In other areas, it seemed that if gales weren't dominating the scene, then it was storms instead. But at Howth on the ultra-grey morning after the clear sunrise of New Year's Day, they'd to wait for some wind before the ILCA 7s and others - including Brass Monkey Series cruisers - had the first races of the Laser/ILCA Golden Jubilee Year at the busy Fingal port. Cheerfully ignoring superstition, thirteen dinghies turned out for Howth's long running annual New Year's Day race, allowing the winter centreboard sailors to dust off the cobwebs and start 2024 as they mean to go on.

The New Year's Day racing is a standalone event to bridge the gap until the post-Christmas series kicks off on Sunday 7th January writes Conor Murphy. The ILCA 7s, 6s and a range of PY classes of RS Aeros, GP14, B14 and a visiting 420 were represented on the water, raceing around a triangular course, set by the race officer team led by HYC Commodore Neil Murphy. Conditions began with a light wind which built over the duration of the race, giving competitors a rare sailable gap in the recent stormy weather, with everyone snug in the clubhouse when the afternon rain set in for real.

Colm Cunningham led the ILCA 7s all the way around the course, followed closely by Conor Murphy, who couldn't quite close the gap to the leader. Xander Mackay and Jamie Staunton rounded out the finishers in the ILCA 7s. The ILCA 6s saw Peter Hassett leading the fleet, even keeping up with the ILCA 7s while keeping other ILCA6s firmly at bay to take the win for the day's racing.

ILCA7 winner Colm Cunningham slipping along nicely with a neat demonstration of proper light breeze downwind boat crew-weight trim. Photo: Neil Murphy

In the PY class, HYC's Jeremy Beshoff & Declan McManus stormed ahead in their B14, taking line honours in the competitive fleet by over three minutes. However, once the PY handicaps were applied, it was Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero that took first place. GP14 The Wrong Trousers (Conor Twohig & Matt Cotter) took second place, followed very closely by the visiting 420 from Malahide, helmed by Cora McNaughton - they were only ten seconds behind on corrected time, a very competitive showing for their first race in the HYC winter racing. New classes are always welcome to come take part in the dinghy racing, it's great to see the range of classes continue to expand.

The B14 was unbeatable on scratch, but the application of PY saw an RS Aero take the honours

POST-CHRISTMAS FROSTBITE SERIES TO RUN FOR NINE WEEKENDS

The post-Christmas series kicks off on Sunday 7th January (enter through HYC website). Racing promises to be as good as ever, all ILCA and PY classes are welcome and encouraged to take part over the 9 weekend series in the run up to the annual Round the Island Race on 9th March.

If it's not on your class's calendar for 2024, be sure to reach out to HYC to enquire about taking part.

A week ago, the Howth Yacht Club Frostbite multi-dinghy racers were pinching themselves to be sure that they really did manage to slip a race in under the radar, despite the rest of the country being battened down in threatened or actual storm conditions, with Leitrim in particular taking it on the chin with tornadoes.

As a reward, for the final day yesterday (Sunday) they were gifted with unseasonably mild weather, flashes of sunlight, and a good racing sou’westerly which enabled HYC Commodore Neil Murphy as the race officer (and ace photographer) to provide them with three short sharp races to bid farewell to the 2023 season on a high note for the MG Motor Sailing Club of the Year 2023.

In 2024, Howth YC’s Lasers and their Frostbites will be celebrating their Golden Jubilee - many of the buildings on the shoreline here weren’t built when it all started

Yet in the the days leading up to this final competition of the Pre-Christmas series, the range of forecast models provided a variety of predictions about the wind conditions to be expected come the time of the first gun.

BALANCING THE ODDS IN FORECASTS OF EIGHT TO 38 KNOTS

The choice spanned from eight to 32 knots (writes Conor Murphy), but thankfully the more moderate breezes prevailed, although the fleet still had to contend with gusts of up to 28 knots during the first race. With some of the earlier races in the Series having been casualties of the weather, HYC’s Commodore Murphy, moonlighting as race officer for the day, squeezed in three races over a triangular course with a windward-leeward middle lap, and course-setting options usefully increased by a flooding Spring tide steadily expanding the race area west of Howth Harbour and Ireland’s Eye, while usefully sharpening the wind-against-tide breeze when any lulls arrived.

Aero ace Daragh Sheridan has oodles of high water space as he tacks towards the ancient fishing port of Baldoyle along what would - at low water – be a winding sandy channel

The race management team got the course and start lines laid quickly - and adjusted as needed, to both keep the legs properly aligned – thereby keeping the sailors (not to mention the mark layers) busy and warm. The immediate turn-around from one race to the next saw all three concluded and the sailors back ashore within two hours of the first gun, helped by the fleets getting away first time in all the races, despite the enthusiasm of some over-eager starters earning themselves the undiluted joy of individual recalls.

There were many days in the “summer” of 2023 that weren’t as good as this. Conor Twohig and Matthew Cotter of Howth and Sutton with the GP14 Wrong Trousers taking their 2023 sailing farewell in style at Howth on Sunday

TIGHT BATTLES FOR TOP PLACES

The scoreboards for each of the fleets showed tight battles for the podium places before racing started, and with three races scheduled yet only three discards available for the series with the demanding conditions forecast, anything could have happened. On the day, the south-westerly breeze coming around the west side of the Hill of Howth made for some tricky gusts and wind shifts. The snakes and ladders upwind conditions, combined with a spring tide flooding across the course area, gave everyone the feeling at some time during the morning that the finishing gun might be theirs on the day.

