegan & Nieulargo crew are Sailors of the Month (Inshore) for April
Enough fresh air for a week – the crew of Nierulargo in Kinsale YC after winning Class 1 in the Axiom Spring Series, RCYC Admiral Annamarie Fegan third from right, back row
The Royal Cork YC's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo is always a busy boat, and usually successful too. But things are in over-drive for 2024 and 2025, as co-owner-skipper Annamarie Fegan - aka Mrs Denis Murphy - is also the RCYC's first woman Admiral. Thus she and Denis and their crew are finding their energies well spread, for as we're all only too well aware, getting enthusiasm going for the new 2024 season has been a bit of a challenge in the face of decidedly mixed weather. And in any case, being Admiral RCYC is virtually a full-time job. Nevertheless they took themselves off – as the keener Crosshaven boats usually do – for total commitment to the Axiom Spring Series in Kinsale, and never mind the weather. They won Class 1 overall. Now that is truly inspirational leadership.
Howth's Simon Knowles is Sailor of the Month (Offshore) for April
Keeping her slipping along….Simon Knowles at the helm of Indian, named in honour of the classic motor-cycle brand
Most offshore sailors would be well pleased to have notched their season's start with a win in April, but Howth's Simon Knowles goes into May with two significant bullets already in the bag for the J/109 Indian in the first races of the ISORA Viking Marine 2024 programme.
Dun Laoghaire's Clementine van Steenberge and Jessica Riordan are Sailors of the Month (Junior) For April
Never mind the weather - Clementine van Steenberg and Jessica Riordan on their way to 29er victory in the Youth Nationals at Crosshaven
The nuclear fusion generated by the focus of elite 29er training in Dun Laoghaire – currently centred on the National YC with Thomas Chaix – meant that the class was one of those that elected to have a four day series starting in the Thursday of the storm-tossed Youth Nationals at Crosshaven in early April. It was most hectic of all for the 29ers, but the new combination of World Champion Clementine van Steenberg of the National YC and Jessica Riordan of the Royal St George YC provided the winning ingredients for victory.
MAY
Colm Bermingham of Howth is "Sailor of the Month (Inshore)) For May
The spirit of Irish club sailing - Colm Bermingham (third from right) with his exuberant crew as they celebrate being overall winners of Howth Wave 2024
Owner-skippers like Colm Bermingham with his Elan 333 Bite the Bullet are the backbone of Irish sailing. Over the years, he has defined his area of interest in racing, and then campaigns it to the uttermost, crewed by friends who fit neatly together as a team afloat and ashore. Each year, Bite the Bullet is regularly in the frame, and his overall victory last weekend in the Howth Wave 2024 was essnce of Bermigham style.
Royal Irish YC's Joan Sheffield, Katherine Sheehan and Catherine Day are Joint "Sailors of the Month (Team Racing)" for May
When success is achieved in a team event, it can be difficult to highlight the individual who most contributed to the win. And with nine teams providing a total of 27 female-helmed boats to contest the Roy Family Trophy under the Women At The Helm initiative staged by the National YC in May, it was potentially a complex decision. But the adjudicators have simplified it for themselves by deciding that it should go jointly to the three helms in the RIYC's team of Joan Sheffield, Katherine Sheehan and Catherine Day, in the understanding that their crew would be sharing the honours.
Chris Power Smith of Royal St George YC is "Sailor of the Month (Offshore)" for May
Our journey to Kinsale was well worthwhile.....SCORA Commodore Daragh Connolly (left) with Aurelia's winning owner-skipper Chris Power Smith (RStGYC) and race sponsor James Matthews of The Matthews Centre, together with ECHO winner Paul Tingle (RCYC) of Alpaca, Aurelia crewman Daniel Fitzgerald and (right) Dave Cullinane (Kinsale YC), front row are crewmen Zixi Dong and Jamie Tingle
While the first weekend of June suddenly brought summer, the last weekend of May seemed to be winter re-asserting itself on the Atlantic coasts, and merely to finish the shortened Kinsale YC Inistearaght Race (it rounded the Bull Rock off Kerry, rather than the Blaskets) was an achievement in itself. Yet to do it in record time within 24 hours to take Line Honours and finish on Corrected Time ahead of the form boat was some going - and then some - for a visitor from Dun Laoghaire. Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aleria ticked all the boxes (albeit by just 12 seconds on CT ahead of the legendary Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl), and he is our Offshore Sailor od the Month for May.
