The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

How long is a Howth 17?

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

Why are Howth 17s so famous?

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

How many Howth 17s are racing today?

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

Who designed the Howth 17?

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

Who built the original Howth 17s?

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

Why were the Howth 17s designed and built?

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

How many Howth 17s were built?

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

What are Howth 17s constructed of?

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

How many races do the Howth 17s sail in any given year?

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League

Name a famous Howth 17?

The 1907-built Deiliginis have recently made it four in a row for the national title that Deilginis has won at least six times in all.

What are some big recent events in the Howth 17 class?

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.

What is the sail area of a Howth 17?

The total sail area is 305 sq ft (28.3 m2)

Linz

28th August 2019

Puspure Has Huge Margin as She Wins World Championship Quarter-Final

Sanita Puspure and Mirka Knapkova-Topinkova chat aftter their race

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure won the fastest quarter-final of the women's single sculls at the World Championships yesterday - with by far the biggest margin of victory. She had more than 15 seconds to spare over the 2012 Olympic champion Mirka Topinkova Knapkova of the Czech Republic.

Puspure became the third Ireland crew to go through to semi-finals in Olympic events in this Olympic qualification regatta.

World Rowing Championships, Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, Day Four (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls - Quarter-Final One - (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Poland 6:15.06, 2 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:17.78, 3 Germany 6:21.04.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Quarter-Final Three - (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O'Donovan) 6:20.84, 2 Spain 6:22.84, 3 Poland 6:23.72.

Women

Pair - Quarter-Final Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Australia 7:08.74, 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:12.51, 3 Italy 7:13.11.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Quarter-Final Three - (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 4 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:07.17.

Single Sculls - Quarter-Final Four - (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:21.03, 2 Czech Republic (M Topinkova Knapkova) 7:36.19, 3 Ukraine (D Dymchenko) 7:41.48.

Pararowing: Women's PR Two Single Sculls, Preliminary Race: 1 Australia (K Ross) 9:24.99; 3 Ireland (K O'Brien) 9:52.13.

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28th August 2019

Good Finish by Crowley and Dukarska as They Nail Down Semi-Final Spot

#Rowing: Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley kept the good buzz around Ireland performances going in Linz-Ottensheim, winning a battle with Italy to take second in the pairs quarter-final at the World Championships. The Australian pair of Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre opened an early lead and won by a big margin. Italy and Ireland moved into clear second and third spots, but it took a fight-out coming up to the line to decide it. All three crews qualified for the semi-finals, but Ireland looked steady and strong and finished out well to secure a better lane draw.

World Rowing Championships, Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, Day Four (Irish interest)

Women

Pair - Quarter-Final Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Australia 7:08.74, 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:12.51, 3 Italy 7:13.11.

Pararowing: Women's PR Two Single Sculls, Preliminary Race: 1 Australia (K Ross) 9:24.99; 3 Ireland (K O'Brien) 9:52.13.

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28th August 2019

Fine Start at World Championships by Katie O'Brien

#Rowing: Katie O'Brien took a fine third place in her first race of the World Rowing Championships. The Galway woman's contest came in a preliminary round - but it was a notable contest, as Kathryn Ross of Australia won in a new world's best time of nine minutes 24.99. Behind her Annika van Der Meer of Netherlands fought it out with O'Brien, who finished well to the cheers of the Irish crowd in the grandstand.

World Rowing Championships, Day Four (Irish interest)

Women's PR Two Single Sculls, Preliminary Race: 1 Australia (K Ross) 9:24.99; 3 Ireland (K O'Brien) 9:52.13.

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27th July 2013

Ninth Place for Ireland's Men's Four at World Under-23 Rowing

#WorldUnder-23Rowing: The Ireland heavyweight four finished third in their B Final, ninth overall, at the World Under-23 Championships in Linz in Austria this morning. Croatia won the race and Lithuania, after duelling with Ireland in the middle stages, secured second. The Ireland crew of Richie Bennett, Matthew Wray, John Mithcell and Rob O’Callaghan held off Norway for third. Britain withdrew as they had to call on one of the members of the crew for their quadruple scull.

Adam Boreham, the reserve for the men's heavyweight crews, finished sixth in the D Final of the men's single sculls, 24th overall.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day Four (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Four – B Final (places 7 to 11): 1 Croatia 6:14.55, 2 Lithuania 6:17.00, 3 Ireland (R Bennett, M Wray, J Mitchell, R O’Callaghan) 6: 19.24, 4 Norway 6:19.29. Britain did not start.

Pair - (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 South Africa (D Hunt, V Breet) 6:46.15, 2 Greece (K Christomanos, A Dafnis) 6:49.16, 3 Serbia (M Vasic, R Deric) 6:49.47; 4 Hungary 6:50.31, 5 Ireland (S O’Connor, F McQuillan-Tolan) 6:59.77, 6 Lithuania 7:20.32.