Far travelled - Andres Samoilov, now of Malahide YC, racing his ILCA 7 with Ireland's Eye Martello Tower astern

EXCEPTIONAL CLUB SPREAD OF PODIUMISTAS

In some cases, it seems that the more distant the sailor’s home club, then the higher he or she placed in the Howth racing. In the ILCA 7s, Rory Lynch (Baltimore SC) topped off a successful year for the Lynch family by winning all three races. None of them came easy, with Dan O'Connell (Cove SC) and Daragh Kelleher (Skerries SC) jostling for the lead at every corner. With seven wins out of the eleven races sailed in the series, Lynch was a deserving winner while Daragh Kelleher took second and Dave Kirwan Malahide YC) was third. It marks the first HYC Dinghy Frostbites series win for Rory and his name being engraved on the Courtney Cup will bring to an end the Ronan Wallace of Wexford monopoly that has lasted since 2018.

Keeping those pesky Dubs under control. Dave O’Connell of Cove SC nicely to weather of the opposition

TOM FOX RUSHES ON

In the ILCA 6s, Tom Fox (Rush SC) posted a 1, 2, 1 on this last day to seal his overall win in the series. Darragh Peelo (Malahide YC) and Peter Hassett (DBSC) tied on points for second place, while Peelo took runner-up on countback.

With five different race winners in the ILCA 6 fleet across the series, competition was fierce and no doubt will continue to be so in the post-Christmas series. In the ILCA 4s, Oleksandr Samilov (Obolon SC, it’s in Ukraine near Kyiv)) maintained his lead to win overall, despite the late charge from up-sizing Optimist National Champion Harry Dunne (Howth YC), who stormed the day's racing with a 1, 1, 2 to secure second overall.

The up-size kid, he done well….2023 Optimist National Champion Harry Dune Howth YC) placed second overall with 1,1, 2 in the ILCA 4s on the final day

Stan O'Rourke (Malahide / Howth YCs) also had a very strong day with a 2, 2, 1, sealing his third place, tied on points with Charlie Power (Howth YC) who took fourth overall. This group has been getting coached by HYC's Laser Youth Worlds and Euro Champion Rocco Wright, and the progress made by them over the series, especially in the occasionally gnarly weather conditions encountered, confirm the benefit of time on the water with a good coach. No doubt the battles between them will intensify further in January.

The mountainy men going good – Blessington’s Sam Street (grandson of The Don of Glandore) and J Lloyd had their geep on form to take a PY Class race win

In the PY Handicap Class, the RS Aeros, GP14s and the B14 battled it out on the final day before Daragh Sheridan (Howth YC) sealed the series win in his RS Aero 6 with three more firsts, building his tally of race victories to nine from the 11 races sailed, with only Michael Evans (HYC, Melges 15) and Sam Street (Blessington Lake SC, GP 14) depriving him of a clean sweep.

“We’ll get the hang of this thing yet” – Jeremy Beshoff and Declan McManus sorting it on the B14 to take third overall

The GP14s of Conor Twohig (Howth YC/Sutton DC) and Sam Street (Blessington SC) and the RS Aero of John Phelan (Howth YC) filled out the remaining podium spots on the final day's racing, with John Phelan securing 2nd overall on countback from the B14 of Jeremy Beshoff (Howth YC).

The fleet takes a Christmas break now before continuing in 2024, the Howth Lasers’ Golden Jubilee Year. First up is the New Year's Day race on 1st January, first gun at 11.55. Come on down to dust off the cobwebs and start the year right! The post-Christmas series is open to all dinghy competitors and online entry is available on the club website.

Dublin and Cork crews have clinched two bronze medals in a highly successful outcome at the youth world sailing championships in Brazil this afternoon. 

Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club took bronze in the female one-person dinghy, and Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain (Royal Cork Yacht Club and National Yacht Club) were bronze medalists in the doublehanded male skiff class.

As Afloat reported previously, going into the final day of the annual competition today, both Irish boats were outside medal positions, though delivered under pressure with several rivals all contesting the podium in an event dubbed the junior Olympics of sailing.

In the female single-handed event sailed in ILCA6 dinghies, Wright delivered a highly consistent series and led her 45-boat class after the first day of racing and never dropped below fourth position over nine races sailed.

A single point kept her from the silver spot while Roos Wind of The Netherlands overcame some weighty scores thanks to a string of race wins to take Gold.

Wind produced her fourth consecutive bullet to win ILCA 6 female gold.

Wind finished just four points ahead of Emma Mattivi (ITA) and a further point in front of Wright at the conclusion of a dramatically close competition.

It was that trio that comprised the top three finishers in the final race, with Wright finishing second ahead of Mattivi.

That proved enough for the Irish sailor to take the final podium spot ahead of Petra Marendic (CRO), who could only finish ninth in the final race of the competition.

Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain (Royal Cork Yacht Club and National Yacht Club) won Youth World bronze in the 29er class in Brazil Photo: World Sailing

In the male skiff, sailed in 29er dinghies, O’Shaughnessy and Spain (Royal Cork Yacht Club and National Yacht Club) rounded off their season that included both the European and Irish championship titles in the 29er skiff with a third place in Buzios.

The pair sailed a consistent series, moving up in the rankings from seventh to fifth to third on the final day.

Champions Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux signed off from the 29er male/mixed class with a bullet in the final race of the competition.

The French pair opened the day with a pair of second-place finishes to put themselves in a commanding position for gold, before completing with a sixth and a victory to finish in style en route to their second world title.

“It feels really good,” said Devaux. “The conditions were really good, strong wind which we really like: it’s so cool.”

It meant they finished 16 points ahead of Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi (ITA) who earned silver, while O’Shaughnessy and Spain (claimed bronze.

Demurtas and Santi took the day’s opening bullet before Zeb van Dorst and Michiel Dam (NED) claimed victory in the day’s second and third races.