JUNE
All-Ireland Headcase Crew "Sailors of the Month (International)" for June
Looking every inch a winner, the J/24 Headcase helmed by Cillian Dickson comes into the finish on the Costa Smeralda, and another win
In mid-June the super-value boats of the International J/24 Class homed in on the usually superyacht setting of Sardinia for their Euros. Defending champions Ireland, represented by the Headcase syndicate with Cillian Dickson (LRYC/HYC) helming for shipmates Ryan Glynn (Ballyholme), Sam O'Byrne (Howth) and Marcus Ryan & Louis Mulloy of Mayo SC, took it all – including brisk winds - in their stride. They emerged overall winners of both the open and Corinthian divisions, the boats they beat including those of the Italian Navy, which takes J/24 racing very seriously indeed.
Laura Dillon is "Sailor of the Month (Offshore)" for June
Former All-Ireland Helm Champion Laura Dillon continues her international winning ways steering the classic S&S 41 Winsome
The Round the Island Race, circling the Isle of Wight, is numerically one of the biggest events in the world. But seldom - if ever - has the large fleet gone through the near gale conditions 2024's June staging experienced in both the Needles Channel, and to the west of the island.
Yet in her accustomed place at the helm of Harry Heijst's classic alloy-built S&S 41 Winsome, Howth's Laura Dillon went so well that Winsome was first in Class 2b, going round the 54-mile course in just 6 hours and 18 minutes
Pete Smyth of Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire is "Sailor of the Month (Round Ireland)" For June
Pete Smyth and his dedicated crew made themselves very competitive first time out in the latest Searcher
The Smyth family have been well in the frame in cruiser-racing in Ireland and abroad for many years, but Pete Smyth's move into the still-competitive 2010 Ker 46 Searcher has made them extra-distinctive as "The Men In Black In The Boat That's Ultra-Black". Even the liferaft canisters towards the stern in the new-bought boat are now black, in a complete re-styling that has removed any sign of the her previous life. And as it was a previous life that was taking place very successfully until recently, it has been a major exercise in international logistics to retrieve Searcher from Maseille, get her completely-restyled, assemble and train up the crew, and then go out and take second overall, first IRC 1, and first Irish in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland 2024 from Wicklow.
Tom Dolan of National YC is "Sailor of the Month (International Solo)" for June
Ireland’s Tom Dolan was back among the front runners with a top placing in the Le Havre Allmer Cup Series in early June
Ireland's top solo keelboat sailor Tom Dolan's third overall in the intense Le Havre Allmer Cup Series in early June was gained against many of the best solo sailors currently at their peak in France. The best of his achievement came in the long offshore race, when he worked his way up through the top half of the fleet with Smurfit Kappa Kingspan in some really hard downwind along the South Coast of England, making up many places to finish second. The result moves him up to fourth overall in the ongoing French Elite Solo Championship, which concludes with the Figaro itself in September.
JULY
Eve McMahon of Howth is "Sailor of the Month (Dinghies)" for July
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon successfully defended her U21 ILCA 6 World Championship in Viana Do Castelo, Portugal
Many sailors might think that the countdown to the Olympics should be a period of calmly keeping fit, and quietly building up concentration as your first race in the Five Ring Circus remorselessly approaches. But multiple title holder Eve McMahon had the opportunity - just a month before Marseille - to keep herself busy for a week in Portugal defending the ILCA 6 U21 World Title, and she did it in runaway style, winning by a clear 30 points ahead of serious contenders Evie Saunders of Australia and Guinevere Caracciolo Di Brienza of Italy.
