Displaying items by tag: Howth Yacht Club
Lasers Race for 40th Laser Frostbite Honours at Howth Yacht Club
#lasersailing – Fifteen knots of wind and bright sunshine welcomed 31 Laser dinghies on the first day of the 40th Laser Frostbites at Howth Yacht Club on Sunday morning. It was a baptism of fire for some, conservative downwind sailing for most, and plenty of off-wind planning and gybe mark capizes. Shifty breeze under the west pier made the upwind legs tricky at times, but our equally effective and efficient race committee (Liam Dinneen, Richard Kissane, John Doran and veteran of the first series David Jones) ran two 38 minute races with practiced presicion.
For the standard fleet, Race 1 kicked off promptly at 10:50, with reformed golfer Dave Quinn leading the fleet from the slightly biased pin followed closely by Daragh Kelleher, Daragh Sheridan and Ian McSweeney. Quinn held the lead around mark 1 and until second beat, Kelleher grabbing it then, with Ronan Cull taking advantage of the left and rounding the second windward mark in 3rd. Cull got inside Quinn downwind and rounded in 2nd - and this is how it would finish.
Further back there was more shifting of places: Daragh Sheridan, Stephen Quinn, Darrell Reamsbottom and Mike Evans battling for the next slots. Sheridan came out on top of the group finding his usual top 5 form after some first-day jitters and a capsize at the first leeward mark.
Wind: SW, 14-22 knots
Races sailed: 1 & 2, Olympic triangles
Race length: 38 min each
Leader, standard: Daragh Kelleher
Leader, radial: E McMahon
Leader, 4.7: N Staunton
First capsize of the season: Carla Fagan
Race 1 - Standard fleet:
1. Daragh Kelleher
2. Ronan Cull
3. Dave Quinn
4. Daragh Sheridan
5. Stephen Quinn
True to his pre-race briefing, no time was wasted by race officer Richard Kissane and only 50 seconds elapsed between the last finisher of race 1 and the start of race 2. The breeze was freshening, and those nearer the pin gained from a left-hand shift within the last minute. The first four around mark 1 were Kelleher, Dave Quinn, Evans and McSweeney all having gone left upwind, and this was the order of finishing, with Sheridan catching up to 5th. Ronan Cull was conspicuous by his absence having broken his boom immediately after the start. Again there was plenty of close sailing throughout the fleet - a good omen for some close racing over the next few months.
Race 2 - Standard fleet
1. Daragh Kelleher
2. Dave Quinn
3. Mike Evans
4. Ian McSweeney
5. Daragh Sheridan
Howth Sailors Battle The Elements In 2014 Middle Sea Race
#MiddleSeaRace - As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Irish-crewed boats made the podium in the 2014 Rolex Middle Sea Race that came to a close last week. But they didn't mark the only Irish involvement in the gruelling offshore challenge.
Howth Yacht Club was represented twice among the fleet, with one team chartering Lucy Reynolds' Beneteau First 40, Southern Child, and HYC sailor Laura Dillon setting out on the S&S 41, Winsome.
The latter was forced to retire from the race after the extreme weather conditions that hammered the Mediterranean midweek, with Dillon describing the situation as "frightening" – though both boat and crew were able to shelter at the Italian island of Pantelleria, relatively unscathed.
Meanwhile, the crew of Southern Child elected to push on to the finish, helped by their more remote location out of the full impact of the Force 10 gales that rammed the fleet.
Despite that fortune, the return leg was heavy going in confused seas and waves as high as 10 metres, and it was only on crossing the finish line that the crew discovered they'd placed sixth in Class 4, which saw 75% of entered boats retire.
"Sustained wind strengths of 44 knots for a period of 24 hours really tested the spirit of the crew, and the relentless conditions were some of the most difficult that I've seen," said HYC's Kieran Jameson, who crewed Southern Child with Darren Wright, Colm Bermingham, Frank Dillon, Rick De Nieve, David Wright, Paul Walsh, Jonny White, Will Murray and Lucy Reynolds.
Howth Yacht Club Autumn Series Concludes in Blue Skies & Warm Winds
The final day of the MSL Park Motors Mercedes-Benz Autumn League was a fitting culmination of a hugely successful 6-weeks keelboat racing for this 35th year of Howth Yacht Club's annual autumnal regatta. The 15-25 knot southerly wind, accompanied by clear blue skies and very warm sunshine, afforded the two race management teams the opportunity to set superb courses north and west of Ireland's Eye.
While rights on some of the silverware had already been secured in the previous week, the boats within the 9 participating classes engaged in a fiercely competitive finish to this series which saw Scorie Walls and Declan Browne's Puppeteer Gold Dust win the Heineken Trophy for the overall prize and the 3-boat team of Rita (Howth 17), Harmony (Class 2) and Gold Dust win the Olympus Trophy team prize.
