Last week saw another full schedule of racing at Howth Yacht Club, with midweek racing running on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. The Club's midweek series continued to draw strong participation across various classes. Tuesday featured one-design keelboats, Wednesday saw the cruiser classes in action, and Thursday rounded out the week with dinghy racing.

Here's a summary of the results and notable performances from each evening.

Tuesday Night One Design Keelboats

One Design Keelboat Racing, incorporating Squibs, Puppeteers and Howth 17s, kicked off our Club Racing week on June 18 under a moderate Northeast breeze and sunny conditions.

A flood tide throughout the race duration created a slight chop, adding an extra challenge for the competitors!

Howth 17 Class:

In the Howth 17 class, the race saw tight competition among the top finishers. Brian & Conor Turvey's "Isobel" claimed victory with a finishing time of 20:33:06. "Deilginis", sailed by Massey, Toomey & Kenny, secured second place just 44 seconds behind at 20:33:50. Gallagher & Fitzgibbon's "Orla" rounded out the podium, crossing the line at 20:34:59, less than two minutes behind the leader.

The overall series standings for the Howth 17 Scratch Fleet show "Deilginis" in the lead, followed by "Sheila" (David Mulligan & Andy Johnston) in second, and "Isobel" in third. With only small margins separating the top boats, the series promises continued excitement in the coming weeks.

Squib Class:

In the Squib Scratch fleet, racing was exceptionally close, with only 50 seconds separating the top three finishers. Emmet Dalton's "Kerfuffle" claimed victory with a finishing time of 20:35:35, narrowly edging out Ronan McDonell's "Kaizen" by just 30 seconds. Tom McMahon's "Tears in Heaven" secured third place, finishing 20 seconds behind "Kaizen."

The HPH results for the Squibs saw a shake-up in the standings. O'Kelly & Barry's "Fantome" took first place, followed by Philip Merry's "Aurora" and "Tears in Heaven" in third. This demonstrates the positive impact of the Howth Performance Handicap system on shaking up the final results and keeping it interesting for all competitors.

In the overall Squib Scratch Fleet series standings, "Kerfuffle" maintains its lead, followed by "Kaizen" and "Fantome."

Puppeteer Class:

The Puppeteer Scratch fleet saw a more pronounced spread among the top finishers. Alan Pearson and Alan Blay's "Trick or Treat" dominated the race, crossing the finish line at 20:28:05. Neil Murphy and Conor Costello's "Yellow Peril" claimed second place, finishing nearly three minutes behind the leaders at 20:31:02. Terry Harvey's "No Strings" rounded out the podium, crossing the line just 6 seconds after "Yellow Peril" at 20:31:08.

The overall Puppeteer Scratch Fleet standings show "Trick or Treat" in the lead, with "Harlequin" and "Yellow Peril" in second and third places respectively.

The close racing across all three classes promises an exciting continuation of the series in the coming weeks. Sailors and spectators alike are eagerly anticipating the next Tuesday night race, where competitors will once again test their skills against each other and the ever-changing conditions of Howth's waters.

Wednesday Night Racing

Following Tuesday's keelboat races, Howth Yacht Club's weekly racing continued with the Wednesday Night Cruiser series on June 19. The evening provided ideal sailing conditions, defying earlier forecasts with a steady 7-knot breeze and flat seas. As one observer noted, "It was a beautiful evening on the water."

Three fleets competed: Cruiser Class 1, Cruiser Class 2, and the Non-Spinnaker (White Sails) fleet. 

Class 1:

In Class 1 IRC, "Jeneral Lee" (Colin & Kathy Kavanagh) took top honors, followed closely by "Snapshot" (Michael & Richard Evans) and "Lambay Rules" (Stephen Quinn). The corrected time differences were tight, with just over two minutes separating the top three finishers. In the overall series standings, "Snapshot" maintains a strong lead with consistent top performances.

In HPH, the top three positions mirrored the IRC results, with "Jeneral Lee" first, "Lambay Rules" second, and "Snapshot" third.

Class 2:

Class 2 IRC saw "Gecko" (Kevin Darmody) claim victory, with "Mata" (Wright & De Neve) and "Insider" (Stephen Mullaney) rounding out the podium. The racing was incredibly close, with only 23 seconds separating the top three boats on corrected time.

"Gecko" also won on HPH, followed by "Xebec" (Bourke, McGirr & Ball) in second and "No Excuse" (Wormald, Walsh, O'Neill) in third.  

In the series standings, "Insider" holds the top spot on IRC, followed closely by "Gecko" and "Mata".  The HPH series sees "Gecko" leading, with "Maximus" and "Insider" in second and third respectively.

Non-Spinnaker:

The Non-Spinnaker fleet provided some pre-start excitement, with "Bite the Bullet" and "Toughnut" both crossing the line early. Despite this setback, "Bite the Bullet" (Colm Bermingham) recovered to take line honors and the win on corrected time. "Toughnut" (Dermot Skehan) claimed second place, with "Splashdance" (John Beckett & Andy George) in third.  

"Bite the Bullet" leads the overall IRC series standings, while "Mary Ellen" (Kevin O'Byrne) tops the HPH series leaderboard.

The race committee saw clean starts for both Class 1 and Class 2, contributing to the smooth running of the evening. The flat sea state allowed for precise sail trimming and tactical decisions, leading to close competition across all fleets. As the season progresses, the standings in all classes remain competitive, with several boats vying for top positions. The combination of ideal weather conditions and keen competition made for a memorable night of sailing, further highlighting the appeal of Howth Yacht Club's midweek racing series.

Thursday Night Dinghy Racing

Rounding out a busy week of racing at Howth Yacht Club, the Thursday Night Dinghy series continued on June 20th with two races for the PY Class Fleet.

Unlike the keelboat classes, the dinghies race under the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) handicap system, which allows for fair competition between different dinghy classes.

Race 8:

The first race of the evening saw tight competition among the top finishers. Michael Evans in his Melges 15 took the win with a corrected time of 36:03. Emmet Dalton in an RS Aero 6 claimed second place just 19 seconds behind on corrected time. Tom McMahon, also in a Melges 15, completed the podium in third.

Race 9:

The second race of the evening saw the same top three, but in a slightly different order. Michael Evans again claimed victory in his Melges 15, reinforcing his strong performance from the first race. Emmet Dalton's RS Aero 6 once again took second place, with Tom McMahon's Melges 15 rounding out the top three.

Notable performances:

Michael Evans demonstrated great consistency, winning both races of the evening in his Melges 15. Emmet Dalton showed strong form in the RS Aero 6, securing two second-place finishes and proving competitive against the popular Melges 15 fleet. The Melges 15 class dominated the top positions, occupying four of the top five spots in Race 8 and four of the top five in Race 9.

Overall Series Standings:

After nine races in the series, with two discards applied, the overall standings show Cormac Farrelly (Melges 15) Michael Evans (Melges 15) Stephen Quinn (Melges 15) in the top 3 positions. The variety of dinghy classes participating, including Melges 15s, RS Aeros, ILCAs (formerly known as Lasers), Oppies and B14s, showcases the diverse and vibrant dinghy racing scene at Howth Yacht Club. As the series progresses, the competition remains fierce, with several sailors vying for top positions.

The Thursday night races continue to provide exciting and close racing for Howth's dinghy enthusiasts.

Link to Full Results

Photo Credits: Race Committee