There was a stormy conclusion to Investwise Irish Sailing Youth National Championships on Cork Harbour

The final day of the Investwise Irish Sailing Youth National Championships was cancelled as gale-force winds swept across Cork Harbour.

However, final results from Saturday’s long day afloat weren’t initially confirmed as two protests on Sunday morning might have affected the standings.

On Saturday evening, a protest by ILCA6 (Laser Radial) overall leader Eve McMahon saw the Howth Yacht Club sailor extend her lead over Michael Crosbie of the Royal Cork YC when he was disqualified from Race 10 due to a port and starboard incident.

However, the Crosshaven sailor returned to the protest room on Sunday morning. He had his result reinstated as McMahon had not informed the race committee of her protest on Saturday.

McMahon still emerged as ILCA6 Youth National Champion after the tie-break with Crosbie.

Meanwhile, the host club’s James Dwyer with Ben O’Shaughnessy won the 29er skiff national title by a single point. This was after a close contest with Timothy Norwood and Nathan Van Steenberge from Royal Irish YC and National YC.

The runners-up were also in the protest room on Sunday morning. They were seeking redress for equipment failure in their second race of the series on Friday but their submission was ruled out of time.

Crosshaven’s Rian Collins handsomely won the 38-boat Topper class with a 12-point lead over his clubmate Dan O’Leary. Collins will now be considering whether to move into single or double-handed classes within the Irish Sailing Academy.

The Topper fleet shared the same course as the ILCA4 (Laser 4.7) class. This was the second largest of the event with 31 boats. A newcomer to the class Sam Ledoux of the National YC emerged youth national champion.

The Malahide and Wexford Harbour pairing of Jack McDowell and Henry Thompson continued their three-day lead of the 420 class. They won over Eoghan Duffy with Conor Paul of Lough Ree YC in their battle in the nine boat class.

“We have seen incredible racing over the past three days and great sailing by all 144 young sailors,” said David O’Brien, President of Irish Sailing. “To achieve three out of four days in mid-Autumn and only lose one race from the schedule is a mark of the dedication of the 100-plus volunteers led by organiser Maurice Collins.”

“From the standard of competition that we have seen over the series, these sailors have clearly managed to keep up their training during the Covid pandemic,” said Sean Evans, Irish Sailing’s Youth Academy manager. “Our prospects for 2022 are very good thanks to this resilience and positive attitude.”

Irish Sailing’s Olympic Steering Group (OSG) will now review the results of the championships. They will also decide the line-up for Ireland’s squad at the Youth World Championships in Oman in mid-December.

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The ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) Youth World Champion delivered two first places and a second in winds ranging from light to medium on the Curlane Bank racecourse.

Howth Yacht Club’s Rocco Wright took the other race win though had a mixed set of results to lie seventh overall.

Michael Crosbie of the hosting Royal Cork YC leads the chasing pack in seventh but is still some ten points behind McMahon.

Meanwhile, in another strong showing for north Dublin clubs, Malahide’s Imogen Hauer with Hugo Micka have a narrow overnight lead in the 420 class as a tight top three battle is already emerging.  Lough Ree’s Eoghan Duffy with Conor Paul are a point behind the Dublin crew but only on tie-break from Jack McDowell with Henry Thompson, a Malahide and Wexford Harbour combination.

“It was a tricky opening day with a switch in conditions after the first race,” said Sean Evans, Irish Sailing’s Youth Academy Manager. “We had a tidal effect as well which made laylines interesting.

“There were quite a few very strong performances with plenty of battles at the front of the fleet although the result of the day came from Eve McMahon in the ILCA 6 class.”

The four-day event steps up a gear on Friday when the remaining classes start racing for the 29er, ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) and Topper fleets that will bring the turnout up to 130 sailors.

The championship is normally sailed over the Easter school holidays but was postponed to the Autumn mid-term break due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

To see all the results from day one of the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships, click here.

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Over 150 sailors will take part and they will be joined by several Olympians, including Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy, and Tokyo Olympic 49er team Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove who will give inspiring talks to the young sailors after hard days racing on the water.

Dickson and Waddilove will be joined by local Crosshaven 49er team Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who have started their bid to represent Ireland in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Youth National Championships are set to take place from Thursday, October 28 – Sunday, October 31.

The Youth Nationals are unique – not only is it the biggest youth event held in Ireland, but it’s also the only time that different youth classes come together to compete, gain valuable experience on the water, hear from Irish Sailing coaches, and, along with their families, learn more about the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Young sailors from across Ireland will compete across four different classes of boat at the Youth Nationals: 420, Topper, ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) and ILCA 6 (Laser Radial).

These are the classes that have been identified as the best to facilitate progression through the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Although normally part of the event, this year due to COVID safety measures, Irish Sailing and the IODAI (Irish Optimist class) decided to organise a separate training week.

The IODAI National Training Week is part of an overall plan to kick-start the junior pathway and as such is being supported by Irish Sailing.

This year’s training week is in Malahide; future editions will rotate nationally. The remaining four classes will be joined for the first time by the 29er class who are in discussions with Irish Sailing about becoming a full Performance Pathway class.

Organiser Sean Evans, Irish Sailing’s Laser Radial Academy Coach said: “We’re delighted that the Youth Nationals are back on this year.

“The Youth Nationals are a very important part of the talent pipeline and gives coaches a chance to see what’s coming through.

“It’s a special event where families and friends can gather together in one location to share their experiences, learning and generally have some fun”.

David Quinn, MD, Investwise Financial Planning, commented: “We are delighted to support this wonderful event for young sailors.

“Sailing teaches important life skills such as awareness, responsibility, patience and respect, as well as building friendships that last a lifetime.

“We’re delighted that our youth sailors have the opportunity to get back out on the water to compete again at their National Championships after a break of two years.

“It promises to be a superb event in Cork over the mid-term break and I look forward to meeting everyone there.”

The evening talks include a racecourse debrief with Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove along with 49er teammates Johnny Durcan and Seáfra Guilfoyle.

James O’Callaghan (Irish Sailing Performance Director) and Olympic Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy will discuss her journey on the Performance Pathway.

For more information, visit: https://www.sailing.ie/Racing/Irish-Sailing-Youth-National-Championships

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