the website is under review to become clearer for all (I am a coach, not a computer geak, so must admit this one is becoming a bit of a mess!). I have new gear in the shop. call to check out. I will run local clinics in the summer, I will advertise on the IODAI website.

I will send reports of the oppy Europeans to IODAI and as possible update this page.

Clinics UPDATE : OPTIMIST 8-10 June. 3 sailors have expressed a strong interest in participating in Dromineer, 1 sailor in Kinsale (and I assume the Cournane’s would prefer Kinsale as well) and a small group would prefer Tralee. Tralee would allow me to keep my overheads at the lowest and keep the cost as low as announced. LDYC has not come back to me yet  confirming we can use their facilities. I would run with TBSC if I can get 5 sailors confirmed, I would run with LDYC (assuming the club hosts us) if I can get 7 sailors confirmed. Can sailors email me before Friday their preferred club and if they would consider  the second option. Many thanks

Clinic Update : lasers 12-15 June. Only 3 sailors have confirmed interest . Mark Condy , Georgina and Graham Corbett. I am assuming a Dublin based venue would be preferred. I would run with 6 sailors in a Dublin based venue if I can get accommodated by a sailor, otherwise I will need the minimum 8 sailors as announced. Decision to run the clinic or not will be announced on June 7^th.

There is an increased possibility one of the 420 clinic may become a laser or Optimist one if there is an interest.

In France : Only 6 races at the laser French nationals. Winds remained light and we had only one race sailed in the last two days. After a slow start to my challenge with a frustrating speed problem but I got some pace back in the last 3 races ending up 20^th. This is not too bad! I am not far from being competitive again so I guess some training would do the job… Alan Ruigrok from Howth YC raced in the radial category. This was not to be his event and he settled with 40^th in the massive 170 boats fleet after only 5 races.  I took the chance yesterday to tryout the new Rooster 8.1 in light air! Big!

See video on youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc1uHDImuPg

Summer clinics, PDF. Regarding the optimist clinic, it seems the club having the largest entry in going to be Tralee Bay Sailing club. Final decision about the venue before the end of the week! In any case, local sailors should be able to host visiting sailors to keep cost low!

Summer clinics update. Entries are now coming in for the optimist clinic. I decided to open it to sailors from the main fleet who did not qualify for the trials as well as we surely had a few fast learner last winter. So far, are confirmed, Louise Magowan, Ronan and Darragh Cournane, Aisling and Niall Keller and Aoife Hopkins. Assuming LDYC OK, I think it may be a good idea to go to Dromineer as it is central enough and we could camp keeping it cheap and fun for the sailors. I also have some interest for the first laser clinic. However, I have no confirmed sailors and I may have to cancel it, so please if you think you can attend, email me rapidely. Summer clinics

In France : I raced my first laser event in the radial as there was a better line up (43 boats incl the french nber one ranked). It was blowing hard with gusts up to 28kts, and if my fitness did let me down on the last race costing me the overall win, I must admit I was very happy with 2nd overall.

Optimist in Kinsale : Well done to all sailors. Seafra Guilfoyle has not lost his good habits taken in the juniors laast year by winning his first senior provincial closely followed by John Durcan and Patrick Crosbie securing a RCYC podium. Fiona Daly took top lady in 4th. In the juniors Peter McCann was favourite and took the win. However it was not as easy as anticipated and Cian Byrne will surely be his nemesis this year. Cliodhna O regan (3rd) and Sophie Browne (4th) fought for the top lady spot winning a race each

Summer clinics. 420, Optimist and laser. Secure your place as numbers will be limited to ensure the best delivery for participants.

Have a look at the TRANSITION YEAR PROPOSAL 2009-2010. the project will be explored further upon interest.

Optimist trials : the optimist trials concluded last weekend in lough Ree. It was a superb winner who emerged after 16 races ahead of all the favourites. Patrick Crosbie's consistency was the key to his success. He confirmed the say "speed makes you clever" as he added to a excellent speed some smart mooves... Well done! Fiona Daly kept her consistency discarding results that would have made anyone very happy. the TBSC girl secured the top lady spot.

teams photos on www.iodai.com

The first leg of the optimist trials concluded in Cork 10 days ago. It started in the best way possible with the full 8 races program sailed and with conditions varying from 5 to 20 knots making it as fair as it could be. The OOD provided 60 min long races which proved to be the right lengh to select our international teams. So far, Peter McCann has been the most consistent at the top taking a good lead over pathway champion Colm O Regan and favourite Alex Rumball. In 8th, it is a very consistent Fiona Daly leading the girls. As a reminder, the best 4 boy and best 3 girls will be selected into the European team and the following 10 will make the CIE team (the top 5 overall may also opt for to participate to the worlds). I cant wait for the second leg in Lough Ree!

