The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

How long is a Howth 17?

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

Why are Howth 17s so famous?

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

How many Howth 17s are racing today?

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

Who designed the Howth 17?

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

Who built the original Howth 17s?

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

Why were the Howth 17s designed and built?

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

How many Howth 17s were built?

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

What are Howth 17s constructed of?

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

How many races do the Howth 17s sail in any given year?

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League

Name a famous Howth 17?

The 1907-built Deiliginis have recently made it four in a row for the national title that Deilginis has won at least six times in all.

What are some big recent events in the Howth 17 class?

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.

What is the sail area of a Howth 17?

The total sail area is 305 sq ft (28.3 m2)

Ewen Barry

20th November 2010

Nicholas O'Leary Produces Hat Trick in All Ireland Re Run

The All Ireland Championships at Kinsale today turned out in the end to be an event well worth the long wait and provided thrilling competition from start to finish writes Claire Bateman. It was sailed in a three metre swell between the Bullman Buoy and Sandycove. It was particularly difficult for the Race Committee under PRO David O'Brien in the continuous undulating swell.

nin_and_crew

Nicholas and his winning crew Adam McCarthy and Alex Barry in Kinsale this afternoon. Photo: Bob Bateman. More photos on the gallery HERE

After four races the Race Committee were calculating the results only to find that they had three Royal Cork crews tied on five points each including the twice previous holder Nicholas O'Leary, his father Anthony and Niall Kenefick who was sailing with his two sons David and George. And so the competition went down to the wire with the result dependant on the final race. Nicholas O'Leary triumphed taking his third consecutive Championship win, the first ever to do so, followed by Anthony O'Leary in second place and Niall Kenefick taking third place.

This exceptional result finally puts to bed any previous suggestions that local knowledge could prevail in the results by the competition taking place in the home club of the winner.

In his acceptance speech Nicholas said it was very difficult in the first race today to have to protest his father who was coming in on port to the mark but with a twinkle in his eye said it had to be done!

After it was all over one wag suggested to Nicholas that he should now seek to keep the trophy as he had won it three times in a row. The reply should be rather interesting!

Speaking at the reception afterwards the ISA said the three year sponsorship had now expired so they will be looking for new sponsors but such was their confidence in the continuance of the fleet they have already ordered new sails.

Results:

1. Nicholas O'Leary

2. Anthony O'Leary

3. Niall Kenefick

4. Garrett May

5. James Espey

6. Nick Walsh

7. Niall Henry

8. Ewen Barry

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11th November 2010

All Ireland Champs Move to Kinsale

The re-run of the All Ireland Sailing Championships will take place in Kinsale and not Crosshaven on November 20th according to a press release from the Irish Sailing Association published today.

A minimum of three races must be completed for the competition to conclude and the ISA Helmsman's Trophy awarded.

The final, originally scheduled to take place in Royal Cork Yacht Club on the 26th of September, had to be abandoned due to an absence of wind.

The competition will be sailed in the ISA SailFleet J80's which are currently based in Kinsale Yacht Club. Due to the difficulty in safely sailing the fleet from Kinsale to Crosshaven the venue had to be changed, however the host club remains Royal Cork Yacht Club who are now kindly assisted by Kinsale Yacht Club.

8 teams will be competing for the ISA Helmsmans Trophy. As this competition is recognised as a new event, no previous points shall be carried forward. Each competitor begins with a blank score card.
The finalists are:
Anthony O'Leary
Ewen Barry
Garrett May
James Espey
Neil Kenefick
Niall Henry
Nicholas O'Leary
Nick Walsh

Who'll win? We're starting a readers poll on Monday. Click back to cast your vote!

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28th October 2010

Barry and Kenny on Top form in Cork 5o5 Nationals

12 boats took part in the years 505 Irish Nationals and British Isles Championships. Following a delayed Swansea Cork ferry, the four UK boats made it to MBSC at 12 30pm on Saturday.

Racing on Saturday was held in Cuskinny with the breeze touching 25 knots on the downwind leg to the race area. The OOD team of Ciarán McSweeney and David Barry got racing underway at 3 15pm with the north westerly breeze softening to 12 to 15 knots. Ewen Barry and Simon Lake(8945) lead at mark one followed by Charles Dwyer and Conor Kelly (8961). Dwyer and Kelly's race came to an end at the first gybe mark with an impressive capsize( their first of two in the race). Barry and Lake showed impressive upwind speed with Barry and Kenney flying on the downwind in perfect reaching conditions. Barry and Kenney eventually took the lead on the top reach of the last leg and managed to hold on to take first, Barry and Lake second and Ronan Kenneally and Denis Cartwright taking a well deserved third place.

In race two, Barry and Kenney lead all the way round with some great battles for the 2, 3, 4 positions going on behind. Brian Jones and Gary Frost sailing 7771 came out ahead taking 2nd place with Ewen and Simon in 3rd. With the sun going down and a beat home the OOD team made the call to head for home and the warmth of the clubhouse.

Day 2 again brought great sailing conditions with a cold Northerly breeze and brilliant sunshine, racing got underway again in Cuskinny at 11 30am. Three races were held, in 8 to 12 knots. Denis Cartwright was joined by the third Barry brother Colin for the rest of the weekend as Ronan Kenneally had laser sailing commitments. Barry and Kenney again showed their pace on the day and with two firsts and a fourth were going to be hard to catch. Dwyer and Kelly found their footing with a 3, 1, 2 winning the second race by a considerable margin. Colin and Denis had a very consistent day with a 2, 3, 3 and had some extremely close battles with Dwyer and Kelly. Jones and Frost struggled in the lighter breeze posting a 5, 6, 5 leaving some work to do to catch back up to the group battling for second. Wade and Robert Cuppage added another boat to the racing today in Ethel, possibly one of the most famous 505's around and still sporting a deck stepped mast. Damage to Mikie and Josh's boat caused them to retire from races 4 & 5 with redress granted later as they were found to be not at fault. This meant that the battle for the junior title with James and Lisa O'Brien was hotting up and all to play for on the last day.

