#hyc – Boat of the year, Pat Kelly's J109 'Storm', reveled in lively conditions to take first place in Class 1 IRC of Howth's Autumn league yesterday, but had to share the honours for the ECHO prize with the Reilly-Chambers owned 'Crazy Horse'. Autumn league race one results here.

Third was Stephen O'Flaherty's Spirit 54 'Soufriere' and Ross McDonald and his team on 'Equinox', who will have been pleased to take 3rd place in IRC by a margin of 19 seconds after over two hours of racing.

A fresh westerly wind provided the 114 entries to the 2012 League with a lively start on the first of this 6-race series.

Nine classes in two separate fleets enjoyed perfect conditions with 15-20 knot conditions and race officers David Lovegrove and Richard Kissane made the most of the opportunity that facilitated ideal 'round the cans' racing.

In Class 2 Patrick Kyne's 'Maximus' dominated both IRC and ECHO divisions and only 11 seconds separated 'Dux', 'Sunburn' and 'King One' in that sequence in IRC. Malahide Yacht Club's Vincent O'Shea and James O'Brien in Buskwakka proved that the weather was on their side with a 2nd place in ECHO.

Howth's Vince Gaffney in 'Alliance II' showed the other boats in Class 3 that he will be the one to watch over the next 5 weeks, beating 'Starlet' and 'Goyave' in IRC with more than 3 minutes to spare - quite a margin in a day full of very close results. Eddie Bourke and his team on 'Starlet' were 1st in the ECHO division, with Malahide's 'Goyave' and 'Tobago' keeping the pressure up immediately behind.

Paul Tully and his crew on Dun Laoghaire's 'White Lotus' must have had the Harris-Hughes owned 'Tiger' baring their teeth when they finished ahead of them in the White Sails Class 4 ECHO division by just 1 second. They will be strongly challenged in this series by NYC's Philip Dilworth and crew on his Grand Soleil 42 'Orna' who finished 3rd but took 1st prize in the IRC division and their record in recent Howth events means that they will certainly be the boat to beat in this class.

The Class 5 White Sails race was won by Peter and Declan McCabe's 'Arcturus', narrowly pushing 'Sandpiper' into second place in ECHO. Stephanie Ennis and Windsor Laudan's classic Club Shamrock 'Demelza' took the honours in IRC and will be a tough boat to beat in this class.

On the one-design racecourse, Simon Knowles and team on his Etchells 'Jabberwocky' just finished ahead of Mike Evans's 'Valkyrie', with a gap of only 16 seconds separating them.

Howth's Flor O'Driscoll in the J24 'Hard on Port' won a close race from Stefan Hyde and his team on RCYC's 'Nyah', closely followed by Mossy Shanahan's 'Crazy Horse' and Brian McDowell and Noel Davidson's 'Scandal'.

Twenty entries and a very busy start line for the Puppeteer class saw two boats OCS at the start gun, but not Susan Sheridan's 'Ibis', which finished 1st ahead of 'in-form' boats 'Gold Dust' and 'Eclipse', with Susan and team also taking the Handicap prize.

In the Squib Class, Ronan MacDonnell's 'Fantome also did 'the double' winning both Scratch and Handicap divisions.

Turvey brothers Brian and Conor with their crew in the Howth 17 'Isobel' took line honours from 'Pauline' while the winner on handicap was Bryan and Harriette Lynch's 'Echo'.

Ten teams are be competing for the Olympus Team Trophy and the standings after this first week show the Howth trio of 'Crazy Horse' (Class 1), 'Bite the Bullet' (Class 4) and 'Voyager' (Class 5) leading the field by 14 points.