Simon Coveney of Crosshaven is "Sailor of the Month (Offshore)" for July
Former Minister for Defence Simon Coveney, skippering the Defence Forces crew with his right-hand sailing man Brian Matthews aboard a J/109 at the 2024 Beaufort Cup as part of Volvo Cork Week
Competitors in Volvo Cork Week 2024 thought they'd quite a rugged time following the main programme, even though they were in port every night. But the select Services groups competing for the Beaufort Cup had the full menu, including a night at sea bashing their way around the Fastnet Rock. This was against some tough competition, including the cream of the Crosshaven Lifeboat crew racing the formidable Nieulargo. But former Minister for Defence Simon Coveney, celebrating restirement from top end politics, skippered the Defence Forces crew with his right-hand sailing man Brian Matthews aboard a J/109, and did the business in consummate style.
Johnny Treanor of the National YC is "Sailor of the Month (Regatta)" for July
Johnny Treanor and his J112e 'Valentina' crew, winners of the Volvo Cork Week Coastal Class, receive the Kinsale Kettle trophy for the best overall performance of the week Photo: Bob Bateman
Volvo Cork Week had its own exquisite torture in that, until the announcement at the final prize-giving in Crosshaven, people could only guess at which team the secret formula had extracted as "Boat of the Week". It went to the wire, with much speculation around at least half a dozen boats. And the speculation was fully justified, in that Johnny Treanor's very crisply sailed J/112e Valen Tina from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire had hit the jackpot, though by just "a fraction of a fraction of a point".
Steve Morris and Seol Sionna are "Sailors of the Month (Voyaging)" for July
Steve Morris is successfully guiding Seol Sionna through boat-building and seafaring with a Shannon Estuary base
Even a fully-equipped ocean-going sailing boat can sometimes find the passage from the Shannon Estuary to Brittany a very challenging proposition. But to do it successfully and competently with a 25ft open sailing boat of traditional style involves a very high level of passage-planning skill, accurate weather assessment, and skilled personnel management.
When Seol Sionna's 25ft community-built cutter Sally O'Keeffe returned to Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary at the end of July, it was the completion of a round voyage to the traditional maritime festivals in Brest and Douarnenez. There, she had performed with style. And many people were involved at different stages of this remarkable venture. But Steve Morris, Seol Sionna's mentor ashore and afloat, was aboard throughout, and his exceptional guidance has brought the group to a new level of international achievement.
AUGUST
Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove are "Sailors of the Month (Olympics) for August
Ireland's 49er crew of Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove competing in Marseilles at the highest level Photo: Sander Van der Borch
The all-or-nothing public attitude to Olympic competition and its medals tends to double-down on the frustration that accompanies fourth place. Yet the sailing community are very aware that the fourth place held by Ireland's 49er crew of Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove at the conclusion of the Medals Race at Marseille was one of the lowest overall placings they'd held during a series in which they had mainly been among the top three overall, with brilliant racing that deserves full recognition.
Sean Craig of Dun Laoghaire is "Sailor of the Month (Dinghies) For August
Sean Craig of the Royal St George YC. Back in May, he became top Grand Master in the ILCA Masters and was declared 2024 Water Wag Champion before August was out
A dinghy sailing polymath like Sean Craig of the Royal St George YC tends to see his achievements spread over all the months of the sailing season. Back in May, he became top Grand Master in the ILCA Masters Ireland championship at Howth. Then in August he piled it on, taking ninth in the international fleet of 85 boats at the GP 14 Worlds at Pwllheli in Wales, crewed by Stephen Boyle of Sutton DC. Back again in Dun Laoghaire, he continued his regular racing with the Water Wags, and was declared 2024 Water Wag Champion before August was out.
John Murphy & Neil Spain of Howth are "Sailors of the Month (Regatta) for August
ICRA National Championship 2024 Overall Winner John Murphy of Outrajeous with his sailor sons Thomas and Charlie, and ICRA Commodore Denis Byrne (right) at the hosting Royal Irish YC
John Murphy of the J/109 Outrajeous (Howth YC) is so determined to share the 2024 ICRA Nationals Overall Champion title with his crew that the adjudicators reckon that helmsman Neil Spain should share the award with him on their behalf. For those who would point out that theoretically the series continued until September, the fact is it was done and dusted – with no further racing - by the night of August 31st. And Outrajeous had put in a wellnigh perfect performance, against some of the best competition in Ireland, to record a scoreline that deserves immediate celebration.
