Topper worlds update 1 : with 4 days of solid training building confidence and getting used to the venue, the ISA and the "better" squad got a well deserved rest day today. Barry Mc Cartin is very pleased with the display of the ISA junior squad and cant wait to see how much the Irish have improved this year and will surely try to up Philip Doran's 9th from 2007.

With 16 members, the "better" squad is almost at full capacity. Theo Murphy and I are really looking forward to see how we can feature. Colin, Ruth and Rory have shown speed in the breeze keeping up with the the ISA "boys" and Morgane revealed her caliber downwind with an amazing speed. Aoife and Elaine wil be looking towards the top of the ladies fleet. The "oppies" Ali, Conor, Patrick and Eoghan are learning fast and with al little luck with the weather, the gold fleet does not seem so much out of reach. Our 3 "smallies" Daire (youngest sailor of the fleet), Erica and Jonathan had a hard time in the medium to heavy breeze of tralee bay but are now ready to take whatever is thrown at them. Our locals Donall, Ferghal and Mark will be looking to shine home and take the TBSC prize. Mark has been training hard and showed good ability in the breeze.

12/07/2008 : With now 14 sailors having confirmed their entry with "B for better" squad (see topper page to check if our name is on), Theo and I are almost full capacity. We will only take 4 more sailors maximum (No exeptions) to keep the delivery to the highest standard. First training day of the pre-worlds coaching on Monday. Be at TBSC at 11.00! The focus of the the pre-worlds will be on tactics and strategies, starts and speed (boat handling was covered in the June sessions). Payment of the pre-worlds will have to be done Monday and payment for the worlds support will have to be done before Friday. Please, fill the form if not done (copies of the form will be available monday).

The ISA squad and UK squads will also be training next week, so Fenit water will surely be very busy. For ISA squad matters, please get in touch with Barry for timings and details.

07/07/2008 : Quick news. The oppies are now on their way back to Ireland. I will be arriving back in Rosslare around lunch time Wednesday. 3 sailors have joined the topper "B for better" squad whilst I was away. Welcome to Conor Lyden, Aoife Hurney and Ali Dix. There are now only a few places left as it is now too late to secure a third coach. The worlds are now approaching fast and with 171 entries from 4 countries confirmed to date, it is starting to look more and more promising.

Optimist European team special prizes

05/07/2008 : Optimist Europeans final update : Game over after another lovely race!  The clouds cleared the way to a lovely Ora blowing at 15-18 kts. Alex was surely on a mission with a superb 10th unfortunately called OCS costing him  a top 60 overall as is now carrying a 55th instead. Katie did not fade away and got her 3rd port tack in a row to get a 12th securing a 52nd overall. Richy failed again to sart well, fought his way back near the top 20 just to miss the last shift dropping to 37th. That was enough to get him the top Irish spot in 78th. Ali and Kirsti battled their way mid fleet trying to recover from a poor start. Guy was caught with Alex on the wrong side of the line and Aodh found it once more very hard. The Irish secured 5 top 10 (Kirsti (2), Ali, Richy and Katie) and 12 results between 10th and 20th (Katie (5), Ali (3), Richy (2), Alex (1) and Guy (1)). Two of the OCS were top 10. The sailors were ambitious and are surely a little disapointed with their overall result, but it has to said the championship was very hard with high points and the learnings were huge... The experience can only be brought forward and there are no doubt we will talk about these young sailors again...

05/07/2008 : Optimist Europeans update 6 : The Irish have some pride! With an Ora blowing at 15-18kts, no single Irish sailors dropped any places yesterday and 4 team members scored their best race of the championship; Guy had a 19th, Aodh a 29th, Ali a 7th and Alex a 12th. Richy despite two poor starts fought well to secure two top 30 and continue his progression forward (over 40 places gained in two days). Kirsti, whose her excellent first start was ruined by a Polish boat, won her first international protest with an excellent attitude in front of the judges. Katie continues to impress with yet another top 15 and two cracker of a start. Today seem very cloudy and locals I talked to a minute ago predicted some thunder storm. Lets hope the OOD will squizze the last race of the championship to complete the series and allow a second discard.

03/07/2008 : Optimist Europeans update 5 : The gods are not Irish! At the time I writte these lines, a lovely Ora is blowing at 25kts... And we are ashore! Earlier, we had two races in a 15-18kts breeze dropping a little on the second beat each time. The game plan was clearer as I managed to get up the course before the races for some wind readings before being parked with the other coaches as each day. Richy and Katie followed with care the agreed plan and had an excellent day. Richy scored a top 20 on the first race before leading the second race for a while until the wind dropped on the secong beat. He still scored a 9th. Katie had a solid race around 15th before fighting in the top 5 only loosing out towards the finish still securing a 10th. Ali had a solid 9th which unfortunately was OCS, so she will have to be happy with a 18th on the second race despite a few poor tactical decision. Alex made a few mistakes and it is only his "never give up" attitude that gave him two mid fleet scores. Aodh and Guy had good starts but found themselves battling to keep away from the last 10. Guy who was on the last group enjoyed the picking breeze and amazing surfs back to the club (I wish I had my camera). Kirsti had another tough day battling mid fleet to find herself OCS for the second race. The results are not up yet, but as per yesterday Kirsti was our top girl in 52nd and Alex our top boy in 72nd. 9 races done, 3 to go!