Results are here

One of the advantages of East Coast sailing is that much of the weather and winds come from the west, and thus, Race Officers at Howth trying to slice a brief but real winter contest out of any approaching weather window have input from several met stations, while there’ll usually also be an informative contact in Dublin Airport.

So although Howth’s quick Sunday morning dash for dinghies was sailed with the competitors and race officers unaware that a lethal tornado was about to strike Leitrim away to the northwest, nevertheless, they knew it had to be done in jig time.

And fortunately, it was all helped by it being High Water, when the options on readily available sheltered dinghy race areas is greatly increased, although the days when racing in almost any weather could be provided inside the then-undeveloped Howth Harbour when the tides are in are now long gone.

That was then….despite stormy conditions outside, in 1984, good dinghy racing was still available at high water in the shelter of Howth Harbour, and here Philip Watson has a commanding lead as he throws a quick gybe precisely where the Howth clubhouse’s snooker room is now located. Photo: W M Nxion

TWENTY-FIVE GRAB THEIR CHANCE

Twenty-five sailors arrived down to Howth YC on Sunday morning after a few days of wondering whether racing could proceed at all, given the variety of ferocious forecasts available. Racing in the cruiser’s Brass Monkey series the day prior was unfortunately cancelled due to the wind conditions, but hope was held for the HYC Dinghy Frostbites participants on Sunday’s sunny morning.

Some sailors ventured to the end of the pier before racing to get a sense of what the future held, but arrived back at the club less than confident that racing would proceed. However, the Race Officer team of Harry Gallagher, Neil Murphy and Liam Dineen ventured out to the racecourse on Sea Wych, and after assessing the conditions and observing a drop in the breeze, gave the signal for the fleet to launch. Conditions while the fleet were launching were 5-10 knots from the south, giving them a fine run out to the start area, though as the course was laid, the wind began to shift to the west as forecasted, and build in strength.

A triangular course was set, and the fleets began racing in steady breeze in the late teens. An ebb tide and a westerly breeze saw boats being kept away from the start line, although as the fleet made their way up the course, they experienced some leftover easterly rollers from days gone by helping them upwind, and then some opposing steep chop against them as they came closer to the shore.

As the race progressed, the wind began building, and the race officers saw up to 28 knots on the anemometer. The decision was made to finish racing early and send everyone ashore after a single race of a shortened course, but that was more than enough to provide a real sunny sailing tonic for crews coming cheerfully ashore with only ten days to the shortest day of the year.

Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC racing at Howth on Sunday as the big wind starts to build from the west. Photo: Neil Murphy

In the ILCA 7s, Daragh Kelleher (Skerries) continued his run of form with a win, followed closely by Conor Murphy (Howth) and Rory Lynch (Baltimore). A second discard came into effect after the race, leaving Rory on top of the series, closely followed by Daragh.

Current RS Aero National Champion Daragh Sheridan has continued his winning ways in the Frostbite Series at Howth, where he hit a top speed of 15.8 knots on Sunday morning. Photo: HYC

In the ILCA 6s, Peter Hasset (Dublin Bay SC) showed his experience and led through the finish line, leaving Daragh Peelo (Malahide) and Tom Fox (Rush) to round out the podium. Tom leads the series but it's all to play for coming into the final week.

In the ILCA 4s, only HYC’s Irish Optimist National Champion Harry Dunne – now racing Lasers - made it to the finish line. Oleksandr Bezpalyi (Obolon SC) leads the series with an impressive 8 points counting after 8 races, unlikely to be caught before the end of the series.

"Seize the day!" Was this the only spinnaker set in Ireland on Sunday? Conor Twohig and Matthew Cotter make the best of the sunshine and a fair wind in their GP14 at Howth on Sunday morning. Photo: @thewrongtrousers14165

In the PYs, Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero (HYC) excelled on the broad reaches of the triangle, hitting a top speed of 15.8 knots. Conor Twohig's GP14 (HYC) couldn't compete with the Aero in those conditions, taking home 2nd place.

The pre-Christmas series of the HYC Dinghy Frostbites concludes next week, although a new series will begin on Sunday, January 7th. A New Year's Day race is also scheduled for 1st Jan, which all are welcome to, entry and details to be published shortly.

Results are available below

Howth Yacht Club is a prestigious sailing club located in North Dublin with a rich history spanning over 125 years. We have a 250-berth marina and a distinctive Clubhouse offering year-round sailing and social activities in an enviable coastal location. HYC is dedicated to promoting sailing, fostering a vibrant community, and providing exceptional experiences on the water.

HYC are seeking a dynamic and passionate Marketing/Sales & Communications Officer to join its team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for developing and executing strategic marketing initiatives to drive membership growth, increase engagement, and promote our club's offerings. Key responsibilities include marketing sailing events, and planning and executing a communication strategy to engage and attract members through social media channels and online.

Key Responsibilities:

• Marketing Campaigns: Create and execute marketing campaigns across various channels (online, offline, social media, etc.) to promote Club events, courses, and membership benefits.
• Content Creation and Upload: Produce engaging content, including but not limited to blog posts, social media updates, newsletters, and promotional materials.
• Sales Strategy: Develop and implement sales plans to attract new members, retain existing members, and increase revenue streams.
• Partnerships and Sponsorships: Identify and forge partnerships with relevant businesses, sponsors, and organizations to enhance Club visibility and offerings.
• Event Coordination: Collaborate with the events team to plan and execute sailing events, open days, and promotional activities.
• Market Research: Conduct market research and competitor analysis to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• Reporting: Prepare regular reports on marketing performance, providing insights and recommendations for optimization, track and reporting on leads, memberships, and engagement levels.

