With chilly conditions and a building easterly breeze very accurately forecast, the penultimate Sunday of the post-Christmas series of the HYC Dinghy Frostbites kicked off at the weekend to fight it out for the remaining races, and build on any late attempts to climb the leaderboard writes Conor Murphy.

Race Officer Neil Murphy and team set two Olympic courses, and despite a general recall for the ILCAs due to the tide pushing them across the line, the rest of the starts got away cleanly. With wind against tide, and both increasing, the sea state got lumpy and challenging as time went on.

Spinnakers have more fun…..Sam Street (Blessington) and Conor Twohig (Sutton) in their GP14s

CONSISTENT O’CONNELL

The ILCA 7s saw consistency in Dan O'Connell from Cove of Cork leading each lap of each race, despite pressure from the host club’s Conor Murphy and Colm Cunningham. O'Connell took first in both races, as did Murphy with second, while Colm Cunningham took third in Race 1, and Andrejs Samoilovs took third in race 2, a strong showing for the Malahide contingent.

Looking like a winner – Dan O’Connell notched two bullets for the Rebel County

Rory Lynch of Baltimore on 13 still leads the series, although his absence has shortened the gap to second place Conor Murphy (16) and Dan O'Connell (20). With one more weekend scheduled, anything could happen at the top of the ILCA 7 leaderboard.

Conor Murphy of the host club took two seconds on a busy morning

The ILCA 6s saw a new race winner in Dave Kirwan of Malahide – usually an ILCA 7 sailor, he dropped to the ILCA 6 fleet, and came away with two race wins. He also finished fourth on the water overall in the combined ILCA fleet in both of the races, showing remarkable speed against the ILCA 7s despite the smaller rig.

Dave Sheridan made a shrewd choice in a scale-down to the ILCA6

By scaling down to the ILCA 6, Malahide’s Dave Kirwan won twice – and was ahead on the water of some ILCA7s while he was at it
Ciara McMahon and Viktor Samoilovs took 2nd in a race each, while Glenda Gallagher took 3rd in each. Tom Fox (Rush) still leads the series on 13 points, with Samoilov (22) and McMahon (28) filling out the rest of the podium spots.

The ILCA 4s had remarkable consistency in their results for both races. Current Irish Optimist National Champion Harry Dunne (Howth) continued his successful transition to ILCAs by winning, followed by Stan O'Rourke, Oleksandr Bezpalyi and Charlie Power in both races.

TOP COACHES REAP REWARDS

Their coaching from Luke Turvey and Rocco Wright is still paying dividends, as the ILCA 4s featured in the first batch of sailors around the top mark, demonstrating great starts and first beat speed & tactics. Overall, O'Rourke (14) leads Bezpalyi (18) and Power (29) heading into the final weekend.

Daragh Sheridan was Aero and overall dominator in PY, and will be the man to beat in the enlarged Aero fleet at the Island Race on 9th March

The PY Fleet saw Daragh Sheridan continue his run of form, making it five firsts in a row after winning both races. The triangular courses with fast reaches benefitted the light planing RS Aero, enabling Sheridan to win by nearly 2 minutes on corrected time in one of the races.

The GP14s of Alan Blay and Conor Twohig swapped 2nd and 3rd in each race. Despite winning one of the races by over 3 minutes on the water, the fierce handicap on Jeremy Beshoff's B14 unfortunately meant they didn't feature on the podium. Sheridan (11) leads the series, followed by Alan Blay (16) and Sam Street (26).

It’s a blast….Conor Twohig’s GP14 making the best of the rising wind and steepening sea

RS AEROS AMONG THOSE TARGETING ISLAND RACE ON SATURDAY MARCH 9th

One weekend of the regular Sunday series remains, after which all focus shifts to the Round the Island Race on Saturday, 9th March. This iconic race marks the end of the winter season in HYC, and all dinghies with a PY handicap are welcome to take part. With a strong RS Aero entry already, it's shaping up to be a great event. Details and entry are available on www.hyc.ie.

Full results for the Dinghy Frostbites are available below

Spring was very much in the air - for the time being anyway - as the intriguing selection of boats in a growing fleet took to the water in glorious sunshine in the HYC Dinghy Frostbites on Sunday, with the
prospect of a good morning's racing and leaderboard consolidation top of the agenda.