02/07/2008 : Optimist Europeans update 5 : Still very tough! The Ora finally picked up! after a timid start and a first race sailed in 10 kts average, the Ora picked to 14-15kts. If the magic cliff was mostly the way to go, a couple of long "freak" gust came the middle of the lake upsetting some of the most oiled plans... And you know what, the irish were again caught on the wrong sides... We must have done something against the gods. No results are up yet, but the whole group had a poor first race to the frustration of Aodh who had a flyer of a start. The second race looked semmingly better with Katie leading the charge but dropping majorly in mid race and Ali well inside a top 10 before picking the wrong side and falling into a lull on the second beat. Alex put a good fight and was well in the top 30. 7 races done, 1 discard! 5 to go. We really need something now...

31/06.2008 : Optimist Europeans update 4 : another frustrating day for the Irish. With clouds and thunder storm still in the vicinity, the Ora never managed to pick up and if the winds were a little steadier in direction (still shifty), they never exceeded 10kts for the 3 races of the day. If we exept Kirsti who put a great fight to secure two superb races, the other Irish had a tough day with the impression they were always on the wrong side of the course. Ali and Richy despite superb starts seemed unable to find the right ways around the course. The magic cliff was definitely not working in such a light Ora. Lets hope our luck turns tomorrow with a return of the Garda wind!

30/06/2008 : Optimist Europeans update 3 : where is the wind? The peeler was strong this morning and the skies well clear after last night electric storm. When it finally died away around 1pm (our first gun time), it was to let room for a very timid 5kts Ora displayed massive shifts and erratic gusts (wind was recorded from 160 to 240 direction: 80 degrees barely predictable shifts! The luck of the Irish did not materialise at all today and the team had a tough time dealing with the light breeze and the shifts and the results are not up to their liking. Alex was our best finisher with two solid races inside top 30 despite not always being well placed. The full results are not up yet at the time of writting, but let say we are anxiously waiting for the return of the breeze.

29/06/2008 : Optimist Europeans Update 2 : Practice race! Yesterday was a great day training with a lovely Ora blowing at 18-20kts. We joined a few other countries for 2 training races. Amongst the 40 kids of the group the Irish featured very well displaying speed, technics and tactical awareness. Kirsti had two solid top 5, Alex won the second race and Ali was 3rd. The others were also well up boosting the confidence of the group. Today was the official practice race. The Ora was a little weaker at 14-15 kts. Richy was the only Irish of the first start and tested for us the wrong side of course (Thanks Richy, we know where not to go now!) but displayed an excellent speed catching several places. On the second start, Guy was the first one to tack towards the magic cliff and led the race to the finish line. Alex and Aodh were close enough well inside the top 20 but decided to retire just before the finish (superstition). The 3 girls were on the same start (the first) and tested different sides of the course. Ali was inside top 10 and Katie, closely followed by Kirsti (who wanted to make sure left was not the way to go) in the top 15. Our prize winner of the day was Guy : he got the tactical genius prize for his first beat. Tomorow, the serious things are starting with the first 3 races.

27/06/2008 : Optimist Europeans update. The boats arrived safely last Tuesday early afternoon after the 2300 km journey from the Ulsters in Royal North, through Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, France and Italy. They were followed by the kids (Kirsti, Ali, Richy, Alex, Guy, Aodh and Katie) the same night. Since then, we have been very active to prepare our championship in the best manner. After sorting out the boats and a few minor details to make sure they were in racing order on wednesday, we went for a light training session in a weak Ora (about 12-15kts). Yesterday was more important with a proper training session checking the racing area and sorting out our set up. The Ora was stronger (up to 20kts) and displayed its usual patterns. The group was generally fast and got a good confidence boost in "trashing" a progressing Serbian team. Today is our "fun" and relaxing day. It is a little hazy this morning so we have to look at our plan of taking a lift right up a mountain again. I think, shopping, swimming and windsurfing lesson will fill our program. Next update after the practice race (Sunday)

See IODAI website for report and results of the Optimist Ulsters. Another win for Killian (senior) and Seafra (junior). Ali (3rd/senior) and Sophie (9th/junior) top ladies.

Link to the Early flyer video : Tacking. Link to the report

14 Topper sailors (which 7 are from the ISA junior squad) travelled to Largs as their prep towards the worlds. With two race wins, Philip Doran was once more our best representant in 3rd overall. 12 year old Finn Lynch had an impressive series to take 19th and best U13. Chris Eames (27th), Robbie Gilmore (28th) and Ryan Wilson (30th) completed the good Irish performance and Hannah chambers (54th) won the last race. With 9 Irish sailors and the full ISA squad in the top 60 of the 140 fleet, it was surely a great confidence boost before the worlds.

Colin O Mahony, Elaine Murphy and Jacqui Browne are joining the B for better squad. About 5 more sailors have confirmed their entry form will be sent soon! Enter quickly to avoid disapointment.

