#halftonner – Howth half tonner King One finished Ramsgate Week on the East Coast of England  last Saturday with five firsts and discarded a second to be top scoring boat of the regatta. The Royal Temple Yacht Club in Ramsgate provided a huge welcome for their first ever Irish entrant which proved hugely popular with competitors and organisers alike.

Skipper Dave Cullen with his crew of Aidan Beggan (main), Andy George (Trim), Grainne Beggan (Pit), Rob Kerley (Bow) and James Hynes (Trim/Tactics) enjoyed a tiring week that had this sociable crew in bed by 11:00pm on some evenings!

The regatta which was sailed in 20-25 knots was split into two, the first being the three day Ramsgate Coastal Series where one long race was sailed each day. In a varied class, King One won two races with one day lost to lack of wind.

 Irish visitors – (L-R) Andy George, Rob Kerley, David Cullen, Deirdre Cullen, Grainne Beggan, Aidan Beggan

The second series was the Ramsgate Week Regatta Series and the fleet was enlarged to include the heavy artillery of the Belgian half ton fleet joining in. The series kicked off with the famous Round the Goodwins

offshore race. Sailed in 20-32 knots of breeze, King One won this race with a corrected margin of over half an hour ad enjoyed a fantastic sleigh ride with speeds hitting 15 knots at times. There followed a day with two shorter races and again King One excelled to win both with ease. With the regatta won with a day to spare, the final day became a fantastic match race with hot shot half tonner, General Tapioca from Belgium and the lead changing six times, again with King One taking victory. Whilst this match race was on, Belgian Half Tonner A+ caught up to take first on corrected leaving King One second.

King One was rewarded with a huge haul of trophies, cups and prizes and skipper David Cullen made the competitors' thank you speech at the prize giving presenting Commodore Mike Brand with a HYC burgee to add to their collection.

Next year it is Boulogne for King One for the Half Ton Cup!

#420dinghy – Ireland's ISAF Youth Worlds competitors from July Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts are the top of the 420 National championships fleet as the regatta enters the final stages off Howth today. The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) pairing are five points clear from Royal St. George pair Adam Hyland and Bill Staunton. Third is Galway Bay Sailing Club's Cian Walsh and Fiachra McHugh are next on neet points but some 12 points adrift.

Racing continues at Howth Yacht Club this afternoon in the 16-boat fleet.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB - Children's charity Variety Ireland celebrated the return of its 'Boat for Hope' event at Howth Yacht Club at the weekend.

Almost 60 vessels of all shapes and sizes were used to bring special needs children and their families and carers from HYC out to Balscadden Bay for a pirate adventure on the high seas.

Dressed as pirates, the youngsters teamed up with Captain Rocket and his buccaneer crew aboard Mick Hunt's 'Pirate Ship', helping to offload his treasure - with a little help from the Howth Yacht Club RIB team - while coastguard and lifeboat vessels attacked with water cannon fire!

After all that excitement, the kids were treated to a tour of the fishing harbour where the resident seals demonstrated their swimming skills, followed by some proper clowning around and a BBQ lunch in the marquee on the green.

Organisers described it as a "very special day for the children and their families" and thanked the hundreds of supporters and volunteers who made it all happen.

Howth Yacht Club also thanked the sponsors and services that provided support, including the Dublin Fire Brigade, the Red Cross Ambulance Service, Howth Coastguard and Howth RNLI, as well as guests such as Fingal Mayor Cian O'Callaghan, Harbourmaster Capt Raja Maitra, Terrance Flanagan TD and co-ordinators from the Variety Club of Ireland.