Race officer Liam Dineen planned for three races: two windward-leewards followed by one all triangles. As the breeze sparked up in Race 2, the support RIB cover was put to work, aiding some unfortunate capsizes on
the runs, so the decision was confirmed to send competitors on a more stable triangular course to close out the day. The breeze was from the west, sharpened with a building flood tide in the sound to push some sailors over the start line.

Out on his own. Daragh Sheridan, with the RS Aero 6, regained his overall lead in the PY division. Photo: HYC

The PY Fleet turned out in growing strength, with 17 sailors across 9 boat types. Daragh Sheridan (Howth) undoubtedly came away as the winner of the day with race victories in his RS Aero 6, while the GP14s of Sam
Street (Blessington), Alan Blay (Sutton) and Conor Twohig (Sutton) took the remaining podium places for the first two races.

In Race 3, HYC's Fiachra and Cormac Farrelly stormed onto the podium in their "John the Baptist" Melges 15, taking their first third place of the year in HYC's latest doublehanded class, which should be present in strength when the next series comes around. Sheridan regains the lead on the series overall with 12 points, followed closely by Alan Blay on 14, with Sam Street on 30.

Alan Blay's GP14 is two points off the overall lead in the PY Division. Photo: HYC

BALTIMORE LEADS ILCA 7s

The ILCA 7s had 10 boats on the water, and Rory Lynch of Baltimore showed why he continues to lead the series with a 2, 1, 1 across the races. Race 1 saw an individual recall for Dave Kirwan and Conor Murphy,
who returned and then had to fight their way through the packed fleet. Dan O'Connell (Cove of Cork) stormed into the lead, followed by Lynch and Colm Cunningham (Howh). Race 2 saw another individual recall, this time for Rory Lynch, who fought hard and tenaciously made his way through the fleet, regaining the lead by the end of the six leg race, followed by a photo finish between Murphy and O'Connell. The shift to a triangular course didn't slow Lynch down, and he was joined on the podium by Cunningham and Kirwan, making the most of the fast reaches. Lynch extends his lead on the series (11), followed by Murphy (16) and
O'Connell (22).

Cork's Dave O'Connell with it nicely in hand for the time being on Conor Murphy (Howth) and Dave Kirwan (Malahide) Photo: HYC

The ILCA 6s were flying once again, in the mix with the ILCA 7s for much of the racing across the day. Ciara McMahon started the day strong with a win in Race 1, followed by Tom Fox (Rush) and Viktor Samoilov. Tom Fox then went on to win the remaining 2 races, followed by McMahon & Peter Hassett in Race 2, then Hassett and Samoilov in Race 3. Fox extends his lead on the series counting just 10 points, with Hassett (18) and Samoilov (21) not far behind. The ILCA 4s saw Oleksandr Bezpalyi take the win over Charlie Power in each of the races, bringing Bezpalyi to the top of the leaderboard.

INCREASING FOCUS ON ISLAND RACE IN MARCH

With two Sundays remaining in the regular Frostbite series, attention will soon shift to the annual Round the Island Race Every-which-way on Saturday, 9th March. With plenty of prizes up for grabs, it's sure to be
a great day on the water followed by a memorable lunch and prizegiving, so be sure to get signed up. Entry is available on www.hyc.ie. Series results are available here.

Spring was very definitely in the air off Howth on Sunday, but there might be a brief return of winter in a day or two. Photo: HYC

Although some five day forecasts had made any resumption of Howth’s Frostbites seem unlikely, a sudden change of tone and a very welcome weather window arrived over the weekend. After a three-week enforced break, when each named storm had seemed to run into the one ahead while pulling along the one behind, the HYC Dinghy Frostbites resumed regular service on Sunday, 11th February.

With those three weekends missed, the race organisers aimed to complete three races to get the show back on the road. 24 boats across the ILCA and PY fleets hit the water, where they raced in a westerly breeze up to 20 knots, with a strong ebb tide for the sailors to fight against as they headed upwind. Jim Lambkin set fair windward/leeward courses for each of the races.

Darragh Peelo of Malahide in windward action. Despite pessimistic forecasts at mid-week, the weekend weather came good

BALTIMORE, CORK AND HOWTH BATTLE FOR HONOURS

The ILCA 7s saw series leader Rory Lynch (Baltimore) battling with Dan O'Connell (Cove SC) and Conor Murphy (Howth) for podium places in the first two races, with Conor taking a win in the first and Rory taking it in the second. The 3rd race saw a strengthening tide pushing everyone down onto the pin, and an individual recall was signalled, so a number of boats returned to restart.

