The Solings Beckons: Irish Youth Sailors Answer the Call

written by Rachel Deasy  on  September 5  of  2025 and read by 321

The youth in action

At 13:00 on Monday 16 June 2025, the Tralee Bay Sailing Club Cadet Team comprised of Arann Murphy (helm, 17), Peter O'Connor (17), and Sam Fitzgibbon (16) left Tralee with Santoku the Soling in tow, and headed to Westport. They were accompanied by the crew of Chinook, including Cormac Murphy (boat owner of Chinook and Santoku), Rachel Deasy (former coach of the TBSC Youth Team), and Sadhbh Murphy (fellow TBSC Cadet, 14). Upon arrival at Mayo Sailing Club, Santoku was lifted into the water and the Cadet Team began the process of putting up the mast (a task they would become very skilled at by the end of the week). After a quick trip to Westport for food, the Cadet Team headed to sleep in the campervan in anticipation of a long session training on the water the following day.

Training day started with a breakfast outside on deck chairs and fold out tables. Before heading out to train, some final work was done on the boat to ensure it was ready and off they went. The two Solings set off to train and take a look at the sailing area. After the training session, the Cadet Team tied Santoku up to a mooring and took a well needed rest before heading back to land for the evening. Upon returning to land, the Cadet Team relaxed over dinner and cards before heading to bed early to rest up for Day 1 of racing.
On Day 1, a skippers briefing was held at 09:00 after which the boats made their way out to the sail area. In Race 1 Santoku and the Cadet Team were sailing well, often battling with the masterfully handled Uforia. However, on the last leg of the first race, Santoku was involved in a collision which broke her backstay leading to the mast coming down. The Cadet Team was left with no other choice but to retire. Thankfully, the TBSC crew of the Brig (a support boat) towed Santoku back to Mayo Sailing Club and ensured nothing was lost. Meanwhile, on Chinook, Sadhbh Murphy experienced her first WIORA race win, and she did not allow the incident experienced by the other Cadets phase her in the slightest as Chinook went on to win Race 2 as well. That evening repairs began on Santoku. Smile, another TBSC boat competing in Class 2, very generously provided Santoku with a replacement back stay and with the help of some duct tape, Santoku was looking ready to go.

Unfortunately, Day 2 would be another disappointing day for the Cadet crew of Santoku as one of their shrouds came loose from the mast preventing them from participating in the coastal race. However, Chinook continued to perform in Class 2 taking home another race win with Sadhbh helming for almost an entire leg of the 5-hour coastal race. That evening, the mast of Santoku was dropped and the shroud reattached. With the mast back in place and all stays and shrouds secured, the Cadet crew of Santoku headed to their first ever protest room. The Protest Committee were exceptional and guided the Cadet crew through the process. The crew of Santoku were awarded redress for the first two races and emboldened by this outcome, the Cadet Team were rearing to get on the water on Day 3.

On Day 3, the Cadet Team headed out to the sail area on Santoku with one clear goal in mind: complete one race. They greatly exceeded this goal. After finishing 6th in Race 4, the Cadet Team began to find their stride and when four of the boats in Class 2 were over the line, Santoku capitalised on the tactical errors of its competitors and comfortably took a race win in Race 5. Now that the Cadet Team realised what they were capable of, the excitement for the final day of WIORA only increased. The Cadet Team headed into Westport for dinner and debriefed on the races.

On Day 4, the Cadet Team of Santoku knew that they would need to perform well and proved that their win was not a fluke by bringing home two third place finishes in Races 6 and 7. Santoku performed exceptionally well on the upwinds and engaged in battles with Fusion on the line and throughout the race. After a challenging week of sailing, and no small amount of setbacks, the Cadet Team of Santoku finished the event with a race win, 4th in Class 2 IRC, 7th in Class 2 ECHO, and the Under 25 Trophy for the event. Arann, Peter, and Sam put on an amazing showcase of the skill, resilience, and prowess of the current crop of youth sailors in TBSC. Not to be outdone, Sadhbh Murphy finished the event in Class 2 with 4 race wins on Chinook and took home the title of Overall Winner of WIORA.

The whole team from TBSC are exceptionally grateful to Mayo Sailing Club and WIORA for facilitating the Cadet Team's participation. It was an exceptional event, and the Cadets learned so much from their competitors and the competition generally. It is not very often that young people get opportunities such as this one and the entire Cadet Team are exceptionally grateful to Cormac Murphy for allowing them use of his boats for the event. Needless to say, the TBSC Cadet Team will be gunning for an even better performance at next year's event when TBSC hosts the 50th Anniversary of WIORA in Fenit.

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The Irish teams attending the racing

After fixing it

The kids after their backstay were cut