Week 3 of Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League on September 28th saw a dramatic shift in conditions from the previous Saturday. Gone were the strong winds and big seas that had challenged sailors just a week before. Instead, competitors were met with ideal racing conditions: a steady westerly breeze of 8-10 knots and flat seas under overcast skies.

This change in weather promised a different kind of tactical challenge, with success likely to come from reading subtle wind shifts and precise boat handling rather than battling the elements. The stage was set for a day of close, competitive racing across all classes.

Offshore Course (Cruiser Classes)

On the offshore course, the wind direction varied by as much as 40 degrees from 240° to 280° at speeds between 8-10 knots. Sea conditions were generally good, but the shifting wind direction posed a significant challenge to the Race Committee in setting a consistent course.

Despite these challenges, all starts went smoothly without any OCS penalties. Overall, it was a day of competitive and enjoyable racing, likely one of the better days in the series so far.

Cruiser 1: Snapshot Seizes the Day, But Indian Holds the Lead

In Class 1 Snapshot (Michael & Richard Evans) took line honours resulting in a 1st in IRC, followed by Storm (Pat Kelly) in 2nd, with Lambay Rules (Stephen Quinn) in third place. In HPH, the order was reversed with Storm taking the HPH handicap prize and Snapshot in 2nd. Although Simon Knowles’s Indian was missing in action, she still tops the IRC and HPH leaderboard.

Class 2: Dux shines on IRC, with No Excuse for HPH Win

In Class 2, although Mata took line honours she had to be content with a second on IRC with first place going to Dux (Caroline & Nico Gore-Grimes) with Paddy Kyne’s Maximus finishing third. It was nice to see some new faces in HPH with No Excuse (Wormald, Walsh, O’Neill) taking the first spot with the two J70’s Ghost Raider 2 (Nobbie Reilly) and Jawsome III (Jeremy Beshoff) finishing 2nd and third respectively.

Half way through the series Impetuous still commands the IRC and HPH leaderboards.

Class 3: Insider wins again, but fails to reach overall top spot

Another Insider (Stephen Mullaney) day in Class 3 IRC as the well sailed Sigma 33 crossed the finish line over 5 minutes ahead of 2nd placed Gecko (Kevin Darmody) with Alliance II (Vincent Gaffney) finishing third. HPH results tell a totally different story with Malahide YC’s Battlin J (Jordan Killen) climbing to first place on corrected time ahead of Running Wild (Anton Korshunov) and Gecko in third.

Overall Alliance II has a narrow lead on IRC with Shenanigans (Lee Douglas & Aidan Keane) edging them out on countback in HPH.

Class 4 NS: The tough battle continues

Once again Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) took the IRC prize with Splashdance (John Beckett & Andy George) second, and Toughnut (Dermot Skehan) third. Another good review for HPH as the spoils get divided with Malahide YC entry White Pearl (David Greene) convincingly taking 1st place with Alchemy (Russel Camier) in 2nd edging out HYC Spellbound (Graham Burrows, Linda Skeffington) in third.

Overall Bite the Bullet narrowly tops the IRC leaderboard by a single point with Spellbound leading on HPH.

Class 5 NS: A sparkle of Pepsi shakes Demelza and Leeuwin

While Demelza (Steffi & Windsor) and Leeuwin (E.Burke & J. Murray) maintain the first and second place respectively both in Race 3 and overall IRC rankings, in HPH it is Leeuwin on the overall top spot with Pepsi (Doug Anderson & Mark Tattersall) second.

On the day, Skerries SC entry An Oifig (Ger Smith / Niall Sabongi) ranked first on HPH corrected time, with Pepsi second and Joker’s Wild (L. Green & R Flood) in third.

The efforts of Derek Bothwell as RO for the day and ARO Pat McCaughey, ably supported by their race team and the adaptability of the competitors ensured a successful day on the water.

As we reach the halfway point, everything is still to play for across the 5 fleets. Roll on next week!

Inshore Course (One-Design Keelboats)

The sun peered out among scattered clouds to watch the beauty of the one-design yachts racing last Saturday on the Inshore Course of the third day of the Autumn League.

Ideal conditions accompanied day 3, with wind at 250 degrees at 5-8 knots, relatively calm sea and no swell.

Howth 17: Erica and Echo rule supreme after 3 races

Davie Nixon in Erica was back to winning ways taking first place on scratch ahead of Eileen (Rima Macken) and Orla (Gallagher & Fitzgibbon) in third place.

On handicap it was Echo (Bryan and Harriette Lynch) leading the way holding on tightly her first place overall, followed by Eileen and then Erica in third.

At the halfway point, the IRC and HPH leaderboards are firmly led by Erica and Echo respectively.

Squibs: Kaizen adrenaline finish but Tears in Heaven still leads

On scratch, we had a new arrival in the Autumn League with Ronan MacDonell’s Kaizen taking first place followed by Crackertoo (Stephen Kay) and Tears in Heaven (Tom McMahon) in third. The scratch fleet currently sees Tears in Heaven in first place, followed by Kerfuffle (Emmet Dalton) and Crackertoo third.

On HPH Halloween (Loughran & Hattaway) moved up the fleet to take 1st place followed by Fantome (Caroline O'Kelly & Suzanne Barry) and Kaizen. Overall HPH placing sees Fantome first, with Tears in Heaven second and Halloween third.

Puppeteers 22: Trick or Treat edges out Shiggy Shiggy

Just 34 seconds separated Trick or Treat (Alan Pearson & Alan Blay) and Shiggy Shiggy (Paul & Laura McMahon) as they crossed the finish line first and second respectively on IRC, with Harlequin (David Clarke) finishing third.

This 2nd win puts Trick or Treat in first place overall, followed closely by former Gold Dust performing consistently behind the top players to take third place on the leaderboard.

HPH ranking shuffles the results with Blue Velvet (Gerard Kennedy) in first place, Flycatcher (Michael McKeon) second and Trick or Treat taking third.

At the halfway mark, the HPH leaderboard looks similar to scratch with Trick or Treat and Shiggy Shiggy on 1st and second and Blue Velvet a little further behind on third.

Wrapping up

As the Autumn League reaches its midpoint, the improved conditions in Week 3 have shaken up the leaderboards across all classes. With tight competitions in both IRC and HPH rankings, and new faces making their mark, the stage is set for an exhilarating second half of the series.

As teams analyze their performances and fine-tune their strategies, next week's races promise even more intense battles on the water.

Will the current leaders maintain their positions, or will we see more surprises? One thing is certain: with half the series still to go, every point counts, and the fight for overall victory is far from over.

Bring on Week 4!