Displaying items by tag: ILCA 6
Royal St. George Yacht Club ILCA 6-star Sean Craig has finished top of the Barcelona Masters Championships in Spain.
With no racing on Saturday, three on Sunday and two on Monday, conditions were very unstable (with lots of thunder and lightning), so it was a high-scoring regatta for the fleet apart from the winner, two-time Olympian Monica Azon.
Despite only finishing seventh overall, Craig earned his first Grand Master title in the biggest category racing, with 26 of the 53-boat fleet.
Spain is proving a successful hunting ground for the 58-year-old Dun Laoghaire ace who won a Bronze Medal at the EurILCA Masters Europeans at L’Escala in Spain last October.
John Curran, ex-Bray Sailing Club and now Wembley Sailing Club in London, came 32nd.
Download results below
The action moves up the Costa Brava next weekend May 4-7th for the Spanish Masters where a big Irish contingent of three more ILCA 6s and four ILCA 7s (all from the RStGYC) will join Craig and Curran.
Disappointment for Eve McMahon as Olympic Multi-Medalist Marit Bouwmeester Builds ILCA 6 Lead of 24 Points in Princess Sofia Trophy
Gold fleet racing is always the real acid test and this is proving no different on the first day of gold fleet racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca today.
Leads earned through the initial Qualifying heats often prove transient when it is only the cream of each fleet battling it out for places in Saturday’s Medal races.
Among the ILCA 6 women in their Gold fleet, Eve McMahon of Howth YC was disappointed with her performance. "It was a very mediocre day for me; unfortunately, my starts today really let me down, which isn't like me," she said after coming ashore in C'an Pastilla. "I think the Black Flag (disqualification) on the first day has thrown me a little bit - I haven't had one of them in quite a while."
Fleet racing in Gold, Silver and Bronze divisions concludes on Friday with the top ten boats in each of the ten events that comprise the Olympic regatta format going forward for a high-scoring short medal race final on Saturday.
At this key Olympic classes regatta last year, post Tokyo, one notable absentee was the Dutch three times medallist Marit Bouwmeester. She was heavily pregnant then, giving birth to her first child Jessie Mae in May last year. Since then, the new mum has, predictably, limited her training and racing time.
After winning Laser Radial silver in London 2012 and gold in Rio 2016, bronze in Tokyo 2021 completed the full medal set, but it was something of a disappointment considering in 2020 – the year the Games should have run – she was reigning W orld and European. But an arm injury in 2021 meant that the Tokyo Olympic regatta was the only major regatta she could sail.
So Bouwmeester is back in the ILCA 6 in Palma, revving up her challenge for the fourth medal which would make her the most successful ever female sailing Olympian. And she is on typically impressive form. After a first and second today – discarding a 16th which was the result of catching the pin mark - she carries a lead of 24 points into the second day of Finals racing, ahead of her Dutch compatriot Maxime Yonker.
Washing down her boat in the sunshine in C’an Pastilla she smiles “ It is nice to be back in Palma but the days on the water feel very long. But today was a good day. I was a bit pissed off in the third race because I got a good start and then dropped my mainsheet and got caught around the pin end which was a bit stupid, but overall I feel like I am making progress.”
For her, she says, it is not the potential glory of potentially being the ‘best of the best but still – 13 years on from her first world championship silver medal –she is trying to get better every day and, now, doing it is a mum.
“If you can get a baby out, you can do anything!” she chuckles, “ I want to do it all one more time but first I have to qualify myself for Paris 2024 and finish my career in style and there is only one place, for me, that counts. I want to win a gold medal. I believe I can still do it. That is why I am here, still doing it. And I am really grateful to my boyfriend who is giving me this opportunity and he looks after out kid a lot and also to my coach who believes in me. He does a lot of work for me because I can’t train as much as I want to. I am probably doing half of what I did before.”
She asserts, “Having a baby puts everything in perspective. I am so very grateful to be a mum, really I am. It is not common to go sailing at this level and be a mum, so I really need to make every time on the water count. It has to be good and I appreciate being away. And then when I do go way to Lanzarote to train and take my babysitter she gets sick....so all these things you think you get it all sorted and these things happen. But I am going to give it all I can, my very best.”
And Bouwmeester concludes, “There is an addiction of trying to being better every day. After Tokyo it is unfinished business as I went to Tokyo after winning the World and European Championships in 2020 and then the Games were postponed. And then I had a big arm injury and could only sail one event and that was the Olympics. So that is not how I wanted my career to end.”
Results are here
Rocco Wright Takes Home ILCA 6 Euro Bronze
After an eleven-race series at the ILCA 6 European Championships, defending title-holder Rocco Wright (Howth Yacht Club) took home the bronze medal after a close final day of racing in Andora, Italy.
Mattia Cesana of Italy edged ahead to become the new ILCA6 men's champion.
Along with Greek sailor Athanasios Kyfidi who took the silver on tie-break, the leading trio had enjoyed a week-long duel at the front of their 71-boat event across a range of conditions.
