Today was day one of the 420 Nationals forming part of 420 week at Howth Yacht Club. With the two different training modules split over four days now behind the sailors, day one of racing was predicted to be light winds decreasing through the day. The fleet launched at eleven to head out to the race course assisted by a strong flooding tide.

Download results for the 19–boat fleet below.

Cloudy skies and a modest six-knot sea breeze greeted crews at the start of the first race but the skies soon cleared to bright sunshine and a slight increase in wind speed up to nine knots. The sometimes fickle wind and strong tide made for challenging racing but sitting on top of the leaderboard after three races are the GBR team of Colquitt/Coles who have a slender lead of one point over the Royal St. George pairing of Grace O’Beirne and Kathy Kelly.

Three more races are planned for day two of the Nationals with a modest increase in wind predicted. Day two will also see the fleet split into Gold and Silver.