Youth nationals reports on www.sailing.ie

The story of B'Meer and results of the Irish team on www.iodai.com

16 April: busy time for me, so here is a rapid update of the latest! expect a more comprenhensive report in a few days. The oppies returned from B'Meer with 4 goold fleet positions. Alex Rumball took once more top Irish position in 22nd overall. Fiona Daly , by taking 7th in the silver secured a 5th sport council junior card. The ISA youth nationals are now underway and the first title has been taken as the optimist class had only two days in order to allow a day off before the trials. Colm O Regan was once more put under severe pressure but retained his title by a single point margin in a bit of a drama kind of situation when he almost missed the last race. ISA squad members Brendan Lyden and Amy Harrington completed the podium. The other classes are still racing! Running reports on the ISA website.

03/04 : The laser 4.7 are back from Italy. Short report on www.sailing.ie.

B'Meer, Garda and Schull Approaching... these are the last prep events before the trials... If Garda and Schull are approached as training events, B'Meer might provide some excitement with a few sailors on high objectives. Can we retain our Silver and bronze fleet titles! We have the sailors for it... And why go after the big egg (Gold fleet).

Optimist national squad concluded with a very succesful weekend in Tralee. Performance manager James O Callaghan was impressed by the group of sailors and we are now looking forward to the season. In the optimist front, IODAI has released informations on their website about the trials.

The laser 4.7 clinic saw a very small turnout... Too bad for whoever missed it as it was very successful with valuable time afloat and great learnings in superb sailing conditions. the 4 sailors will now look forward to the laser Ecup in Italy (26-31 March)... with 140 entries, it should be a great experience. Keep an eye on this page for the updates.

4.7 Kinsale Clinic... 3 places still available!

Schull report on IODAI website

Schull : 150 sailors, a top pannel of coaches and light air allowing a good intro the younger sailors. The squad joined the clinic (full report coming soon). 5 races completed the Schull league this year. Squad member Peter McCann won it ahead of Philip Brownlow and team mate Conor Murphy. Orlagh Thomson from Dublin took home the coaches award for her attitude and dedication.

With 5 sailors interested, the 4.7 winter program is a go. further info very soon. Schull is approaching fast now and with a dream team of coaches lined up for the 150 sailors, we are now hoping for a good week with fair winds.

A good weekend with manageable breezes allowed RCYC to run a club optimist training, KYC to run 3 races for their mixed dinghy frosbite. Up in NYC, the topper squad had a cold but good weekend with coach Barry Mc Cartin. laser 4.7. infos have been emailed re a clinic followed by the Italian ECup. Get your act together and lets get a good squad set rapidely (I Need to confrm charter in Italy)

NOR ISA youth nationals. 14-17 April for Topper, Laser, 420, Feva and 14-15 April for Optimist for what could be a perfect training occasion before the trials in RCYC.

The ISA squad returned to training with a hardcore weekend in Crosshaven. Fitness, sailing and a 12miles sail from Crosshaven to Blackrock were at the program. See the Blackrock video on youtube (if the link does not work, writte Blackrock and Optimist in the search engine of youtube).

A new tube of Oli sails is getting organised. Get me your order before Schull. I may be able to get the sails before the clinic then.

The shop is open. beat the recession deals to keep sailing with top gear! The Volvo Ocean race has started again, so has the virtual Volvo!

11/01 : NEW SAILS being delivered SOON : Apologies as I  know some of you waited since before christmas. Sail makers have been either off on holidays, either flat out. Anyway, I will be delivered all ordered sails by the last week of january. 5 Oli sails and 3 Ullman. I will have an extra Ullman in the Tube. I will apply the numbers and deliveries will occur in RCYC the 1st of Feb, in Tralee the 7th or in Schull the 16th. After negociation I got Christmas discount as promised and The Oli cross cut are going to be at 310 (instead of 330), the radial Ray at 355 (instead of 385) and I am still waiting for the Ullman transportation cost, but it should be in the area of 320 (instead of 360). It is still possible to pass an Ullman order until the end of the week.

