The one designs were the only classes lucky enough to get out racing last week due to strong winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Dinghy racing on Thursday was moved to Friday but a lack of wind on Friday meant no racing went ahead.

Tuesday Night One Design Keelboats

On July 2nd, the one design fleets headed out under clear skies for an exciting evening of racing. Despite this, there was still a noticeable chill in the air, reminding everyone that this was still early summer despite it being the first week in July. The wind was blowing from the south at 170 degrees, steady at 7 to 8 knots, providing just enough breeze for a tactical and skillful race.

Squib Class

In the Squib class, their race kicked off with a bit of excitement. There was an individual recall due to a boat jumping the starting gun. Interestingly, while only one boat was over the line early, two decided to return and restart, displaying a cautious approach from the sailors involved. The Scratch fleet was won by Emmet Dalton and crew in Kerfuffle who proved they are still on a winning streak, winning their 4th Race of Series 2, followed closely by Ronan McDonnell and crew in Kaizen, securing their third 2nd place in a row. Jeff and Stephen Kay in Crackerto secured 3rd place.

In Squib HPH, The O’Kelly & Barry’s Fantome took 1st, followed by Phill Merry and crew in Aurora, with third place going to Ronan McDonell and crew in Kaizen.

Puppeteer Class

The excitement continued in the Puppeteer class as one competitor attempted an ambitious port-hand start. This risky maneuver did not go as planned, resulting in the need for penalty turns to correct the mistake. This early setback spread the Puppeteer fleet out significantly as the race progressed.

Despite the spread amongst the fleet at the end of the race, the competition remained fierce. The lead boat in Scratch (David Clarke’s Harlequin) had to engage in some strategic cover tacking to maintain its position and fend off the second-place contender. This tactical gameplay kept the committee boat crew on the edge of their seats, highlighting the competitive spirit and skill of the sailors. In Scratch, Harlequin took 1st, followed closely by Alan Pearson & Alan Blay’s Trick or Treat in 2nd with Ian Dickson’s WeyHey securing 3rd Place just over 1 minute later.

In HPH, Sarah Robertson’s Snow Goose took 1st, Philip & Rosyln Byrne took 2nd and Terry Harvey and crew on No Strings secured 3rd place.

The Howth 17’s

In the Howth 17 class David Mulligan & Andy Johnston’s Sheila secured first place exactly 1 minute ahead of Jane & Michael Duffy’s Hera while Brian & Conor Turvey’s Isobel secured 3rd place, leaving them 1 point behind Sheila in the overall score.

The overall score for the Howth 17s show an impressive lead for Delginis (Massey, Toomey & Kenny) on 9 points applying their discard in Race 9, however their strong lead of 9 points ahead of Sheila on 18 points, followed closely by Isobel on 19 points. The small gap between these boats shows just how tight the competition is.