The 2026 National Championships took place on the 13-16 August last in the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Our sailors were treated to great race management, warm sailing conditions and plenty of racing, across four days for the approx. 170 competitors and their families.

A total of 24 HYC Junior sailors descended upon RCYC in Crosshaven. Every HYC sailor wore their HYC burgee with pride and were a credit to their club. Spread across the four fleets we had the following HYC Juniors: Eoin, Ciara, Lucas, Noah, Paola and Eliana in Regatta Coached; Fiach, Cillian, Heidi, Hugo and Hannah in Regatta Racing; in Junior Main we had Áine, Lily, Max, Rory, Siún, Jasper, Oli, Willow and Will; and Daniel, Elin, Sam and Sophia, flying the flag for HYC in Senior Main. A great turnout for the red hoody gang.

Racing across the four days was a good spread of light and medium winds. The experienced RCYC on the water team, delivered courses across a multitude of race areas, both inside and outside Cork Harbour. Our HYC Main fleet sailors held their heads high when the days got long and the racing got tough. The coaches kept it fun when long tows, ferry crossings and wind delays kicked in. Our Regatta Fleets, showed great bravery and stamina hitting the water in all conditions. We look forward to the next batch of HYC Regatta juniors joining us on the Oppy trail.

Team HYC were a force at the prizegiving with prizewinners as below:

Senior Main:

1st Silver Fleet Sofia J

3rd Silver Sam McQ

Junior Main

3rd Overall Rory B

8th Overall Oli G (also a member of SLYC)

4th Silver Fleet Aine C

2nd Bronze Fleet Suin B

Regatta Racing:

4th Hannah B

Special mention for Heidi M who finished in 5th overall but because of previous success forgoes her prize.

A big thanks to our wonderful coaches Sorcha Gannon O’Connor, Charlie Keating, Cillian Twomey and our local weather guru Andrew Kingston, and all the parents who assisted the team in various ways at the event. Special thanks to the HYC Sailing Committee for a grant to manage travel costs, and to RCYC and IODAI for their great event management. Last but not least, to our Sailing Development Officer Matthew Cotter, and to the many HYC members who give their unwavering encouragement and support to our Juniors, on an ongoing basis, thank you.

Next up on the IODAI Calendar is the Connacht Championships with our friends at Galway Bay Sailing Club on September 12–13.