Naples results (182 entries): Well done to Aodh Kennedy, once more near the front of the races and more solid than ever on the start line (3 major events with no OCS! Keep the good work Aodh.). Another noticeable results is Daire Cournane in 82nd. The 10 year old is keeping a steady progress since the summer and it is no surprise to anyone to see him securing solid results away from Ireland now.

January 09 : the new rules are now in operation. Make sure you get a new rule book or that you know what changes have been done! There a few important ones around the old rule 18 (mark roundings) and obstructions. look at this link to have a glance at the changes.

06/01 : The clinic in Tralee concluded today in a lovely 6-10kts and 4 races. It was a superb conclusion for what was a very successful clinic for the 22 sailors involved... 20hours afloat in conditions varying from 5 kts to 20kts, boat handling drills, race prep and strategy, close tactics and 11 races sailed for the first TBSS international trophy. Full coaches report published soon. Over 500 photos have been taken over the course of the clinic and a CD will be sorted out as soon as all photos are compiled

Pauline Blais, France	Laerke Graversen, Denmark	Seafra Guilfoyle, RCYC
Rurai Finnegan, Dunmore East	Alacoque Daly, Tralee	Debriefing

KYC sailors in Naples. Report. Best Irish sailors after the 5 races series were Aodh Kennedy in 20th and Colm O Regan in 32nd within the 200 boats fleet.

Updates on the Tralee clinic program.

Euromed 2008 in Malta: Alex Rumball competed for the second year in row in the 4 days international event (entries from MLT, ITA, RUS, GBR and IRL). The results were consistent but missing a good bullet and Alex ultimately took 5th overall after 8 races.

nominated :

! 17 sailors confirmed in Tralee for the January clinic !

Not too late to register ! ENTRY LIST and INFORMATION

Ireland will host the 2012 ISAF youth worlds. This is the U19 Olympics with one sailor selected per nation in Laser Radial (Boys and girls), 420 (boys and girls), 29er (open) and windsurfing (boys and girls). It is with no doubt within the talents of the optimist and the topper class that will emerge our champions to represent Ireland at the event. Be sure tcsailingcoach will get involved in preparing our junior to undertake the challenges ahead. Oppy sailors, topper sailors, Feva sailors... This is now that you have to set your objectives.

TRALEE CLINIC update: With about 15 sailors confirmed, the participation of 2 of the most talented Danish girls and the best French girl, the clinic is definitely going ahead. There are still places available for the clinic not to be missed. Specific quality coaching, boat handling tricks and how the best foreign kids do it... A great learning experience, a tough 4 days and great fun... And more importantly a manageable number of sailors allowing great bonding within the group and with the coaches!

Kinsale Christmas regatta! Great entertainement for the 34 boats entered. ISA squad Brendan Lyden took the win ahead of Aodh Kennedy and Patrick Crosbie (top junior) after a tight contest. Top lady was Amy Clarke and top lady junior was Sophie Browne. special mention to Cliodhna O Regan for her fair play taking her penalty without hesitation after "hugging" the windward mark. Report from Finbar O Regan. Results.

PALMA : With 16 entries representing Ireland, it was the best representation ever at the event. The ISA squad was coached by Ross Killian and Myself and saw the addition of french top girl Pauline Blais who had been involved with the squad last year when we trained in La Rochelle. Dennis Passke had 5 IRL in his international group and the reamining 3 joined Kim's international group. With 300 sailors coming from GBR, ESP, POR, IRL, LAT, DEN, NED, SUI, GER, SIN, PUR, ITA, FRA and FIN it was to be a great experience for the young sailors. The full program did not go ahead as we had to deal with light breezes and lost a full day sailing (that said, sun shine was amazing and we went for a great fun afternoon as soon as the PRO gave up waiting for the breeze). 5 good races were sailed allowing a discard. Aodh Kennedy is now becoming very consistent (and no BFD for two major events now!) and took 42nd which is our second best result ever at the event. He was closely followed by Alex Rumball whose 4th race back flag costed him a potential top 15 overall and Tara Flood in 58th. Aodh and Tara made a giant improvement from their last year's result showing Ireland is keeping its progression started 2 years ago now. Palma was also the last carding event for the juniors for 2008 it was was great to see 10 sailors (4 more than last year) achieving the criteria set. 3 of these sailors achieving it for the second time this year.

