Rocco Wright and crew Nathan Van Steenberge are the 2021 Irish Sailing Junior All Ireland Champions 

Rocco Wright from Howth Yacht Club won the 2021 Junior Irish Sailing All Ireland Championships in Schull on Sunday, 26 September, with crew, Nathan Van Steenberge from the Royal Irish Yacht Club. 

Despite a good performance in the six races on Saturday, it was all still to play for going into Day 2 of the event as Rocco and Nathan sat in second place, one point behind the leaders - Jacques Murphy and Seth Walker of the Royal St. George Yacht Club. However, a solid performance in the breezy conditions on Sunday secured them the top place finish. 

Just behind them in second place was the Irish Sailing Academy’s Jonathan O'Shaughnessy with crew, cousin Ben O'Shaughnessy. Despite an incredible performance in the heavy wind on Day 2, in which they won all three races, Rocco's consistency throughout the event meant he was still two points ahead after the medal race. 

In third place was Ben Graf and crew Alex Leech of Lough Ree Yacht Club. It was very tight at the top as the two 420 sailors finished just one point behind the O'Shaugnessy cousins in second. 

Hosted by the Fastnet Outdoor Marine & Outdoor Education Centre in Schull, Cork, and supported by Cork ETB, sixteen nominees from a wide variety of Irish Sailing affiliated classes from across the country competed in the event. Each nominee picked a crew member, and the competitors all used the Centre’s fleet of TR 3.6s over two days (Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 September).

Full results are available on the Irish Sailing website here: www.sailing.ie/Racing/All-Ireland-Sailing-Championships/All-Ireland-Junior-Championships