16 National Sailing Champions will battle it out for the ISA All Ireland Title

 

Defending All Ireland Sailing Champion Ben Duncan will face some stiff competition next week as he fights to retain his title. 16 national class champions have been invited to compete at the Irish Sailing Association’s most prestigious annual senior sailing event; the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championship on the 6th and 7th of September. The championship, which began in 1947, will be sailed in the ISA’s fleet of J80 keelboats from Howth Yacht Club where the nation’s top sailors will battle it out for the coveted Helmsman’s Trophy.

 

Among the invited competitors is recent Commodore’s Cup winner and 1720 national champion Anthony O’Leary – a powerhouse within the international sailing circuit. O’Leary has competed at the All Irelands numerous times. Although both his sons Peter and Nicholas have won the championship a combined five times, Anthony himself has so far failed to bring the title back to Cork.

 

Earning a nomination from the GP14 class is Olympic veteran Ger Owens who competed at the Games in Athens, Beijing and most recently in London. Owens is no stranger to the ISA championship having won it in 2000. He will also line up against the 2007 victor Stefan Hyde.

 

The 16 boats will compete in two fleets of eight on Saturday, each scheduled for three races. From there the top three boats from each fleet will progress to Sunday’s final four-race series with two additional places remaining for the top two boats from a two-race repechage on Sunday morning.

 

National Class Champion Invitees:

 

Name	Surname	Club	Class
Alex	Barry	Monkstown Bay Sailing Club	RS400
Ben	Duncan		Defending Champion
Richard	Evans	Howth Yacht Club	ICRA 2'
Laurence	Hanley	Lough Ree Yacht Club	Shannon One Design
Chris	Helme	Royal St George Yacht Club	Ruffian
Stefan	Hyde	Royal Cork Yacht Club	SB20
Ian	Nagle	Royal Cork Yacht Club	ICRA '1'
Flor	O'Driscoll	Royal St George Yacht Club	J24
Anthony	O'Leary	Baltimore Sailing Club	Commodores Cup & 1720
Pat	O'Neill	Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club	IDRA14 & E-Boat
Jonathan	O'Rourke	National Yacht Club	Mermaid
Ger	Owens	Royal St George Yacht Club	GP14
Conor	Phelan	Royal Cork Yacht Club	ICRA '0'
Conor	Turvey	Howth Yacht Club	Howth 17 Footer
Roy	Van Maanen	Greystones Sailing Club	RS200
Ross	Vaughan	Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club	Squib

 

Photos of defending champion Ben Duncan credited to Aidan Tarbett Photography