And why shouldn’t he be smiling? After three close contests on the morning, Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC emerged from Sunday’s racing as the overall leader of the ILCA 7s

Conor Murphy didn't return, either being confident he was not OCS or - with a number of his competitors returning to restart – hoping he’d an opportunity to gain some distance on them. He called it right to lead the race, followed by Colm Cunningham (Malahide) and Rory Lynch to round out the podium. Lynch now leads the series overall on 9 points, followed by Murphy (10) and O'Connell (18).

Conor Murphy (Howth) chasing Dan O’Connell (Cove SC) as the February sunshine reached its peak

The afternoon cloud starts building over the land to close the weather window, but with their racing still in sunshine, Dan O’Connell (Cove) leads Darragh Peelo (Malahide)

ILCA 6 SYMMETRY

The ILCA 6s' results showed some symmetry, as results were the same in the first 2 races, with Tom Fox (Rush SC) followed by Peter Hassett (Dublin Bay SC and Viktor Samoilovs (Howth & Malahide). Their pace was undeniable, making inroads into the usually faster ILCA 7 fleet. The 3rd race saw a shake up in the results, with Peter Hassett claiming victory, followed by Tom and Darragh Peelo. Fox leads the series on 9 points, followed by Samoilovs (15) & Hassett (20).

TRAINING BENEFITS A DUNNE DEAL

The ILCA 4s were on the water early, with many of them taking part in the preliminary training session led by national stars Luke Turvey & Rocco Wright. Harry Dunne seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the training, coming away from the day with a 2, 1, 1. Stan O'Rourke had a great day, following closely with a 1, 2, 2. Oleksandr Bezpalyi and Freddie Doig claimed the remaining podium places for the day. O'Rourke has a healthy lead on the series with 8 points, followed by Oleksandr Bezpalyi (20) and Connor O'Sullivan (24).

A time to stay cool. Alan Blay does the balancing act as his spinnaker-toting GP14 closes in on the lee mark just as a 20-knot gust arrives

The battle between GP14s and RS Aeros continues to rage in the PY Fleet. Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero, and the GP14s of Conor Twohig & Alan Blay(both of Sutton) each had a race win in the hard day. Sam Street's GP14 from the mountains of Blessington rounded out the podium places among the race winners listed, such that Alan Blay holds a narrow lead on the series over Daragh Sheridan, followed by Sam Street in third place.

Coming up from the lee mark, Darragh Sheridan with his RS Aero keeps a brace of GP 14s firmly in place

The annual Round the Island Race will take place on Saturday 9th March, followed by an afternoon of prizes, lunch and rugby on the TV in the HYC clubhouse. It's always a great day, entry and NOR will be available on www.hyc.ie shortly.

Full results are available below.

The Annual “frostbite finishing” race round Howth’s island of Ireland’s Eye is scheduled for Saturday March 9th. The traditional event’s USP is that each skipper can choose to go clockwise or anti-clockwise

Howth Yacht Club is set to host the biennial Wave Regatta in May 2024, inviting sailing enthusiasts from Ireland and beyond to compete in a showcase keelboat-racing event.

The three-day regatta welcomes all cruiser-racing class boats competing under current IRC and ECHO handicap ratings, providing an opportunity for seasoned sailors and rising stars to test their mettle against the best competition in Ireland.

As Wave Regatta organiser Brian Turvey told Saturday's ICRA cruiser-racer Conference at Dun Laoghaire, for those who prefer a Saturday-only event, the famous Lambay Races promise exhilarating action on the water and the unique and serene backdrop of Lambay Island. One-design keelboats will join the fray, ensuring a diverse and competitive fleet.

Wave Regatta's prestigious trophy

But Wave Regatta isn’t just about keelboat racing; it’s a celebration of all things nautical during the event weekend. There will be opportunities for anyone not competing in the main regatta to learn to stand-up-paddleboard, wing-foil and cheer on rowing competitors as they battle it out on the shore.

The event promises to deliver a legendary three-day party, with an outdoor festival bar serving refreshing drinks and party cocktails, a catering village providing delectable bites all-day, and non-stop music from top bands and DJs, including the incomparable Mark Covell and Howth’s own Vogue Williams.

Party time. Wave Regatta features live performances: Non-stop music to the beat of top bands like Riff Shop and top DJs, including the incomparable Mark Covell and Howth’s own Vogue Williams, spinning tunes that bridge continents

Online entry is now open at waveregatta.com, with an early entry discount available, but act swiftly, as time moves fast! 