Requirements:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience in marketing, communications, or a similar role is desired
• Strong understanding of sales and marketing principles and techniques
• Proficiency in digital marketing tools and content creation platforms
• Passion for sailing or water sports is a plus

Benefits:

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Flexible working environment with potential to work from home 1-2 days per week
• Coastal location, easily accessible by DART or bus
• Opportunities for professional development and growth within the organization, including mentorship from General Committee representatives
• Access to Club facilities and sailing activities
• A collaborative and supportive work environment within a vibrant sailing community.

Please submit your CV and a cover letter to [email protected]

It is with the deepest regret that we record the death of Brendan Connor of Howth, who was Howth Yacht Club’s most senior member, having joined what was then Howth Motor Yacht Club as a Junior Member in 1947. In time he was to give long service as one of its most highly-regarded voluntary officers, working with calm and quiet efficiency as the Honorary Secretary during the sometimes turbulent years when the club was emerging from its two constituent smaller clubs, to become what was eventually the largest sailing club in Ireland, complete with its own marina complex and a thriving and successful sailing fleet.

He’d shown his maritime enthusiasm by serving as a cadet officer in the Merchant Marine. Then he went into the family business in Dublin, and as computers began to make their mark, he proved an effective pioneer in understanding them and using them to best advantage.

This stood him in good stead when he agreed to be co-ordinator of the Connor-Malcolm-Nixon trio, which produced the award-winning history of Howth Yacht Club for its Centenary in 1995, with Afloat.ie’s W M Nixon producing the words, and the tireless Ian Malcolm of the Howth 17s proving to be a very effective at sourcing the 550 photos used. Thanks to Brennie Connor’s calm yet strong leadership, the book appeared precisely on time for the actual Centenary date of Saturday, November 18th 1995.

His own choices in boat ownership reflected his natural seafaring good sense, which had started with crewing in an IDRA 14. He first came to notice as owner-skipper of the Folkboat Dysca, at a time when the Folkboat Class was a real force in the Irish Sea. As she was the first boat to have been built by the legendary Jeremy Rogers of Lymington, Dysca was one of the most elegant boats in the fleet, but at just 25ft LOA she had her comfort limitations for someone advancing into middle age, so he moved up to the eminently sensible Mark 1 Arpege Leemara.

But Brennie Connor’s sailing interests weren’t restricted to his own boats, and as an experienced cruising nan (he’d been elected to the Irish Cruising Club in 1980) he was a popular guest shipmate on other craft, many of them larger vessels based in the Mediterranean, whose best cruising areas he got to know very well.

Back home, he and his late wife Frankie were parents whose children were married in time to make him both a grandfather and great-grandfather, all of which he took calmly in his classic unflurried style. He brought a beneficial interest to everything in which he was interested, and the Howth sailing scene of today owes much to his quiet and determined sense of purpose, and his unfailing good humour.

Our heartfelt sympathies are with his extended family and his very many friends.

WMN

The 2023 Howth Yacht Club Dinghy Frostbite kicked off with a twist this Sunday, as the race organisers decided to begin the series with a race around Ireland’s Eye. 24 boats hit the start line, with the usual ILCAs involved, as well as a diverse PY fleet involving some of Ireland’s blossoming Melges 15s, in addition to International 14s, a B14, a Mermaid, RS Aero and a RS Feva. Boats travelled from as far as Cork and Galway to take part.

HYC’s Round the Island Race now has the honour of being the first event to race Melges 15s under PY handicap! Harry Gallagher and his team on the committee boat got the fleets away on time on fair courses.

Chris and Rob Bateman’s International 14 from Royal Cork (pictured right) went anti-clockwise around Ireland's Eye in the in the 2023 Howth Yacht Club Dinghy Frostbite on November 5th Photo: Dave Jones

As always, in HYC’s iconic race, the sailors can choose which way to round Ireland’s Eye. After a short beat to windward, the sailors can choose whether to round clockwise or anti-clockwise. After much discussion while rigging and changing, no consensus was reached, and all fleets split at the turning mark and headed in different directions. A westerly breeze and flood tide left many undecided until the turning point came. The race involves many variables, including how close you want to cut certain corners - many a sailor has lost chunks from daggerboards by flying too close to the sun on the rough edges or Ireland’s Eye. This has been curbed in recent years by adding a mandatory rounding mark off the southernmost point of the island, following some ambitious corner-cutting in years gone by.

The PY fleet’s wide variety of entrants made for interesting results. Chris & Rob Bateman’s International 14 went anti-clockwise around the island, which the ILCA fleets found to be the “slow” way around this year. However, the speed of the Batemans’ I14 was enough to let it outpace their competitors, and they took gold with a margin of 1 minute and 19 seconds over the next closest. Mike Evans and Troy Hopkins switched from their usual twin-trapeze RS800 to the new Melges 15, and came in second place. Expect to hear a lot more about Melges 15s in Howth by this time next year! Daragh Sheridan, a frequent winner of PY fleets in his RS Aero, came in third.

ILCA sailor Dave Kirwan crosses the finish line in the 2023 Howth Yacht Club Dinghy Frostbite Ireland's Eye Race on November 5th Photo: Dave Jones

Daragh Sheridan, a frequent winner of PY fleets in his RS Aero, came third in the 2023 Howth Yacht Club Dinghy Frostbite Ireland's Eye Race on November 5th Photo: Dave Jones

In the ILCA 7s, 5 boats rounded the first mark almost side by side - Rory Lynch, Andrejs Samoilovs, Dave Kirwan, Conor Murphy and Colm Cunningham. Rory and Andrejs went clockwise, Dave, Conor and Colm went anti-clockwise. Rory led the rest of the way around, and fresh from success sailing with brother Finn at the Champions Cup in Fenit, he added another 1st place to his results for the year. Andrejs and Dave rounded out the top 3.