Early Flyers report : 17 sailors participated in the Early flyer Open Topper clinic organised by tcsailingcoach.com with the participation of the Tralee Bay Sailing School.

Tralee Bay sailing school kindly made available some of the school toppers and their facilities for showers and briefings. Thomas Chaix was the lead coach and was assisted by Alan Ruigrok. The main theme of the 4 days was boat prep, techniques and boat handling. The medium air and the superb weather helped to make it a success and it was amazing to see our youngest sailor Daire Cournane (10) sailing alongside our 5 lady masters. with over 10 hours afloat and video debriefs back ashore, loads were learned and the group felt very happy going home with new skills and the firm motivation to enter the worlds this summer.

Each day, a few races were sailed to constitute the Early flyer challenge. After 9 races (2 discards), Patrick Daly impressively took the trophy home. The ever improving Erica Ruigrok was a distant second but a confortable top lady. Fergahl Fitzgibbon narrowly took the best improver of the clinic honours ahead of Liz Lynch.

Program for the topper Early Flyer clinic, TBSC 12-15 June

9th June : Rory Lynch is joining the B topper squad. Verbal interest on the increase. Please send the form to secure place. The oppies were racing in Dunmore East. Jamie Aplin got the best of Katie Gambier Ross as the pair dominated the event in the seniors. Katie is now back on track in joint first of the ranking ladder alongside Guy Aplin. Nothing is looking clear just yet with 6 sailors within 3 points of each other. The Ulsters and the nationals have never been so exiting. Philip Brownlow took his first provincial to put some pressure back on ranking leader Seafra Guilfoyle as the two boys are starting to cruise away from the rest of the chasing pack. Best girl was once again the fast improving Erica Ruigrok in 5th position. The regatta fleet was won by Tralee 10 year old Alacoque "Sally" Daly. Results : seniors, juniors, regatta.

The mini 6.50 did the sail from Kinsale to Tralee... mainly upwind. Thanks to my crews Katie and Ali who did the journey from Kinsale to Schull (superb navigation from Ali through Cap Clear Island and the Schull approaches) and to Jordan who took over for the night sail on the west coast. 140 miles straight line (but something closer to 210 miles on the log); 41 hours. Full story and photos on mini pages.

The laser clinic is formally cancelled and the topper Early flyers is definitely going ahead starting at 10am on Thursday in TBSC.

29/05/2008 : Ruth Harrington and Patrick Daly are joining the B for better topper squad. 5 confirmed sailors now! Places are going to be limited to an absolute maximum of 20 as I wont be able to book a third coach in such a late stage. Don't let your chance pass if you want some prep and support at the worlds!

Laser 4.7 Hoorn Debrief. reminder of the key aspect of the weekend in Hoorn.

URGENT / Topper worlds Support/pre worlds coaching : PLEASE register your interest rapidely to allow the coaches to organise grouping and make sure the coach/sailor ratio is going to be right! I may have to reduce the number of coaches to allow them to organise alternative work due to the slow uptake.

Galway regatta fleet debrief. Short debrief for regatta fleet sailors who attended the Connaughts.

With 33 entries in the Optimist UK nationals main fleets this summer, Ireland will be well represented with our top juniors (20) and 13 seniors. Dont forget to pay up your entry fee to secure your place.

I am about to cancel the 9-11 June laser open training due to the lack of interest. Entries already received will be returned. Sorry!

26/05/2008 : Galway bay sailing club was hosting the Optimist Connaughts. Once more a huge fleet gathered for the two day event. This time it was windy! 20-25 kts blowing from the NorthEast welcomed the fleet. This did not stop PROs from securing 6 superb races and if some confusion occurred on race one as the kids were racing the full new courses for the first time, all came back to normal in race two. Killian O Keeffe took honours in the senior fleet ahead of Kirsti O Flynn and Alan Kingston. 5 girls were in the top 10. In the juniors, Seafra Guilfoyle took his second event of the year ahead of the surprise of the championship Craig Campbell and Rurai Finnegan. First girl was Erica Ruigrok in 6th.  The regatta fleet managed 3 races on saturday. Kinsale sailor Ross O Sullivan secured the overall win ahead of Ciaran Joyce and Robert Dicksson. First girl was Alana Lyttle in 8th. 8 year old Eoghan O Buachalla from Tralee won the hiking competition held on Sunday. Senior results. Junior results. Regatta results.

23/05/2008 : link to TBSC optimist coaching session debrief.

laser 4.7 Irish team in Hoorn: Sean, Wesley, Rory, Philip, Neil and Ruth

19/05/2008 : E-Cup in Hoorn. I am just back from Holland where we had a busy and intensive 4 days with the laser 4.7 squad. 6 races were sailed in shifty and gusty conditions. If the Irish group struggled to up their standard to the cream of the 4.7 fleet, the learnings were enormous and they will carry that experience towards the worlds next summer. With 8 nations entered (SLO, IRL, FRA, ITA, CRO, NED, GER, HUN), it surely was a competitive event and with 3 top 15, Ireland was surely not far from the best.