Irish Sailors Gain Valuable Experience at U21 World Championships in Dublin Bay
The U21 World Championships wrapped up this afternoon in Dublin Bay, delivering a full range of conditions that tested sailors across the fleet and provided valuable experience ahead of next year’s Senior World Championships, which will take place on the same waters.
Irish Sailors took full advantage of the opportunity to compete on home waters, with several standout performances in this young fleet over the week.
In the Men's ILCA7, Fiachra McDonnell narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish, placing 11th overall after a strong and consistent week of racing, with some really promising results going into their U21 Europeans in October. Teammate Tom Coulter also had moments to celebrate, scoring an impressive second place in one of the races and finishing 39th overall.
In the Women’s ILCA6 fleet, Sienna Wright continued her run of strong form, finishing 15th overall with two third-place finishes during the regatta. Lucy Ives also delivered a solid performance, finishing 28th overall.
Reflecting on the week, Sienna Wright said, “It was really nice to do an event at home, as we had all the volunteers supporting us going out each day – something we haven't experienced before. It was really special to do this on home water ahead of the Senior Worlds, which are going to be at the same time of year next year.”
With a mix of light airs and heavy breeze days, the event was an ideal tune-up for Irish sailors looking to build towards senior competition. The experience gained, combined with the support of the local sailing community, has laid a strong foundation for the year ahead.
"It was great to see so many young Irish sailors step up to compete at a level that may be slightly outside their age group. It was also really encouraging to see how much progress those who competed in the event last year have made on the leaderboard this time around. The week served as a valuable test of how well they could apply their local knowledge to tactical decisions and race execution in a venue they know well. Something we are really excited for as they head into their senior Worlds here next year" Irish Sailing Techinical Director Rory Fitzpatrick
The event was hosted seamlessly by the Royal St George Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club and we want to thank Sport Ireland for their support towards this event. Irish Sailign and the clubs look forward to welcoming the senior fleet this time again next year.
Full results
- Fiachra McDonnell - 11th
- Tom Coulter - 39th
- Bobby Driscoll - 101st
- Daniel Palmer - 103rd
- Andrew Kingston - 115th
- Charlie Keating - 122nd
- Brain Carroll - 129th
- Peter Kenny - 133rd
- Daniel O'Connor - 135th
- Viktor Sentiscev-Samoilov - 137th
- Alex Deasy - 138th
- Seth Walker - 139th
ILCA 6:
- Sienna Wright - 15th
- Lucy Ives 18th
- Caoillin McDonnell - 58th
- Zoe Whitford - 60th
- Autumn Haliday - 70th
- Zita Tempany - 73rd