The HYC Dinghy Frostbite series will continue until mid-March Photo: Davy Jones

In the ILCA 6s, regular Frostbiter visiting from the RStGYC, Hugh Delap, returned to take first place, followed closely by MYC’s Glenda Gallagher. Viktor Samoilovs rounded out the top three, marking a successful day for the Samoilovs. Oleksandr Bexpaly won the ILCA 4s, and second was HYC’s Charlie Power.

The series in HYC is only getting started - racing for dinghy classes will continue until mid-March. This year marks the 49th year of winter dinghy racing in HYC, and plans are in motion for a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary next year. Entries for all fleets are still open and can be found here. While great weather can’t be promised - great racing outside the harbour, under top-class race officers, and excellent facilities ashore can be.

At High Water Howth early on Saturday morning, it was still dark – very dark – and the roaring breakers in the nor’easterly gale at the tag-end of Storm Babet’s secondary low were sweeping over the East Pier as if it didn’t exist. Yet by daylight, the wind was easing, the sky was clearing, and as the morning got under way, the flags were out to dress the HYC clubhouse overall in the sunshine.

By noon, the first of the topsails were going aloft in the venerable Howth Seventeens as they and a very varied fleet of other boats prepared for the final races of the monday.com HYC Autumn League, whch would also see the final race of the Howth Seventeens’ brilliantly-celebrated season-long 125th Birthday – their Quasquicentennial Anniversary.

The 1907-built Howth 17 Deilignis in fine form at the weekend. In the monday.com Autumn League, she won both her class and the overall title for the clearest win. Photo: Susanne Cruise

As the afternoon went on, despite the wind easing and backing the very efficient two-course-area Race Officers Scorie Walls and Harry Gallagher - under the overall direction of David Lovegrove, all of them alumnae of Sutton Dinghy Club on the other side of the Hill of Howth – managed to get in two races for all classes. They thereby kicked in the second discard provided by six races in a series which has been so plagued by volatile weather that at one stage it looked dicey as to whether or not they’d even manage four in all.

Howth YC Commodore Neil Murphy (celebrating his 70th birthday) with supreme League Champions Jamie and Luke Massey of the Howth 17 Deilginis. It was their father Nick’s rescue of the neglected Deilginis from a forgotten storage shed in Dolphin’s Barn in Dublin in 1972 that started the current upsurge in the 125-year-old Howth 17 class. Photo: Brian Turvey

CELEBRATORY MOOD

The celebratory mood in the clubhouse afterwards is well captured in former HYC Commodore Brian Turvey’s cheerful photos of the prize-winners with Commodore Neil Murphy, himself an active participant in the Puppeteer 22 Class and on something of a permanent high as it was his own significant birthday – marked with an appropriate cake - while Howth are the MG Motor “Sailing Club of the Year 2023”.

The club spirit was further heightened on Saturday night at the prize-giving and post-series dinner with the news that fellow member Eve McMahon was leading the ILCA 6 U21 Worlds in Tangiers, in which she duly took Gold next day, while Howth YC’s most famous exported sailing talent Gordon Maguire had appeared as tactician aboard the red-hot Botin 52 Caro in that morning’s 609-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race start from Malta.

Class 1. Going into the final day, J109 Storm had a two-point lead for the Kelly Family from Rush over First 50 Checkmate XX (Nigel Biggs/Dave Cullen) and J99 Snapshot (Michael & Richard Evans), who were tied for second place. Race one was a windward-leeward with two rounds in a difficult sea state, and wind between 12 and 18 knots from the northwest on a flooding tide.

The J/109 Storm and the J/99 Snapshot battling for the overall Class 1 win, which in the end went to Snapshot on countback. Photo: Harry Gallagher

A slightly premature start from Checkmate XX (Dave Cullen & Nigel Biggs) unfortunately cost them time in returning to re-start, leaving Storm and Snapshot neck and neck at the first mark. Super tight racing gave Snapshot a win by only 3 seconds from 2nd place Storm, closing the gap for the overall lead of the series. The second race was around the cans course which started in quite a lumpy sea state and about 14 knots of wind. First around the top mark was Checkmate XX and by the second mark Ghost Raider and Snapshot were jostling for position. Storm took the best course to the next mark, but Snapshot held on to win by 23 seconds in yet another close battle.

Won on a countback – Class 1 Champions Mike (left) and Richie Evans (right) of the J/99 Snapshot, winners of Class 1 on a countback against Storm. Photo: Brian Turvey

This was enough for the Evans brothers and crew to win the Autumn League through countback on a tied result, while Storm had a solid second for the Kelly family, and third overall went to Checkmate XX.

In HPH, the winner was Nobert Reilly’s J/111 Ghost Raider, followed by Storm and Snapshot. Although racing for this year’s Autumn League was challenged by weather conditions, there was superb and very enjoyable competition in Class 1, and they look look forward to seeing more boats participate next year.

They’ve much to celebrate. Paddy Kyne with his crew from the trophy-sweeping X310 Maximus. Photo; Brian Turvey

Class 2 The final days racing for Class 2 provided the front runner in both IRC and HPH, the X310 Maximus (Paddy Kyne), taking the opportunity to consolidate her lead in both divisions. Maximus won the Windward/Leeward race convincingly with a dominated race win in IRC by over two minutes from 2nd place boat No Excuse (Wormald, Walsh, O'Neill), another X Boat and the last boat owned and raced by the late great Teddy Crosbie of Cork.

