Results from Howth Yacht Club Racing show Fetching sailed by Quinn/O'Flaherty as winners of tonight's race. Second was S Knowles in Jabberwocky and third Kootamundra Wattle sailed by O'Grady/Reilly. Full results here:

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. TUE + SAT SERIES 2 (RACE) 29/06/2010 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan; 2, Aura I Malcolm; 3, Rita Lynch/Curley; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan; 2, Aura I Malcolm; 3, Rita Lynch/CurleyTUESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 29/06/2010 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Trick or Treat A Pearson; 2, Blue Velvet C & K Kavanagh; 3, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Puffin E Harte; 2, Shadowfax P Merry; 3, Arctic Fox G Barry; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty; 2, Jabberwocky S Knowles; 3, Kootamundra Wattle O'Grady/Reilly; SB3 SCRATCH: 1, Dinghy Supplies S Murphy; 2, Investwise D Quinn; 3, Shockwave E Quinlan; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Apollo M & D Patton; 2, Arcturus C McAuliffe; 3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray; Squib HPH: 1, Puffin E Harte; 2, Shadowfax P Merry; 3, Arctic Fox G Barry

The Variety Club of Ireland is planning to share a special boating experience with children who have special needs, and to raise funds for their comfort and benefit.

The day begins with their special young guests, dressed as mini-pirates, departing from Howth Marina for a private adventure on the high seas! This charity event is being held in Ireland for the first time and will allow about 80 families enjoy an afternoon of fun with their special needs children. Generous boat owners and crew from Howth, Malahide and Dun Laoghaire have offered to take these special crews for a short trip out of the harbour as part of a fun-filled day which includes activities ashore on the green on Harbour Road.

We would like to encourage as many members as possible to get involved this Sunday by joining the 'Pirate Armada' and dressing their boats overall as well as enlisting as volunteers to help assist the families on and off the many motorboats and yachts that have been generously offered to help host this huge event.

Following a skipper's briefing, the 'Armada' will begin to depart the marina at about 12:00 on Sunday to return about 45 minutes later. 'Pirate' attire is the dress code for all participants, volunteers and observers and the weapon of choice should be waterpistols!

Details HERE

Crazy Horse was the winner of tonight's IRC racing at Howth Yacht Club. Second in class one was Equinox (r.Mcdonald) and third Tiger (Hughes/Harris). Full results here: WEDNESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 23/06/2010 Class 1  IRC:  1, Crazy Horse Reilly/Chambers;  2, Equinox R McDonald;  3, Tiger Hughes/Harris; Class 1  HPH:  1, Crazy Horse Reilly/Chambers;  2, Equinox R McDonald;  3, Joslim J Connolly;  Class 2  IRC:  1, Harmony D & H Toomey;  2, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald;  3, Dux A Gore-Grimes;  Class 2  HPH:  1, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others;  2, Harmony D & H Toomey;  3, Jokers Wild G Knaggs; Class 3  IRC:  1, Starlet Bourke/Others;  2, Gecko K Darmody;  3, Helly Hunter L McMurtry;  Class 3  HPH:  1, Hippocampus B O'Loughlin;  2, Starlet Bourke/Others;  3, Gecko K Darmody;  White Sails  HPH:  1, On the Rox C & J Boyle;  2, Empress III FitzPatrick/Glennon;  3, Fanatix R Fanning;  White Sails  IRC:  1, Alphida H Byrne;  2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham;  3, On the Rox C & J Boyle

 

 

Gareth May was top of the Puppeteer's in Howth Yacht Club last night. Second was Trick or Treat (A.Pearson) and third the Clarke/Egan partnership sailing Harlequin. Dan O'Grady won the Etchells class. More results here:

TUESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 22/06/2010   Puppeteer  SCRATCH: 1, Ibis G May;  2, Trick or Treat A Pearson;  3, Harlequin Clarke/Egan;  Squib SCRATCH:  1, Whipper Snapper M Cantwell;  2, Astrix M McGaughey;  3, Roxanne J Flynn;  Etchells  SCRATCH:  1, Kootamundra Wattle O'Grady/Reilly;  2, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty;  3, Jabberwocky S Knowles;  SB3  SCRATCH:  1, Einstein's Nightmare J Wenski;  2, Dinghy Supplies S Murphy;  3, Lia D Barry;  Puppeteer HPH:  1, Mr. Punch NiBhraonain/Wilson;  2, Apollo M & D Patton;  3, Sanderling D & B Jennings;  Squib  HPH:  1, Astrix M McGaughey;  2, Whipper Snapper M Cantwell;  3, Puffin E Harte TUE + SAT SERIES 2 (RACE) 22/06/2010  17 Footer  SCRATCH:  1, Deilginis Deilginis Group;  2, Rita Lynch/Curley;  3, Rosemary Curley/Jones;  17 Footer  HCAP:  1, Rosemary Curley/Jones;  2, Anita Cassidy/Young;  3, Deilginis Deilginis Group

 

A fleet of around 50 boats, including some of the world’s top sailors and Olympic medallists, are expected for the Etchells World Championships, it was announced at a Reception in Howth Yacht Club attended by the Minister for Tourism, Sport & Culture Mary Hanafin TD and the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Ciaran Byrne.

