SAILING:FOUR DAYS of intense competition distilled a wide field of local and international sailors into a small group of future elite athletes last weekend following the conclusion of the ISA Mitsubishi Youth National Championships at Dún Laoghaire.

But the four crews who form the Irish squad for this summer’s ISAF Youth World Championships are limited by the single place available in each discipline and can also be considered representatives of strong performances in at least half the classes involved.

Chief amongst these was the Laser Radial singe-hander that saw an epic battle between Dún Laoghaire’s Finn Lynch and Robbie Gilmore from Strangford Lough. It took 11 races to settle who would be selected for July’s event and in the end it came down to Lynch, who also placed first in the 68-boat fleet. However, Gilmore’s strong performance in third means he retains his contender status.

They were not alone despite a strong visiting contingent. Seafra Guilfoyle from Cork placed sixth while West Cork was ably represented by Fionn Lyden in eighth place. And Co Down’s Sophie Murphy topped the girls’ line-up in the class with 13th overall, including three top-10 results in the series to earn her place in the squad for the worlds in July.

Her result included beating Georgina Povall, winner of an RYA regional young sailor of the year award, which is a further boost to her prospects for the worlds.

“I think the team has shaped up really well; particularly in the Laser class the team showed some form here on home waters,” said ISA coach Rory Fitzpatrick. “There were a lot of international guys here as well and none of them ran away with it and they performed pretty well.”

The double-handed classes are the weak spot at present in the national line-up though Fitzpatrick points to the younger profile of the crews just starting out. Cork’s Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts were best of the Irish in the 420 class with an eighth overall, taking over from Howth’s Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove who slipped to 13th place. The team slot was taken by the Crosshaven crew.

Fitzpatrick expects Crosbie’s and Roberts’ performance to improve before the worlds. Nevertheless, with just four places available, disappointment is inevitable for those who missed selection.

Getting over any disappointment and looking ahead after this event is about treating the nationals as a step, according to Fitzpatrick. Sailing is a long-term sport and the key is to be resilient and move on; the youth worlds is just one event with many more to follow.

As for the up-and-coming junior youth classes, which include the Optimist, Laser 4.7 and Toppers, Liam Glynn (Topper) is already tipped by the coaching team to compete in these classes that numbered more than 170 sailors which competed last weekend.