MAXIMUS WINS FOR SECOND YEAR

With the Autumn league in both divisions now secured, Maximus could afford to take her foot of the gas for the 2nd race of the day, a challenging round the cans Race in lumpy sea conditions. The X302 Xebec (Bourke, McGirr, Ball) took the IRC race win with No Excuse recording a second and the Half Ton Classic Mata (Wright, De Neve & Sheridan) taking third spot. Once ashore and the results posted, the Maximus team were crowned Class 2 overall winners in IRC for the second year running, second overall went to No Excuse and third to Dux – yet another X boat – campaigned by Caroline & Nico Gore-Grimes. On the HPH Overall, Maximus was there on top again, with No Excuse second and the Corby Impetuous (Noonan & Chambers) third

The mood of the final day is exemplified by this photo of the Howth 17s shaping up for their start – in the foreground is Oona (no 17, Peter Courtney), whose family have been involved in the class since 1907. Photo: Susanne Cruise

Class 3: With the breeze seemingly lighter than the sea state was indicating, all entries bar Kilcullen (HYC K25) were on the water for the final day. For Race One, a pin end bias saw many of the fleet sailing down the line which resulted in a clear start.

By the windward mark the Sigma 33 Insider (Stephen Mullaney) was in first closely followed by the Laser 28 Alliance II (Vincent Gaffney) and Kevin Darmody’s Geccko. This remained the order on the water, but Insider got caught up with the Class 2 boats at the leeward mark, allowing Alliance II to take full advantage to break Insider’s clean sheet with a well-deserved first on IRC, followed by Insider and Gecko.

The Sigma 33 is supposed to rate poorly under the IRC, but this collection of the Class 3 first prize for Stephen Mullaney’s Insider by crewperson Jenny Harris suggests otherwise. Photo: Brian Turvey

JOHN CORBY PERSONALLY JOINS THE FRAY

On HPH it was a first win for Pat & Neil Higginbothom’s new Beneteau First Class 8, Lazy Bones (MYC), whilst second went to anther Malahide boat, the Corby Running Wild (Anton Korshunov). Running Wild was recently refurbished to an extremely high level by her renowned creator John Corby, who was in Dublin on Saturday to sail with Anton.

For Race Two, a round the cans race would bring the season to a close with a bunched start the fleet got away. Insider was first to the windward mark, but behind her the fleet was extremely close, with Alliance II, Gecko, Running Wild and Kahara fighting it out on the first downwind leg.

Alliance II ultimately pulled ahead of the bunch with Running Wild just pipping Kahera (Russell Camier) on the line. On IRC it was Insider first from Alliance II, but Kahera jumped ahead of her sistership Running Wild due to a slightly lower rating. Kahera also took the win on HPH ahead of Running Wild and Alliance II.

Russell Camier from Malahide with Kahera was on top form on the final day. Photo: Brian Turvey

Overall on IRC, Insider won carrying all bullets as they were able to discard the second from Race 5. After a tough time for Alliance II, they were able to jump back up to second overall with their Race 5 win, whilst Gecko finished off the podium in third. On HPH, last year’s winner Kahera had not been in the lead all leading lead all series until winning that last race, thereby taking first overall ahead of Alliance II and Gecko.

Class 4 (non-spinnaker) had the new addition of Splashdance (Andy George & Tom Beckett) and with the 2023 series’ new IRC splits, Toughnut (Dermot Skehan) and Out and About (Terry McCoy) were both in class 4 too. The first race of the day saw, Splashdance start well and led from the front. A good race in 12+ knots ensued. Splashdance crossed first on the water but Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) and Toughnut took the spoils on handicap.

In race 6, Splashdance erred on direction to the Garbh Mark on the penultimate leg and Bite the Bullet overtook her, leading to a final showdown in class 4. Toughnut won Race 6 by two seconds over Bite the Bullet adjusted, which allowed Splashdance the overall IRC and HPH victory on count back with three firsts for Splashdance versus two for Bite the Bullet in IRC.

Splashdance’s win on her debut in Class 4 was a matter for family celelebration. Photo: Brian Turvey

So congrats to Andy George and John Beckett from HYC for taking the Evora Class IV IRC Trophy with Splashdance, and to David Greene with White Pearl from Malahide YC taking the HPH Nissan trophy.

Class 5 (non-spinnaker) only 2 boats competed on IRC Demelza and the new addition to the class 5 fleet Leeuwin (Eamonn Burke & Jay Murray). Unfortunately, Leeuwin didn't get to compete on the last day due to mast damage so with 5 race wins the 1st prize was claimed by Demelza. On HPH first place for Class 5 was awarded to Mary Ellen (O’Byrne & Carty) and second place to the ever present 1971-vintage Swan 37 Bandersnatch (Kyran O’Grady, Wicklow SC), with Jokers Wild taking third for Lorcan Greene & R Flood.

In times past, the Club Shamrock Demelza was a star performer in the ownership of Stafford Mansfield of Cork and then Neville Maguire of Howth. Current veteran co-owner Windsor Lauden is continuing that success at Howth in partnership with Steff Ennis. Photo: Brian Turvey

Puppeteers – Overall winner in this fleet was Trick or Treat owned by the two Alans, Pearson & Blay. They had five top three finishes including thee race wins on scratch. In the HPH fleet, Sarah Robertson and crew won the Snowgoose Trophy which was presented to HYC many years ago by her parents David & Kate Lovegrove. Sarah was sailing her first event of 2023 having been kept ashore until the Autumn league by an injury, but now well rested and back in winning form.