#hyc – HOWTH YACHT CLUB. WEDNESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 13/06/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Storm P Kelly; 2, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; 3, Trinculo M Fleming; Class 1 HPH: 1, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; 2, Storm P Kelly; 3, Trinculo M Fleming; Class 2 IRC: 1, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; 2, Sunburn I Byrne; 3, Toughnut D Skehan; Class 2 HPH: 1, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; 2, Maximus P Kyne; 3, Toughnut D Skehan; Class 3 IRC: 1, Jibberish Wormald/Others; 2, Kilcullen Euro Car Parks HYC K25 Team; 3, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; Class 3 HPH: 1, Midnight Sun Bolger/Howard; 2, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; 3, Toy Yot Mullaney/Pitcher; White Sails HPH: 1, Force Five R & J McAllister; 2, Tantrum 3 Klimche/O'Leary; 3, On the Rox C & J Boyle; White Sails IRC: 1, On the Rox C & J Boyle; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; 3, Force Five R & J McAllister

#hyc – Howth Yacht Club will be hosting the Laser Leinster Championships this weekend (16th-17th June), with Principal Race Officer David Lovegrove planning on three races a day.

Registration will be open from 0900hrs on Saturday morning and late entries will be accepted then. Competitors' briefing will be at 1030hrs.

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. TUE + SAT SERIES 2 (RACE) 12/06/2012 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Oona P Courtney; 2, Rita Curley/Lynch; 3, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Rosemary Curley/Jones; 2, Oona P Courtney; 3, Rita Curley/Lynch TUESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 12/06/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2, Ghosty Ned D Harkin; 3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 2, Chatterbox J Kay; 3, Fantome R McDonell; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Northside Dragon J Bourke; 2, Kootamundra D O'Grady; 3, Jabberwocky S Knowles; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Ghosty Ned D Harkin; 2, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray; Squib HPH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 2, Chatterbox J Kay; 3, Fantome R McDonell

#HYC – HOWTH YACHT CLUB. WEDNESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 30/05/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; 2, Trinculo M Fleming; Class 1 HPH: 1, Trinculo M Fleming; 2, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; Class 2 IRC: 1, Sunburn I Byrne; 2, Toughnut D Skehan; 3, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; Class 2 HPH: 1, Toughnut D Skehan; 2, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; 3, Sunburn I Byrne; Class 3 IRC: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; 2, Toy Yot Mullaney/Pitcher; 3, Starlet Bourke/Others; Class 3 HPH: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; 2, Starlet Bourke/Others; 3, Turtle R Hogg; White Sails HPH: 1, On the Rox C & J Boyle; 2, Force Five R & J McAllister; 3, Sojourn Blandford/Lacy; White Sails IRC: 1, On the Rox C & J Boyle; 2, Force Five R & J McAllister; 3, Jokers Wild G Knaggs

#ICRA2012 – Three Cork IRC victories, two titles retained and local success on ECHO and in the BMW Corinthian Cup were the outstanding features of the overall results of the BMW Cruiser Nationals run by Howth Yacht Club for the Irish Cruiser Racing Association, with the 7-race series finishing on Sunday in glorious sunshine but in tricky northerly breezes.

The event brought together 123 boats in one of the biggest fleets of the Irish sailing season with 80% of the fleet visitors to Howth. This year the event got a Government approval when Marine Minister Simon Coveney TD lent his support to the Cruiser National Championships when it opened last Friday.

Anitx and the view the other Class Zero competitors got. The Royal Cork Yacht retained her Irish IRC title

Royal Cork boats Antix and Tiger retained their Division 0 and 3 Irish titles respectively but in totally different ways. Anthony O'Leary's Antix was pushed so hard all the way by Richard Fildes' Impetuous that the Welsh Corby 37's double win on the last day set up the intriguing scenario of a tie after discards. With four wins to Fildes' three, O'Leary made it by the tightest of margins.

Welsh yacht Impetuous hoists on the tail of Jump Juice

Neil Kenefick's Tiger from Royal Cork sailing to success in Howth

The opposite was the case in Division 3 where the Keneficks' dominance on Tiger was underlined by two more wins on the third day to seal an emphatic victory by the biggest margin (9 points) of any fleet. The pre-event favourites saw off the early challenge of Tim Goodbody's White Mischief, although the Royal Irish boat had the consolation of winning the ECHO award from another RIYC boat Quest.