The forecasted strong wind with gale gusts led some teams to stay ashore on Saturday morning, but those that went to sea were treated with superb racing conditions for the 90-120 minute courses. The one-design fleet was led by the J80 Sailfleet class and a race win for the Phelan/ Sheridan/ Knowles partnership secured them the title from the Flynn/ Buckley boat. In the Puppeteer class, the aforementioned Gold Dust won their final race and the result meant that their margin of 6 points over second-placed Trick or Treat (Alan Pearson) was enough to win the overall regatta prize. In the handicap division, Cyprian Feeley's Cloud 9 took the honours from Susan Sheridan's Ibis which finished level on points but Cloud 9's two race wins early in the series ensured their winning separation from Ibis.The Squibs travelled to the inland regatta at Lough Derg, so their standings from last week's race remained as final. (Fergus O'Kelly's Selik winning on scratch and Ronan McDonnell's Fantome won the handicap prize). Having to do penalty turns early in the Howth 17's race ensured that Brian & Conor Turvey's Isobel put itself out of contention with event winners Rita (Marcus Lynch and John Curley) - the 116 year old did enough to take the scratch prize. Mary Faherty's Sheila won the handicap prize, despite finishing the last race with a DNF (did not finish).
Sailing due east of the one-design courses, the cruiser classes raced in stronger winds and bigger seas and Pat Kelly with his team on Storm revelled in the conditions, securing their 5th win in Class 1 IRC while ICRA Commodore Norbert Reilly and Alan Chambers' Crazy Horse won the ECHO prize. Their 3rd win in Class 2 IRC placed Anthony Gore Grimes and his crew on Dux firmly on the winner's podium. Findlater Viking (Kevin Darmody and Mark Patterson) won the ECHO trophy.
An excellent race win by the HYC Under 25 Keelboat team on Kilcullen was not enough to steal the Class 3 IRC prize despite finishing on the same points as Vince Gaffney's Alliance II as the latter team's 2 race wins in the series afforded them the trophy. Lionel McMurtry's Hellyhunter won the ECHO prize by just half a point from Jonathan Wormald and Sean Walsh's Stagefright.
A 4th place finish in the last race by Colm Bermingham's Bite the Bullet helped Tiger (Frank Hughes and Stephen Harris) win Class 4 IRC, but the Tiger team also did it in style by winning the final race. David Sargent's Indulgence had won the ECHO trophy after 5 races and they were happy to take a 2nd place in the last race to compete a very successful series.
Class 5 IRC was won by Emmet Dalton's Jebus and the Denis Wickham Trophy for Class 5 ECHO was collected by Gordon Knaggs and his team on Jokers Wild. The Mini Series prizes were won by Storm (Class 1IRC), Patrick Cruise O'Brien's Dear Prudence (Class 1 ECHO), Kilcullen (Class 3 IRC), Cri Cri (Paul Colton) in Class 3 ECHO, Tiger (Class 4 IRC) and Indulgence (Class 4 ECHO).
Afterwards, MSL Park Motors Group Managing Director Brendan Grace thanked Feargal Kinsella and his event team as well as all the competitors for taking part in the very successful event and looked forward to growing their relationship with Howth Yacht Club with this event in the coming 2 years. Commodore Brian thanked the sponsors and said that they had added real value to the event and had integrated seamlessly with the club. MSL Park Motors Mercedes-Benz also ran a prize draw in aid of the RNLI - to which they donated €1500 in respect of all the entries to the draw. A further competition and draw for 2 GoPro cameras in aid of St Francis Hospice raised €1785 including a substantial donation by the sponsors.
Howth Yacht Club League Dominated By 'Perfect' Storm, New Entrants Sail Over From Dun Laoghaire
#hyc – The by now familiar blue skies for this year's Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League were accompanied by slightly cooler weather this Saturday, along with a brisk 13-20 knots of wind from the west. Other alterations from the previous 3 weeks of keelboat racing included the start of the Mini-Series and a welcome to some new entrants - Philip Smith's Bavaria Match 35 'Just Jasmin' and Paul Colton's Quarter Tonner 'Cri Cri' both from the Royal Irish Yacht Club, as well as Declan Murphy's Hanse 37 'Zuri' from Carlingford.
Following this weekend's races and with the exception of Class 3 in the main series, all other classes in the main series now apply a discard having sailed 4 races. In Class 1 Pat Kelly's J109 'Storm' continues to dominate IRC and ECHO with 'perfect scores' – now discarding first places in each division means that the competition looks to be left to compete for the minor places. The very competitive Class 2 divisions are a much closer affair, where Anthony Gore Grimes' 'Dux' is 4 points clear on ECHO, but only one point ahead of Richard & Michael Evans' 'The Big Picture' and a further 3 points back is the Swan-Freyne partnership on the other half-tonner 'Harmony'.
