While several national and international classes are notably successful in having a truly all-Ireland spread, only in the J/24s would you somehow end up with ten different clubs from every part of the country coming up in lights in the final setting of the leaderboard.

But then Rod Johnstone's 45-year-old first pitch at yacht design has acquired something of a cult status among its devotees. And though there have been more than a few hyper-successful J Boat designs since (and then some), for the true aficionados, there's only one, and that's the 24.

Thus when impecunious young folk decide they've simply got to have a boat of their own, a class of such longevity offers a very wide selection of good-value doer-uppers. And once they get the boat restored and back in racing trim, they'll find the class is a friendly community with any amount of senior – and some very senior – lifelong enthusiasts who are generous with support and helpful advice.

Clean start. Three boats – 5219 (Il Ricco), 4212 (Scandal) and 4794 (Hard on Port) – are getting the best of it. At the end of the day, their overall placings were 5219: 4th overall, 4212: 12th oa, and 4794: 3rd overall. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Father of the Class – longtime enthusiast Flor O'Driscoll (centre) originally of Cobh but now very much of Bray, with his loyal crew in the process of receiving the prize for third overall.

Thus although the class got together in strength for the recent J/24 Nationals in Sligo, with the prize this year being the Bicentenary-celebrating Ladies' Cup of Sligo Yacht Club, it was a distinctly storm-curtailed event. So with the pandemic restrictions being further eased, all the signs were there'd be a good turnout for this past weekend's WaterWipes J/24 Eastern Championship at Howth, and the signs were right on target.

Nevertheless, despite some warmly-welcomed fresh crews and boats entering the 18-fleet equation, up at the sharpest end of the fleet it was a case of As You Were with the clear overall winner being Headcase, the National Champion at Sligo, syndicate-owned and raced with Cillian Dickson on the helm, and sailing under the colours of Howth YC, Lough Ree YC, Mayo SC, and Ballyholme YC in a remarkable combination from which Munster is the only missing province.

Anyone who complains that the mainsail number and the spinnaker number on Crazy Horse (Luke McBride, Lough Swilly YC) don't match, and that the blue spinnaker on Scandal (Isobel Cahill, Howth YC) doesn't seem to gave a number at all, is missing the point of the contemporary J/24 Class in Ireland. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

The other domineer was Colm O'Flaherty of Sligo with Jana, who together with Headcase had put down a marker in the first race with the old one-two, while third went to Mark Usher of Greystones. But Race 2 saw a hugely popular win for the Father of the Class, Flor O'Driscoll of Bray, and this kept things a bit more open for the six-race series.

Line up the usual suspects….HYC Commodore Paddy Judge (centre) with the victorious Headcases

Nevertheless, the underlying trend was irreversible, the final total having Headcase on 6pts, Jana on 13, and Flor O'Driscoll's Hard on Port on 16, just one point clear of Lough Erne's J P McCaldin on 17 in Il Ricco. A detailed analysis of the complete scorecard speaks volumes for the key role this timeless little boat plays at clubs throughout the country. And yes, it was noticed that between the J/24s and the 420s, Lough Ree YC was having an extremely successful weekend at Howth.

Results here

Sam O'Byrne, Quarter Master of the championship-winning Headcase Society, explaining how you can successfully campaign a J/24 with a crew drawn from three of Ireland's four provinces

Howth RNLI was tasked by Dublin Coast Guard to recover an upturned RIB tender that fell off the rear of a powerboat.

Howth RNLI pagers sounded at 1.00 pm Saturday 21st August 2021 after being tasked by Dublin Coast Guard to recover an upturned rigid inflatable boat that had fallen off the rear of a powerboat.

The powerboat owner had tried to retrieve the RIB but was unsuccessful. They called Dublin Coast Guard and asked for assistance.

The Howth RNLI all-weather lifeboat and volunteer crew launched 12 minutes later and made its way to the scene.

Weather conditions at the time were calm seas with a 6-7 knot southeast breeze and localised thundery downpours.

Howth RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew righted the upturned vessel and took the RIB in tow to the safety of Howth harbour.

Speaking following the callout, Fred Connolly, Howth RNLI Coxswain said: ‘The powerboat owner did absolutely the correct thing, to call for assistance before the RIB drifted into shipping lanes. We were pleased to be tasked and be able to retrieve the RIB before it became a danger to other vessels’

At least six Half Tonners and six X302s are expected for a newly devised Championships at Howth Yacht Club later this month.

The Irish Half Ton Cup and X302 Challenge will be sailed over three windward-leeward courses and a coastal race from August 21 & 22nd.

With July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta cancelled and leaving a void in the season, the two classes came together to produce the pop-up event.

The championships will also serve as a warm-up for September's ICRA National Championships at the National Yacht Club.

Under 18 sailors

The Half-Ton Class says it is keen to promote junior sailing and so have agreed that each boat will take an under 18 sailor as part of the crew for the event. Event rules will permit IRC crew number plus one to encourage same.

The Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions are downloadable below. Online entry is here.

RNLI volunteers from Skerries and Howth were tasked to Rush in north Co Dublin on Wednesday afternoon (4 August) following a Pan-Pan VHF call from small fishing boat with two on board that was taking on water near the entrance to Rogerstown Estuary.

With the possibility of persons entering the water, both lifeboats launched shortly after 4.30pm and headed for Rogerstown at the maximum possible safe speed amid moderate conditions, with a Force 4 wind.

As the inshore lifeboat from Skerries arrived on scene, they could see that the casualty vessel had sunk on the bar at the entrance to Rogerstown Estuary.

