A silver medal at last week's 29er UK National Championships in Weymouth for recently crowned Irish national champions Ben O'Shaughnessy (RCYC) and Ethan Spain (NYC) set the Cork-Dublin duo up nicely for this week's world championships at the same venue.

410 sailors making 205 entries from 25 countries, including eight Irish teams, have made their way to the 2012 British Olympic venue to sail out of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

After one race sailed on Sunday, brother and sister pairing Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge of Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club are lying in joint second place, but half of the fleet – including the rest of the Irish – have yet to complete their first race.

'Full on, fruity, but steady conditions' was the word from David Campbell-James, the Race Officer leading the racing in Portland Harbour. With consistent direction and average wind speeds of 20-23 knots, the yellow and blue fleets launched, managing a single race on the Harbour course before increasing gusts sent all fleets home for a quiet Sunday afternoon to rest and recover for this morning.

'More fresh than frightening' was the sentiment from the Australian team of Ben Craaford and Jakob Marks, who was very happy to get their first race win in the Yellow fleet under their belts in the challenging conditions' good fresh conditions, we like this stuff from back home in Australia, so we really feel at home today'.

Zeb Van Dorst and Yannick Van Den Akker from the Netherlands also enjoyed the conditions in Blue fleet, 'we won because it was good wind, perfect wind for us - so a good start with good first upwind, some mistakes, but in the end, we came out on top'. At 64 and 73 kilos, they enjoy the windy conditions, sharing their top tips for the 29er in windy weather 'Keep it simple, don't gybe and tack too much', and with only two gybes the whole day, they led by example.

2022 Men's World Champion Maximo Videla (Argentina) with new partner Juan Cruz Albamonte took second place in the Yellow fleet, with Irish siblings Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge taking second place in Blue and currently sitting in the top spot for the Open fleet prize.

Clementine from IRL 22, said after racing, 'difficult conditions, today was all about speed, we had a good start and did our thing', 'there was quite a nasty chop so on the downwind you had to watch out not to get your bow in'. Offering their top tips for the day, Nathan shared, 'The most important thing was keeping the boat upright as much as possible, get around the course, and you'll do well – gybes are probably the trickiest bit today, just focus on getting the boom across and worry about the kite after.'

The championships consist of a Qualifying Series with a maximum of nine races and a Final Series with a maximum of nine. Two fleets race on each race course. Racing continues until Friday.

Meanwhile, entries are open for the 29er Northern Ireland Championships that will take place this September 9-10 at Ballyholme Yacht Club. The 29er class will be one of the fleets competing in the RYANI Youth Championships.

RYA Northern Ireland has issued the Notice of Race and opened entries for the 2023 edition of the RYANI F10 Marine Youth Championships, which will take place on the weekend of 9-10 September.

Following the cancellation of last year’s championships due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, RYANI welcomes back the prestigious event to uncover the Northern Ireland champions across junior and youth sailing classes that include Toppers, Optimists, Fevas and 29ers, ILCA 4 and 6 and a regatta fleet.

Andrew Baker, performance manager at RYANI said: “Our annual Youth Championships is a major event in the youth sailing calendar and for many their first experience of a larger event. Whether a sailor turns up as the favourite to win or it’s their first time on a racecourse, the event really delivers something for all young sailors in NI.

“It is probably the biggest event we run alongside our clubs, at times it can be logistically challenging and demanding on volunteer resources but ultimately demonstrates what can be achieved when everyone plays their part and gets involved.”

RYANI is also excited to announce a new headline sponsor for the event in F10 Marine, an online boat shop that offers a wide range of products for boating enthusiasts and provides quality items to enhance the boating experience and cater to diverse needs.

Damian Goodman from F10 Marine said: “F10 Marine is proud to announce its sponsorship of the RYA Northern Ireland Youth Championships, scheduled to take place in September. This significant partnership reflects F10 Marine’s commitment to supporting youth development in the field of sailing and its dedication to promoting water sports in the region.

“By supporting this event, F10 Marine is actively contributing to the growth of the sailing community and empowering young sailors to pursue their passion for the sport.”

On the announcement of the sponsorship, RYANI chief executive Greg Yarnall said: “It is fantastic to have a company like F10 Marine on board to support the RYANI Youth Championships, we would like to thank F10 Marine for their support, and we hope it will be the start of a long lasting partnership between the two organisations that can enable us to further develop sailing and boating in Northern Ireland.”

The overall winners of a cut-short Irish 29er National Championships were Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, who took three wins from five races in today's single day of competition at the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

With days one and two blown out, the breeze was still up on Dublin Bay for the youth skiff competition on Sunday's final race.