A win by Vince Gaffney's 'Alliance II' from the HYC Under 25 team in 'Kilcullen' means that they remain in those respective positions at the top of the Class 3 IRC division, while the 'Kilcullen' team top the ECHO division from Lionel McMurtry's 'Hellyhunter' following Lionel's race win this week. In Class 4 White Sails IRC, David Sargent's 'Indulgence' looks set to challenge the Hughes-Harris' Beneteau 40.7 'Tiger', as they are now positioned 2 points behind 'Tiger' following victory in race 4. 'Indulgence' leads the other 16 competitors in the ECHO division and Michael Fleming's second-placed 'Trinculo' by 6 points.
In Class 5 White Sails IRC, a win by Harry Byrne and his team on 'Alphida' closes the gap to one point between their Sunrise 34 and Emmet Dalton's 'Jebus'.
The large Puppeteer class on the 'inshore fleet' of one-design keelboats pushed a bit too hard on their start line and were given a general recall by PRO David Lovegrove, who then set a Black Flag and discipline was restored for the restart of their race and the busy start line. A race win for the Murphy-Costello 'Yellow Peril' and a second place for Colin and Kathy Kavanagh's 'Blue Velvet' did little to alter the leaderboard, but the top placed Gold Dust will need to be consistent to for the final 2 races after applying their discard this week. Cyprian Feeley's Cloud 9 leads the handicap division by 2 points.
Being short a crew member for this week's race didn't help the Flynn-Buckley team on the ISA Sailfleet J80s, as they watched Joe Phelan and his team win this week and take the overall lead from them by one point. The gradually improving results by Alistair Kissane's team (2nd for this race) puts their boat into contention also.
The closest racing of the day was reserved for the two Squibs Fantome (Ronan McDonnell) and Selik (Fergus O'Kelly) with the former crossing the line a single second in front! Most of the Howth 17s had to be content with contending for 3rd place after Peter Courtney's Oona and Marcus Lynch and John Curley's Rita held on to their early lead and finished 1st and 2nd respectively. Rita consolidated her lead in the scratch division while the handicap spoils look likely to be contended by Mary Faherty's Sheila and Tom Houlihan's Zaida.
The MSL Park Motors Mercedes-Benz sponsored Autumn League continues next Saturday afternoon.
(Photo: the Class 2 half-tonner 'Harmony' powers upwind)
Light Winds & Tricky Sailing At Howth Yacht Club Autumn League
#hyc – September's relentless warm sunshine lit Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League race course again last Saturday, providing competitors with what must prove to be a final opportunity for 't-shirt and shorts' sailing as the inevitable October weather looms.
The start line for one-design fleet was laid facing the Portmarnock shoreline and the 4 classes (J80s, Puppeteers, Squib and Howth 17s) started on-time into a gradually-backing gentle breeze of 5-10 knots. While the early legs afforded the fleet tricky upwind and downwind legs in the increasing ebb tide, the eventual settling of wind direction from the south meant that many of the classes had to save their tactical battles for the final beat into Howth Sound.
The offshore fleet starts were postponed by their race management team, as their start line was positioned in an area that appeared to be caught between converging winds. However their patience was rewarded as Race Officer and HYC Rear Commodore Richard Kissane set his course to the newly settled southerly wind direction, giving great racing to the cruiser classes - all getting 2 hours on the racecourse. The pattern of a gradually-building wind has been a feature of the first three weeks of the MSL Park Motors Mercedes-Benz sponsored Autumn League, with almost no wind up to midday.
Once racing is completed next week, boats will be discarding their worst scores in the series and the resulting re-positioning of places in the leaderboards will focus the minds of all contenders for the 17 titles and overall title winners. The Team Prize is being competed for by five teams and is led by the Harmony (Class 2) - Rita (Howth 17) - Gold Dust (Puppeteer) team. This despite Harmony's crew attending a wedding this week and carrying a resulting maximum points for this week's race.
Howth Yacht Club's Late Season Mini–Series to Postpone Those Winter Blues
#HYC – Several forecasts suggesting that the current spell of exceptionally good weather could last until mid-October have helped to inspire the revival of a Mini-Series between Howth and Dun Laoghaire boats during the last three races of the Howth Autumn League, which concludes on Saturday October 18th writes WM Nixon.
Dublin Bay Sailing Club's programme of summer Saturday racing for keelboats concludes this weekend (Saturday 27th September). ICRA Commodore Nobby Reilly, who races out of Howth in the Mills 36 Crazy Horse, feels that there's still enough life in the last of the summer to encourage the Dun Laoghaire boats across the bay for three more Saturdays of racing, and to facilitate this he is organising a three race challenge series within the second half of the six race Howth Autumn League format.
Dun Laoghaire crews will be encouraged by the user-friendly times. The races at Howth on Saturday October 4th and 11th will see the first gun at 2.30pm, while the concluding regatta on Saturday 18th October will get under way at 1130, thereby allowing plenty of time for the prize-giving and for the Dun Laoghaire boats to return to their home base.
