What a summer’s it’s been for Irish junior and youth performance
sailing – from the hard work that went into training camps, to sailors
being coached internationally and the logistics of getting over 100
sailors to the start-line; 2015 has proved to be another successful year
on the pathway programme.
Five sailors from across the country made it into the top 10 across a
number of European and world championship events in both Toppers and
Lasers. The highlight of the summer was Howth Yacht Club’s Ewan McMahon
claiming a silver medal at the U17 Radial Youth Europeans in Portugal.
Ewan was unfortunate to miss out on a Gold medal, and but for a protest
would have gone into the worlds as European champion. The World
Championships also proved successful for Ewan, where he claimed a Bronze
medal in Kingston, Canada.
Lough Derg Sailing Club’s Aisling Keller also placed well in a number
of events, posting a 6th place at the Radial Youth Worlds in Canada and
secured a top 10 finish at the Radial Youth Europeans in Portugal.
Howth Yacht Club’s Aoife Hopkins also had a memorable summer, with a 9th
place finish at the same Radial Youth European’s and following a
successful Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland, qualified for the ISAF World
Cup event in Weymouth, England. Aoife fared well there and secured a
number of finishes ahead of far more-seasoned competitors.
It’s fair to say that the future of Laser Radial sailing is in good
hands with Nicole Hemeryck and Erica Ruigrok amongst others having
excellent summers, finishing in the top 20 of the Worlds and Europeans,
and consistently competing at the top end of the field in GOLD fleet
races.
Geoff Power of Dunmore East Sailing Club also had a Topper World
Championship to remember on Lake Garda in Italy, and for the majority of
the week he was looking at a podium finish but was just pipped to
bronze by one point.
The summer ended on a high note for the ISA Development squad with
Carlow sailor Finn Lynch taking a 4th at the U21 Laser Worlds in
Medemblik and a 5th place in the U21 European Championships in Murcia,
Spain. Fionn Lyden also showed his potential with two very good weeks of
sailing at the same events to record an 11 and 12 respectively.
From the 420 programme, the outstanding result of the season was Kiel
week in Germany, which is regarded as the premier 420 regatta on the
circuit, and this year out of 154 boats Team IRL finished an impressive
3rd and 5th.
Talent takes a long time and many hours of hard work to nurture and
bring through. Ryan Seaton, Annalise Murphy and Saskia Tidey have all
graduated from the ISA Academy to success on the international stage. In
Providence Team IRL, these youngsters now have role models to aspire to
and a well beaten path to follow.