Going into the last day, with a gale warning in place for Monday, Alex and Adam lead on 4 points, Charlo and Conor in second on 10 points, Ewen & Simon and Colin & Denis tieing for third on 11 points.

Sunday night brought the usual banter with plenty or arm wrestling, chair jumping and general tough man competitions in the bar and stories of days gone by from Jim.

Monday morning brought new conditions with a strong southerly breeze filling in to the bay. As there were big winds forecasted and ferries to catch, Dave and Ciarán decided to hold racing in the bay. Conditions were good for the 505 with flat water and 18 to 22 knots of breeze. There was no catching Barry and Kenney again with their downwind pace proving to be the winning factor. They posted another two firsts to take the title counting all 1sts. Charlo was joined by Ronan Kenneally this time and despite a lightweight crew they took two seconds on the day to cement their second place overall. With Ewen and Simon breaking an outhaul in the first race they now had to count a 7th and a 3rd in the final race was not enough to fight off Colin and Denis. Brian and Gary's big breeze pace was back and the posted a 3rd and a 4th. Jim and Barney had a great first race taking 5th but a capsize in the second race but them out of the race.

In the juniors, Mikie and Josh posted a 6th and a 7th to take the junior title with Lisa and James' equal 6th and a 7th not enough to catch up.

505 Irish Nationals and British Isles Championships – MSBC 23rd to 25th October 2010

1 IRL/GBR           8945 Alex Barry & Adam Kenny 1 1 1 4 1 1 1
2 IRL                8961 Charles Dwyer & Conor Kelly 7 4 3 1 2 2 2
3 IRL               8497 Colin Barry & Dennis Cartwright 3 5 2 3 3 4 5
4 IRL/GBR           8955 Ewen Barry & Simon Lake 2 3 4 2 7 12 3
5 IRL               7771 Brian Jones & Garry Frost 4 2 5 6 5 3 4
6 GBR                8907 Jim Berry & David Barnes 6 7 6 5 10 5 10
7 IRL               8552 Michael O'Brien & John O'Gorman 5 6 7 8 4 12 13
8 IRL               8380 Charles & Jeannie McCarthy 8 8 8 7 6 12 8
9 IRL               8*08 Mike O'Brien & Josh Barrett 10 10 9 APA8.4 APA8.4 6 7
10 IRL              8679 James & Lisa O'Brien 9 9 11 10 8 7 6
11 IRL              8216 Joanne McCarthy & Steven O'Reilly 13 13 10 9 9 12 13
12 IRL              7852 Wade & Robert Cuppage 13 13 13 11 11 13 13

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23rd October 2010

All Ireland Champs to Sail Again on November 20

After an abandonment due to lack of wind in early October and a long wait for news of a new date, the Irish Sailing Association has announced its All Ireland Championship will now take place on November 20th.The competitors have agreed to be available on this weekend to sail but the announcement on the ISA website does not name the venue, presumably the original location, Cork Harbour. the finalists and drawn boats are:

Final Flight

1. McCann Fitzgerald Anthony O'Leary

2. D/L Marina Neil Kenefick

3. O'Leary Insurance Ewen Barry

4. Smyths Toys Nicholas O'Leary

5. Dyno Rod Garrett May

6. Smart Niall Henry

7. KPMG James Espey

8. Irish Examiner Nick Walsh

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12th October 2010

All Ireland's Eye New Date at End of November

Following the abandonment of the Irish Sailing Association's All Ireland Sailing Championships in the last weekend of September the national authority is still seeking a suitable resail date. "Currently we're in touch with the competitors. It's looking like the end of November", Racing manager Ed Alcock told Afloat.ie this week. The event was scrubbed due to lack of wind but a junior event was completed elsewhere in Cork Harbour.

A new Notice of Race (NOR) will be published for the event. Eight helmsmen, including the double winner Nicholas O'Leary will be invited in a new final consisting of five races. The eight finallists are Anthony O'Leary, Neil Kenefick, Nicholas O'Leary, Garrett May, Niall Henry, James Espey, Nick Walsh, Ewen Barry.

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1st October 2010

ISA Seek New Date for All Ireland Event

Following the abandonment of the All Ireland Sailing Championships at Royal Cork last weekend due to lack of wind the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) has yet to announce dates for the rescheduled event. An autumn date to accomodate all concerned is the objective, the association said yesterday. The eight finalists involved are; Anthony O'Leary, Neil Kenefick, Nicholas O'Leary, Garrett May, Niall Henry, James Espey, Nick Walsh and Ewen Barry.

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27th September 2010

All Ireland Final Date Yet to be Agreed

Following the decision to abandon the final of the All Ireland Sailing Championships yesterday ISA Chief Executive, Harry Hermon has announced a new Notice of Race will be published for a rescheduled event at a date to be agreed writes Claire Bateman.

Eight helmsmen, including the double winner Nicholas O'Leary will be invited to participate in a new final consisting of five races. The eight finallists are

Anthony O'Leary
Neil Kenefick
Nicholas O'Leary
Garrett May
Niall Henry
James Espey
Nick Walsh
Ewen Barry

Forum Discussion HERE

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