Dear Members, Thereâs plenty of excitement around the Club at the moment, with the ILCA World Championships just around the corner â and our new Committee Boat has successfully completed its trial runs and is now ready to get to work! This is a really exciting...
NYC members Ann Kirwan and Brendan Briscoe raced their Schull-based Ruffian Orca II in Calves Week 2026, their 6th consecutive year to compete in the event.
Orca II was entered in the 10-boat White Sails 2 (WS2) Echo fleet with NYC Commodore Rosemary Cadogan signed up for all 4 days. They were joined by NYCâs Robin Hilliard and Nika from the Ukraine for the Fastnet race on day 2. Mike and Deirdre Buttanshaw and Annâs niece Sophie were invaluable crew on the other days.
The 80 boats racing over 6 classes were greeted with champagne sailing conditions throughout the 4 days, enjoying warm sunshine and plenty of wind for the first 3 days, especially on Wednesday for the Fastnet race.
With all classes sailing the same course for the Fastnet race (weather mark, Goat Island, Fastnet, Amelia and finish in the harbour), it was quite a sight to see the bigger boats catching up with the smaller boats as they rounded the Fastnet in a strong breeze and quite a swell.
4 dinghy sailors made the voyage to join our Commodores past and present in beautiful Schull for a few days racing William Walsh, Ben OâShaughnessy, Eoin Byrne and Oisin Pearse with Simon Hanley for the delivery trip sailed from Dun Laoghaire to Cork on the August...
The Club will be busy with the activity of the forthcoming ILCA Worlds Championships being co-hosted by the NYC and RSGYC every day from Tuesday 18th August to Saturday 12th September when competitors will be launching from the Clubâs slipway and coaches will be berthing their ribs on the Club Pontoon. All of this activity should not affect our members normal sailing from the Club and members are encouraged to visit the Club during the championships and enjoy the activity. The competitors ILCAs will be parking on the Carlisle Pier when not sailing and their coaches ribs will berth on the outer pontoons of both Clubs. The link and inner pontoons will be kept free for Club and Members use. The platform in the area between the Clubhouse and the Yardarm will be kept clear for the Opening and Closing ceremonies and for the launching trolleys of those competitors that will launch from the NYC. Members dinghies will be re located to the western side of the platform where they will be accessible for sailing. This year, the event race office will be in an office on the Carlisle Pier, but the morning coaches meetings will take place in the NYC JB room. As there will be enhanced security in the Clubs and surrounding area during the Championship period, please do bring your membership card with you.
The pre-event video for the 2026 ILCA 7 Men's and ILCA 6 Womenâs World Championships has just been released - see it here.
As previously mentioned, Olympic sailing class world championships are generally only held in Europe once every 4 years and as such, this is a once in a generation opportunity for Ireland to host such a prestigious and high calibre event and the two host Clubs - the NYC and RSGYC - look forward to hosting over 400 Olympic class sailors and coaches in our Clubs, including the NYC members Finn Lynch and Annalise Murphy, over the next few weeks.
Thanks,
Con
Events Organising Committee Chair and Principal Race Officer
The 2026 Junior regata is around the corner! Summer has finally reached Ireland and juniors are hitting the water in Dun Laoghaire with great smiles progressing their skills, seamanship and simply having fun afloat.
The NYC Junior regatta is open to any dinghies sailed by sailors under the age of 19 by the end of the year... Wether seasoned racers ready to enjoy the more relaxed atmosphere of our main fleet out in the bay or new comers to racing testing their newly acquired skills in the harbour fleet, there is an opportunity for everyone to take part, enjoy the competition and chase a first finish, a personal best or the top prize. Dont missout and be on the startline on Wednesday, July 15th.
Entry links: https://www.smartclubcloud.com/events/eventlist.aspx?c=6807a1d1-b7a9-44f6-ad35-3d95686c7ff0
The fifth Women at the Helm (WATH) Regatta 2026 (WATH) took place at the National Yacht Club over the weekend of June 12th-14th, with the Water Wag WATH Regatta race held on Wednesday June 10th in keeping with the Wag tradition of holding each clubâs regatta race on the previous Wednesday.
The WATH Regatta was held in conjunction with the National Yacht Club Regatta on Saturday June 13th with WATH racing continuing on Sunday June 14th. Event organiser Ann Kirwan, along with her organising committee aimed to deliver a fun-filled, female-led, event on and off the water.
The WATH Regatta, kindly supported by Sia, kicked off with a speaker supper on Friday evening with Bryan Dobson in conversation with leading sports psychologist Kate Kirby, and offshore sailors GrĂĄinne Costigan and Pamela Lee, both of whom are competing in the round Ireland race which starts on Saturday June 20th. The speakers inspirational stories enthralled the packed NYC dining room.
Over 60 women took the helm in the regatta on boats ranging from 44 footers to Flying Fifteens and Water Wags. Many more female crews partook â well over 150 of them. Saturdayâs NYC and WATH racing was run by Race Officers Con Murphy, John McNeilly and Suzanne McGarry, while Mairead NiCheallachain ran Sundayâs WATH racing aboard DBSC committee vessel Freebird. Saturdayâs race took place in moderate to breezy conditions, while Sundayâs race took place in sunny conditions with light easterly winds. Entries included 2 boats from Wicklow, while sailors from HYC crewed on NYCâs Echo 90, and offshore Sailor GrĂĄinne Costigan and her French team mate sailed on NYC J80 Jay-Z.
Newly elected NYC Commodore Rosemary Cadogan presented the WATH Regatta prizes in glorious sunshine on the NYC platform on Sunday afternoon.
As well as the class prizes, the two premier prizes were presented. The inaugural Woman at the Helm overall prize - the OâConnor family trophy, was awarded to Sarah Cooney on J80 Joyride. The Roy Family Trophy was awarded to the winning 3-boat team of NYCâs J80 Sea Jade helmed by Clare Gorman, DB21 Oola helmed by Jean OâDriscoll, and Ruffian 23 Bandit helmed by Ann Kirwan.