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Irish Laser/ILCA Sailing Dinghy News & Regatta Results
An ILCA three-day clinic got the 2024 season underway at Royal Cork Yacht Club
Thirteen sailors were greeted with glorious sunshine as the Royal Cork Yacht Club ILCA class officially kicked off their 2024 season with a three-day clinic on the Curlane Bank in Cork Harbour. This year marks a significant milestone for the…
Such a very grey day, doesn't it goes ever so well with a pink spinnaker...? Two noted Howth sailing names see in the New Year with Declan McManus crewing for Jeremy Beshoff in the B14, with one of the Brass Monkey cruiser-racers and a ghostly Lambay beyond
In other areas, it seemed that if gales weren't dominating the scene, then it was storms instead. But at Howth on the ultra-grey morning after the clear sunrise of New Year's Day, they'd to wait for some wind before the…
Annalise Murphy with her Rio 2016 silver medal
Annalise Murphy and Eve McMahon are among the nominees in this year’s Her Sport Awards. After yet another historic and momentous year for Irish sportswomen, the Her Sport Awards aim to celebrate and recognise the incredible achievements of Irish athletes…
ILCA 6 getting off the starting line at the Munster Championships in Baltimore, West Cork in 2023
Following on from a busy 2023, the Irish ILCA fleet is looking forward to an exciting year in 2024, both at home and abroad. Next season's ILCA championship calendar is taking shape with events in some of Ireland’s top sailing…
Ireland's 29er European Champions Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain of Royal Cork YC and the National Yacht Club are lying seventh from 30 after day one of the Youth Sailing Worlds in Brazil
Howth Yacht Club talent Sienna Wright leads the ILCA 6 fleet after the first day of racing at the Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil, with a total of four Irish boats and six sailors competing in Armação dos Buzios.…
“There may be trouble ahead….but we’ll be in and out of it and feeling great when it arrives”. Howth’s hardier dinghy sailors managed to grab the chance of a very quick race during Sunday morning’s brief weather window
One of the advantages of East Coast sailing is that much of the weather and winds come from the west, and thus, Race Officers at Howth trying to slice a brief but real winter contest out of any approaching weather…
The stage is set for the 2023 Youth Sailing World Championships in Armação dos Buzios, Brazil, where a strong Irish team competes
A strong Cork-Dublin youth sailing team will represent Ireland in four classes in Monday's Youth World Sailing Championships in Brazil, with a total of four Irish boats and six sailors competing in Armação dos Buzios. Racing in the 52nd edition of the event sees…
Ballyholme Yacht Club on the east side of Bangor in North Down has been chosen to host the European ILCA 6 Youth Championships in 2024
The European ILCA 6 Youth Championships 2024 will be sailed at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough next season. “This is a very significant championship for Europe’s youth sailors and hosting the event is a feather in the cap for…
Kevin Doyle returned to sailing at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire after injury
In May 2022, a sailing incident transformed Kevin Doyle's life. While competing in an ILCA dinghy, Kevin suffered a spinal injury that not only tested his resilience but also reshaped his connection to the sport. Ten months later, he found…
ILCA 7 sailor Ewan McMahon is aiming to win a place at the Paris Olympics in an Irish trials selection to be held in early 2024
Howth Yacht Club sailor Ewan McMahon has launched an independent campaign to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Offshore survey company Green Rebel, headquartered in Cork Harbour, is supporting the Dubliner's bid. The 24-year-old sailor will compete in…
File image of ILCA dinghies racing in the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) is looking forward to the kick-off of this winter’s dinghy Frostbite Series sponsored by Viking Marine in Dun Laoghaire this Sunday afternoon (5 November), with the wind forecast to provide a challenging afternoon.…
Eve McMahon in heavy weather ahead of the fleet in Tangier, Morocco
The transition from ultra-successful international junior sailing to youth and adult competition can be a tricky one, but ILCA-racing Gold Medal-winning multiple junior champion Eve McMahon of Howth found the perfect stepping-stone with the ILCA6 U21 Worlds at a breezy…
DMYC Frostbites 2022/23 – Aeros, Fireballs, RS and PY dinghies in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The scheduled start of the DMYC-hosted Viking Marine-sponsored Frostbites for 2023/24 is just over a week away and yet, to date, there is a very modest entry of boats. Indeed, the numbers entered thus far would represent a poor turnout…
Howth's Eve McMahon celebrates her U21 ILCA 6 World title win in Morocco
Irish Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) has won the World U21 ILCA 6 championship title in Tangiers, Morocco, this afternoon. As Afloat reported previously, after six days of racing, the Paris 2024 campaigner delivered an impressive…
Conditions were light and flukey on day five of the ILCA U21 World Championships in Morocco, where Ireland's Eve McMahon (pictured right) in yellow leaders bib) leads the ILCA 6 fleet by a good margin
Although Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon discarded a 35th scored in light winds, the Irish Sailor of the Year has a commanding 18-point lead going into the final day of racing at the ILCA6 U21 World Championships in Morocco on Sunday.…
Eve McMahon leads at the Under 21 ILCA 6 World Championship Fleet in Tangier, Morocco
Howth's Eve McMahon continues to lead the ILCA 6 Women's fleet at the Under 21 ILCA 6 World Championships at Tangier, Morocco. After eight races sailed, McMahon holds a six-point advantage over Italy's Carlotta Rizzardi who won Friday's final two races in…

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):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2

At A Glance – Laser Dinghy Specifications

Designer Bruce Kirby & Ian Bruce

Year 1969

Crew 1
Draft 0.787 m (2 ft 7.0 in)
Hull weight 58.97 kg (130.0 lb)
LOA 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
LWL 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.39 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mainsail area 7.06 m2 (76.0 sq ft)

Racing D-PN 91.1 RYA PN 1088 PHRF 217

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