Wave Regatta is organised by Howth Yacht Club, one of Ireland’s largest and most famous sailing clubs. Since its inception in 2018, Wave Regatta has become a highlight of the Irish sailing calendar, attracting sailors, spectators, and thrill-seekers from Ireland and around the world.

In recent years, the large and varied membership of Howth Yacht Club have seen so many major anniversaries come and go – after proper programmes of lively celebration afloat and ashore – that casual observers might expect an element of festival fatigue to be creeping in.

Not a bit of it. Last year may have seen the 125th Anniversary of the unique Howth 17 One Designs, with the highlight being a boisterous Cruise-in-Company to some of the choicest destinations in West Cork. But this year it’s the turn of the ultimate Sailing Secret Society to celebrate forty years as a recognised club class at the peninsular port, which they naturally insist we recognise as being in East Fingal rather than the usual off-hand designation of North Dublin.

For in sailing, there are secret societies, there are top secret societies, there’s the Forbidden City, and then there are the Howth Puppeteer 22s. These manageable little boats-with-a-lid may have originated with designer-builder Chris Boyd of Killyleagh in Strangford Lough in the 1970s. But by 1984 enough of them had found the sailing and racing waters off Howth to be so congenial to their needs and capabilities that the class has just grown and grown, until nowadays most of the Puppeteer 22s in active existence are with this one class in this one location.

Trick or Teat (Alan Pearson & Alan Blay) will be defending her Puppeteer 22 National Champion status during 2024

A WORLD OF THEIR OWN

And they seldom interact by going anywhere else, for Howth’s sailing area with its two islands of Ireland’s Eye and Lambay is its own maritime universe. But the outside world was given a glimpse into this mini-universe recently with the Puppeteer 22 Annual Dinner and Prize-giving in the HYC clubhouse. It behoves us to publish the official report in its entirety, with the observation that despite being One Design, like the Howth 17s the Puppeteer 22s diligently maintain a parallel handicap division.

BIGGEST KEELBOAT OD CLASS AT HOWTH

“The Dinner marked the start of the celebrations for the fleet’s 40th year as a standalone Class at Howth Yacht Club. During that time the Club’s fleet has grown from its initial four boats to being the biggest one design keelboat fleet at Howth, or indeed any Irish club. The first four were Snowgoose, Sanderling, Gannet and Ibis, three of them still in the same families, and they are still among the fastest in the fleet. It now counts 32 boats afloat with four more in HYC, currently either resting ashore or undergoing refurbs.

Made for each other…..Puppeteer 22s with Ireland’s Eye beyond. Photo: HYC

2023 saw two additions to the fleet, Ms Emma (B Mohan) making a long journey by road from northern parts, while Pinocchio (J McMahon) made a relatively short but incident packed voyage from its previous abode in Malahide.

EACH BOAT TABULATED

A programme of birthday celebrations is planned for 2024 and the awards night saw it get underway when each boat was presented with an encapsulated sheet featuring a photograph of the boat sailing, and a list of its ownership history and record of successes. Gerry Sargent is ‘Mr Puppeteer’ in Howth YC and his records of each of the 54 boats, which were built in Northern Ireland to Chris Boyd’s design, is an invaluable archive of the history of a unique 32 county story of sailing success. Mary McDyer and Olibhe Ní Bhraonain are sharing the party planning, and the awards night was a fantastic start to the celebrations.

Twenty-four boats took part in Club racing in 2023 and, with 18 afloat on a number of the evenings, competition was keen. The three series over the summer and the short end of season Mini-Series were dominated by Yellow Peril (Murphy/Costello) and Trick or Treat (Pearson/Blay). In the scratch series, each enjoyed two wins and two runner-up positions while, in the handicap events, the four wins went to Odyssey (P&R Byrne), No Strings (T. Harvey) and Gannet (T. Chillingworth) with Blue Velvet (G. Kennedy) and Papagena (K&B Barker) getting on the prize winners’ list as runner-ups. The two Saturday Series were won by Odyssey and by WeyHey (I. Dickson).