SEPTEMBER
Tom Dolan of the National YC is "Sailor of the Month" for September
Tom Dolan, the skipper of Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan, leading the overall ranking at the end of the first two acts, did not disappoint in taking the historic win in the 2024 Solitaire du Figaro
There are longtime competitors in the elite Figaro Solo series in France who have never won a stage, let alone become overall winner. Yet they are still considered serious and newsworthy contenders who merit continuing and generous sponsorship. But back in 2023, Tom Dolan won a leg. And most appropriately, it brought him back to Ireland, to Kinsale and the country he had left behind a dozen years previoussly to seek fulfillment in the highly-specialised and ultra-competitive French solo sailing scene.
However, 2024 has put 2023's success – and previous Dolan successes too – in the shade. Already this year he has been a Sailor of the Month for June for his overall podium place in the prestigious Allmer Cup racing. But this second 2024 Sailor of the Month award for September puts everything else in the shade. The 2024 Figaro Solo Paprec concluded early in the morning of Wednesday September 11th 2024 at La Turballe in southern Brittany. And after an exceptionally exhausting and stormy 717-mile final leg, Tom was so well-placed in the crowded first group sweeping across the line within five minutes of each other at the end of Stage 3 that he retained the overall lead he had established so convincingly clear in Stage 2.
That was by an unusually clear victory in the middle 515 mile stage. The stress of then sailing the final longest and rough stage with only the lead to lose is beyond imagination, and even after a long night's sleep he could still couldn't really believe on Wednesday morning that he had won overall the night before. But he very definitely had.
Johnny Murphy of Howth & Crew On Outrajeous are "Sailors of the Month (International)" for September
Johnny & Suzi Murphy's Outrajeous the class One and overall winners of the 2024 IRC European Championships on Dublin Bay
The Murphy team on Outrajeous had already been in the SoM spotlights at the end of August with their win in the ICRA Nationals, but by mid-September Johnny and Suzy Murphy and longtime helmsman Neil Spain and the J/109 Outrajeous were there again. The first fortnight of September served up such an intensive programme of national and international cruiser-racer competition in Dublin Bay that it provided an exceptionally informative insight into how a mixed crew of professionals and amateurs can be moulded together to provide the desired results.
Johnny & Suzie Murphy's J/109 Outrajeous certainly produced the hoped-for results in winning three major titles, culminating in the Euro IRCs at the Royal Irish YC following on after the J Cup.
Nigel Biggs and Dave Cullen (HYC) are "Sailors of the Month (Corinthian)" for September
Nigel Biggs on the helm of the First 50 Checkmate from Howth, with Jonny Sargent keeping an eye on the fleet to windward and Paddy Evans on the mainsheet during the RIYC-hosted IRC European Championships
When the Royal Alfred Yacht Club was established on Dublin Bay in 1870, it was the first in the world to codify amateur sailing, though its rule did allow that larger yachts might carry paid hands in the form of a Steward and a Ladies' Maid. But for the past three or four decades an increasingly professional input has returned to all levels to reflect the increasing investment involved.
Thus the published results of major events highlighted the straight winners, and amateur or Corinthian crews sometimes didn't even get a mention. But 154 years after that first codification of sailing amateurs in Dublin Bay, Chairman Patrick Burke and the Organising Committee of the IRC Europeans 2024 in September at the Royal Irish YC included prominence for the new Maples Group Trophy for the overall winner of the strictly Corinthian Division, and the popular winner was the big First 50 Checkmate XX (Nigel Biggs & Dave Cullen, Howth YC), which is raced with sporting flair and makes a point of introducing young crews from other disciplines to cruiser-racer
The Shanahan Family (National YC) Are "Sailors of the Month (Offshore)" for September
The Shanahan family's J109 'Ruth' was the overall ISORA winner this season
It was 1988 when the Patriarch of the family, the late Liam Shanahan, put the already successful sailing family firmly among the brightest lights by his win in the Round Ireland Race with the db2s Lightning. With the next generation, Liam Jnr added the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race and other overall wins to the family's offshore racing Roll of Honour.
