Category Dinghy_classes

With 1 race to spare ,PieterJan Postma has won the Finn Masters 2025 being held in Medemblik. A lot of work went into developing a mast for PJ based on a design Ceilidh first produced in 2018. Since then the company has parted ways with HIT Masts and has recently started to manufacture Finn masts under the Ceilidh Masts brand. For further info please visit the Finn mast pages

The Finn class Masters World Championships 2025 has started. After 2 delays due to Corona finally the Finn Club Holland can put on the spectacle they promised. With over 300 entrants, great weather and a super venue the first images are showcasing the Finn class at its best. The new Ceilidh Mast is also being sailed at the event, with 5 of our masts entered. There is a lot of interest and we are following the event avidly.

With a ‘fresh out of packaging’ setup combining the lovely Synergy Marine hull, and powered by a Ceilidh Masts and HD sail combo Tom Morris showed great speed to win the UK Europe Class Nationals 2024. Finishing second to the Danish sailor Klaus Rønn Madsen, Tom scored the least aggregate points in his first event in the class.

With many of the southern hemisphere sailors that came to the 2023 OK Dinghy Worlds in Lyme Regis buying Ceilidh masts for the event last year, these masts have all been shipped back to Australia and are sharing the spoils together with masts from our colleagues at C-Tech at the Pre-Worlds 2024 that has just completed in Brisbane. Congratulations to Dave Clark who won the Pre-Worlds.

As always our thanks to Robert Deaves for the great reports and photos. Please link here to his article on the event.

The first batch of Splash Dinghy Carbon masts has recently be delivered to the class builder. The mast is equal in performance to the aluminium masts but should not suffer from the permanent bend problems of the existing masts. Ceilidh developed the the mast exclusively for Jachtwerf Heeg who will be responsible for all sales and service enquiries. There is a quick guide for use (click here). For further information click here

As a natural development of products which utilize the 70mm x 50mm teardrop mould which Ceilidh designed for the Flying Dutchman class, the Contender dinghy seemed to be an ideal candidate for the achievable mechanical properties of this design.

Having developed a set of bend curves with this mould Ceilidh are now considering the next step. A thinner mast using the class minimums of 45mm diameter is in the pipeline, but due to other commitments this is not moving quickly. Ceilidh has numbers collated into a bend database which allows the comparison of the stiffness index both fore-aft and sideways. The different measurement systems can be combined in such a way to give a simple stiffness index which functions then as the reference for the design variations that Ceilidh can create. Please follow this link to our bend testing methods.

The prototype of the mast is finished in a similar fashion to our other stayed dinghy masts. Custom carbon detailing combined with standard fittings from Allen Brothers and Camcleats makes the finished product stand out. The foot is CNC machined from hard plastic (Delrin) and incorporates an innovative setup for the vang attachment. First testing will provide further information to finish the final development of this performance mast.

The masts are available to order in our webshop, along with spare parts as they become available. Rigging is offered separately as it will be custom made for each order. Each fully fitted mast will be supplied complete with measurement and a comprehensive bend datasheet. Please click here for a direct link to the webshop

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Just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak we manufactured 3 FD masts for customers in The Netherlands and Switzerland. Unfortunately due to the lockdown restrictions we have not had too much feedback with regards to the performance, and definitely no results from regattas, however sailmaker Stephan Fels (SUI) was more than happy with his new mast, and notices the positive difference in gust response that we have been able to develop. We are pleased to announce a new collaboration with Axel Antrecht of FSA Segelsport GmbH based at the Steinhuder lake. We will be shipping two masts to him for further evaluation. Axel has ordered both a stiff mast and the new light crew reflex mast. For further information please contact our office via this link.

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The past months, Ceilidh has been developing a new mast for the Merlin Rocket class. This class has an ‘open’ rule for various parts, so that new designs have the room to develop without tight restrictions.

The prototype mast is designed and manufactured in a similar fashion to all our dinghy masts, with an integrated sail track and aerodynamic ‘teardrop’ profile. This enables us to have more control over the fore-aft bending of the mast without influencing the sideways bend.

Working closely with sailors in the class it was clear that the best masts were made from High Modulus carbon with an outer diameter tube of 45mm and a bare weight of 4,6 to 4,8kg.

By using the teardrop section it is possible to increase the lateral stiffness due to surface area while reducing the outer diameter of the mast, thus making the mast more streamlined with less windage. The section has a width of 40mm, 10% smaller than all other masts, while still coming in a a meagre 4,52kg bare weight – Lighter and thinner!