Among those competing will be sailing legend John Bertrand from Melbourne, Australia, the man who wrested the famous America’s Cup from the USA in 1983 and who continues to race Etchells successfully (3^rd at 2009 Worlds). Other notable entries include defending champion Jason Muir, two former champions Jud Smith (2006) and Peter McNeill (2004) and last year’s runner-up Damien King. Also racing is Irish-born Noel Drennan who has extensive big boat experience on boats such as BMW Oracle.

The most prestigious international sailing event in Ireland this year, the Etchells Worlds has received welcome support from Fingal County Council, the Irish Sports Council (ISA) and Dublin Tourism.

Twelve Irish crews have qualified for the event, with Dan O’Grady and his crew from the host club completing the trials series in top spot. Ahead of them and the visiting boats is a tough six-day racing programme from August 23^rd to 28^th on courses set by International Race Officer David Lovegrove.

“We have been planning the event for three years now,” said Organising Committee Chairman Berchmans Gannon, “and we are happy that we have put in place a championship that will be remembered for top class competition on the water and the best Irish hospitality ashore.”

Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Ciaran Byrne, HYC Commodore Peter McKenna, Sports Minister Mary Hanafin and Fingal County Manager David O'Connor pictured at the Etchells Worlds launch reception

The 160 entries – something of a sailing record in recent times – for this year’s Lambay Race – sponsored by Electro Automation Group in Howth Yacht Club - enjoyed a superb day afloat, basking in sunshine as they worked their way through light to moderate north-westerly winds around the island and back to their respective finishes. Race photos from Gareth Craig on the Afloat gallery here.

A number of classes had shortened courses and the dying wind saw 30 boats failing to finish. Visiting boats represented almost one-third of the total entry and they went home with nearly half of the divisional honours.

It was a good day for Paul O’Higgins’ ‘Rockabill V’ from the National YC which enjoyed success on the double, winning Class 1 on both IRC and ECHO handicaps, with the IRC win a matter of 7 seconds on corrected time from HYC’s ‘Crazy Horse’ (Norbert Reilly).

For once, it was not the multiple National Champion boat ‘Kinetic’ at the front of the Class 2 fleet but it was a very tight affair between two other HYC boats. ‘MiniMumm’ (Cobbe/McDonald) was a mere 40 seconds ahead on water (but 1.25 minutes corrected on IRC) of ‘Superhero’ (Byrne/Banahan) but enjoyed a much more emphatic win on ECHO by 8 minutes. Dave Cullen’s ‘King One’, third on both handicaps, took the IRC Restricted prize.

The biggest class in the regatta was the 28-boat fleet in Class 3 which was dominated on the water by two visiting J24s – ‘Hard on Port’ (Flor O’Driscoll, RSt.GYC) and ‘Scandal’ (Brian McDowell, MYC) and while the Dun Laoghaire boat was a comfortable winner, it was Basil McMahon’s ‘Holly’ which came through to take 2^nd on IRC and also win on ECHO.

It was another southside entry, ‘Orna’ (P.Dilworth, National YC) which showed the way in emphatic fashion in the White Sail A Division, winning IRC by a massive 11 minutes corrected and ECHO by a more modest 1.35, both times ahead of Kieran Jameson’s ‘Changeling’. Local honour was restored in the White Sail B Division with ‘Flashback’ (Gregory/Breen), with a good win on IRC and a narrow one (5 seconds) on ECHO ahead of Charlie Boyle’s ‘On the Rox’ which had the consolation of taking the HPH prize.

The one-design classes had disappointing fleets compared to the cruisers but that didn’t mean any lack of competition. Seven E-boats travelled from Clontarf for the event and it was ‘OctopussE’ (P.O’Neill) which headed the race by an impressive 7 minutes from ‘Eagle Eye’ (O’Hara/Smith).

Only four Etchells made the starting line and unsurprisingly, the O’Grady/reilly partnership on ‘Kootamundra’ won by over 5 mnutes from runner-up ‘Northside Dragon’ (D. McManus). Seven 31.7s, representing four different clubs, saw a double whammy for Royal Irish visitor ‘Attitude’ (D.Owens), just ahead of HYC’s ‘C’Est la Vie’ (Flannelly & Others).