Second overall were the host club's Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge, with Lauren O’Callaghan and James Dwyer third. 

The First girls were Royal St. George's Jessica and Emily Riordan. The top Under 17 crew were Oisin Pierce and Fionn Daly.

National Yacht Club Commodore Peter Sherry (left) presents the 29er National Championship trophy to Ethan Spain (centre) and Ben O’Shaughnessy

Strong northwesterly gusts have cancelled 29er Skiff National Championship racing at the National Yacht Club.

Friday evening and Saturday's schedules were both scrubbed because of the high winds. 

Racing is scheduled again for tomorrow (Sunday) on Dublin Bay.

As Afloat reported previously, top Irish crews have just finished four days of competition at Kiel Week in Germany, where sister-Brother duo Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge (NYC) finished up fifth and first mixed duo, having led the 29er fleet for the first three days.

Sister-Brother duo Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge (NYC) finished up fifth and first mixed duo, having led the 29er fleet for the first three days in Kiel Week in Germany.

As Afloat reported earlier, the Dun Laoghaire siblings showed strong with four race wins in the qualifying series.

The next of the five Irish boats competing was Ireland's current National Champions top boy duo Ben O’Shaughnessy (RCYC) and Ethan Spain (NYC), who finished in 12th place overall and within the top ten of the boys' fleet.

Next of the Irish were female pairing and current Under 17 World Champions Lucia Cullen (NYC/RSGYC/RCYC) and Alana Twomey (RCYC), who had a solid event, including two race wins in the qualifying series. They finished 19th overall and second female crew at the event.

The lighter 29er teams had just enough breeze for the crew on trapeze in the final races of Kiel Week 2023 Photo: Kiel Week/Sascha Klahn

Dublin sisters Emily and Jessica Riordan (RStGYC) narrowly missed out on Gold fleet qualification and finished a strong 7th in the silver fleet.

William Walsh and Conor Flynn (NYC) gave a powerful performance at their first international event in the 29er.

Keil Week’s 29er fleet attracted 168 entries to the renowned venue in Germany. The event started with a two-day qualifying series, and then the competition ramped up as the fleets split into gold, silver, bronze and emerald. There was no room for mistakes, with just one discard in the 13-race series.

Victory went to Denmarks Nicklas Holt and Katja Visby Svendsen, Silver to French pairing Jocelyn le Goff, Jules Vidor, and Bronze to the GBR team of Charlie Gran and Sam Webb.

After four days of competitive racing and plenty of lessons learnt, the team of Irish sailors return home today to compete at the Irish 29er Nationals later this week at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Ireland’s Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge of Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club have extended their overall lead in the 29er fleet at Kiel Week 2023 in Germany to three points after winning two of their three races today.

It's not Ireland's only top Kiel result to date either, with Lucia Cullen and Alana Twomey, one of five Irish crews competing, in eighth overall despite carrying a black flag results in race seven.

Competitors at Kiel Week 2023 had no reason to complain on Friday after light, faltering winds in the morning on Kiel’s outer fjord gave way to sparkling late afternoon gradient breezes which produced fast, competitive racing for the eight International classes competing.

Brilliant racing in the 29er Euro cup on Friday at Kiel Week. Photo: Christian Beeck

The day proved to be split nicely for 168 29er Eurocup racers who had a couple of exacting races in a shifty 6kts breeze which died away midmorning. Racing on the media showcourse live streamed on KielerWoche.TV - the afternoon races in 14-16kts saw the young crews at full stretch, a chance for the more powerful pairings to shine.

The Irish sister-brother pairing, who were runners-up in the overall Eurocup last year, now has four wins from six starts in their seven-race Qualifying Series. But the level of competition now ramps up into the weekend as the huge fleet splits into gold, silver, bronze and emerald divisions.

The Irish duo are looking for a top result in Kiel, not least because they have had to reduce their racing programme this season due to educational commitments and so will forego a full Eurocup tour in favour of focusing on Kiel, the Worlds and Europeans.

29er Euro Cup overall results at Kiel Week after seven races sailed with Ireland’s Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge of Dun Laoghaire’s National Yacht Club topping the scoreboard

“The winds really started to die, and there was a leftover chop, and that made it really hard to keep the boat moving fast; at times, the wind was coming from all sides.” Clementine explained their strengths as a sister and brother team: "I think we have a good feeling for the boat, and we know each other’s movements. We know how the other reacts.”

“There are a few arguments, but that is a normal teen brother-sister thing, but we are always over it quickly; we get past them very quickly.” Smiles, brother Nathan. “But on the water, we always communicate well.”

Polish pairing August Sobczak, Krzysztof Krolik, Brits Charlie Gram, and Sam Webb are second and third eleven and twelve points back.