Pushing it. Trick or Treat won the Puppeteer 22s, which are thriving mightily in Howth

The two Alans – Pearson & Blay – in the midst of the crew of all the all-conquering Puppeteer Trick or Treat, with the Commodore and the latest of many prizes. Photo: Brian Turvey

Squib class. Tears in Heaven was the runaway winner in the Squib fleet. Tom McMahon’s Squib, helmed by Jill Sommerville except the final day when Tom’s son Jack TiH delivered a relentless performance in this year's Autumn League bagging a 1st in each race.

Relative newby Tom O’Reilly with Cool Beans is big into the HPH silverware for the Squibs in Howth. Photo: Brian Turvey

Last year's winner, the popular Rob Marshall with Slipstream from Killyleagh YC on Strangford Lough, travelled home with a well-earned second prize. This year’s league saw the slow but steady re-build of the Squibs with eight boats taking part, an increase on last year, and newcomers Ger Loughran & Ross Hathaway (don’t mention the All Blacks), braving their first open event in “3point9” finishing sixth overall.

Howth 17’s. The Golden Oldies had thirteen boats on the start line for the last day of sailing for the 2023 season. It was also the last race of their 125th Anniversary, seen through so well with an imaginatively varied prgramme successfully overseen by Class Captain Dave O’Shea.

Rima Macken collects the gong for Eileen winning the HPH section in the Howth 17s. Photo: Brian Turvey

With winds of 12 knots-plus from the north west, there was a near clean start to the day’s windward/leeward Race 1 Unfortunately No 19 Isobel and No 14 Glady were OCS and had to return. Continuing on from their success last week, No 11 Deilginis (Skipper Luke Massey) crossed the l first with No 17 Oona (Skipper Peter Courtney) in second, with a battle for third between No 21 Orla and No 9 Hera, but as they came to the line, Hera (Skipper Michael Duffy) went ahead and crossed 11 seconds ahead of Orla .

The sheer joy of it – the Howth 17s starting a race on the final day of competition in their Quasquicentennial Year. Photo; Suannne Cruise

Race 2 around the cans saw No 19 Isobel (Skipper Conor Turvey ) taking an early lead to be first around the Windward mark and again first around the Cush and Island marks. But positions changed on the long beat up to the Portmarnock - Isobel sailed into a hole in the wind and No 20 Sheila (the 2023 National Championship winner) seemed to take the lead.

However, that didn't last as No 9 Hera found their own private wind supply by sticking to the Eastern side of the beat to take lead position as she approached the Portmarnock Mark. With the wind continuing to ease, Race Officer Scorie Walls had already signalled Shortened Course as the fleet cleared the Island Mark, so No 9 Hera (Skipper Michael Duffy) crossed the finish line first followed 45 seconds later by No 20 Sheila (Skipper David Mulligan ) while third boat across the line was Isobel (Skipper Conor Turvey) .

The 1898-built Hera (Michael & Jane Duffy) was winner of the last race of the Hwth 17’s 125th Anniversary Year

Team Competition

Interest in the Howth Autumn League is heightened by an inter-team series with three-boat teams selected from three different classes, but those interested have to be on the ball beforehand if they want to get the two partner boats that they prefer. So just four teams were ready to go as the series starts, and the top team never changed throughout the whole event, with the squad called and “Stormed Inside Erica” made up of Storm (Pat Kelly, second overall in Class 1), Insider (Stephen Mullaney, first overall in Class 3) and Erica (Davyd Nixon, second overall in Howth 17’s staying as clear team winners.

Overall Winner of the monday.com 2023 Autumn League was Deilginis – Howth 17 No 11, built 1907 in Portrush by James Kelly - with an 8 point winning margin in one of the best supported classes.

BRASS MONKEY SERIES

With the Autumn League all wrapped up, the Brass Monkey Series starts on the 5th November, running for 5 Sundays and last day on Saturday 9th December, Pat Connolly hopes to see many more boats out, it can be some of the most inclement weather of the year but always great racing and craic afterwards.

The Howth dinghy frostbites will also be under way to help the winter sailing carry through to April 2024, when Howth Yacht Club will be looking at beginning the Golden Jubilee Celenrations of fifty years of a continuous sailing programme, as the tradition Opening Day of April 1974 morphed in late Autumn into the first Laser Winter League

Meanwhile, a big thank you to Gary Cullen for bringing sponsorship from Monday.com, which all Autumn League participants very much appreciate.

Detail Results here

The final Irish regional event of the year for the RS Aero class is coming up in Howth Yacht Club on the 28th and 29th of October!

The Aeros in Ireland have been going from strength to strength over the last number of years, with over 25 boats competing in the regional events and 14 boats in Dun Laoghaire, the class continues to attract a wide variety of competitive sailors of all ages across Ireland.

The addition of the ‘6’ rig last year has bridged the gap often found in the boat as the 5 rig was deemed underwhelming for some sailors while the 7 rig was too powerful in the strong winter winds. The 6 rig has been adopted by male and female sailors and is giving the class another option to appeal to an even wider variety of sailors.

This last event for the season is the home event for some of the class's most competitive sailors, Daragh Sheridan and Paul McMahon who have found considerable success in the class both at home and on the international stage.

This last RS Aero event in Howth for the season is the home event for some of the class's most competitive sailors

The entry list also includes some of the RS works team sailors, including Noah Rees who while working for RS 9-5 is also usually found at the pointy end of the fleet in both the RS Aero and 21 classes!

Kenny Rumball of MarineServices.ie the Irish agent for the entire RS range in Ireland who is always keen to see the class grow, has charter boats available for those wishing to dip their toe in the class and see what all the fuss is about. There will be a training session on the Friday evening for the entire class to ensure all the cobwebs are well and truly gone before heading racing on the Saturday morning.

For more information on chartering a boat or a demo sail, interested individuals can contact Kenneth at [email protected].