Good breeze of around 10 knots and a good swell allowed for three more races on the final day.
Final Results – ILCA 6 Men
- Athanasios Kyfidis GRE 27 pt
- Mattia Cesana ITA 28 pt
- Rocco Wright IRL 37
- Mario Novak CRO 67 pt
- David Ponseti ESP 68 pt
These sailors are all Under 21, so they were also declared U21 champions.
Reigning ILCA 6 Men's Senior European champion Rocco Wright of Howth Yacht Club took the lead today in Andora, Italy, with 21 points.
Overnight leader Athanasios Kyfidis GRE and Mattia Cesana ITA follow him two points behind.
They are all Under 21, so leaders of both the overall and U21 championships.
Wright's lead would be slightly better, but for a capsize in the final race of the day when he placed eighth, his worst result of the series so far, which he discards. Nevertheless, his fourth day of competition still counted another race win and all top ten results.
There was a further strong showing for Fiachra McDonnell (Royal St. George Yacht Club), who had a very consistent day with a fifth, sixth and third places that shifted him to sixth overall.
Howth's Eve McMahon Moves up to 15th at ILCA 6 Women's Europeans
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon completed a solid day at the ILCA 6 Women's Europeans in Andora, Italy improving from 19th to 15th overall thanks to sixth and third places as well as a 12th as her event moves into Gold fleet finals racing from Thursday.
Winds of 18-25 knots and big waves brightened up today’s racing.
Vasileia Karachaliou POR leads the Women’s championships with eight points after scoring a 1-2-2 today. The second place is for the seven times Senior European medalist Marit Bouwmeester NED (2-4-1) with 11. Third place for Emma Plasschaert BEL (5-3-1) with 12.
Chiara Benini ITA is fourth with 15. Fifth place for the reigning Senior European champion Agata Barwisnka POL with 17 points.
Irish Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon recovered from a port-starboard incident shortly after the start of the first race of the day at the ILCA 6 Womens' European Championship but recovered well to place 14th and then ninth in the second race of the day in Andora, Italy.
Vasileia Karachaliou POR is leading with 7 points after scoring a 2-1-4 on Tuesday. Top places are very tight, with Emma Plasschaert BEL and Anne Marie Rindom DEN following her with 8 and 9.
Polish sailors Agata Barwisnka POL and Wiktoria Golebiowska POL are also close with 13.
The Irish Youth World champion from Howth Yacht Club, Ireland's sole ILCA 6 campaigner for Paris 2024, lies 19th in a fleet of 112.
Medium air conditions were quite shifty, with the breeze up and down on the Riviera delle Palme.
With just three races sailed in the qualification round, Wednesday will see three more races before deciding the finals line-up to be sailed over the remaining two days of the event.
The first warning signal is at 09:00. Coaches meeting at 07:00.
Eve McMahon Will Be Driven to Success in New Mercedes-Benz Van for Irish Olympic Sailing Team
Ireland’s Olympic sailing team has started the New Year with a fair wind in its sails, having welcomed a new addition to its fleet of commercial vehicles in the shape of a new Mercedes-Benz Vito van.
The second of its kind to be added to the fleet, the Vito will soon be put through its paces transporting the team’s boats and equipment to international training camps and competitions throughout Europe in destinations such as Portugal, Italy and, significantly, the Olympic sailing venue of Marseille.
No stranger to the Irish sailing community, Mercedes-Benz has supported a number of water sport activities over the years, most notably in its sponsorship of Ireland’s Olympic medal-winning sailor Annalise Murphy in her preparations for the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games.
Fittingly, the predominant user of this new vehicle will be Howth Yacht Club’s Eve McMahon, the current Youth World Champion in Murphy’s old class the ILCA 6 (formerly Laser Radial) who is hotly tipped for Olympic success of her own, at Paris 2024 and beyond.
Royal St. George's Daniel O'Connor Moves up to Fifth at EuroMed Cup Malta
Day two of the Mapfre Euromed International Championships in Malta yielded mixed results for the Irish competitors.
Little wind meant only one race for the Laser group and none for Optimists.
Daniel O’Connor is Ireland’s best-placed boy in the ILCA 6 fleet of 19 in fifth overall. The Royal St George Sailor earned second place behind Ukrainian sailor Dmytro Karabadzhak. The strong Maltese fleet hold the top three positions before the first discard kicks in. With a maximum of 12 races to be sailed, the organisers will hope for stronger winds today.
In the ILCA 4 fleet, Lucy Ives, sailing under the Carlingford Sailing Club burgee, stays 9th after four races sailed. Howth’s Charlie Keating is in 11th.
The Royal St George pair of Jessica Riordan and Emily Conan are in 14th and 17th, respectively.
In the 138-boat Optimist Fleet, Carolina Carra of the Royal St George Yacht Club is lying in 64th place after four races sailed. Jude Hynes-Knight is 65th.