Generation 3 have continued with the J/109 Ruth, one of the last to be built to the very successful J/Boat design that serves Dublin Bay's inshore and offshore racing needs very well indeed.
Ruth had a mixed offshore season in the early races of the 2024 programme. But connoisseurs particularly savoured the way she and her crew always seemed to be winning at the crucial stages of the historic K2Q Race in July, especially at the end when she emerged out of difficult conditions to be overall winner. When the ISORA Championship 2024 came down to a special series in Dublin Bay in the last weekend of September, it might have been created with the Shanahan/Ruth mindset in mind. They showed it with the win and the championship.
Cora McNaughton Of Blessington & Isha Duggan Of Royal Cork YC Are "Sailors of the Month (Junior)" For September
Cora McNaughton from Blessington Sailing Club and Isha Duggan from Royal Cork Yacht Club are the 2024 Junior Champion of Champions
Sailing in Ireland's "Championship of Champions" has a special niche in the junior division, as it is raced in the TR 3.6s at the Fastnet Marine Centre in Schull, and there's a genuine feeling that the most level playing field possible has been created for competitors who, in 2024, really were on an all-Ireland basis. There's always the hope, too, that a rising talent from one of the smaller developing sailing clubs will emerge as the national star.
And beyond that there's the hope it will be a female helm to offset the usual rough male imbalance. The Junior All Ireland Championship Of Champions in September ticked all the boxes in its final results. The winning crew Isha Duggan may be from Ireland's most senior club, the Royal Cork in Crosshaven. But the star helm, Cora McNaughton, gives her allegiance to one of the newer and definitely rising clubs, Blessington SC.
OCTOBER
Robert Espey and Mike Ferguson of Ballyholme are October "Sailors of the Month (Inshore Racing)"
Two for the top. Champions of Champions 2024 – Ballyholme's Robert Espey (right) and Mike Ferguson
There was a remarkable display of sometimes flamboyant sailing talent making the scene for the Championship of Champions 2024 in the Royal North of Ireland YC's RS400s at Cultra on Belfast Lough in October. Yet while other household names in sailing may have been recording conspicuous wins, Ballyholme's Robert Espey & Mikey Ferguson kept the head down, and recorded a steady performance. They were always in the frame, but never in the bullet slot. That's right – they won overall without one single race win. It's something that strategists preach, but prima donna performers often forget. But the moment of total glory that comes at the end makes it all very worthwhile.
Nick Kats of Clifden is "Sailor of the Month (Voyaging)" for October
Battered but unbowed – Nick Kats and the ketch Teddy in Iceland's Northwest Fjords
Cruising under sail moves at its own rhythm and scale, and voyaging even more so. Particularly when that voyaging involves high latitude sailing. This Autumn has seen the return of Nick Kats to Clifden in West Connemara with his 39ft ketch Teddy, after two very eventful seasons with the boat continuously in Icelandic waters. Regular visitors to Afloat.ie will be well aware of the many twists and turns that befell this determined team. For now, it is sufficient to say that Teddy and her skipper are in a widely-acknowledged league of their own, and richly deserving of special praise.
Baltimore Sailing Club are Sailors of the Month (Team Racing) for October
The successful Baltimore SC squad of Johnny Durcan, Trudy O'Hare, Amy Harrington. Mark Hassett, Emma Geary and Fionn Lyden with Baltimore SC's Race Team
The faint-hearted might reasonably have thought that a full team race programme for 24 squads while Storm Ashley stalked the land was an impossible ambition. But way down in West Cork, little Baltimore Sailing Club can dream big and aim high, with some off-the-wall thinking outside the box. They bull-dozered through a complete programme by grabbing every racing possibility available. And in addition to organising it all while most folk were worrying about their roof tiles or thatch going into orbit, they won it too.