Irish officials in Kiel

Meanwhile, Irish race officials have been on duty in Kiel Week 2023. International Race Officer Con Murphy was officiating at the Olympic classes Regatta, where he was Race Officer on the ILCA course. Irish International Jurors Chris Lindsay and Cxema Pico were on Kiel Week's international jury.

The mixed crew of Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman of the host club clinched the 29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. 

The Crosshaven pair's one-point overnight lead was swallowed up when they posted a third in the first race on Sunday. 

Twomey and Bateman won the final race of four sailed on Sunday but they still had to await the application of discards in the 11-boat fleet to see who emerged victorious.

Prizewinners at the 29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

1st 29er overall - (L to R) Kieran O'Connell, Admiral Royal Cork, Dom Daly 29er Captain, Rory Bevin, Waterman Kelly Consulting Engineers Sponsors, Chris Bateman, crew and Alana Twomey, helm with Maurice Collins, Rear Admiral Royal Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

2nd 29er (L to R) Rory Bevin, Waterman Kelly Consulting Engineers Sponsors, Kieran O'Connell Admiral, Royal Cork, Ben O'Shaughnessy, RCYC, Ethan Spain, NYC, and Maurice Collins, Rear Admiral Dinghies Royal Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

3rd 29er - (L to R) Kieran O'Connell, Admiral, Royal Cork, Rian Collins and James Dwyer, Rory Bevin, Waterman Kelly Consulting Engineers, Sponsors and Maurice Collins, Rear Admiral Dinghies Royal Cork Photo: Bob Bateman

1st 29er Female Crew - Emily and Jessica Riordan of the Royal St George Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

U17 29er winners - Dara Jenkins and Ida Giesselmann of RCYC Photo: Bob Bateman

In the end, the tie-break rule was settled in Twomey and Bateman's favour even though Ben O'Shaughnessy from Royal Cork and Ethan Spain of the NYC finished on the same ten nett points. 

Rian Collins and James Dwyer were third.

The first female crew were Emily and Jessica Riordan of Dun Laoghaire's  Royal St George Yacht Club in fourth place overall.

The winning U17 crew were Dara Jenkins and Ida Giesselmann of Royal Cork

29er Southern Championships day two photo gallery  by Bob Bateman

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Alana Twomey and Chris Bateman have a one-point lead after four races sailed at the Irish 29er Southerns Championships in Cork Harbour.

Royal Cork skiff sailors also hold second and third places overnight in the 11-boat fleet.

A race start at the Irish 29er Southerns Championships in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club) are second, and Rian Collins and James Dwyer lie third on ten points. 

The event is sponsored by Waterman Kelly Consulting Engineers.

Four more races will be sailed back to back on Sunday to complete the championships at Crosshaven.

29er Southern Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club Photo Gallery By Bob Bateman

A Cork-Dublin partnership won the 29er Investwise Irish Youth Sailing National Championships at Howth Yacht Club on Sunday.

The double-handed skiff title was won by reigning Irish 29er class national champions Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork YC) and Ethan Spain of the (National YC) by three points.

Ten races were sailed since Thursday across a range of conditions that concluded on Sunday in light winds.

Siblings Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge (National YC) were second on 15 points.

Lucia Cullen (Royal St George YC) and Alana Twomey (Royal Cork YC) finished third on 30 points in the nine-strong class.

Results are below

The national and international achievements afloat of Irish 29er dinghy star Alana Twomey were recognised ashore at the weekend at Royal Cork Yacht Club when the Irish female champion was presented with its perpetual Pyewacket Trophy.

As regular Afloat readers will recall, Twomey sailing with Lucia Cullen (Royal St George YC), won the U17 29er Female World Title in Spain in August.

It was a fantastic week for the Irish sailors in tough conditions at the 29er World Championships in Club Nautic, El Balis.

As Afloat reported previously, the Dublin-Cork duo sailed a very strong series and took home a number of trophies, including:

• Gold – Female World Under 17 Champions
• Bronze – 3rd Female World Championships
• 17th in the Worlds overall.

The Pyewacket Trophy is presented each year to the youth sailor, who has achieved the best results overall in the opinion of the club's Adjudicating Committee.

The Pyewacket Trophy was the icing on the cake in a bountiful season for Cullen and Twomey. They were the top female pair in fourth overall at August's 29er Irish National Championships on Dublin Bay too.

In October 2001, the late Roy Disney, the widely known American sailing enthusiast who had a home in West Cork, who had strong ties with the Royal Cork Yacht Club, and participated in many Cork Week Regattas, presented the club with the Pyewacket Perpetual Cup at a dinner in the club hosted by the then Admiral, Anthony O'Leary.