Dun Laoghaire's Sigma 33 White Mischief skippered by Tim Goodbody held an early lead in class three IRC and won overall on ECHO

In Division 0, Crazy Horse from Howth (Chambers/Reilly) took the ECHO honours, with four race wins enough to beat the National's Vincent Farrell in Tsunami by two points. Only two points separating the top three showed how competitive Division 1 was on IRC with another Royal Cork entry Jelly Baby (Nagle & O'Malley) emerging on top, with a final race win the difference in edging out Xtravagance (Colin Byrne) from RIYC while more success went to the Dun Laoghaire club with Rockabill V's (Paul O'Higgins) narrow on ECHO.

Colin Byrne's Xtravangance from Dublin Bay was at the top in Class One but was edged out by Cork yacht Jelly Baby (Ian Nagle and Paul O'Malley) below.

After the first day, it was pretty straightforward for Checkmate XV, Nigel Biggs' entry from the Royal St. George, and three more race wins was enough to finish with a 7.5 points gap over second-placed Dux (Anthony Gore-Grimes of HYC). The performance was also sufficient to take the ECHO plaudits too, although the margin over Howth's Dave Cullen in King One was a little closer.

The only perfect scoreline in the Championships came in Division 4 where Team Toy Yot from Howth had a clean sweep on IRC while consistency earned Malahide visitor Goyave (Camier/Fitzpatrick) second overall, with the latter reversing the order on ECHO by virtue of one more race win.

Howth boats were very much to the fore in the non-spinnaker classes competing for the BMW Corinthian Cup, winning the A and B fleets on both handicap systems. On the Rox (C&J Boyle) wrapped up the A division with two wins to finish six points ahead of Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) while they had five points to spare over Colm Buckley's Blue Eyes on ECHO.

Howth boat On the Rox won the Corinthian A fleet divison. More photos in the gallery below.

In the B fleet, Harry Byrne's Alphida (with Paddy Cronin on helm) stayed in the top four throughout and also recorded three wins to beat off the challenge of Joe Carton's Voyager on both handicaps. A second and a bullet on the last day brought Richard McAllister's Force Five into the top three frame on ECHO at the end.

At the prize-giving ceremony, Barry Rose, Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association complimented Howth YC on its handling of this major national event for a third time, and paid particular thanks to the organising committee, the three race officers and their teams of helpers and RIB drivers.

BMW Cruiser Nationals & Corinthian Cup 2012, Howth Yacht Club, Winners and (provisional) results after Day 3:

Division 0 IRC:

ANTIX, Anthony O'Leary

Division 0 ECHO:

CRAZY HORSE, Chambers/Reilly

Division 1 IRC:

.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley

Division 1 ECHO:

ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins

Division 2 IRC:

CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs

Division 2 ECHO:

CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs

Division 3 IRC:

TIGER, Keneficks

Division 3 ECHO:

WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody

Division 4 IRC:

TOY YOT,

Division 4 ECHO:

GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick

Non-Spinnaker A IRC:

ON-THE-ROX (C & J Boyle)

Non-Spinnaker A ECHO:

ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle

Non-Spinnaker B IRC:

ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne

Non-Spinnaker B ECHO:

ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne

BMW Cruiser Nationals & Corinthian Cup 2012, Howth Yacht Club, Provisional results after Day 3:

