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Displaying items by tag: Hugh O'Connor

#Topper - Hugh O’Connor of the National Yacht Club was presented with the Topper Challenge Cup for the series last weekend at Rush Sailing Club.

Afloat.ie’s Junior Sailor of the Month for August amassed a string of impressive victories this season, including the second and third Traveller events, the Southern Championships and the O’Tiarnaigh Topper Challenge.

Ireland’s number-one Topper sailor also placed second in the Irish Nationals and Winter Championships — not to mention his stellar podium performance at the Topper Worlds in China.

Fellow NYC sailor Natasha Hemeryck was presented with the overall third place trophy in the series for 2018. Over the year, Hemeryck came in first in the Winter Championships, second at the Traveller 2 and Northern Championships and fifth at the Irish Nationals.

Caoimhe Seymour (NYC) came second overall for the series in the 4.2 Rig and was presented with her trophy at Rush Sailing Club, where the NYC was well represented for the fifth Traveller and last Topper event of the 2018 calendar.

Seymour maintained a consistent place through out the series, coming in third in the Irish Nationals, Winter Championships and Northern Championships, and first in the Traveller 4.

Meanwhile, NYC sailors in Rush included Seymour (third in the 4.2 rig), Adam Irvin, Eoghan Turner (second overall), Deirdre Turner, Mathew O’Brien Holohan and Hugh O’Connor, who finished third in the U17 amid challenging, windy and gusty conditions.

Sixty-two competitors signed up for the event, which the class association said was a fantastic number for the final Topper Traveller in the 2018 series.

Published in Topper

#Topper - Hugh O’Connor of the National Yacht Club took second place among the biggest fleet yet at at the Topper World Championships in Shenzhen, China earlier this week.

Conditions were light and wet with lots of humidity, and with only two races completed in the 5.3 fleet an official world champion could not be crowned.

Despite the difficult sailing conditions, O’Connor topped a list of strong results for the Irish in Shenzhen.

Erin McIlwaine of Newcastle YC finishd as first lady and sixth overall, while the Royal Cork’s Hugh Lynch and David Jones were fifth and ninth respectively.

In the 4.2 fleet, Joe O’Sullivan (RCYC) was the top Irish sailor with a 14th-place overall finish.

Published in Topper

Ireland's Sailor of the Year Awards

Created in 1996, the Afloat Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene.

Since it began 25 years ago, the awards have recognised over 500 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.

And since then it's gone on to read like a who's who of Irish sailing.

The national award is specially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing's elite. After two decades the awards has developed into a premier awards ceremony for water sports.

The overall national award will be announced each January to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to, Irish sailing in the previous year.

A review of the first 25 years of the Irish Sailor the Year Awards is here

Irish Sailor of the Year Award FAQs

The Irish Sailor of the Year Awards is a scheme designed by Afloat magazine to represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene..

The Irish Sailor of the Year Awards began in 1996.

The awards are administered by Afloat, Ireland's boating magazine.

  • 1996 Mark Lyttle
  • 1997 Tom Roche
  • 1998 Tom Fitzpatrick & David McHugh
  • 1999 Mark Mansfield
  • 2000 David Burrows
  • 2001 Maria Coleman
  • 2002 Eric Lisson
  • 2003 Noel Butler & Stephen Campion
  • 2004 Eamonn Crosbie
  • 2005 Paddy Barry & Jarlath Cunnane
  • 2006 Justin Slattery
  • 2007 Ger O'Rourke
  • 2008 Damian Foxall
  • 2009 Mark Mills
  • 2010 Anthony O'Leary
  • 2011 George Kenefick
  • 2012 Annalise Murphy
  • 2013 David Kenefick
  • 2014 Anthony O'Leary
  • 2015 Liam Shanahan
  • 2016 Annalise Murphy
  • 2017 Conor Fogerty
  • 2018 Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove
  • 2019 Paul O'Higgins

Yes. 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 by using an Afloat online poll). The judges welcome the traditional huge 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. By voting for your favourite nominee, you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.

Anthony O'Leary of Crosshaven and Annalise Murphy of Dun Laoghaire are the only contenders to be Afloat.ie "Sailors of the Year" twice – himself in 2010 and 2014, and herself in 2012 and 2016.

In its 25 year history, there have been wins for 15, offshore or IRC achievements, nine dinghy and one designs accomplishments and one for adventure sailing.

Annually, generally in January or February of the following year.

In 2003 Her Royal Highness Princess Anne presented the Awards.

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