Racing is available in IRC 1, 2 & 3, and in White Sails 4 & 5. Entries will be accepted up to the day of the first race (details from http://hyc.ie/autumn-league-homepage), but please call the HYC Marina Office on 01-8392777 few days beforehand to arrange your spcial-deal marina berth a few days beforehand.
Howth Yacht Club Trio in US Grand Slam Match Race Series
#hyc – Howth Yacht Club sailors were involved in August's US Grand Slam series which consists of four ISAF grade 2 match race regatta's held across the Mid West and East Coast of the United States during the month of August. The series included the Chicago Grand Slam sailed in TOM 28's , The Detroit Cup sailed in Ultimate 20's, The Knickerbocker Cup and the Oakcliff International meanwhile were sailed in the stunning "mini- America's Cup boats" the Swedish Match 40's on the waters of Long Island Sound, New York.
Based on a cumulative points system, the series annually attracts the world's leading match race teams – this year was no different with the reigning World Match Race Tour Champion Taylor Canfield and his US One team competing along with numerous other top ranked teams.
The series began in Chicago where both Shane Diviney and Scott Flanigan worked for the summer in the Chicago Match Race Centre and Chicago Yacht club respectively. Shane competed with former Optimist World Champion Chris Steele and his 36 Below team from New Zealand who are ranked 16th in the world.
Scott meanwhile called tactics and trimmed mainsail for the Californian based, Long Beach Match Racing (LBMR) team skippered by multiple Congressional Cup helm Dustin Durant. Sam O'Byrne joined the LBMR team for the finale as a very proficient trimmer at the Oakcliff International in Oyster Bay, New York.
Shane experienced the greatest success of the HYC contingent when the 36 Below team finished second overall in the Grand Slam series after a strong final regatta at the Oakcliff International losing out to series winner Pierre-Antoine Morvan of France in the final. Sam and Scott meanwhile also had some personal highs with LBMR beating Morvan's team along with top name Dave Perry in the Round Robin.
All four events were brilliantly organised and it was great to have Howth so well represented in the U.S this summer. Undoubtedly the experiences shared by this trio will provided the exuberance needed to reinvigorate the Irish match race circuit again, which could not have a better home than in Howth with the J80's.
Howth Yacht Club Autumn League Favourites Emerge After Second Race
#hyc – Almost 100 keelboats raced in Howth Yacht Club's idyllic conditions on Saturday for the second weekend of the MSL Park Motors Autumn League. Competitors enjoyed bright sunshine and the steady 10-13 knots of north-easterly wind enabled the two race management teams to challenge the nine participating classes with the finest selection of 'round-the–cans' courses.
The initial rolling swell on the racecourse was smoothened by the advancing flood tide and HYC Race Officers Derek Bothwell and Richard Kissane wasted no time in setting their planned 2-hour races for all classes, including some additional time on the water for the Class 3 participants.
Pat Kelly and his team on their J109 Storm have wasted no time in declaring their intent and suggested to the race organising team that there should be a good selection of X-Large MSL Park Motors Mercedes-Benz race winner jackets and shirts in stock for their confident and 'bulky' crew, this following their second race win in Class 1 IRC and ECHO. The conditions have been ideally suited to the half-tonners and J24s in Classes 2 & 3 respectively where the Evans brothers' The Big Picture and Brian McDowell's Scandal have dominated the top of the leaderboard, although HYC Past Commodore Anthony Gore Grimes' Dux is keeping the pressure on within Class 2.
On the start line in Class 4, HYC's Honorary Treasurer David Sargent in Indulgence counted on great boat speed to recover from being trapped On-Course-Side of the start line to win again on ECHO, while the IRC division is likely to become a hard-fought affair – with Stephen Harris and Frank Hughes' Tiger winning this weeks prize.
In Class 5, Kevin O'Byrne and his crew on Mary Ellen continue their recent event form with a win in the highly competitive ECHO division, while Emmet Dalton's Jebus was securing its second win on IRC.
The one-design keelboat classes settled into their racing after an initial general recall for the J80s. A race win in the ISA Sailfleet J80 class for Joe Phelan's team put them on a 3-way tie for the lead in a fleet that saw recently qualified 2016 Olympian Annalise Murphy join Alistair Kissane's team for this race.
Gold Dust and Cloud 9 emerged from the busiest start-line of the day winning the scratch and handicap honours in the Puppeteer class and both consolidating their positions at the top of those leaderboards.
Father and son duo of Fergus and Gus O'Kelly (14) won the Squib race for the second week and Marcus Lynch and John Curley's 116-year-old Rita took line honours in the ever-competitive Howth 17 class Scratch division, while Zaida won the handicap race prize.