Full results here:
Royal St. George's Sean Craig Moves Up to Fifth in the EurILCA Master European Championships
Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Sean Craig has moved up to fifth overall in the EurILCA/Laser Master European Championships in L’Escala on the Costa Brava, Spain.
After eight races sailed, the Royal St. George sailor is nine points off the podium with 42 points.
Winds have been light, largely eight to 10 knots from 60 degrees, and several starts procedures were aborted in both regatta fields because there were boats out of line.
France's Gilles Coadou is the first ILCA 6 Grand Master (55 – 64 years old); the second, also French, Luigi Santocanale; and third, the Belgian Pieter Van Laer.
Among the women, the French Isabelle and Helene Viazzo continue to occupy the first two places now, with the Dutch Martien Zeegers-Nouwen in the third.
With eight scored races, the 2022 EurILCA Master European Championships passes its halfway point with the Spanish Xavi Tous and Alfredo Gómez as leaders of the ILCA 6 Apprentice Master category (30 – 40 years old) followed by the Italian Gianmario Broccia.
In the women's category, the provisional podium goes to the Spanish Míriam Carles-Tolra, the Italian Elisa Boschin and the Greek Georgia Cheimona.
Among the ILCA 6 Masters (45 - 54 years old), the Frenchman Sebastien Baudier rules, ahead of the British Ian Gregory and the Spanish Mònica Azón, the first female in the category, followed by Spain's Marina Sánchez Ferrer and the German Alexandra Behrens.
Among the ILCA 6 Great Grand Master (55-64 years old), the Australian Jeff Loosemore ranks first, with the British Max Hunt in second place and the Spanish Miguel Noguer in third.
In this category, two French women lead the women's division. They are Isabelle Arnoux and Evelyne Ferrat.
Australian Peter Heywood, French Jacques Kerrest and Dutch Henk Wittenberg occupy the provisional ILCA 6 Legend podium.
The Slovenian Matej Vali, the Italian Lorenzo Cerretelli and the Canadian Ian Elliot are the first three ILCA 7 Apprentice Masters;. At the same time, the American Peter Hurley, the Greek Dimitrios Theodorakis and the Greek Aristotelis Chatzistamatiou are the leaders among the ILCA 7 Masters.
The Spanish José María Van der Ploeg, the French Bertrand Blanchet and the Swedish Tomas Nordqvist occupy the ILCA 7 Grand Master head.
The SpaniardJosé Luis Doreste, the British Tim Law and the American Peter Vessella are leaders of the ILCA 7 Great Grand Master division.
Howth Yacht Club’s Aoife Hopkins Calls Time on Olympic Campaigning
Howth Yacht Club’s Aoife Hopkins has announced her retirement from Olympic campaigning.
The ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) sailor and former U21 European Champion had been readying for the Paris 2024 qualifying campaign, following the disappointment of missing out on Ireland’s sole spot at the Tokyo 2020 games last year.
Only this past summer it was announced that 23-year-old Hopkins would share with fellow HYC prospect Eve McMahon in The Olympic Federation of Ireland Paris Scholarships fund for their Olympic preparations.
Sailing since she was nine years old and well regarded as one of Ireland’s top sailors, Hopkins achieved her personal best result when she placed 17th overall at the 2021 ILCA 6 World Championships in Oman, where she also scored one of two World Championship race wins in her career.
Before that, arguably her biggest highlight was her win at the U21 Europeans in 2017 — just weeks after sitting her Leaving Cert — and that same year she graduated to the senior Irish Sailing Team.
Hopkins balanced sailing with her studies for a maths degree over the subsequent years, and together with Aisling Keller helped secure Ireland’s single qualification place for the ILCA 6 at Tokyo 2020 during the class Worlds in Japan in 2019.
However, Hopkins’ hopes of securing that spot were dashed when the following summer’s Olympic trials were cut short in the early months of the COVID pandemic, and Rio 2016 silver medallist Annalise Murphy was selected instead.
Aoife Hopkins had been gearing up for the Paris 2024 qualification campaign after the disappointment of Ireland’s Tokyo 2020 selection
At the time, both Keller and Hopkins expressed their dismay, with the latter saying: "I really can’t understand the decision not to continue with the trials. I am utterly and completely devastated.”
Hopkins did not appeal the decision by Irish Sailing and took some time out to reassess her situation.
The young sailor missed the Irish ILCA 6 title nationals on a tie break in Kerry in August but did lift the ladies' salver. Her most recent victory on the water was as helm of the J80 Ladies of the Kite, leading a team of under-25s to the Sportsboat title at last month’s Women at the Helm regatta.
Aoife (second from left) among the winners with the ILCA 6 Ladies' Salver in Tralee in August
Before the event, Hopkins said: “Events like these are super important for women in sport and women in sailing … and it’s brilliant to see the turn out today. This is the one event of the year when the women’s changing rooms are busier than the men’s!
"It gives women the opportunity to helm boats that they might not have and to actually showcase their skills and what they can do because it’s not really about capabilities, it’s about opportunities.”
Afloat.ie wishes Aoife Hopkins the very best in her future endeavours.