Lightweight Double Sculls – (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 Germany (M Moos, J Osborne) 6:36.55, 2 Italy (L Barbaro, S Molteni) 6:37.75, 3 Spain (J de Haz, J Zabala Artetxe) 6:37.88; 4 Poland 6:38.49, 5 Ireland (S O’Driscoll, G O’Donovan) 6:46.30, 6 Norway 6:48.13.

Lightweight Single Sculls – (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 United States (A Campbell) 7:11.15, 2 Ireland (P O’Donovan) 7:12.58, 3 Britain (Z Lee-Green) 7:14.26; 4 Australia 7:22.67, 5 Italy 7:24.34, 6 Germany 7:28.69.

Single Sculls - D Final (places 19 to 24): 6 Ireland (A Boreham) 7:36.40.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Finals Two: 1 Greece (A Nikolaidou) 7:54.92, 2 Austria (A Berger) 8:00.22, 3 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:00.28; 4 France 8:04.30, 5 Germany 8:11.25, 6 Cyprus 8:11.63.

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25th July 2013

Ireland Secure First A Final Place at World Under-23 Rowing Championships

#WorldUnder-23Rowing: The Ireland women’s four secured the first A Final place for Ireland at the World Under-23 Rowing Regatta at Linz in Austria today. The crew of Emily Tormey, Ailish Sheehan, Aifric Keogh and Lisa Dilleen needed to finish in the top two of their repechage to get through, and by the closing stages Ireland and Poland were on their way to those places. However, Ireland beat Poland into second to improve their lane draw in the final.

The Ireland men's four of Richie Bennett, Matthew Wray, Jonathan Mitchell and Rob O'Callaghan will row in a B Final. They finished fifth in their repechage.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Day Two (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Four – Repechage One (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Germany 6:01.85, 2 Italy 6:03.35; 3 Croatia 6:05.59, 4 Norway 6:11.03, 5 Ireland (R Bennett, M Wray, J Mitchell, R O’Callaghan) 6:16.97.

Pair – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat Two: 1 Australia (A Moore, A Hill) 6:37.37, 2 Ireland (S O’Connor, F McQuillan-Tolan) 6:49.15; 3 Russia 6:54.42, 4 Venezuela 7:05.10, 5 United States 7:09.48, 6 Estonia 7:15.64.

Lightweight Double Sculls – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat Three: 1 France (D Piqueras, D Houin) 6:26.65, 2 Italy (L Barbaro, S Molteni) 6:31.96; 3 Ireland (S O’Driscoll, G O’Donovan) 6:37.40, 4 Russia 6:42.81, 5 Lithuania 7:05.01.

Women

Four – Repechage One (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (E Tormey, A Sheehan, A Keogh, L Dilleen) 6:48.03, 2 Poland (A Budzynska, J Dittmann, M Cylwik, O Michalkiewicz) 6:48.59; 3 United States 6:54.09, 4 Italy 6:55.92, 5 France 6:58.66.

Lightweight Single Sculls – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 Belgium (E Peleman) 7:46.06, 2 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:50.87; 3 Croatia 7:52.54, 4 Germany 8:00.47, 5 Israel 8:04.22, 6 Argentina 8:06.23.

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25th July 2013

Direct Qualification Eludes Ireland Lightweight Double at World Under-23 Rowing

#WorldUnder-23Rowing: Ireland’s Shane O’Driscoll and Gary O’Donovan finished third in their heat of the lightweight double sculls this morning at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Linz in Austria. France set the winning pace and Italy followed them into the second direct qualification place for the semi-finals. O’Driscoll and O’Donovan did not have the required fast first quarter, and despite competing hard in the middle stages the qualification place eluded them. They are now set for the repechages.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Day Two (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Pair – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat Two: 1 Australia (A Moore, A Hill) 6:37.37, 2 Ireland (S O’Connor, F McQuillan-Tolan) 6:49.15; 3 Russia 6:54.42, 4 Venezuela 7:05.10, 5 United States 7:09.48, 6 Estonia 7:15.64.

Lightweight Double Sculls – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat Three: 1 France (D Piqueras, D Houin) 6:26.65, 2 Italy (L Barbaro, S Molteni) 6:31.96; 3 Ireland (S O’Driscoll, G O’Donovan) 6:37.40, 4 Russia 6:42.81, 5 Lithuania 7:05.01.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 Belgium (E Peleman) 7:46.06, 2 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:50.87; 3 Croatia 7:52.54, 4 Germany 8:00.47, 5 Israel 8:04.22, 6 Argentina 8:06.23.

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