Peter McCann ended his assault of the British Optimist National Champion at Pwllheli Sailing Club in 13th place. Other Irish team results inlcuded a 23rd for Cliodhna ni Shuilleabhain and a 16tth for Sean Donnelly. Full results here. The 50th Volvo Gill Optimist National and Open Championship came to a close on Friday after a week of fantastic sailing in a mixture of racing conditions. The week started light with no wind for the 450 sailors but increased as the week progressed. Racing finished with sunshine but challenging conditions and 30-40 degree shifts. After 12 races and talented, consistent sailing New Zealand’s Leonard Takahashi-Fry (13, Murrays Bay SC) takes the Volvo Gill Optimist Open Champion title “It’s really exciting to be Volvo Gill Optimist Open Champion. … [Read more...]

200 young Optimist sailors from over 15 Irish clubs (including 24 overseas entries from five other nations) will descend on Howth Yacht Club next week for the Image Skincare Optimist National Championships for a 12-race series over five days. The bulk of the entries (150) will compete in the main fleet (junior and senior) with the balance in the ‘regatta fleet’ for less experienced sailors. Entries have been received from Britain (including new UK Junior Champion Max Clapp from Royal Southern YC), India, Norway, South Africa and the USA. After four provincial championships, the Irish senior rankings are led by Tralee’s Sophie Browne who won the Connachts and Munsters and will represent Ireland at the Worlds in New Zealand later this year, having won the IODAI Trials during the Youth … [Read more...]

With the forecast for day two of the Image Skincare Optimist National Championships casting doubts over action afloat, the Howth YC Race Committee opted to run three races on the opening day instead of two, after which Adam Hyland of the Royal St.George YC and Ewan McMahon of the host club head the Senior and Junior fleets respectively. Sailed in fresh 15-knot westerly/north-westerly winds, the Championship started its 12-race schedule with a double success for Cork’s Peter McCann in the Senior division but a 12th place in the third race dropped him to second overall. The more consistent Hyland, recording results of 4, 3, 1, moved to the top of the leader-board with a 6-point margin. In joint third place after three races are British entry Joseph Burns of Spinnaker Sailing Club and the … [Read more...]

After two more races in the Image Skincare-sponsored Irish Optimist Championships at Howth, there are new leaders in both fleets, with Peter McCann of Royal Cork YC now heading the senior division and UK Junior Champion Max Clapp of Royal Southern YC taking a commanding lead in the junior ranks. Douglas Elmes of Royal Cork won the first race of the day ahead of Sean Donnelly of the National YC, who took the honours in the second, but it was the consistent McCann – with a 3rd and 2nd – who jumped to the top of the leaderboard. His cause was helped immensely by a poor day for the overnight leader Adam Hyland (Royal St George YC) with a mid-fleet result and a retiral which drops him to 19th overall. After a slow start on the first day, Ireland’s World Championship representative Sophie … [Read more...]

Three races in light north-easterly breezes were completed on the third day of the Image Skincare Irish Optimist Championship at Howth and it’s now a case of Irish boats dominating the senior division and British ones to the fore in the junior ranks. Peter McCann of Royal Cork, leader after the second day, had the ideal start to the third day with a bullet in the sixth race of the series but that was as good as it got for him. A 20th in the next race and then a retiral meant that the National YC’s Sean Donnelly relegated him to 2nd in the overall standings, thanks to three consistent top 10 results which put the Dun Laoghaire sailor five points clear after one discard. The second and third races of the day were both won by Kinsale helms, firstly Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain and then Sean … [Read more...]

With just two races left in the Image Skincare Irish Optimist Championships at Howth Yacht Club, the status quo remains at the top of both the senior and junior rankings, the results of two races on Friday making no difference to the top three places in each division, although points margins have narrowed in the senior fleet. Second-placed Peter McCann (RCYC) got off to a perfect start, winning the first race of the day, sailed in a moderate southerly breeze but a second retiral in successive days didn’t help his chances of overhauling leader Sean Donnelly (NYC), although the gap between the two is now down to just two points. For his part, Donnelly recorded a 27th (to be discarded) and a 4th to hold on to his lead, but only by two points. Tralee’s Sophie Browne is still a serious … [Read more...]

After 12 races in five days in varying conditions, Sean Donnelly of the National YC and English visitor Max Clapp of the Royal Southern YC wrapped up the senior and junior titles respectively in the Image Skincare Irish Optimist National Championships 2011 at Howth Yacht Club on Saturday (20th August). Donnelly, who led the senior ranks since the third day, could only be troubled by Sophie Browne going into the last day but the Tralee girl’s yellow flag in the penultimate race effectively extinguished her challenge, despite Donnelly’s second worst result of the series (22nd) in the final race. As it was, he had five points to spare after discards while 3rd placed Adam Hyland (Royal St. George YC) was 20 points adrift of the runner-up Browne. The 11th race in the series was won by … [Read more...]

The latest major sponsor to confirm its involvement with the Optimist sailing Worlds in New Zealand is Vodafone and the result promises to be a major leap forward for spectatorship of dinghy racing. Tralee's Sophie Browne will compete for Ireland at the Christmas regatta down under. The giant of the communications market will be making a significant investment in equipment and systems for the world championship youth sailing event, including Live Streaming of all races and mark roundings, which will be broadcast to spectators at the clubhouse and online. "Vodafone's support will enable us to take dinghy yacht racing to a very sophisticated level for the absent viewer," says spokesperson Peter Dawson. "41 countries are now officially entered so this opens the door for great exposure for … [Read more...]

#OPPY – In these recessionary times, there is good news for the future of sailing among our youngest sailors, as the Irish Optimist fleet grows from strength to strength writes Joan O'Sullivan. 21 Optimist sailors, aged from 11 to 14, travelled to Palma, Mallorca at the end of November to compete in the 61st Trofeo Ciutat de Palma. The Irish contingent included Junior and Senior winners of the 2011 Irish National championship, Ewan Mc Mahon and Sean Donnelly; Winner of the 2011 Trials, Sophie Browne, and former Nationals winner Peter McCann. An Optimist fleet of 391 boats, from 14 nations, completed nine races over the three day series. The competitors enjoyed some challenging sailing conditions with winds ranging from 10 to 20 knots and choppy seas. This year's Irish competitors … [Read more...]