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Howth Yacht Club Ready To Stage Laser Masters As Fleet Go from Strength to Strength

29th April 2019
The start of a 2018 Masters Race on Dublin Bay The start of a 2018 Masters Race on Dublin Bay Credit: Afloat.ie

The 2019 Laser Master Nationals is to be held in Howth Yacht Club on 11th and 12th May, and another very competitive event is in store this year. Masters sailing has been going through a renaissance over the past few years. This growth is partly due to the fact that the laser is a low cost, one design class, with solid club sailing year round and a straightforward boat. It is one of the only classes in the country with club sailing 12 months of the year and comprehensive coaching and training. The success of the Dun Laoghaire fleet is worth noting. A strong sense of inclusion and fun, while offering both competitive and beginner level racing, should be a template for anyone looking to build a fleet in Ireland. The Masters Nationals has benefited from this trend. The event used to be a small affair, with Standard Rigs only and dominated by ex-campaigners who still had time to travel to events.

"The growth of the Masters Fleet has been impressive over the past 2 years, and in particular the Radial Fleet"

The growth of the Masters Fleet has been impressive over the past two years, and in particular the Radial Fleet. Numbers are now almost even between Radial and Standard Rigs, which has opened up options to a whole new cohort of Masters sailors, including female entries and those who may just be too light for the Standard Rig. The sense of fun and comradery among the fleet was particularly noticeable in the lead up to the Masters Worlds in Dun Laoghaire last September, and there was a powerful Masters entry at the Munster Championships this Easter.

In the Radial Fleet, Sean Craig will look to defend his title from last year, with fellow Royal St George Yacht Club sailor, Marco Sorgassi putting the pressure on Sean again this year. Conor Clancy had a strong event at the Munster Championships and looks like he is coming into form ahead of the event also, along with local sailor Darrell Reamsbottom.

Laser Masters radials 2436Sean Craig will look to defend his Radial title in Howth Photo: Afloat.ie

The Standard Rig fleet sees veteran Master Nick Walsh as the highest ranked sailor. Howth Frostbite sailors Dan O’Connell, David Quinn and Daragh Kelleher, are also expected to feature in a very strong fleet with plenty of depth throughout.

This year sees the introduction of onboard trackers. Top-ranked sailor Ronan Wallace is going to debrief sailors on racing in the club after sailing on Saturday which should add greatly to the fun and banter, while also giving some really valuable insights into the races from one of the top laser sailors in the country.

Entry is still open, with the discounted entry deadline this Friday 3rd May. Racing will be held in Howth on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May, with registration on Friday night and Saturday morning. There are discounts on class membership available for those who just plan to do this event, contact organiser David Quinn for more info (dave at investwise.ie)

Download event poster below

Published in Howth YC
Dave Quinn

About The Author

Dave Quinn

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David is a keen Laser sailor, having previously sailed an SB20 and a number of IRC Cruiser Racers.

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Howth Yacht Club information

Howth Yacht Club is the largest members sailing club in Ireland, with over 1,700 members. The club welcomes inquiries about membership - see top of this page for contact details.

Howth Yacht Club (HYC) is 125 years old. It operates from its award-winning building overlooking Howth Harbour that houses office, bar, dining, and changing facilities. Apart from the Clubhouse, HYC has a 250-berth marina, two cranes and a boat storage area. In addition. its moorings in the harbour are serviced by launch.

The Club employs up to 31 staff during the summer and is the largest employer in Howth village and has a turnover of €2.2m.

HYC normally provides an annual programme of club racing on a year-round basis as well as hosting a full calendar of International, National and Regional competitive events. It operates a fleet of two large committee boats, 9 RIBs, 5 J80 Sportboats, a J24 and a variety of sailing dinghies that are available for members and training. The Club is also growing its commercial activities afloat using its QUEST sail and power boat training operation while ashore it hosts a wide range of functions each year, including conferences, weddings, parties and the like.

Howth Yacht Club originated as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. In 1968 Howth Sailing Club combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club. The new clubhouse was opened in 1987 with further extensions carried out and more planned for the future including dredging and expanded marina facilities.

HYC caters for sailors of all ages and run sailing courses throughout the year as part of being an Irish Sailing accredited training facility with its own sailing school.

The club has a fully serviced marina with berthing for 250 yachts and HYC is delighted to be able to welcome visitors to this famous and scenic area of Dublin.

New applications for membership are always welcome

Howth Yacht Club FAQs

Howth Yacht Club is one of the most storied in Ireland — celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020 — and has an active club sailing and racing scene to rival those of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs on the other side of Dublin Bay.

Howth Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Howth, a suburban coastal village in north Co Dublin on the northern side of the Howth Head peninsula. The village is around 13km east-north-east of Dublin city centre and has a population of some 8,200.

Howth Yacht Club was founded as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. Howth Sailing Club later combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the village’s West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Ian Byrne, with Paddy Judge as Vice-Commodore (Clubhouse and Administration). The club has two Rear-Commodores, Neil Murphy for Sailing and Sara Lacy for Junior Sailing, Training & Development.

Howth Yacht Club says it has one of the largest sailing memberships in Ireland and the UK; an exact number could not be confirmed as of November 2020.

Howth Yacht Club’s burgee is a vertical-banded pennant of red, white and red with a red anchor at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue-grey field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and red anchor towards the bottom right corner.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club hosts sailing and powerboat training for adults, juniors and corporate sailing under the Quest Howth brand.

Among its active keelboat and dinghy fleets, Howth Yacht Club is famous for being the home of the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class, the Howth Seventeen Footer. This still-thriving class of boat was designed by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 to be sailed in the local waters off Howth. The original five ‘gaff-rigged topsail’ boats that came to the harbour in the spring of 1898 are still raced hard from April until November every year along with the other 13 historical boats of this class.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has a fleet of five J80 keelboats for charter by members for training, racing, organised events and day sailing.

The current modern clubhouse was the product of a design competition that was run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 1983. The winning design by architects Vincent Fitzgerald and Reg Chandler was built and completed in March 1987. Further extensions have since been made to the building, grounds and its own secure 250-berth marina.

Yes, the Howth Yacht Club clubhouse offers a full bar and lounge, snug bar and coffee bar as well as a 180-seat dining room. Currently, the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Catering remains available on weekends, take-home and delivery menus for Saturday night tapas and Sunday lunch.

The Howth Yacht Club office is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Contact the club for current restaurant opening hours at [email protected] or phone 01 832 0606.

Yes — when hosting sailing events, club racing, coaching and sailing courses, entertaining guests and running evening entertainment, tuition and talks, the club caters for all sorts of corporate, family and social occasions with a wide range of meeting, event and function rooms. For enquiries contact [email protected] or phone 01 832 2141.

Howth Yacht Club has various categories of membership, each affording the opportunity to avail of all the facilities at one of Ireland’s finest sailing clubs.

No — members can join active crews taking part in club keelboat and open sailing events, not to mention Pay & Sail J80 racing, charter sailing and more.

Fees range from €190 to €885 for ordinary members.
Memberships are renewed annually.

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