Division 0 IRC: 1.ANTIX, Anthony O'Leary 2.IMPETUOUS, Richard Fildes 3.JUMP JUICE, Denise Phelan. Division 0 ECHO: 1.CRAZY HORSE, Chambers/Reilly 2.TSUNAMI, Vincent Farrell 3.LOOSE CHANGE, Mitton/Redden. Division 1 IRC: 1.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley 2.XTRAVAGANCE, Colin Byrne 3.ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins. Division 1 ECHO: 1.ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins 2.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley 3.XTRAVAGANCE, Colin Byrne. Division 2 IRC: 1.CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs 2.DUX, Anthony Gore-Grimes 3.KING ONE, Dave Cullen. Division 2 ECHO: 1.CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs 2.KING ONE, Dave Cullen 3.DUX, Anthony Gore-Grimes. Division 3 IRC: 1.TIGER, Kenefick's 2.WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody 3.HARD ON PORT, Flor O Driscoll. Division 3 ECHO: 1.WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody 2.QUEST, J Skernilt 3.HARD ON PORT, Flor O Driscoll. Division 4 IRC: 1.TOY YOT, Team Toy Yot 2.GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick 3.ASTERIX, Counihan/Bowhell/Meredith. Division 4 ECHO: 1.GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick 2.TOY YOT, Team Toy Yot 3.ASTERIX, Counihan/Bowhell/Meredith. Non-Spinnaker A IRC: 1.ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle 2.BITE THE BULLET, Colm Bermingham 3.CHANGELING, Kieran Jameson. Non-Spinnaker A ECHO: 1.ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle 2.BLUE EYES, Colm Buckley 3.PRETTY POLLY, Chris Horrigan. Non-Spinnaker B IRC: 1.ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne 2.VOYAGER, Joe Carton 3.DEMELZA, W. Laudan / S. Ennis. Non-Spinnaker B ECHO: 1.ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne 2.VOYAGER, Joe Carton 3.FORCE FIVE, R&J McAllister.

#ICRA – A record entry of 123 boats racing in 7 sailing divisions will compete for honours at this weekend's BMW Cruiser Nationals being hosted by Howth Yacht Club on behalf of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA).

Seven races over three days – a mixture of round-the-cans and windward-leewards - will be provided on three separate courses, with Class 0 and 1 together, Class 2, 3 and 4 on another, and two divisions of non-spinnaker cruisers racing for the Corinthian Cup.

Last year's championship winners in the first four divisions will all be in Howth to defend their titles. Anthony O'Leary's Antix from Cork will again be among the favourites in Class 0 although he can expect strong challenges from Jump Juice (Denise Phelan) and George Sisk's WOW, while Richard Fildes Impetuous from Wales had a useful warm-up on the race track in winning last weekend's Corby Cup.

Pat Kelly's Storm (HYC & Rush) won Class 1 in Cork last year and there are six other J109s in the line-up to keep them on their toes. Six of the 21 entries are from outside Dublin.

In Class 2, Brian Goggin's Corby 25 Allure from Kinsale was the winner a year ago and will be expected to be a front-runner in the biggest fleet (31 boats) in the Championships, the majority of which are visitors. Of the local entries, Dave Cullen's King One, Ian Byrne's Sunburn and Anthony Gore-Grimes Dux are contenders.

The modified quarter-tonner Tiger (Neil Kenefick) from Cork is undoubtedly the boat to beat in Class 3, having been the outstanding boat in this division over the past couple of years. Half a dozen J24s will have to be at their very best to compete against this very fast, well sailed boat, while in Class 4, Goyave (Camier/Fitzpatrick) from Malahide and Basil MacMahon's Holly of the host club will be fancied.

The Corinthian Cup entries have been split into two divisions, with local boats Changeling (Kieran Jameson) and Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) among those fancied in division 5 and Harry Byrne's Alphida and Demelza (Laudan & Ennis) serious contenders in division 6.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – In light winds the Squib one design class was won last night by Chatterbox (J Kay). Second was Too Dee (D Sheahan) and third Kerfuffle (Craig/Ruane). On scratch handicap in the Puppeteer class Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) were winners but there was a tie for second between Gold Dust (Walls/Browne) and Eclipse (A & R Hegarty). Full results below: TUESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 22/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2=, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; 2=, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Arcturus C McAuliffe; 2, Schiggy G Kennedy; 3, Mr Punch NiBhraonain/Wilson; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Too Dee D Sheahan; 3, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; Squib HPH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 3, Too Dee D Sheahan; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Jabberwocky S Knowles; 2, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty; 3, Kootamundra D O'Grady