Close Racing Marks the End of HYC’s 2025 Season

15 December 2025
Close Racing Marks the End of HYC’s 2025 Season
 
The Club’s 2025 racing season came to a close on Saturday, December 13th, when the competitors in the Tadg Riordan Motors Brass Monkeys series enjoyed spectacular racing.  The Dinghy Frostbite final day scheduled for the following day had to be abandoned due to the arrival of the latest gale but, with six races completed, the variety of conditions enjoyed over the preceding Sundays ensured that the dinghy winners had earned their glory.
 
The 28-boat entry in the Brass Monkeys, divided across three classes, enjoyed exceptionally close racing with the winner in Class 2 being decided by a tie-break - just four points spanning the first four boats. In Class 3, the winner took the trophy by a single point while in Class 1, Bandersnatch of Howth (Kyran O’Grady) was a clear winner with a ten-point margin over Helms’s Deep (Paul Harrison) but just three points covered second to fifth places. With such a variety of boats competing against each other, producing a handicap system that ensures good competition is a challenge. Great credit must go to long-running event organiser Pat Connolly for yet again looking into his crystal ball and assigning handicap numbers that produced such close racing for an event that prides itself on enjoyment.
 
 
Class 1 and 3 raced as Whitesails and, in Class 1 the biggest boat in the fleet, Chris Horrigan’s Pretty Polly from Skerries SC, found Saturday’s fifteen knot southwesterly to its liking. Despite its handicap making it scratch boat in the fleet, its three minute lead on the water was enough to win on handicap with Mary Ellen (Kevin O’Byrne) as runner-up.  In Class 3, the boats to beat for the series were Malahide YC’s Shenanigans (Lee Douglas and Aidan Keane) and the local Mistoffelees (Enda Mulvihill).  After each taking two race wins over the four races, Mistoffolees went into the last race knowing that overall victory needed a race win and Shenanigans back in third. It took the race win but Shenanigan’s second place was enough to secure first overall, setting up a rematch when the Spring event gets underway.
 
 
Class 2 was the home for the boats with spinnakers and the twelve-boat entry included a wide range of designs, including five Sportsboats.  While Indian, Simon Knowles J109, added a win on Saturday to its earlier victory in race 2, J80s took both first and second overall.  Jus De Vin is one of Howth YC’s five Club owned J80s and was chartered for the Brass Monkeys series by the Murphy, Beggan, Byrne, Cullen combo, all well known for front of the fleet racing in bigger boats. It set down an early marker by winning the first race before having to settle for fourth place in each of the next three races.  However, that victory stood to it when the points were totalled after Saturday’s final race to show Jus De Vin and Mojo, Pat O’Neill’s J80, tied on 13 points apiece. With Mojo’s best result being a second, that initial victory for Jus De Vin secured them first place overall with Indian taking third.
 
The Dinghy Frostbite sailors experienced everything from exhilarating planing (and intermittent swimming) to mind challenging ‘hunt the shifts’ conditions over the duration of the series.  The 21 boat PY Class was the biggest fleet, including ten Melges 15s, five IDRA 14s and four RS Aeros.  Daragh Sheridan (RS Aero) maintained his form from the 2024 event by winning four of the six races, a fantastic achievement when racing under PY against such a wide variety of boat designs.  Melges 15s filled positions two to five with Stephen Quinn being first of the Class, followed by Cormac Farrelly /Justin Cullen.  DMYC visitor Pierre Long took top spot amongst the IDRA 14s, quickly getting to grips with the intricacies of racing in Howth Sound.  
 
In the ILCAs, Dan O’Connell (RStGYC) was the clear winner in the ILCA 7s, his five race wins giving him a comfortable margin over Conor Murphy and Tom Fox (Rush SC), Conor’s second place being decided on countback.  Daragh Peelo (Malahide YC) took first in the ILCA 6s with Dylan Cassidy and Peter Hassett second and third.  In the ILCA 4s, Dan Brereton and Nicole Quinn finished the series tied on points but Dan’s three race wins secured him first place overall.
 
Results for the Tadg Riordan Brass Monkeys and for the Dinghy Frostbite Winter Series are available here. 
 
Racing at Howth YC now enters its ‘closed season’ as Christmas festivities take priority.  However, the break before the 2026 season gets underway is short and January 1st will see both the keelboat and dinghy sailors back afloat for the traditional New Year’s Day racing.
 
The Dinghy Frostbite Spring Series starts on January 4th.  The Brass Monkey Spring Series will get underway at the end of January – date to be confirmed but keep an eye on open events online for all updates.
 
Race Report by Neil Murphy
Photo Credit Judith Malcolm