Irish Youth Sailing News. Regattas, Juniors, Training, Courses, Skills
Defending champions Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain will lead two Irish crews at the U23 49er European Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, from 10–14 November. The 49erFX pairing of Elysia O’Leary and Alana Twomey will also compete. Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club)…
Ben Chaix of Tralee is "Sailor of the Month (Junior International) for October
1st November 2026 Sailor of the Month
The Topper Europeans in Weymouth saw an impressive involvement by young Irish sailors, spearheaded by Ben Chaix of Tralee who took Gold by recording a convincing scoreline of seven wins in eight races to round out an impressive season which…
Caoilinn Geraghty-McDonnell of Dun Laoghaire is “Sailor of the Month (Team Racing)” for October
1st November 2026 Sailor of the Month
In the most successful squads in sailing team racing, the hand of the Captain might lie very lightly indeed while achieving success, but nevertheless this sometimes virtually invisible power of leadership is essential to overall success. And in the final…
Tralee Bay Sailing Club's Ben Chaix delivered a commanding performance at the 2026 International Topper Class European Championships in Weymouth, winning seven of eight races to secure the Topper 4.2 European title as Irish sailors claimed three of the six…
More than 110 young sailors have registered for the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association (IODAI) National Training Week at Lough Ree Yacht Club from Wednesday, 28 October, to Saturday, 31 October. The four-day event, one of the association's biggest National Training…
St Andrew’s College Wins Fifth Successive Leinster Schools Team Racing Title
19th October 2026 Team Racing
St Andrew’s College continued its dominance in Leinster schools team racing on Sunday, 18th of October, securing its fifth successive provincial championship at the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) on Dublin Bay. Sixteen teams took part in the 2026 Irish Schools Team Racing…
Optimist champion Emily Donagh and ILCA 6 youth sailor Rory Brennan-Hobbs claimed class victories as the National Yacht Club hosted the final ILCA Ireland Sprint of 2026 on Dublin Bay on Sunday, 18 October. Emily Donagh won the ILCA 4…
The Association of Sail Training Organisations (ASTO) brought together 222 young people aboard 21 vessels for its 2026 Small Ships event in Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 2–4 October, with light winds prompting organisers to replace the traditional race with…
Daniel Copithorne of Schull and Matt Mapplebeck of Crosshaven are “Sailors of the Month (Junior Nationals)” for September.
1st October 2026 Sailor of the Month
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…
Irish Sailing has named representatives across three youth classes: Sienna Wright and Marcus Shelley in the ILCA 6 events; Juliet Ryan and Ella Rock in the female 29er; and Daniel Copithorne and Matt Mapplebeck in the male/mixed 420 fleet. Wright…
George Jesters have won the 2026 Irish Team Racing Association National Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, defeating Pourquoi Papa 3–0 in the championship final. The winning six of Liam Glynn, Rosa Lyden, Jack Fahy,…
O’Connell Leads Tight Monkstown Bay Finale as Club Honours Youth
24th September 2026 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Davy O’Connell takes a one-point Class 1 lead into the final race of Monkstown Bay Sailing Club’s September league, as the Cork Harbour club also celebrates its young sailors’ success at the Optimist Connacht Championships. Davy O’Connell in his Laser…
Copithorne and Mapplebeck Retain Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup in Schull
21st September 2026 Irish Sailing
Daniel Copithorne and Matt Mapplebeck have retained the Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup after winning the 2026 edition at the Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre (FMOEC) in Schull, West Cork. The Schull Harbour Sailing Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club…
Sailing Clubs Urged to Review DBS Supervision Changes for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
20th September 2026 Youth Sailing
Following a recent change in UK Government legislation, the rules on regulated activity changed from 1 September 2026, such that supervision no longer automatically excludes an individual from being considered to be undertaking regulated activity. As a result, anyone who…
Racing was abandoned at Rosses Point on Saturday (19 September) on the opening day of the GP14 Autumn Open and Youth Championships at Sligo Yacht Club. The two-day event had been scheduled to begin with two Autumn Open races from…
Ballyholme Yacht Club’s Cormac Byrne has been crowned RYANI Youth Champion 2026 after winning the ILCA 6 fleet at the RYA Youth Championships. Byrne also collected the Male Youth Champion title, while clubmates Emily and Annabel Ridout were named Female…