Always there or thereabouts – Yellow Peril (Neil Murphy& Con Costello) finished last season on a high. Photo: W M Nixon

The undoubted star performer of 2023 was Trick or Treat which, apart from its share of success in Club racing, won the Lambay Races, National Championship and Autumn League to take a clean sweep of the three major Class events of the year. Outgoing Class Captain Paul McMahon thanked the sailors for supporting the Class and Club racing and congratulated the prizewinners. Club racing starts again on April 23rd and competition promises to be fierce with both newcomers and increasingly quick old-timers determined to challenge the 2023 dominance of Trick or Treat.

With plenty of other Puppeteer 22s still racing, particularly in Northern Ireland, the Howth fleet looks forward to welcoming their Classmates this summer to share the celebrations and sample the racing area that so well suits these beautiful and long-lived boats”.

Celebrations in Argentina on Friday night for Howth Yacht Club's Sienna Wright (15) were well earned as she added to her ILCA 6 medal haul with a silver medal – and the under 17 title, too – on the final day of racing at the 2024 class Youth's Women Fleet of the World Championships at Yacht Club Argentino.

After 12 races sailed and one discard, the Irish youth world bronze medalist had an eight-point margin in the 31-boat fleet to claim the silver prize and, as Afloat reported previously, held second overall going into the final rounds.

Barely a month after taking to the podium at the Youth World Sailing Championships, Ireland's Sienna Wright has won the Under 17 world title as well as the overall silver medal in her ILCA6 class this weekend (Buenos Aires, Argentina Friday 19th January 2024). Photo:  Matias Capizano

On the sixth and final day of the championship, the last races were held with a south wind of approximately 8 to 12 knots.

Italian Maria Vittoria Arseni became the overall champion after sailing consistently well all week. The third-place award went to Italian Ginevra Caracciolo.

The 15-year-old Dubliner included three race wins in her tally (including a standout performance on a penultimate day by winning the first race of the day), but discarding a retiral from race six, so on 25 points, Arseni ended up some 12 points clear at the top.

The Howth sailor delivered a highly consistent 12-race series across the wind range in which she took three bullets and featured in the top six leading boats for most of the event Photo:  Matias Capizano

Scroll down the results for the girl's division results below.

More than thirty boats hit the water for Week 2 of the post-Christmas Howth YC Dinghy Frostbite series on Sunday morning writes Conor Murphy, when they were met with perfect breezes of 10 knots with some gusts and lulls either side of it, combined with bright sunny skies and a fun-seeking tide switching direction halfway through the day's racing. Race Officer Ronan McDonnell of HYC got the racing underway on time, sending all fleets around windward-leeward courses for both races.

That said, the first attempt at an ILCA start fell foul to a general recall, thanks to both over-eager ILCAs in their growing fleet, and the initial flood tide pushing everyone over the start line. A U flag for subsequent ILCA starts ensured all were much better behaved.

With 2024 being their Golden Jubilee Year at Howth, it is expected the ILCA/Laser fleet will continue to increase

A museum of Dinghy Racing – GP 14 leader Alan Blay (Howth/Sutton) battling it out with Ryan Cairns (Clontarf) in the 1946 & 1938-originating IDRA 14

The ILCA 7s had 10 sailors on the water, and competition was fierce all across the fleet, with every spot hard fought for. Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC took an early lead in Race 1 and maintained it around the 3 laps, however the remaining 2nd-6th place spots swapped hands multiple times throughout the 40 minute race.

The ILCA in its various forms continues to be the most numerous boat-type – Stan O’Rourke (left, of Malahide) showed why he leads the 4.7s by being up with clubmate Alex Deasy in his ILCA 6

Conor Murphy (Howth) ultimately claimed 2nd, while Daragh Kelleher (Skerries) just pipped Dan O'Connell (Monkstown Bay) to take 3rd on the finish line. In Race 2, Dan O'Connell (sporting an interesting video rig on his transom) led from the first windward mark and extended his lead from there, followed by Rory Lynch and Conor Murphy. Rory Lynch leads the fleet in the series, but with 14 more races scheduled and the fleet growing, the leaderboards will no doubt see many changes before the end.

Carla Fegan (Howth) racing in the ILCA6 class

PY FLEET A MARITIME MUSEUM OF DINGHY RACING

The eclectic PY fleet saw yet another new addition this week in the form of the blue-sailed Enterprise, sailed by Kay Cornally of HYC. GP14s continue to dominate the podium places of the PY fleet, claiming 2 of 3 spots in each race. In Race 1, however, Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero of the home fleet claimed victory, closely followed by Sam Street's GP14 down from the Wicklow mountains at Blessington, and in third came Matthew Cotter of Sutton DC, helming The Wrong Trousers after taking a stepping backwards in the boat, as he’s usually crews for Conor Twohig.