#hyc – HOWTH YACHT CLUB (HYC) AUTUMN LEAGUE (RACE) 16/09/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Storm P Kelly HYC/RSC; 2, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly HYC; 3, Equinox R McDonald HYC; Class 1 ECHO: 1=, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly HYC; 1=, Storm P Kelly HYC/RSC; 3, Soufriere S O'Flaherty HYC; Class 2 IRC: 1, Maximus P Kyne HYC; 2, Dux A Gore-Grimes HYC; 3, Sunburn I Byrne HYC; Class 2 ECHO: 1, Maximus P Kyne HYC; 2, Bushwakka O'Shea/O'Brien MYC; 3, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC; Class 3 IRC: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney HYC; 2, Starlet Bourke/Others HYC; 3, Goyave Camier/Fitzpatrick MYC; Class 3 ECHO: 1, Starlet Bourke/Others HYC; 2, Goyave Camier/Fitzpatrick MYC; 3, Tobago Ray/Others MYC; Class 4 ECHO: 1, White Lotus P Tully DunM; 2, Tiger Harris/Hughes HYC; 3, Orna P Dilworth NYC; Class 4 IRC: 1, Orna P Dilworth NYC; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC; 3, Tiger Harris/Hughes HYC; Class 5 ECHO: 1, Arctutus P & D McCabe HYC; 2, Sandpiper A Knowles HYC; 3, Jokers Wild G Knaggs HYC; Class 5 IRC: 1, Demelza Ennis/Laudan HYC; 2, Alphida H Byrne HYC; 3, Voyager J Carton HYC; Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Ibis S Sheridan HYC; 2, Gold Dust Walls/Browne HYC; 3, Eclipse A & R Hegarty HYC; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Ibis S Sheridan HYC; 2, Mayfly Guinan/Browne HYC; 3, Gannet T Chillingworth HYC; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Fantome R MacDonell HYC; 2, Too Dee D Sheahan HYC; 3, Puffin E Harte HYC; Squib HPH: 1, Fantome R MacDonell HYC; 2, Puffin E Harte HYC; 3, Too Dee D Sheahan HYC; 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Isobel B & C Turvey HYC; 2, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan HYC; 3, Rita Lynch/Curley HYC; 17 Footer HPH: 1, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan HYC; 2, Isobel B & C Turvey HYC; 3, Rita Lynch/Curley HYC; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Jabberwocky S Knowles HYC; 2, Valkyrie M Evans HYC; 3, Glance O'Reilly/Dix HYC; J 24 SCRATCH: 1, Hard on Port F O'Driscoll HYC; 2, Nyah S Hyde RCYC; 3, Crazy Horse M Shanahan HYC

Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League, sponsored this year by Beshoff Motors, gets its six-race schedule underway this Sunday (September 16th) morning, with over 100 entries in nine classes expected on the two starting lines.

As in previous years, the White Sails Division accounts for the largest entry with 22 boats competing while the Puppeteers and Class 3 will have competitive fleets of 16 and 14 respectively.

The successful format of six round-the-cans races will be repeated, with five successive Sundays and the final day's racing on Saturday 20th October.

The Heineken Trophy will be presented to the best overall winner and the Olympus Trophy will go to the best team of three boats (each boat from a different class) declared before the first race.

#autumnleague – Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League, which is expected to attract over 130 entries, starts next Sunday 16th September and runs for six weeks until late October.

Racing will be provided for 10 classes - five cruiser classes and five one-designs - Etchells, J/24s, Puppeteers, Squibs and Howth 17s.

The successful format will be repeated - namely, six round-the-cans races on five successive Sundays and the final day's racing on Saturday 20th October.

The Heineken Trophy will be presented to the best overall winner and the Olympus Trophy will go to the best team of three boats (each boat from a different class) declared before the first race.

"We are looking forward to another competitive series," said event chairman James Markey, "and can guarantee our usual high standards of race management and après-sailing activities."

#j24 – BMW Ireland has been confirmed as the title sponsor of the J/24 World Championship at Howth Yacht Club in late August 2013 when up to sixty boats from thirteen countries are expected to compete.

One of the major regattas on the Irish sailing calendar for next year, the BMW J/24 Worlds has already attracted interest from J/24 sailors in the USA, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Hungary, Sweden, France, Japan, Monaco, Italy, Germany and Greece.

Racing will take place over five days (August 26th-30th) and will be preceded by registration, measurement and practice from the 22nd. The Principal Race Officer will be ISAF International Race Officer David Lovegrove (IRL) while ISAF International Judge Bob Milner (UK) will chair the International Jury.

The J/24 is the biggest and most widespread one-design keelboat class in the world with fleets in 32 countries and is sailed in half a dozen bases in Ireland. Twelve Irish boats have already qualified for the Worlds after a series of regional and national championships over the past two seasons.

"We are delighted that BMW Ireland has agreed to continue its support of major sailing events at Howth, having sponsored the 2011 J/24 Europeans and this year's ICRA Cruiser Nationals. The partnership has worked well and we look forward to a top class event next year," said Derek Bothwell, Chairman of the organising committee.

