Irish Melges 15 Sailors Pick up Tips and Tricks from US Coach Eddie Cox on Dublin Bay

19th September 2023

Afloat.ie Team

Top US sailor Eddie Cox from Melges USA flew in for a Melges15 training clinic at Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Irish Melges 15 sailors got some high and low-speed lessons in boat handling and sail trim in Dun Laoghaire Harbour last weekend. With top US sailor Eddie Cox from Melges USA flying in, tips and tricks were raining down all weekend.

Saturday brought strong north easterlies and big swells, but thankfully, there was no rain! After a 'chalk talk' ashore, the Irish sailors put these new lessons into practice.

Best-laid plans of races and drills were soon abandoned as in the strong, gusty conditions, everyone just wanted to let it rip.

It was the first experience for everyone of sailing the boats in big swells, and it was quickly apparent that flat water was where the top speeds could be reached. As a result sailing by and large took place in the harbour.

With some ex 29er sailors jumping in the boats, learning was on overdrive as everyone was hanging off the back of their M15s to send it! Shout out to father and son duo Ronan and Conn Murphy, who had bragging rights for the day (and within their own family) with a top speed of 18.5 knots.

After nearly three hours on the water, everyone was happy to return ashore and study footage of the day's action.

Sunday brought totally different conditions, with very light airs, tide, and rain to negotiate to the windward mark. Downwind sailing suddenly shifted from the blasting of Sunday to gentle balletic movements as sailors looked to keep speed and thus apparent wind up at all costs! With six training races sailed in an ever-dropping wind, training moved ashore with one final debrief and dreams of sailing the Melges 15 mid-winters in Florida next year.

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Melges 15

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About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance.

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.