Lough Derg sailors impress at Topper World Championships
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Lough Derg Yacht Club team at the Topper World Championships. Back row: Alannah Cantwell, Susie Durand, Eile Cronin, Anna Furno, Isobelle Larkin, Emer Gilmartin, Ewan O’Murthille, Conal Rowan, Daniel Cantwell, Oisin Rowan. Front row: Maeve Cronin, Sam Roche, Senan Rowan, Max Swan, Sam Plunkett, Emer Keogh. Missing from picture – Grace Keating. PicasaImage 2 of 2
Lough Derg’s Conal Rowan in action. PicasaEighteen sailors from Lough Derg Yacht Club in Dromineer travelled to Crosshaven last week to compete against the World’s best Topper sailors.
Eleven nations were represented by 260 sailors, in the second largest Topper Worlds ever, at the Royal Cork Yacht Club with competitors from as far away as China and Australia.
The sixteen strong Lough Derg team ranged in age from 13 – 16 years with the majority sailing in the 5.3 fleet (larger sail) with one sailor, Senan Rowan (12 years) competing in the 4.2 fleet.
Five days of racing, with three races per day back to back, in variable and sometimes challenging conditions, made for a great week of sailing.
The first two days were qualifying heats with the large fleet broken into gold, silver, and bronze flights for the remaining three days of championship racing. Two sailors from Lough Derg, Grace Keating and Gemma Brady, made the gold flight. The Lough Derg team were split evenly across the silver and bronze flights.
As the week progressed, the Lough Derg sailors grew in confidence with Sam Roche, Max Swan and Oisin Rowan securing top three finishes in different races in a silver fleet of sixty sailors. All sailors surpassed their own expectations, with some great top 20 overall results in the silver and bronze flights.
But it wasn’t all about the results! It was about the experience, building resilience and overcoming adversity. The sailors had to adapt their strategies and tactics for each race and on the fifth day of racing had to dig deep to overcome tiredness. It was about being a team and supporting each other on and off the water. And it was about making friends and having fun. Team LDYC did that in abundance and their parents and support team had as much fun as the sailors.