With the July 2026 weekend planned for the Sutton Cross Pharmacy Puppeteer 22 Nationals lost to strong winds, the Class reconvened on Sept 19 & 20 for what proved to be a feast of heavy weather racing. After six challenging races, Nigel Biggs’ Nimon, representing Royal Irish and Howth YC, was declared National Champion for the second year in a row.

 

 

With 17 entries, the event shared two of the Autumn League races on Saturday but the Puppeteers had already completed a morning marathon before the rest of the League fleet arrived out to for their 1300 first guns. Former Champions, Shiggi Shiggi (Paul McMahon), started the event in style with a win in the first race while Nimon (helmed by David Johnston) languished back in an uncharacteristic 4th place. With the wind gusting to 25 knots and regularly oscillating in direction, the two priorities all day Saturday were heavy weather boat-handling and anticipating where the wind would next come from. With the course laid off Portmarnock beach, the westerly wind kept the sea flat while the frequent gusts led to spectacular broaches on the offwind legs of the Windward Leeward courses, interspersed with the relatively unusual sight of Puppeteers planing like dinghies. Nimon returned to form for the second and third races and went ashore for the evening as overall leaders with Shiggi Shiggi just one point behind, followed by Trick or Treat (Alan Blay) and Yellow Peril (Neil Murphy).

 

 

The weather forecast for Sunday raised hopes of less demanding conditions for the remaining three races. By the time the fleet reached the course area it was a case of ‘fooled ya’ and race 4 took place in similar conditions to the first three, apart from extra helpings of sunshine. Nimon quickly showed their intent with another win, ahead of Trick or Treat and Yellow Peril, while Shiggi Shiggi's 7th place finish set them further adrift from the lead. Trick or Treat fought their way to the front in race 5 to secure a narrow victory over Nimon, with Yellow Peril again taking 3rd. Unfortunately, Shiggi Shiggi experienced rigging problems that put an end to their challenge for the title. Going into the last race, despite already securing first and second places,  Nimon and Trick or Treat chose to stay out and finish in style. A persistent wind shift resulted in the race being abandoned with the leading boats approaching the first windward mark. The Race Committee, under the direction of Race Officer Harry Gallagher, quickly re-laid the course as the fleet returned to the start area for another attempt. WeyHey (Ian Dickson) stormed into a sizeable lead over the first half of the race but Nimon was not to be denied. By the last leeward mark, it was back in the lead and went on to secure its fourth race win of the event and confirm its position as 2026 National Champions.

 

 

At the prizegiving, Irish Sailing medals were presented to the top three boats on scratch – Nimon, Trick or Treat and Yellow Peril - while Harlequin (D Clarke) took fourth. The handicap event winner was WeyHey with Pinocchio (Jack McMahon) the runner up, Eclipse (Graham Cawley) in third place and Mojo (Franciso Martinez) taking fourth.

 

 

Nimon’s crew - David Johnston, Jonny and Andy Sargent and Ben Lumley - sailed a near faultless series in the challenging conditions to add the boat’s second Nationals title to their Autumn League 2025 victory. It thereby retained its record of event wins since its relaunch in 2025 after being more than ten years out of commission, followed by a magnificent refurbishment. At the prizegiving, Jonny Sargent thanked Sutton Cross Pharmacy for their sponsorship, the Race Committee and the event team, both afloat and ashore, for their work in delivering the Championship at the second attempt, complimenting the class on the close racing enjoyed over the two days.

 

 

We'll see more Puppeteer action in the remaining four weeks of Autumn League, which continues this Saturday.

 

Full results are available at www.hyc.ie/results and photos taken over the weekend are available here. 

 

Thanks to Karolina Kernan for capturing the weekend on camera, and to Neil Murphy for capturing it in words.