Gordon Patterson & Ross Nolan of Cultra are "Sailors of the Month (Inshore Keelboats)" for October
Dream turnout, dream sailing….the Squib class in strength on Lough Derg in mid-October
The 42-strong fleet racing in the Squib Freshwater Championship at Lough Derg YC in Dromineer in mid-October may have seemed like a no-brainer as a thoroughly good idea. But like most overnight successes, it has been some time in the making. Going into the final race of a very complete championship, any one of five boats from several centres could have won. However, seasoned campaigners Gordon Patterson and Ross Nolan of Royal North of Ireland YC at Cultra on Belfast Lough did the business to clinch it by two points, upping the ante for the Irish Squib Nationals 2025 at the same Squib-friendly venue next June.
NOVEMBER
James Dwyer of Royal Cork YC is "Sailor of the Month (Cruise/Racer)" for November
Royal Cork Half Ton skipper James Dwyer of Swuzzlebubble
The season-long annual Irish Cruiser-Racer Association Championship in 2024 provided an intriguing study of late-20th Century yacht design. The IRC title, announced in early November, goes to James Dwyer with his distinctive "Half Tonner--plus" Swuzzlebubble. Something of an exercise in innovation when she first appeared in New Zealand in 1976 as a concept from the young Bruce Farr, her early years included having a centreboard and a spell in the Irish Sea in the ownership of the late Bruce Lyster, when she won the 1980 ISORA Championship with young bloods like Robert Dix, Drewry Pearson and Des Cummins in the crewing. Since then, she almost departed this life with a planned consignment to a landfill in Greece. But Swuzzlebubble was rescued at the last minute in a story fit for a Christmas panto, and was very fully restored to live happily ever after, with success in 2024 the latest chapter.
Fergal Noonan of Howth is "Sailor of the Month (Cruise/Racer)" for November
Fergal Noonan's Corby 25, Impetuous, showcases exceptional sailing skill at the ICRA ECHO championships, proving that even with a clever rating, performance is key to success on the water
The "alternative" ICRA National Champion, Fergal Noonan's season-long ECHO overall winner Impetuous from Howth YC, is akin to the winning IRC boat Swuzzlebubble in that she was created to sail blithely through all the loopholes in the IRC to an advantageous rating. But as she was designed by John Corby, this slightly odd-looking and unusually narrow 25-footer is different from almost all other boats, except for her larger sisters from the Corby design board such as Peter Wilson's Mustang Sally, Dave Hopkins & Barry McLaughlin's Frenzy, Roy Dickson's two Rosies, Paul O'Higgins' Rockabill V, and the O'Leary family's Antix. But even with a really cool rating, the boat has to be sailed well. And in theory under ECHO, in the final analysis the boat and crew are sailing against their best recent performance. So ECHO is far from being a granny handicap, and Fergal Noonan and his team had their Corby 25 going a treat in in 2024.
Will Byrne of the National YC Is "Sailor of the Month (International" for November)
Dun Laoghaire's Will Byrne (third from left) was part of Germany's La Pericolosa, skippered by Christian Schwoerer, that won the Cape 31 European Championships in San Remo
The Mark Mill-design Cape 31 is developing it own intense-competition international niche, and any overview of the class for 2024 will place a high premium on the second iteration of the Class's Europeans, which for 2024 were staged at San Remo in Italy in mid-November. Will Byrne, ex-Pat from the National YC, is a regular crewman on Christian Schwoerer of Germany's La Pericolosa. Their Euros win was notable by any standards, as they took the title for the second time after 11 races, and by a clear margin of 12.8pt over the runner-up's 31.8 and the third- place 44.
