Irish Optimist Sailing Dinghy News & Regatta Results
Lough Ree Yacht Club were host to the fun, friendships and team-building experience by the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI) Development Squad and the U12 team last weekend when the teams came together for the first time to…
2023 got off to an 'optimistic' start at the Youth Nationals at Easter. Much has already been written about the Howth Yacht Club event last weekend, and the largest fleet with the youngest sailors that saw Optimists produce some thrilling racing over…
Dunne Deal for Optimists Despite Shape-Shifting With Extra Discard at Youth Sailing Nationals in Howth
16th April 2023 Optimist
The concluding day's one extra race at the Investwise Youth Sailing National Championships at Howth Yacht Club, slotted in between the morning's sunlit near-calm and the mid-afternoons varying attempts at fog, provided some key classes with an additional discard to…
Youth Sailing Nationals Move In On Howth With 168 Boats As Storm Antoni Moves Out
13th April 2023 Howth YC
Storm Antoni has been making quite a lot of noise and bother all over Ireland in recent days, but now he has moved east just in time for the Investwise Youth Sailing Nationals 2023 to move in on Howth from…
The Irish Optimist Dinghy Association will continue with its coaching arrangements in 2023, IODAI President Paddy Ryan has confirmed. Dennis Paaske, Soren Laugesen and Thomas Chaix will resume their roles from the successful National Training Week on Lough Derg last November.…
IODAI Communications Officer Brendan Foley reports on a recent Optimist dinghy class survey What do Junior sailors and their families want from Oppie sailing? That was the key question that IODAI, the organising body for Optimist sailing in Ireland, wished…
The membership of the Irish Optimist Dinghy Association of Ireland (IODAI) met through Zoom for their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday the 13th of December 2022. With an outgoing President and three senior committee members, there was much change but…
You’ll never forget the first time you drive into the Weymouth and Portland RYA Sailing Academy sailing base. It’s massive, writes Brendan Foley of the IODAI. The venue for the London Olympics in 2012 is simply stunning. Its sheer scale and…
Now in its second year running the National Training Week for Optimists provides an end-of-season opportunity for sailors to get together to learn from fantastic coaches. Hosted by Lough Derg Yacht Club, the event was a huge success. Running from…
National Yacht Club Optimist Team on Top at IODAI Training Week at Lough Derg
7th November 2022 National YC
135 young sailors aged 7 to 15 gathered in Lough Derg YC, Dromineer, for the Annual IODAI Optimist national Training week, three days of coaching and fun followed by the final event of the year, the Hallowe'en cup incorporating the…
Oppie sailors took to Galway Bay at the weekend for the resumed Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) annual regatta. Challenging conditions off An Spidéal the previous weekend had restricted racing to the mixed fleet of 420, Laser, Pico and Topaz…
The host club's Lucy Moynan was the winner of the Royal Cork Optimist Cobbler League Series 2022 Second was RCYC's Andrew O'Neill, with clubmate Dougie Venner third. The League took place across the first four Sundays of October and ran until…
IODAI Announce Big Plans for Optimist National Training Week at Lough Derg Yacht Club
22nd October 2022 Optimist
Exciting times for the Irish Optimist fleet with momentum quickly building towards the IODAI National Training Week taking place from the 2nd to the 5th of November. Scheduled over four days, with over 130 participating young sailors from 16 different…
Success for Royal St. George Yacht Club Optimist Sailors in 2022 IODAI National Rankings
13th October 2022 RStGYC
In the 69-boat Optimist dinghy Senior Fleet, Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Royal St. George Yacht Club had eight sailors in the top 15 of the 2022 IODAI National Rankings, namely Jules Start (1st boy and 1st overall), Caoilinn Geraghty- McDonnell (1st…
The preparations in Dromineer (LDYC) for the second edition of the Optimist National Training Week are well underway. Building on the lessons of last year and under the leadership of three experienced international coaches, home-based Thomas Chaix and Danish coaches…
Optimist Cobbler League at Royal Cork Yacht Club Takes Place Through October
26th September 2022 Royal Cork YC
The Optimist dinghy Cobbler League will take place across the first Sundays in October; 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven in Cork Harbour. Racing will take place for Junior and Senior fleets with separate…