The stiffness is in the same ballpark as other designs but there is still room for increasing the stiffness if required. First the mast will be tested to see if our concept generates the expected performance.

The sections will be most suited to a range of classes and a profile has also been commissioned to use as a gaff spar on a classic racer.

The initial batch of masts will retail at €3200,00 including VAT ex. works in The Netherlands. Shipment to the UK is about €150,00 €240,00 (post Brexit) including VAT and customs handling. For further information please contact our offices or get in touch with Andy Davis at HD Sails who has assisted us with the details and specs of the mast.

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Due to increased requests, Ceilidh now produces a suitable gooseneck bolt system for the OK Dinghy masts. Manufactured from stainless steel parts, the bolt is simple to place and tighten and can be locked safely so that it never falls off at the wrong moment. For further enquiries, refer to our webshop.

Zsombor Berecz secures gold in Enoshima with three way fight for other medals

Article by Robert Deaves, Finn Class

Finn World Champion Zsombor Berecz, from Hungary, has secured the Ready Steady Tokyo Olympic Test Event, with a day to spare after sealing victory on Wednesday in Enoshima, Japan. Nicholas Heiner, from The Netherlands, move up to second, while Giles Scott, from Britain drops to third to set up a three way fght for bronze and silver with Andy Maloney from New Zealand. The race wins on Wednesday went to Alican Kaynar, from Turkey, and Ondrej Teply, from Czech Republic.

The forecast for the day was generally for a light onshore wind, with a lot of low cloud around all morning. The wind remained fairly light and unstable all day with frequent position changes throughout the fleet.

Kaynar made the best of the first upwind in Race 9 to lead throughout for a comfortable victory from Berecz who rounded in sixth and Maloney, who made the comeback of the day from 20th at the first mark.

The final opening series race, Race 10, got even harder with some big swings. Teply rounded first and led all the way. Berecz had the opportunity to close the series there and then and had worked his way up to fourth, before a rare mistake left him on the wrong side of a big shift. Fortunately for him Scott was still behind him.

Teply went on to win from Anders Pedersen, from Norway and Heiner. Berecz crossed in 12th and with Scott back in 16th, Berecz had won the regatta with a race to spare.

Kaynar has made hard work of this week, so the race win was something of a relief after a high scoring week.

“I started the week very badly. I had quite big results in the first four races and after that I tried to do better and I had some problems with the downwinds, so lost some points there, but then I found my rhythm and moved up to seventh position. I am not so happy with my results, but I think it is positive to have some good results.”

“Today, in the first race I was on the right side and I got some good pressure and finally I had a good downwind and could extend, and I managed to finish first. I was also on the right in the second race, but it didn’t pay off. There was a big shift in the left and I came up quite last.”

“It’s a tricky venue. There is a lot of current and one day we had an offshore wind, so I think it is going to be hard at the Games.”

It has been a challenging week for all sailors, not least because of the heat but also the wind conditions. This is obvious when looking at the results with most sailors having results up and down the fleet. One thing is sure about Enoshima – finding anything resembling consistency is going to be hard, even for the best sailors. To win here you are going to have to be your best, every day. That is what is remarkable about Berecz’s performance, only two results outside the top three.

Berecz has hardly put a foot wrong this week. He was almost lost for words at the magnitude of his victory.

“Today it was classic sea breeze conditions. In the first race we had 7-8 knots. I had good start and good tactics and I managed to finish second. In the second race I was also there but there was a huge left shift which mixed up the game a bit, but not enough and I secured my first place before tomorrow.”

“I am thrilled with my performance this week and it’s good to know, because this was my big regatta, that we can do very good preparation by ourselves, so we are on a good track and I am very happy for us.”

“Definitely the best regatta I had was last year when I won the worlds, but this one is over that. I had such a great week, such great days, I was sharp all week and this is probably the best regatta of my life that I could manage to put together. I am speechless actually because I am very surprised and very happy that we can achieve this.”

Ready Steady Tokyo will conclude on Thursday with the medal race. It will be a fight between Heiner, Scott and Maloney – three of the best performers all year – for the other medals.

Results after Day 5
1 HUN 40 Zsombor Berecz 24
2 NED 89 Nicholas Heiner 47
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 48
4 NZL 61 Andy Maloney 57
5 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 73
6 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 75
7 TUR 21 Alican Kaynar 81
8 BRA 109 Jorge Zarif 86
9 ESP 26 Joan Cardona Mendez 88
10 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 88

Ready Steady Tokyo, the Olympic test event is a series of 10 opening series races from Saturday 17, August to Wednesday 21, August. The top 10 will then sail the medal race on Thursday 22 August.

Many more photos can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos