Topaz National Championships - Paddy Cunnane and Adam Byrne victorious

by Irish Sailing Associaton on 29 Aug 2014 Dingle Sailing Club is pleased to announce that local Dingle sailors Paddy Cunnane (helm) and Adam Byrne (crew) are the Topaz Irish National Champions 2014.

The Topaz National Championships were hosted by Dingle Sailing Club for the first time on the 23-24 August 2014. The event included entries from Lough Derg Sailing Club, Dungarvan Sailing Club, Tralee Bay Sailing Club, Foynes Yacht Club, Malahide, Cork and Dingle. The Topaz dinghy is a recognised class by the ISA who provided a fleet of 24 boats for the competing sailors. The ISA SailFleet scheme is designed to make sailing more accessible nationwide.

Saturday saw very little breeze which tested the sailors’ with light-air conditions. The first gun was at 11.30am and sailing continued until 3.30pm with a total of four races completed. Several sailors reported Fungie joining Race 3 but could not be confirmed by the Race committee. Race 4 brought a stronger breeze which saw local sailor Fionn O’Regan consolidate his strong lead of at 2, 1, 1 and 1 for the four races. Force 6 winds were forecast for Sunday which duly arrived providing very fresh but excellent sailing conditions. The wind was blowing from the Harbour mouth (SE) which is somewhat unusual for Dingle. These strong conditions provided some thrilling sailing especially on the broad-reach leg of the race. Race leader Fionn O’Regan from Saturday was pipped at the post by a single point which saw the National Champion title go to Dingle sailors and Paddy Cunnane and Adam Byrne.

Category winners saw Dungarvan Sailing Club sailor Jack Kiely take the U16 title who also finished fourth overall. Ellie Cunnane and Stephen Cunnane (DINGLESC) won the U12 title. The U14 title went to Tralee Bay Sailing club sailors John Kelliher and Tadgh Hurley who also had a strong fifth place overall finish.

The event was managed by Race Organiser Aileen O’Carroll and Race Officer Colm O’Shea. Dingle Sailing Club made preparations for the event, working with the ISA and arranging race training the week prior to the event. The club recognise that hosting events of this calibre contribute to the skills and development of our sailors and provide an opportunity for our sailors to compete and win, at the national level.

Dingle Sailing Club is a community club with an ethos to make sailing accessible to all. None of this is possible without the support and help from our volunteers and ISA website