Once upon a time, many of us raced Enterprise dinghies. Kay Cornally of Howth keeps the torch aloft, albeit in a glassfibre version

Continuing GP14 ding-dong between Sam Street of Blessington (left) and Matthew Cotter of Sutton

In Race 2, the GP14s made their way to the front of the fleet, with HYC & Sutton's Alan Blay taking first, followed by the consistent Sam Street, and then Daragh Sheridan. The fleet continues to have a variety of other boats including B14, Melges 15 and IDRA 14 - time will tell which boat and sailors will master the variety of conditions that the series will throw at them over the nine week series, but currently Alan Blay & Hugh McNally's GP14 of Sutton & Howth leads the fleet with 3 points after counting 3 races.

Charlie Robertson’s RS Feva against the classic background of Ireland Eye in its winter coat

The ILCA 6s had a strong turnout, with eight boats on the water. Viktor Samoilovs (Malahide & Howth 1, 3), Tom Fox (Rush SC, 3,1) and Peter Hassett (Dublin Bay SC:2, 2) were the podium finishers in the two races, but each spot was closely ought for, with Ciara McMahon and Darragh Peelo fighting every inch of the way.

Tom Fox leads the fleet by one point over Viktor Samoilovs. In the ILCA 4s, Stan O'Rourke (Malahide & Howth) continued his run of form with back to back wins, followed by Connor O'Sullivan and Charlie Power in that order in each race. Stan leads the series with 3 points from 3 races counted.

How’s the local economy? Try counting the active tower cranes. Jeremy Beshoff and Declan McManus in the B14 speeding towards the re-development of Howth’s old Techrete site to become the new up-market Claremont Apartments

Full results are available below, there are 7 weekends left in the series, followed by the annual Round the Island Race and prize-giving lunch in March 9th.

BRASS MONKEYS

The Cruiser-Racers, having poked their noses out into the ocean on New Year’s Day, are taking most of January off in order to allow their very varied personnel the time to go ski-ing or head down to South Africa to check out their vineyards and diamond mines, nevertheless we’re assured they’ll be resuming their Brass Monkeys series on January 28th to continue until March 2nd, and the entry list is still open.

The post-Christmas series of Howth YC's ever-expanding Dinghy Frostbites began on Sunday, 7th January, under light but bright conditions to kick off everyone's year. With the very celebratory Achievers Awards party in the clubhouse the night before, not all who had entered for the nine weekends appeared on this first sunny but decidedly crisp and sometimes rainbow-blessed January morning, as some absences were also away ski-ing - piste and off-piste, as you might say.

Nevertheless, 23 boats made it out to the start line, where the race management team, led by Liam Dineen, sent the fleets out on a windward leeward course for both races. Light winds of 3-6 knots, shifting between 210-260 degrees made for some snakes and ladders around the course, with the added challenge of an ebb tide coming against and across the fleet as they made their way upwind. Both races were shortened to two laps instead of the usual 3.

It was “as you were” with the ILCA 7s, with Rory Lynch of Baltimore leading from Conor Murphy of Howth and Tom Fox (ILCA 6) of Rush third

In the ILCA 7s, Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC continued his winning ways following a pre-Christmas series win, and took 1st in the first race of the day, unchallenged after a great start and first beat. Dave Kirwan (Malahide) fought his way through the pack on the second upwind to claim second, while fellow MYC sailor Colm Cunningham took third.

In the Race 2 of the day, Conor Murphy of the host club led the fleet for the first lap, but Rory Lynch didn't take it lying down, and slowly but surely closed the gap over the following lap. While the two used to race together in UCD team racing, on Sunday they were trading blows with each other around the final few hundred metres of the course, with Murphy just about sneaking the win. Dan O'Connell of Cove SC took third.

“I am their leader, which way did they go?” Alan Blay (Sutton) in his GP14 in the PY Fleet and Viktor Samoilov (Malahide & Howth) in the ILCA 6s aiming at different targets

TIGHT LEADERBOARD IN ILCA 6s

The ILCA 6s see a packed leaderboard after the first 2 races, with 4 sailors on equal points in the form of Tom Fox (Rush SC) Ciara McMahon (Howth), Darragh Peelo (Malahide) and Viktor Samoilov (Malahide). With more entrants set to return in weeks to come, it will be all to play for as the fleet expands and the discards kick in.