While protest chairmen Neil Murphy and Ed Alcock were kept busy with their jury teams in the Protest Rooms, the fine weather afforded HYC's entertainment and catering teams to extend their afternoon offering of BBQ's and outdoor live music late into the evening. Event Chairman Feargal Kinsella explained that 'this helps consolidate the decision of our organising team to both raise the profile of the event in conjunction with sponsors MSL Park Motors Mercedes Benz and to provide the very best racing and social offering for our competitors and their guests.'
The series continues for another four weeks, finishing on Saturday 18th October.
Full results here
Howth's Maritime & Sailing History is Brought Centre Stage
#hyc – A new billboard on Howth Yacht Club's prominent gable wall has re-kindled local and general interest in the Fingal port's place in Irish and international sailing and maritime history. And it has led to an upsurge of warm local pride around Howth Harbour. After a summer visiting other ports, W M Nixon returns home and tells how it all came about, and of the re-vitalised seaborn sport which has resulted from this imaginative initiative.
The world's most historically interesting and best-preserved one design keelboat class is hidden in plain sight just 14 kilometres from the heart of Dublin. And at the entrance to the harbour where these very significant boats have their secret summer existence, there stands the most perfect little classic lighthouse you ever saw. It too is hidden in full view.
Or at least, it all seems virtually invisible for many of the folk who live in Howth, who have simply become so accustomed to the presence of the 1817-built lighthouse and the 1898-founded Howth Seventeen Class that they scarcely appear to notice them any more. They seem to take them for granted, as is the case many of the other special features of what is a remarkably successful fishing and sailing port.
Well, maybe they do take a little bit of notice. Certainly if some environment-altering project gets under way which doesn't meet with quiet general approval, you'd be surprised by the level of opposition which can be aroused, and with effect too. But it's part of Howth's reserved way of doing and seeing things not to make a song and dance about local features of importance and attraction when they are as they should be. For it is a fact that, well within living memory, Howth most certainly didn't exude prosperity. So the ingrained pessimism of a fishing port means that when things are going well and the place is functioning as it should, you just stay quiet and don't make a song and dance about the good times rolling.
Nevertheless, now and again when someone with experience of the outside world, and the standing to have opinions which matter, says that Howth is very special and it's time somebody said so, we're quietly rather pleased. And when it's done in in a way which has the style and effect of the new Mercedes-Benz billboard on the prominent gable wall of Howth Yacht Club, we're very pleased indeed.
This billboard encapsulates much that it is significant in the history of Howth Harbour, and it gets the spirit of the place. It shows four boats of the Howth Seventeen class (the "17" refers to their waterline length) gliding in close formation under their full jackyard tops'l rig into the harbour past the gem of a lighthouse in a photo which is so pin sharp that you can easily read the date plate of 1817 on the lighthouse.
The Howth Seventeens which made it to stardom are (left to right) Hera (Michael Duffy0, Oona (Peter Courtney), Isobel (Brian & Conor Turvey) and Aura (Ian Malcolm) Photo of David Branigan photo by W M Nixon
Howth was a distinctly disadvantaged port until relatively recently. Used as the main Dublin ferry port only between 1817 and 1826 (when Dun Laoghaire took over), it only became a "fishing station" around the 1840s-1850s. Then when the herring were fished out by the 1890s, some recreational boating space became available. But even by the late 1950s, as seen here, it was still a very limited harbour.
This outline plans for a major Howth redevelopment became available in the late 1970s. In those days, the very idea of a marina was anathema to some interests. So although a new breakwater is indicated as the "Marina Breakwater", the actual space in which Howth YC were to be obliged to install a marina at their own expense was only referred to as a "Yacht Mooring Basin".
Howth Harbour as it is today, looking southwest across the peninsula with the waters of Dublin Bay at Sutton at top of photo. With clearcut boundaries between the different harbour uses, it has become a harmonious place. The presence of an active fishing port has led to a proliferation of good seafood restaurants. And the preservation of swinging moorings in the northeast corner of the harbour (foreground) has enabled the historic Howth 17s to survive and prosper. Photo: W M Nixon
The Howth Seventeens are part of Irish and international sailing lore. They still sail to the original design by Herbert Boyd of Howth House as signed off in October 1897, and they still race as keenly as they first did on May 4th 1898. More keenly, in fact - they currently have something like sixty races a year, and new boats and new owners and crews have lately been joining the fleet.
As to how they have acquired this overnight fame after 116 years, it's down to Stephen O'Flaherty of Mercedes-Benz. He brought together the needs of Howth YC for a sponsor for their Autumn League in concert with the fact that his quality marque sought a happy match with something which allied classic and timeless style, and could withstand the prolonged exposure of being on a highly visible billboard for the three years of the contract.
