Irish Multihull Association unveils 2026 plan to grow catamarans and trimarans

A new leadership team and a fuller 2026 calendar have given Ireland’s multihull scene a clearer route beyond isolated regattas. The Irish Multihull Association, a non-profit set up to organise sailing events and class development for all multihulls in Ireland, has tied competitive racing to try-a-sail initiatives aimed at making catamarans and trimarans easier to access.

Pawel Trojanowski has taken the lead, and he arrives with real class pedigree. Trojanowski and Sean Dorenbosch won the IMA Easterns at Swords Sailing and Boating Club in September 2024, a reminder that the people shaping the class are still active on the water. The association’s 2026 plan is built around more than podiums, with the emphasis on wider participation and stronger youth pathways.

The season opens at Blessington Sailing Club with the Inland Open Multihull Championships on 16-17 May 2026. The association describes that two-day regatta as “two days of fast racing to blow away the cobwebs,” and Blessington’s variable gusts make it a proper early-season test. The next major stop lands at Swords Sailing and Boating Club for the Eastern Open Multihull Championships on 13-14 June 2026, giving Dublin-area crews a second chance to line up before summer travel and club programmes take over.

What stands out in the 2026 map is how spread out the class has become. The IMA’s website lists fleet contacts at Ballyholme Yacht Club, Galway Bay Sailing Club, Swords Sailing Club, Cushendall Sailing Club and Blessington Sailing Club, which shows a network rather than a single stronghold. Later in the season, the calendar moves through championships at Ballyholme, Antrim Boat Club and Galway Bay Sailing Club, with a family-focused weekend also planned for Lough Derg.

That wider footprint matters because the support structure around Irish sailing is already in place. Irish Sailing’s Small Boat Sailing Scheme includes catamaran sailing for adults and youth, and its performance pathway starts at age 11 in the Topper class. Irish Sailing also held the 2026 Youth Nationals at Ballyholme Yacht Club from 9-12 April, putting younger sailors right into the same club system the multihull class wants to tap.

The Irish season also reaches beyond home waters. Irish crews have Lake Como on the 2026 F18 European Tour, one of four circuit stops, which keeps the class connected to the sharper end of European racing. At the same time, Lough Derg Yacht Club’s 45-boat Irish Squib national championship in 2025 showed what a strong inland venue can still draw. Taken together, the plan points to a multihull community trying to do three things at once: race harder, recruit better, and make sure the next generation has somewhere to start.