In the ILCA 4s, Stan O'Rourke and Oleksandr Bezpalyi traded first and second in each race, and Conor O'Sullivan took 3rd in both. Stan leads the fleet on countback. The junior ILCA 4 and 6 sailors are continuing to benefit from frequent training led by the HYC coaches of Luke Turvey and Rocco Wright.

PY FLEET DIVERSITY

The PY class continues to show its diversity, with an IDRA 14 entered by Ryan Cairns of Clontarf joining the fleet for this series. An Enterprise dinghy has also entered and will be on the water in the weeks to come, so with a B14 and at least one Melges 15 in the fleet along with the GP14s, it will be like a living history of two-person dinghy racing.

Two-boat Champion. Alan Blay of Sutton & Howth is current Puppeteer 22 National Championship, and he has taken a title or three in the GP 14s, seen here crewed by Hugh McNally on is way to success on Sunday

While Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero is a frequent race winner in the PY fleet, he had to settle for a second and a third in the day's racing, as the light weather, windward-leeward racing didn't suit him as much as it did the symmetrical GP14 and IDRA 14.

Alan Blay and Hugh McNally in their GP14 made their return to the series with a bang, taking two bullets. Ryan Cairns' IDRA 14 and Daragh Sheridan traded second and third in each race. Jeremy Beshoff's B14 took line honours in both races, but was fourth in both races after handicaps applied.

Blast from the past. Ryan Cairns of Clontarf racing the “plastic fantastic” IDRA 14, whose design origins go back to 1946 and even 1938

The series runs for eight more weekends, and will be followed by the annual Round the Island Race, a staple of the dinghy calendar, attracting sailors from all over to determine who can make their way around Ireland's Eye the fastest. Full results are below and more entries to the series are still encouraged and made welcome through the HYC website.

Some places had magic weather on Sunday, and Howth was one of them. The pink asymmetric is Jeremy Beshoff’s B14, but like the Melges 15, she found that the symmetricals did best on the day

What with the lockdowns and other upsets to the regular progression of sailing life, three years have passed since Howth Yacht Club has been able to make a thorough-going job of hosting its annual winter-time Achievers Awards ceremony. But all that was put right with the bonus of being able to banish any post-festive blues as well on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, January 6th, which very obligingly was last Saturday.

Yet on the evening, instead of the usual sense of winding down, the mood was decidedly and even boisterously upbeat for the very good if slightly crazy reason that some of the most important awardees were away, furthering their careers on international competition in the Southern Hemisphere. In other words, it was as much about the anticipation of major success in 2024 as the recollection of it in 2023, and organiser Jill Sommerville of HYC puts it in perspective:

CELEBRATING IN STYLE

“HYC provided celebration with style for its 2023 Achievers Awards on Saturday, with the presentation of awards in nine categories. The event was sponsored by Celtic Candles, and each of the 38 nominees received a gift from the sponsor.

Commodore Neil Murphy and families who donated the Trophies were on hand for the presentations before a full house of members.
The standard of sailors in HYC is now so high at the top level that among the 38 nominees across the nine categories, there are two current World Champions, three European Champions, and five National Champions.

New HYC members Michael Hennessy, Kay Cornally and Carol Cribbin were tops of the voting for the Sunshine Radio Trophy

The Silver Fox Trophy which is donated by the Kelly family for those who excelled in racing cruising or organisation. This winner was Ross McDonald who retained the 1720 European Championships in Rope Dock Atara with five race wins out of nine races, and then added second place in the Irish Nationals to his record for 2023.

SUPER-HOT JUNIOR COMPETITION

The next award was the Seaward Bell donated and presented by Kevin Darmody to a Junior who excelled in open events at home or abroad. This is always a very competitive category as Howth has so many international Juniors and the members Voted for Harry Dunne for his Optimist Achievements, having won the Irish Youth Nationals in Howth last April as well as the Optimist Class Leinster, Munster and National titles. He represented Ireland at the Optimist Worlds in Spain in 2023. Harry has now moved into the ILCA 4 and Howth looks forward to following his sailing career.

Geraldine Dunne receives the Seaward Bell from Kevin Darmody on behalf of her champion sailing son Harry, who was “away on international sailing business”

After this award, a question and answer session was held with Sienna Wright to hear all about her recent bronze medal at the ILCA Youth World Championships in Brazil and her future plans.