Working in close consultation with former and present HYC Commodores Derek Bothwell and Brian Turvey, the idea developed of a big screen photo which would encapsulate key aspects of Howth's unique maritime features in a clear and eloquent combination. Stephen O'Flaherty is owner of the achingly handsome Spirit 54 Soufriere, so he has an eye for a good-looking boat. And as a relative newcomer to being a Howth peninsula resident, he still sees it all afresh.
He pointed out that the little lighthouse at the end of the East Pier is still beautifully maintained, though it is now redundant as the working lighthouse is further north on the breakwater extension added in the early 1980s. Indeed, it is still even inhabited, and for many folk from elsewhere, that plucky little historic lighthouse symbolizes the spirit of Howth. It looks just as a lighthouse should, and it provides a perfect background for a sailing scene featuring the Howth 17s.
So all that was needed was a suitable day to get ace marine photographer David Branigan of Dun Laoghaire (who showed at last year's J/24 Worlds in Howth that he has a talent for drawing the locals' attention to the more picturesque aspects of their port and peninsula), line up half a dozen well-presented Howth Seventeens complete unto jackyard tops'ls, and get them in a harmonious arrangement with the lighthouse in the background and the flanks of the steep island of Ireland's Eye beyond, and lo and behold you have your magic picture, just like that.
Anyone who has ever tried to take a photo of just one boat sailing will realize what an extraordinary challenge this was, as even with one boat you're relying on the presence of a breeze, you're hoping for sunshine, and you're praying that when the best moment arrives, nobody will be standing up on deck or in the cockpit, or looking at the camera, thereby ruining the balance of the photo. And that's just with one boat.
Worse still, it all had to be brought together at very short notice. But the first day suggested for a photo shoot – Thursday August 28th and already under pressure with just two weeks and a couple of days to go to the start of the Autumn League – was a complete no-go with adverse conditions. Time was running out. It had to be Monday September 1st.
They had neither decent breeze nor sunshine on the day, and getting the Howth Seventeens to sail in concert is about as easy as herding cats. As for the wind, it was only fitful from the east, while to the inexperienced eye, the light seemed very flat, and no sunshine.
On top of that, team head Joanna Kavanagh of MSL had only been available on the Thursday – by Monday she was on another photo shoot in Portugal. But far from letting this get them down, the location team rose to the challenge. And the Howth Seventeen sailors gave of their best for a whole day. Show me a Howth Seventeen sailor, and I'll show you a ham......
In the cruel ways of Tinseltown, of the six Howth Seventeens which gave of their very best for that long and often frustrating day's shooting, two ended up on the cutting-room floor - Roddy Cooper's Leila and the Nick Massey syndicate's Deilginis. The final masterful Branigan photo shows Ian Malcolm's Aura (no 7) ahead of Peter Courtney's Oona (no 17), Conor and Brian Turvey's Isobel (no 19) and Michael Duffy's Hera (no 9).
As a sailing photo, it mightn't garner enough excitement to make it into a yachting magazine. But as a billboard designed to tell a story in a specific location, it tells ten thousand words, and tells them very well too. And as clearly as possible – Jason Hurley of Jason Hurley Designs, who was involved in the shoot, also cleaned up the raw photo afterwards to enhance it and take out stains from sails, scrapes from topsides, and weed from waterlines. When it went up just three days before the Autumn League was due to start on Saturday September 13th, it was to be greeted with a shared wave of enthusiasm of a kind which is rare enough in a quirky little community like Howth.
Needless to say, there were soon the usual quips to be heard. The Howth Seventeens survive through turning the laws of physics on their heads. Thus while energy creates friction for other folk, among Seventeen-footer persons it's friction which creates energy. There's nothing like a barbed remark or two to sharpen enthusiasm for the next race. So for those who have said that it takes a posed billboard photo to ensure that Ian Malcolm with Aura will be at the head of the fleet, let me say that in addition to winning races now and again, nobody else in the class has done as much to tell the world that the Howth Seventeens are alive and well and sailing more keenly than ever, and here's a selection of just some of the things that Aura has done in the last sixteen years:
Aura goes offshore. In 1998, the Howth 17s celebrated the Centenary of their inaugural voyage from builder John Hilditch of Carrickfergus 95 miles non-stop back to Howth. Aura is seen here starting to get offshore off the County Down coast as a bright but very cold evening draws in on April 15th 1998. Photo: Damian Cronin
The Howth 17s make the scene at the Glandore Classics 2003 with a foggy race from Castlehaven to Glandore. Here, Aura is chasing Deilginis close inshore. The winner was the first boat to have a crewman downing a pint in Casey's bar in Glandore. Photo: W M Nixon
In 2008, Aura was the only Howth 17 to take part in the Waterways Ireland Classic Boat Regatta at Dromineer on Lough Derg. She is seen here sharing the lake with an International 12, Water Wags, Shannon One Designs and a Folkboat together with the 1873-built committee boat Phoenix (John & Sandra Lefroy). It was the first time a jackyard tops'l had been seen on Lough Derg since before the Great War of 1914-18, as the post-war fleet there were either gunter or Bermuda rigged. Photo: Gerardine Wisdom
Aura and Deilginis off the Royal Yacht Squadron Castle at Cowes in July 2013 during the Classic One Designs Regatta. It is thought to be the first time the Howth 17s were in the Solent. Photo: Mel Massey
As to the Howth Autumn league, it started 35 years ago in a low key sort of way, when the boats of the newly-formed Squib Class realized they'd been at full first season fleet numbers for only a few weeks, yet if they followed the local wooden-boat traditions, they'd soon be laying up. But the Squib is a minimal maintenance little 19ft keelboat, most of the boats were new in any case, and the Lasers had been having their annual winter series in Howth since October 1974. So the Squibs decided to tag themselves on to the Laser race officer team, and continue their sailing until early December, and thus was the Howth Autumn League born, though it didn't become a fully-fledged all-keelboat-classes business until the marina opened in 1982.