Nine Ruffians came from Dublin Bay and after 4 hours racing, only 1 minute separated ‘Shillelagh’ (Berber/Caldwell, NYC) and ‘Shannagh’ (S.Gill (RSt.GYC) while of the five Squibs in action, only ‘Puffin’ (Emer Harte) and ‘Pot Black’ (the McMurtrys) managed a finish and in that order too, both on scratch and HPH. Peter Courtney’s ‘Oona’ headed the Howth 17s’ fleet by three minutes from ‘Rita’ (Lynch/Curley) while ‘Rosemary’ (Curley/Jones) enjoyed handicap success.

The exception to the small one-design numbers was inevitably the Puppeteers who managed to get 17 boats on the starting line and the conditions were clearly to the liking of Alan Pearson and crew on ‘Trick or Treat’ because their 4 minute margin over ‘Harlequin’ (Clarke/Egan) on the water translated into a 4-second handicap win over ‘Cloud 9’ (C.Feely)

The Lambay Race Committee was chaired by James Markey, who was delighted that entries exceeded expectations, and the sponsors were Electro Automation Group, a leading specialist in such areas as automated car park systems, gate and door access control systems, and intelligent transportation systems.

 

HOWTH YACHT CLUB.  LAMBAY REGATTA (RACE) 12/06/2010   Class 1 IRC:  1, Rockabill V P O'Higgins NYC;  2, Crazy Horse N Reilly HYC;  3, Pretty Polly C Horrigan NYC;  Class 1  ECHO:  1=, Rockabill V P O'Higgins NYC;  1=, Rollercoaster C & P Power-Smith RStGYC;  3, Raptor Hewitt/Others RIYC;  Class 2  IRC:  1, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald HYC;  2, Superhero Byrne/Banahan HYC;  3, King One D Cullen HYC;  Class 2  ECHO:  1, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald HYC;  2, Superhero Byrne/Banahan HYC;  3, Dochas J Molohan HYC;  Class 2  IRC RESTRICTED:  1, King One D Cullen HYC;  2, Toughnut D Skehan HYC;  3, Bendemeer Casey/Power RStGYC;  Class 3  IRC:  1, Hard on Port F O'Driscoll RStGYC;  2, Holly B MacMahon HYC;  3, Scandal B McDowell MYC; Class 3  ECHO:  1, Holly B MacMahon HYC;  2, Saki McCormack/Ryan RIYC;  3, Hard on Port F O'Driscoll RStGYC;  First 31.7 SCRATCH:  1, Attitude D Owens RIYC;  2, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC;  3, Magic D O'Sullivan RIYC;  First 31.7  ECHO:  1, Attitude D Owens RIYC;  2, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC;  3, Bluefin Two M & B Bryson NYC;  Puppeteer  SCRATCH:  1, Trick or treat A Pearson HYC;  2, Harlequin Clarke/Egan HYC;  3, Eclipse A & R Hegarty HYC;  Puppeteer  HPH:  1, Trick or treat A Pearson HYC;  2, Cloud 9 C Feely HYC;  3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray HYC; Squib  SCRATCH:  1, Puffin E Harte HYC;  2, Pot Black R & I McMurty HYC;  Squib  HPH:  1, Puffin E Harte HYC;  2, Pot Black R & I McMurty HYC;  17 Footer  SCRATCH:  1, Oona P Courtney HYC;  2, Rita Lynch/Curley HYC;  3, Rosemary Curley/Jones HYC; 17 Footer  HPH:  1, Rosemary Curley/Jones HYC;  2, Echo B & H Lynch HYC;  3, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan HYC;  Etchells SCRATCH:  1, Kootamundra O'Grady/Reilly HYC;  2, Northside Dragon D MacManus HYC;  3, Jabberwocky S Knowles HYC;  E Boat SCRATCH:  1, OctopussE P O'Neill CY&BC;  2, Eagle Eye O'Hara/Smith CY&BC;  3, Aoife B Linnane CY&BC;  Ruffian 23  SCRATCH:  1, Shillelagh Berber/Caldwell NYC;  2, Shannagh S Gill RStGYC;  3, Diane 2 A Claffey RStGYC;  SB 3  SCRATCH: 1, Shockwave E Quinlan HYC;  White Sail A  IRC:  1, Orna P Dilworth NYC;  2, Changeling K Jameson HYC;  3, Empress 111 T FitzPatrick HYC;  White Sail A  ECHO:  1, Orna P Dilworth NYC;  2, Changeling K Jameson HYC;  3, Empress 111 T FitzPatrick HYC;  White Sail B  IRC:  1, Flashback Gregory/Breen HYC; 2, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  3, Brazen Hussy Stirling/Barry HYC;  White Sail B  HPH:  1, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  2, Brazen Hussy Stirling/Barry HYC;  3, Alphida H Byrne HYC; White Sail B  ECHO:  1, Flashback Gregory/Breen HYC;  2, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  3, Mac Magic D & P McCabe HYC

 

It will be a busy weekend of sailing at Howth Yacht Club with over 150 boats participating in the annual Lambay Race on Saturday afternoon and the Etchells World Championships being officially ‘launched’ by the Minister of Sport Mary Hanafin at a Reception in the club on Saturday evening.