25/11 : Entry form for the Tralee clinic. Intention of participation are now being emailed. Sailor of the month is soon due for November. Is it going to be a Leinster oppie sailor or one of the virtual VOR young skipper. Cast your vote and have it your way.

24/11 : Not many sailors out this weekend... except 7 courageous oppies from the ISA squad. The 7 brave ones sailed way passed Roches point alongside Dolphins in a good 20kts breeze before testing their limits on Sunday in THE gust of the day (probably 40-45 kts)... And the video did not work. How frustrating!

20/11 : Great news already! Pauline Blais, member of the Optimist team France 2007 (9th at the Europeans) and 2008 has confirmed her participation at the Tralee Optimist winter clinic. With top sailors already confirming their participation, a sail to win and top coaches... This is already becoming the clinic not to be missed in 2009!

19/11 : Optimist winter clinic : 3-6 January organised by TBSS and tcsailingcoach.com. Top coaching pannel for 4 days in Tralee. Link to the poster & details. International sailors have been invited. Dont miss it!

18.11 : Last weekend, I joined up the Optimist IODAI Leinster coaching. 25 kids are involved in this great winter coaching. the weekend was well used with hours afloat in the light airs of Malahide broad meadow. each day concluded by a few races counting towards the Leinster polar series. The kids "on the block" this weekend were Robert Dicksson (1 / 3 / 4); Erica Ruigrok (2 / 6 / 1), Sean Waddilove (4 / 1 / 2 ), craig Campbell (6 / 2 / 3) and Orlagh Thomson ( 3 / 4 / 5).

18/11 : Armistice Skiff final update : The wind droped for the last two days allowing another 6 races. The 29er kept their good form but the lighter beeze suited me better and I managed to pick several places overall learning from each one of them and look forward in the ranks. My downwind is still dodgy (need to work on my boat handling) but I manage to end my challenge with a 7th. As a results I narrowly overtook another RS700 placing me in 19th overall but also 2nd single handler.

Easier in lighter breeze, definitely!

09/11 : Armistice Skiff update : with 37 skiffs (29er, 29erXX, B14, RS800, RS700, Laser 4000, RS600, Musto Skiff) entered, it surely is great entertainement to watch the races as the wind has been blowing at 18-22 kts for the last two days. We sailed 5 races so far and it is watch and learn from the 29er from the french junior team who excel in the breeze. With the top 3 french in the RS700, I have my own little race within the fleet, but it has to be said I am having a tough time in that breeze as my boat handling is really letting me down, especially downwind. Eventough I was top 10 in todays's first race shooting on the last run just about trailing the leading RS700, I unfortunately lost control of the kite a couple of hundred meters from the finish, and 4 capsizes later, I was again at the back of the fleet. I am now lying 27th and I am 3rd RS700. Tomorow the forecast is giving another windy day. I will stick to my objective of no DNF.

I got a new Ullman optimist sail radial design! I like the cut which should allow for a very good  "working" leech. I will bring it back after Palma for try out sessions with Gold fleet sailors in the 40-45 kgs zone. The sails are long lasting and look fairly efficient on the water (Ie Sophie Browne at the Cobbler league)

Maubuisson, final update : 2 more races in 15-20kts. Alex was on fire and caught up to second... We were anxiously waiting for  a third race that never came as Alex was putting huge pressure on the leader who seemed more in trouble in the breeze... The other sailors of the squad also had a solid day posting good results, but more importantly managing to apply the learnings of yesterday.

Maubuisson update 2 : 4 races in medium air! The perfect working day for the Irish squad. The squad has come a long way in the last 4 days with massive improvement on recognised weakenesses. If the starts need still some looking at and routines are still to be improved, the progress on mark roundings was excellent and the sailors kept gaining places near these corner of the course. On the result side The Belgium squad is dominating on the water with some aggressive sailing. Alex scored two excellent races to climb to 3rd overall. It is still all to play for tomorrow eventhough the Belgium leader seem very confortable and fast. Peter had a 9th on the 3rd race of the day and is now lying 18th. Brendan (21st) and Fiona (24th) are very consistent and now need a good high score to get into that top 20. Patrick had a solid day to climb in 37th, just ahead of Conor (41st) who be happy with a 15th on the second race of the day. Cian (49th) and Amy (52nd) are now looking forward to improve their starts with new techniques they have been practising today...