When it all started. The newly-established Squib Class inaugurated the Howth Autumn League in 1979, and this was the first race of that series. Photo: Jamie Blandford
Underlying all this, the Howth Winter Lasers will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary. And it also means that HYC have had a continuous sailing programme since their Opening Day in April 1974. But last weekend the first race of the Mercedes-Benz Autumn League 2014 was enough to be going on with, sailed to mark the new sponsorship and the 35th anniversary of the inaugural Autumn League. And as I was one of those mad keen little Squib skippers 35 years ago, it was an ideal opportunity to take up an invitation to race on Soufriere and mark it all with a bit of style.
She has been having a good year on the race courses. Stephen O'Flaherty has teamed up with David Cagney to bring that wayward sailing genius into his regular crew, and while you wouldn't dream of calling them the Odd Couple, the phrase springs irresistibly to mind. They have raised Soufriere's racing to a new level, with an excellent win in the long inshore race at the Panerai Classics at Cowes in July, and then last month they found a new level of joint success with an extremely good debut in Two-Handed racing in the Aqua Double-Hander at Howth, leading a fleet of 34 boats on the water and on corrected time for much of the race round Lambay and the Kish and back to Howth Harbour, only slipping to a close second overall through being becalmed for a couple of minutes just yards short of the finish line.
Soufriere approaching the finish of the Aqua Double-Hander at Howth in August, when she would have won overall on both handicaps had she not been becalmed for four minutes within yards of the line. That race-winning headsail may look gossamer light, but on a 54-footer it weighs around 40 kilos, and it's quite a haul for a two man crew to get it aloft. Photo: W M Nixon
A penny for your thoughts....David Cagney and Stephen O'Flaherty pondering the options for Soufriere when their just isn't enough wind to get the big lady moving properly. Photo: W M Nixon
Many folk would think it absurd to race a "new classic" like Soufriere against the likes of our opposition last Saturday, as it included Nobby Reilly and Alan Chambers' Mills 36 Crazy Horse, and the Kelly team's J/109 Storm which is always there or thereabouts in ICRA Racing, and has been ICRA Boat of the Year in her time. But Soufriere has a modern underwater profile of vertical bulb keel and spade rudder, and despite her very attractive wood construction in edge-glued strip planking, her all-up weight is only about nine tons.
Nevertheless, she does have to cart about these elegant long ends, which are only an asset for extra speed when the wind is above a certain strength. To add to the challenge, the ideal minimum wind varies, dependent on which point of sailing you're on. Beating, she seems to come to life in as little as 6 knots real wind speed. Reaching, you need about 8 knots. But downwind, she's sticky until it's getting near 10 knots, and preferably more.
The forward cabin shows the Spirit style. With the wooden hull unlined, the noise of the water going past is pleasantly distinctive. Photo: W M Nixon
As to the impression on going on board, you have to think of Soufriere as they do with the Howth Seventeens, in terms of her waterline length. She certainly doesn't have anything like the accommodation of a standard modern 54 footer, and even her waterline length of 12m (39ft 8ins) suggests more room than there is, as her beam is only 3.3m (10ft 10ins). But within that, the accommodation is welcoming and elegant, and the boat gives out very pleasant vibes, as she is immaculately maintained by Tim Foley of Dun Laoghaire.
Back in harness. Aidan MacManus of the King Sitric Restaurant has re-joined the Howth 17s by buying the Howth 17 Gladys in partnership with Kieran jameson and others. He first bought Gladys in 1974, and is the first helmsman to have won a race in the Seventeens with 16 other boats astern. Photo: W M Nixon
Going out for the that first race of the re-vitalised Autumn League last Saturday, we motored quietly along past noted restaurateur Aidan MacManus in his Howth 17 Gladys, which he has re-bought in partnership with Kieran Jameson and others. Aidan first bought Gladys in 1974, and he is written permanently into the class's history as in 1988 he was the first skipper ever to win a Howth 17 race with 16 other boats behind, for in a class of such great age, it's seldom that any season will see all the boats afloat.