The Electro Automation Lambay Race entry tops last year’s overall fleet and over one-third of the boats will be visitors from the likes of Malahide, Skerries, Clontarf and the Dun Laoghaire waterfront clubs. The forecasted sunshine may encourage a number of late entries.

The Race will provide racing for 12 classes, with the 31.7s back with a separate class start and the J109s also racing for a scratch result within Class 1.

When the crews are back ashore, the Minister for Sport and the Mayor of Fingal will be among the guests at a reception to announce details of this August’s Etchells World Championships being hosted by Howth YC.

A fleet of 50 boats is expected, sailed by some of the world’s top sailors, champions and Olympic medallists such as Australia’s John Bertrand.

Howth Yacht Club continue to put their time with the ISA Sailfleet J80s to innovative use with a regatta pitting Howth's top sailing families against each other in a one-design race-off series over the weekend. The HYC Family Sailing Championships saw 14 famliy teams racing in the J80s off Howth, with the Evans Familybesting all the families who participated. The regatta turnout included the Buckleys, Burkes, Cagneys, Cahills, Coopers, Evans, Harrisses, Kissanes, Klimckes, Knowles, Lynches, Markeys, McMahons and Reillys.

A very wide range of competitors participated with ages ranging from approx 6 years to 76 years. Bonus points were added for teams with extra generations of family aboard and it was great to see so many of the junior sailors out sailing in the J80s and showing their parents and grand-parents how sailing should be done!

Particular congrats to Erica Markey who was the youngest helm in the regatta.

A great family day was had by all in varying breeze conditions, ranging from 3-18 knots in a changeable wind direction - initially north-westerly changing 180 degrees to south easterly!

2 flights were held (with 3 races in each flight), to determine which top 8 teams would progress through to the finals. In heat 1 the top 4 teams to progress through to the final were as follows:

1. Evans
2. Knowles
3. Kissanes
4. Burke

In heat 2 the top 4 teams to progress through to the final were as follows:

1. Lynch
2. Harris
3. Reilly
4. Cooper

An exciting 2 race final was held in a decreasing south-easterly breeze. The racing was very close and in the end the Evans sailed excellently to win overall! The Knowles and the Kissanes finished joint second, followed by the Coopers in 4^th, the Burkes in 5^th, Reillys in 6^th, Lynches in 7^th and Harrisses in 8^th. Please see excel spreadsheet for full results. A fun day of racing was followed by a family BBQ where all the competitors relaxed in the sunshine after 8 exciting races!

Emmet Dalton kept interested supporters updated via live Twitter updates all day which can be read on http://twitter.com/HYC_Events

Sixty-four of Howth Yacht Club's junior sailors were treated to an evening of race training in the ISA Sailfleet J80s on a fresh Monday evening, under the guidance of Laura Dillon. 

A host of support vessels and RIBs facilitated the running of the evening which saw all the children (ranging in age from 9 to 15) taking part in two short windward-leeward 'races' with two senior volunteers on each of the eight J80s. 

The moderate southerly wind facilitated exciting conditions in the flat waters of Howth Sound and gave many of the children their first taste of one-design keelboat racing. More than thirty-five volunteers escorted the exhilarated sailors back to the club after their experience. 

Howth Yacht Club continue to march ahead as early adopters of new media, streaming details from their HYC Helmsman's Championships in real-time over the web. Using a combination of live tweets from Twitter and streaming vide on UStream (courtesy of Noel Davidson) the club was able to present a live-action sailing feed from their racing area.

10 teams from HYC competed in the HYC Helmsmans Championship. The teams were divided into 2 heats with 5 teams racing on Saturday morning and 5 teams racing on Saturday afternoon. Both heats were hotly contested and 4 teams from each heat progress through to the final on Sunday.
Heat 1 was won by Michael Duffy, followed by Emmet Ryan in 2nd, Scott Flanigan in 3rd, Garrett May in 4th and John Faller in 5th. Heat 2 was won by Laura Dillon, followed by Alistair Kissane in 2nd, Dermot Skehan in 3rd, Paul McMahon in 4th and Jenny O’Leary in 5th.

The top 8 teams progressed through to the finals on Sunday and the final top 3 results were:
1.    Laura Dillon and crew
2.    Garrett May and crew
3.    Emmet Ryan and crew

Dillon successfully defended her title. Full blow-by-blow details from the racecourse are available both on the HYC_Events Twitter stream and Noel Davidson's Ustream channel which houses the video.