Top Olympians and Champions to Compete in ILCA Masters Championships at Howth Yacht Club

10th May 2024

Afloat.ie Team

Ballyholme Yacht Club 1984 and 1988 Olympian Bill O'Hara competing at the 2023 ILCA/Laser Masters Championships hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club Credit: Afloat

Olympians and former champions are set to compete in this year's ILCA Masters Championships at Howth Yacht Club. The event comes just nine months after the North Dublin club hosted the national championships for the 2023 class last August.

One of the main attractions of the event will be the ILCA 7 fleet, where defending champion Conor Byrne of the RStGYC is expected to face stiff competition from the likes of 1984 and 1988 Olympian Bill O'Hara. Byrne, who has taken fourth and second place in the regional ILCA events so far this year, is set to put up a strong defence of his title.

Nick Walsh of RCYC, winner of the 2022 Masters Championships and second place in 2021, will also be competing, along with Dan O'Connell of Cobh SC, who was second in the 2022 Masters Championships.

Royal St. George's Sean Craig of Dun Laoghaire Harbour competing in the 2023 ILCA 6 Grand Masters World Championships in Adelaide, Australia Photo: Jack Fletcher

In the smaller rig ILCA 6s, a strong Royal St. George Yacht Club turnout is expected, led by Sean Craig, who won the event in 2022 and 2021. Craig's clubmate Darren Griffin has also taken podium places in the past two years, while Hugh Delap, who was the first master at the recent Munster Championships, narrowly missed out on a podium place last year.

Shirley Gilmore is defending her Ladies Masters National Title and will be up against Mary Chambers, Great Grand Master who took line honours last week in DBSC. Also competing is Carla Fagan of the host club, Ali Pigott of the National Yacht Club and Judy O'Beirne, Dun Laoghaire ILCA Class Captain from the Royal St George Yacht Club.

The event will be overseen by Race Officer Neil Murphy, along with the rest of the race committee from the recent HYC Dinghy Frostbites.

Published in Laser, Howth YC

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About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):