More information about the championship, including registration and event details here

The penultimate monday.com-sponsored Autumn League race-day at Howth on Saturday experienced a brisk and mostly sunny west to nor’west wind of 15 to 20 knots, with two Windward/Leeward races smoothly run by the race officer Derek Bothwell in the offshore fleet, and Scorie Walls supervising the inshores.

In a series which has experienced two weekends of frustration, this brought the number of races completed up to four, and with the discard kicking in it made for some significant changes in the overall leaderboards. These were also affected by the fact that some key crews were away in Paris for the rugby, while others were in Dromineer for the Keelboat Freshwater Regatta on Lough Derg.

In Class 1, the fleet started Race One in a 20-knot westerly breeze with Checkmate XX and Indian both over, and having to return and recross the line. At the top mark, Ghost Raider was first around followed by Snapshot for a run to the bottom mark while dodging the starting boats from following classes. Snapshot broached and made a less-than-perfect rounding, allowing Storm to pass and eventually go on to win the race, with Ghost Raider finishing second.

Race Two was a clear start in 20 knots once more, and was a close battle with Snapshot taking first position followed by Storm and Ghost Raider. Indian had a consistent two fourth positions and Checkmate had a retiral due to spinnaker issues.

Class 2 - Race one started in a gusty North Westerly with a strong ebb tide running. All boats elected to hoist Number 3 Headsails except Maximus, who chose to go with a bigger headsail - the correct choice as Maximus rounded the weather mark in first place and kept her lead to the finish, scoring a firsts on IRC and HPH. Dux recorded a second on IRC with Impetuous holding on to take thirrd.

Race two saw Dux lead the fleet from the start recording her first “Gun” of the series. Maximus kept her composure to finish in second on IRC with Impetuous (having changed up to a Number 1 headsail, battling on for the third slot on the IRC Podium. Maximus now holds a lead overall in IRC on 5 points, with Dux and Impetuous both on 7 points. Maximus also holds the overall HPH on 4 points with Impetuous on 7 points and No Excuse on 8 points. All to play for on October 21st in the Class 2 Fleet.

Deilginis – seen here heading at speed for the Fastnet Rock during the Howth 17s’ 125th Anniversary Cruise-in-Company to West Cork at the end of June – now leads the class overall. Photo Howth 17 Association

In Class 3 Race 1 for the day saw a large shift in the breeze prior to the start leaving the beat one sided to benefit boats that started at the committee end. It was also the first week of racing for Howth’s K25 team with Kilcullen, and they pushed hard in the breezy conditions. IRC was won by Insider (Stephen Mullaney) with Kilcullen (HYC K25) second and Gecko (Kevin Darmody) third.

On HPH, Kilcullen were first from Malahide Yacht Clubs Shenanigans (Lee Douglas & Aidan Keane) and Insider in third. The breeze remained for Race 2, with IRC producing the same results as Race 1, with Insider first, Kilcullen second and Gecko third. Again on HPH, Kilcullen were first from last year’s HPH winner Kahara (Russell Camier) and Insider third.

Overall, Insider leads with 4 wins on IRC and Gecko leads on HPH with Malahide’s Kahera only two points behind.

Non Spinnaker classes – Splashdance continued their unbeaten record with four first places to lead class 4 on IRC. In the HPH fleet, Changeling & Splashdance are on equal points on HPH going into the last week. Class 5 on HPH is being led by Mary Ellen who has shown consistent performance followed by Demelza and then Bandersnatch going into the last week of racing.

Puppeteers - Trick or Treat with two race wins on Saturday is leading the Puppeteer fleet from the next two boats in joint second place. Commodore Neil Murphy in Yellow Peril is tied on 7 points with Ian Dickson in WeyHey. In the HPH fleet Ghosty Ned (Donal Harkin) and Snow Goose (Sarah Robertson) are tied going into next Saturday’s last day of racing.

Howth YC Commodore Neil Murphy’s crew preparing for the turn aboard the Puppeteer 22 Yellow Peril in Saturday’s distinctly Autumnal breeze. Photo: HYC

This week there were no Squibs on the starting line as most of the Squib class decamped to Dromineer for the Open Freshwater Keel Boat regatta.

Howth 17s The last Class to start on the inshore course were the Howth 17’s. Although 11 crews went out on the launch to prepare to race, given the wind speed and gusts 3 crews returned to shore and so they had eight boats on the start line. With winds of up to 20 knots from the north west there was a clean start to race 1 of the day. No. 11 Deilginis (Skipper Luke Massey) crossed the line first with No. 3 Leila (Skipper Roddy Cooper) taking second place with a battle for third position between No. 18 Erica and No. 17 Oona -however as they came up to the line Erica (Skipper David Nixon) went ahead and crossed the line 23 seconds ahead of Oona.

The second race Started - No 11 Deilginis and No 18 Erica reached the 1st windward mark a good 4 minutes before the next boats arrived - and that is how it stayed, a battle between the two for the rest of the race with No 11 Deilginis taking 1st place and Erica second - No 16 Eileen (Skipper Rima Macken) managed to secure third place finish on the final beat onto the line - All boats returned home to port with no damage reported

Team Competition: Provisional results shows no change in the leaders of the team prize. The leading TEAM is “Stormed Inside Erica” made up of Storm in Class 1, Insider in Class 3 and Erica in Howth 17s. Second are the Snappers (Yellow Peril, Dux and Snapshot ) and then DO-Not-Touch ( Deilginis, Toughnut, Trick or treat). Team results are published near the entry portal rather than in the normal results section.

Everyone is looking forward to an exciting finish next week followed by Prizegiving, dinner, the match and DJ & dancing.

Jill Sommerville

Results Here: https://hyc.ie/results