The wind was light easterly on a day which belied it was mid-September, shirt sleeves stuff and careful reading of summery conditions which were too light for Soufriere. But the team gave it their best shot, and when there was occasionally that essential little bite to the breeze, suddenly we were at the races.
Reaching the weather mark neck-and-neck with Crazy Horse but miraculous to tell.......... Photo: W M Nixon
....on the reach Soufriere found her groove and the Horse was soon put astern......Photo: W M Nixon
.....and for as long as we were on the reach, we were lengthening away......Photo: W M Nixon
.....while the crew prepared for the run. Photo: W M Nixon
Deflation. We pass the mark at the end of the reach, knowing the run can only mean one thing.......Photo: W M Nixon
....and with her spinnaker pole deployed, Crazy Horse was soon rolling over us, so we gybed away into what proved to be the light wind side of the leg. Photo: W M Nixon
We rounded the first weather mark vying for the lead on the water with Crazy Horse, and then - mirabile dictu – Soufriere found her mojo and rolled over the Reilly-Chambers boat and led down the short reach to the next turn, but after that it was a wearing dead run with light patches everywhere. Crazy Horse was soon over us again, and as we don't carry a spinnaker pole, we were tacking sharply to lee down the left hand of the run where winds became lighter, while the Horse and Storm went to the right to find a better breeze, and both were ahead at the lee mark.
But then they clearly reckoned they'd used up all the breeze over to the northeast during their success on the run, so for the beat they went to the right where we'd been flat on the run. We meanwhile were left all on our own to do what we wanted, taking a big punt to the left, and it paid in spades. Getting back up to the weather mark, Storm was well astern and we were snapping at Crazy Horse's heels.
On the second long run, we managed to keep in contact with Crazy Horse.....Photo: W M Nixon
.....while Storm took the scenic route, seeking a private breeze in under the cliffs of Ireland's Eye. Photo: W M Nixon
The next run piled on the pain, but somehow we were hanging in with Crazy Horse, and Storm took a flyer right in under the cliffs of Ireland's Eye. With the wind fading, the Committee Boat had gone over towards Malahide to shorten the course at the lee mark, and a fine selection of the 97 boat fleet were running down together towards it from their various courses.
It made for a very civilised finish time instead of hanging around far into the evening, and we might have hoped for a third or even a second as the long lady which is Soufriere had been doing her very best. But then, just as we neared the finish, didn't the breeze pipe up for a crucial quarter of an hour. We finished at a crisp little speed, but down towards Ireland's Eye the two J/109s and the X332 Equinox were coming up towards the finish with bones in their teeth, and a reasonable chance of a third or even a second for us evaporated to fifth, suddenly three minutes down on the fourth-placed J/109 Dear Prudence (Patrick Cruise O'Brien), while the other J/109 Storm had finished at such speed she pipped Crazy Horse for the win.
At last a bite to the breeze, but we're just about to finish.......Photo: W M Nixon
.....so the brief but temporary breeze at the finish brings up the tail-ender Dear Prudence with a bone in her teeth, and Soufriere is pushed back into fifth on CT. Photo: W M Nixon
But that's boat racing. It had been an interesting day in good company, and when she could, the lovely Soufriere rewarded us with competitive performance, at all times with the water tinkling past in that special way it does with a wooden hull. She was a joy to be aboard.
On the 35th Anniversary of the introduction of the Howth Autumn League, it was good to be heading back in the hazy evening sun into this regenerated port where modern facilities are right beside the traditional anchorage. There, the eternally re-born Howth 17s were striking their tops'ls after an afternoon's racing, just as they've always done for 116 years, while continuing with the banter which will go on for ever.
The Howth 17s striking their tops'ls after a Saturday afternoon race, as they have been doing for 116 years. Photo: W M Nixon
A very likeable boat, and remarkably rewarding to race against more modern types. Soufriere in her berth at Howth after the first race of the MSL Autumn League 2014 at Howth, showing the quality of the work Jimmy Foley of Dun Laoghaire puts into her maintenance. Photo: W M Nixon
Howth's Autumn League Attracts 97 Boats, Storm Takes the Lead in Cruisers One IRC
#hyc – The first race in Cruisers One of Howth Yacht Club's 2014 Autumn League was won by the local J/109, Storm skippered by Pat Kelly on Sunday. The six boat cruisers one fleet is part of a total entry of 97 in 17 different racing classes in a new format regatta sponsored by MSL Park Motors.
Light winds gave race officers on both the Inshore and the offshore courses something to think about but all classes got a start and all competitors but Class 3 got a full race and finish. An extra race for the Class 3 fleet may be provided later in the series.
The results of the first day's racing are here.