The next award was the GM Trophy presented by General Manager of HYC Aideen Doran. This trophy is presented annually to the junior sailor who enhances the spirit of HYC. It was a closely fought contest between three fantastic juniors, Dan Cullen, Sam McQuade and Zara DeNeve with Zara coming out as the recipient of this award. She won the award for many reasons including her charm, consideration to other sailors and most definitely her undeniable spirit distinguished her and her ability to get others involved in having fun while sailing was well appreciated by both her instructors and peers.

Both are top awardees - Zara DeNeve and Brian Turvey

BOAT OF THE YEAR

Boat of the Year Trophy was fought between Bite the Bullet, Checkmate, Delginis and Outrageous all of which had an outstanding record of achievements through 2023. The Howth 17 Delginis was voted by the HYC membership as “Boat of the Year” – well done to the Massey Family and other owners who not only partook in the historic rounding of the Fastnet Rock last summer but also were overall winner in the 83 boat fleet that took part in the monday.com Autumn League, winning its own Class by an eight point margin.

Ace helm Mikey Toomey (centre) thinks that the 1907-built Howth 17 Deilginis becoming the HYC Boat of Year 2023 is a matter for Zen-like contemplation, but Commodore Murphy (left) and Nick Massey (right, who rescued the boat from dereliction 51 years ago) reckon it’s something to be cheerful about

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

For Volunteer of the Year, seven names were proposed as going above and beyond for HYC in 2023. HYC is lucky in that it is supported by over 150 volunteers throughout the season who wore tirelessly to keep the club running. Many of the nominees have played unseen but crucial roles to make HYC the best sailing club in the country. The nominees included, David O’Shea who captained the Howth 17 class and all their events in this important year of their 125 anniversary, Kieran Barker for his role in leading the race results team, Kieran Jameson for his ongoing commitment to managing all the HYC club boats, Michael Pearn for his work with new members, Robert Orr for his tireless work getting all the club racing teams & rosters in place. The winners of this category were Susan Kavanagh and Sarah Toomey for the fantastic work they have done for their organisation, development and leadership of the Cruising Group. Susan and Sarah are jointly the driving force ensuring that the Cruising Group members have a full programme of lectures, social events, cruises and 'armadas' and have access to the experience of their fellow members in all things nautical. They have also created a pathway to get newcomers out sailing and then building their experience afloat.

The Sailing Instructor of the Year award went to newcomer Bharat Mohan for his competency and example that he set among the instructors.

Introducing the many beginners or basic sailors who improve their skills at Howth Yacht Club is a challenge for an impressive team, and it was reckoned that in 2023, Bhorat Mohan (above with Commodore) was the Sailing Instructor of the Year

The Murphy family were on hand to present the Cliona Murphy Memorial Trophy for an Adult sailor who represents and enhances the spirit of HYC sailing. The nominees in this category were Brian Turvey, Gerry O’Neill, Gerry Sargent and Maureen Muir. The members chose Brian Turvey as the 2023 winner for all the work his does in HYC for the K25 squad, MC at events, his brilliant social event photography, his commitment to Wave Regatta and his support on the social media front, all of which really are only a fraction of what Brian does for HYC.

TWO NEW CATEGORIES

The last two awards are new categories, new member of the year and International Sailor of the year.

The Sunshine Radio Trophy was presented to Carol Cribbin one of 3 nominated new members who really got into the spirit of all that HYC has to offer and embraced so many of the clubs activities from cruising, racing, day-skipper courses, mahjong, rowing, paddle boarding and she will be skippering one of the charter boats in next summer's Cruising Group flotilla in Greece. She is a great example of how quickly a new member who is prepared to try everything can settle into HYC and become part of its life.

The Sunshine Radio Trophy was presented to Carol Cribbin

Finally, the new category of International Trophy is for a HYC sailor who excelled internationally (eg. Olympic / Worlds / Europeans). This trophy was donated by Pat and Olivia Murphy Circumnavigators and presented by Pat. As Howth has a number of seriously competitive international sailors the nominee group was made up of Olympic hopefuls in the Laser class, brother and sister Eve and Ewan McMahon, 49ers Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove, Paul McMahon and Sam O’Byne all with an amazing set of international Achievements in 2023. The winner of the International Trophy was Eve McMahon, but as Eve is away in Argentina at the ILCA Worlds, we have the photo at top taken earlier at the height of Christmas”.

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.