Maubuisson update : 100 boats from FRA, IRL, BEL, AUT and SUI entered! today we could only squeeze one race in the dying breeze (3-5 kts)... Alex is leading the Irish with a 5th. Peter was in the top 10 for a while before dropping to 13th. Fiona ended her challenge in 20th and Brendan in 21st. Amy worked her way back after a poor start to score a 46th. Conor (58th), Cian (62nd) and Patrick (72nd) paid their poor start but displayed good fighting spirit and picked up places around the course.

The ISA squad is now settled in Maubuisson. We trained for the last two days and did a few practice races with the Belgium team and a few Austrians and Switz. Mesurement went smoothly and we are looking forward to the races tomorow.

The ISA Optimist squad is on tour until Christmas. A few other sailors will also race in Palma in december. Keep an eye on the page to follow their progress!

The Cobbler league concluded with 4 superb races in RCYC last weekend. The juniors kept their good form placing 6 sailors in the top ten. Seafra Guilfoyle confirmed his great form taking the trophy home (one more!) despite an OCS that could have costed him a lot on the second last race. He was followed by his team mate Philip Brownlow and ISA squad member Peter McCann. Sophie Browne confirmed her great progress finishing 7th and top lady ahead of the two ISA squad members Fiona Daly (who had to discard two DNCs collected on day one) and Amy Harrington. Sophie was using an Ullman medium confirming the quality of the sail. The shifts, the tide and the kids motivation provided 4 very tight races with 4 different winners. It was not always tidy sailing, but it was surely very competitive.

At the 420 Connaughts were sailed in LDYC. After 4 races and great racing for the 15 boats who made the journey to Dromineer, It was to be the same Podium position than the nationals with Timmy O Laoire/Brian Kelleher on top again. Unfortunately the bad weather meant no racing could be done for the 41 boats entered at the laser end of season and for the Oppies in RCYC leaving Seafra Guilfoyle still on top with just a weekend to go. The optimist national squad had a busy weekend shore based in Dublin. Report on www.sailing.ie.

16/10 : Busy weekend ahead with the Laser end of season in Bray, the 420 Connaughts, the launch of the 08-09 optimist national squad, the Cobbler league third Sunday and The Optimist Leinster training.

tcsailingcoachdotcom have entered the virtual Volvo Ocean race game (www.volvooceanracegame.org). The blue boat was lying mid fleet (over 20000 boats entered) in the light winds of Gibraltar mid afternoon (13/10). Let me know if you have entered a boat, and if you have purchased some of the extras, as I created a new page for the game to give update on our progress! The more we are the more fun we will get!

Optimist update : 225 entries from 6 countries (GBR, IRL, FRA, BEL, MLT, NED) at the UK end of season. 4 Irish sailors took on the challenge and after 5 races, Aodh Kennedy's consistency earned him an excellent 11th. Alex Rumball won the last race but had to settle with 28th. Tara Flood was 32nd and 8th girl. Xander Morisson was 49th. The initial leinster training was a success in Malahide with 28 sailors joining and the training organiser Mick Ruigrok seemed very happy with the outcome of the weekend. 60 sailors raced 3 more races in the Cobbler league in Cork. The day was dominated by Tralee 11 year old Sophie Browne scoring a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th using my Ullman medium, showing the quality of the Ullman sail cut and confirming her progress in lighter air. Overall, with the first discard coming in, Seafra Guilfoyle took the lead ahead of Philip Brownlow and Peter McCann. Early leader Sean Gambier Ross dropped to 4th. 7 juniors are taking the first 7 places!!! Results on RCYC website. The ISA squad is now settled with 8 sailors. Peter McCann, Cian Byrne, Amy Harrington, Fiona Daly, Conor Murphy, Alex Rumball, Brendan Lyden and Patrick Crosbie will undertake the strong program. The program will be launched next weekend in Dublin.

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tel : 00353 (0)86 1725256

email : laserthomas@eircom.net or thomas@tcsailingcoach.com