John Ives, Managing Director of BMW Ireland, added: "Our connection with sailing and, in particular, our experience with those two major events means we are only too happy to work with Howth Yacht Club again to support such a prestigious world-class event in Ireland."

Howth Yacht Club has previously hosted seven World and European Championships in the past, testimony to its ability to host major regattas. The BMW J/24 Worlds is the biggest event in a programme of 15 local, national and international events being staged by the club in 2013.

#shipman – Christine Heath's Shipman Gusto was the winner of the 13-boat Shipman National Championships at Howth Yacht Club on Saturday.  Full results are available to download below as a jpeg.

Heath's Royal St. George entry was just one entry from the four Dun Laoghaire clubs, RStGYC, NYC, RIYC and DMYC who competed in the four race event.

#puppeteers – Robin Hegarty sailing Eclipse won the Puppeteer National Championships at Howth Yacht Club yesterday but only by half a point margin with former IDRA 14 champion Terry Harvery second. The Sutton Cross Pharmacy event attracted 17 entries. Full results downloadable below.

#TALL SHIPS - Howth Yacht Club has announced that its vessels and race management teams have been asked to provide the official send-off for the Tall Ships Races fleet, which will take place in the centre of Dublin Bay at 6pm this Sunday.

HYC's members will be making a beeline for the bay after the completion of this weekend's Puppeteer National Championships in Howth - not to mention the spectcle of the Parade of Sail which kicks off at 1pm. HYC suggests the Howth Head cliff path between the summit and Redrock as a prime spot to watch the tall ships depart.

The club also urges members who wish to sail to the Liffey to see the Tall Ships Races fleet tomorrow to observe Dublin Port's notice to mariners for the festival.

Sightseeing craft will only be allowed past the Eastlink bridge for no more than 30 minutes at 10am, 12pm, 3pm and 7pm and may only navigate the Liffey as far as the Samuel Beckett Bridge. Extra toll bridge opening times may be added as demand dictates.

Dedicated escorting craft will be on hand to ensure a smooth procession. Sightseeing craft will not be allowed to go alongside the berths or vessels in the Tall Ships fleet, and no personal water craft such as Jet Skis or kayaks will be permitted.

Full details are included in the Dublin Port Company Notice to Mariners No 16 of 2012.

#RS SAILING - Howth Yacht Club hosted 54 boats in three classes for the RS400, RS200 and RS Feva National Championships over the weekend (click HERE for photos).

The Irish version of the 'RS Games' proved a big hit with all competitors. The race management team, headed by PRO David Lovegrove, did a fantastic job to get 10 races in for all three classes in spite of some shifty conditions.

This was all the more impressive as each course change required the moving of up to 10 marks. No mean feat, but the Howth Yacht Club team took it in their stride.

In the RS400 class, bothers Emmet and James Ryan from the Royal St George Yacht Club took the top spot. They didn’t make things easy by using up a discard on the first race of the event and only snatched the win on the last run of the last race having rounded the final weather mark in fourth place.

Greystones class stalwarts Simon Herriott and Tom Moran took second place, while in third place, and the top youth RS400 team, was a very impressive display by Andy Verso and Oisin Baugh, also from Greystones.

In the RS200 class it was another family affair and another Royal St George win with father-and-son pair Sean and Stephen Craig taking first place. It was extremely tight at the top of the 200 fleet with only three points separating the top four boats in the end.

Teams from Greystones filled the next two podium places with Frank and Kevin O’Rourke taking second and last year’s champions Roy Van Maanen and Glen Reid taking third place.

In the Feva class, GB sailors filled the top three slots with Elliott Wells and Jake Todd taking the title on count back from fellow Hayling Island sailors Tom Darling and Will Dolin. Chay and Stirling Taylor took third place.

In the battle for local/Irish bragging rights, Eoin Lyden and Brian Stokes from Cork got one over the Dublin rivals to claim top Irish Feva spot.

Full results can be found at the Howth Yacht Club website at www.hyc.ie, while photos of the event are available HERE.

#rs – Greytones sailors occupy the top three places of the RS200 national championships fleet after three races sailed in Howth today. Roy Van Maanen and Glen Reid lead from clubmates Graeme Noonan and Brian McCarthy. Full results here. In the 24 boat Feva class UK travellers Elliot Wells and Jake Tood from Haylng Island SC are the leaders after three races.  There are no results currently posted in the RS400 class also competing in Howth.  Scroll down for photos by Gareth Craig.