Michael Tyrrell of Dun Laoghaire is Sailor of the Month (Services to Sailing) For November
Newly-appointed Word Sailing International Race Officer Michael Tyrrell (Royal Irish YC) brings multi-faceted experience to his new role and is pictured above with brimmed hat officiating at the IRC European Championships on Dublin Bay
Michael Tyrrell of the Royal Irish YC had a busy and demanding season of it in 2024, as his duties of Race Officer included running the IRC Europeans at his home club, while further along the Dun Laoghaire waterfront, he was in charge of the ILCA Nationals at the National Yacht Club. His talents in the race-staging aspects of achieved international recognition with his appointment by World Sailing in November as an International Race Officer. He joins a highly-regarded elite group in Ireland, with his fellow International Race Officers being Bill O'Hara of Ballyholme, David Lovegrove of Howth, and Con Murphy of Dun Laoghaire.
DECEMBER
Eddie Totterdell of Dun Laoghaire is Sailor of the Month (Services to Sailing) for December
Eddie Totterdell stood down from the Commodore's role in the all-encompassing Dublin Bay Sailing Club in December Photo: Michael Chester
So much goes on in and around boats within the often inscrutable granite face of Dun Laoghaire's mighty harbour that it is taken for granted that if you want to be sure of getting something done, then you should ask an already busy maritime man or woman to do it. Fortunately, the busy and mostly voluntary administrators and workers behind the scenes have been building up expertise and a tradition of service for many years, ever since the first regatta was held at the then-new and still-building artificial harbour in 1828.
Now, nearly two Centuries later, helping to keep the show on the road seems such an accepted part of the great harbour's functioning that both it and the harbour itself are often seen as natural features of Dublin Bay. When Eddie Totterdell stood down from the Commodore's role in the all-encompassing Dublin Bay Sailing Club in December, the lights were focused on a man whose enthusiasm for sailing has already been well expressed through his position as a Dun Laoghaire race officer, and his continuing responsibilities as one of the Launching Authorities for the Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat.
Neil Murphy of Howth is Sailor of the Month (Admin) for December
The Changing of the Watch in December. Kevin Monks (right) takes over from Neil Murphy as Commodore of Howth Yacht Club
When Neil Murphy stood down at December's Howth Yacht Club AGM after two years as the Commodore of Ireland's largest membership sailing club, it was only the conclusion of an admittedly very crowded chapter in a many-chaptered ongoing sailing career which has seen decades of his numerous boat-related activities afloat and ashore. Yet he fulfilled this particular top role with such calm competence that it was difficult to avoid thinking that all his diverse previous experience was aligned to provide him with the enthusiasm and the many skills needed to be Howth's main man for two demanding years. He personifies sailing as a family endeavour, as he co-owns the actively raced and successful Puppeteer 22 Yellow Peril with his brother-in-law Con Costello. He also continued to play his part as a Race Officer in Howth's extraordinarily busy programme.
Sailor of the Year: Voting 2024
As in previous years, the boating public and maritime community can have their say to help guide judges in deciding who should be crowned Ireland's Sailor of the Year for 2024 by using our online poll (opening on January 17th 2025). Full monthly citations are here
The judges welcome the traditional massive level of public interest in helping them make their decision but firmly retain their right to make the ultimate decision for the final choice while taking voting trends into account.
Please note: One vote per person. Your vote DOES NOT necessarily determine the overall winner.
The national award is specially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing elite. After more than 25 years, the awards have developed into a premier ceremony for water sports.
The overall national award will be presented to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to Irish sailing during 2024.
By supporting your favourite nominee, you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.
Voting online is open to public view from Friday, January 17, until Friday, January 31st 2025.
CLICK THE LINK ON EACH SAILOR'S NAME TO READ THEIR ACHIEVEMENT FROM 2024 AND VOTE FOR YOUR SAILOR in the right-hand column (on desktop machines) and below on tablet and mobile.
The Awards will take place on the 28 February this year at 1 WML in Dublin 2.
ABOUT THE IRISH SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Created in 1996, the Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing and boating scene.
Since it began over 27 years ago, the awards have recognised nearly 900 monthly award winners in the pages of Ireland's sailing magazine Afloat, and these have been made to both amateur and professional sailors.
The first-ever sailor of the year was dinghy sailor Mark Lyttle, a race winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The judges' decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