There were people in the water in the vicinity of the boat where it was grounded, however the water was shallow enough for them to stand.

As lifeboat volunteers assessed the situation, Howth RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat arrived and stood by in case of needed assistance. A ground unit from Skerries Coast Guard was also in attendance.

It was quickly established that the two people from the boat had made it to safety on the beach, but then re-entered the water trying to lay out an anchor to secure the boat.

With the aid of the Skerries RNLI crew, they managed to turn the boat to bring the bow into the waves, which enabled them to bail the boat out and refloat it.

Noting the large number of windsurfers and kitesurfers in the area, Skerries’ helm decided that the boat presented a hazard and could potentially lead to a further callout if left where it was.

The vessel was subsequently taken under tow to the nearest safe harbour at the slipway in Rogerstown. The casualties returned to shore and with the immediate danger passed, Howth RNLI were stood down and returned to station.

Speaking about the callout, Skerries RNLI’s press officer Gerry Canning said: “There is always a great deal of concern when there is the possibility of someone ending up in the water.

“Thankfully on this occasion the boat grounded on a sand bar and they were able to make their way to safety. But it highlights that things can and do go wrong at sea and shows the value of carrying a means to call for help if needed.”

Howth RNLI pagers sounded at 6.10 pm Friday 3rd July 2021 to reports of a small fishing vessel with three people on board who were stranded in the vicinity of Lambay Island due to mechanical problems.

The Howth RNLI all weather lifeboat and volunteer crew launched 12 minutes later and rapidly made its way to the scene.

Weather conditions at the time gave good visibility but there was a 2 to 3 metre swell and the casualty vessel was anchored off a lee shore sound of Lambay Island.

Howth RNLI Second Coxswain Ian Sheridan assessed the situation and transferred the 2 young members of the family aboard the Lifeboat and a decision was taken to take the fishing boat in tow to the safety of the nearest port of Malahide marina.

The 3 people aboard were all wearing lifejackets but the 2 younger crew members were suffering from slight seasickness.

Towed to safety - Weather conditions at the time gave good visibility but there was a 2 to 3 metre swell

Speaking following the callout, Stephen Harris, Howth RNLI Deputy Launch Authority said: ‘We were delighted to help the 3 people this evening, they all had their lifejackets and safety gear. They dropped anchor and called for help as soon as they encountered engine difficulties, we were happy to assist.’

It's a serious-looking big poster that they've had newly-displayed for the past three days on Howth Yacht Club's gable wall. But then, the prospect of Rob Dickson of Howth and Sean Waddilove of Skerries representing Ireland in the Tokyo Olympics in the 49er in three weeks time is a serious business, a serious business given an extra edge as they only finally secured their Olympic place in the Last Chance Saloon Selection Series at Lanzarote at the end of April.

In fact, it's arguable that had the Olympics not been COVID-postponed for a year, they wouldn't be there at all, as their longterm target had been Paris/Marseille Olympics 2024, and they'd only suddenly been added to the 2020 possibilities when they won the 49er U23 Worlds in September 2018, but subsequently hadn't made the grade for Tokyo under the original 2020 schedule.

Yet for two months now, their place in Enoshima has been secured, and their two home clubs in Fingal have been factoring in a total Olympic dedication in their memberships from the first heats on July 27th until the Medal Race on August 2nd, while Silver Medal defender Annalise Murphy of the National YC has her first race on July 25th, and the Medal Race is August 1st.

All over Ireland and abroad, our sailing community will be closely following a global event which - let's face it, as the reality of the Delta variant sweeps the world - is still not 100% certain. Be that as it may, the resilient Irish sailing community has come vibrantly to life as the opportunities and regulation-easings permit, and in Howth they currently are on one of those rolls of concentrated success which, for one reason or another, come visiting – and welcome visitors too - at the Peninsula club from time to time.

Let the sunshine in – the serious new poster is centre stage at Howth. Photo: W M Nixon

Thus although the big poster – developed from an image secured during the Lanzarote trials – looked sombre enough as it was being put in place, next day saw a return of the bright sunshine which may be turning the moorlands of the Hill of Howth into a tinderbox, but it more accurately reflects the current mood of Howth sailing.

CHALLENGING ON LAKE GARDA, MEDALS IN MONTENEGRO

Right now on Lake Garda, HYC's Rocco Wright is in the thick of it among 51 nations and nearly 300 boats in the first days of the Optimist Worlds, having progressed towards them through two big preliminary regattas on the mighty lake, in which he took Bronze in the first, and Gold in the second.

Right in the thick of it – Rocco Wright (IRL 1636) working his way through a very international fleet on Lake Garda

Before that, Eve McMahon – just one of three prodigiously accomplished McMahon sailing siblings from Howth - placed fourth overall in the ILCA/Laser U21s in Montenegro, which was then upgraded to the Silver Medal in the U19s, while on the home front the J/24 U25 Development Programme – pioneered in Howth – continued to reap rewards with Head Case – helmed by Cillian Dickson and with HYC clubmate Sam O'Byrne on the strength – winning the season-starting J/24 Southerns at Foynes in convincing style.

 Eve McMahon on her way Silver Medal in the U19s in Montenegro

SOVEREIGN'S SUCCESS IN KINSALE

But it was at the Sovereigns Cup in Kinsale at the end of June where the Howth machine moved into top gear. Perhaps it's because the two ports are so utterly different, with Kinsale being a picturesque natural port on a serenely sheltered winding river, while Howth is a totally artificial harbour on a rugged and characterful peninsula – whatever, but Howth somehow always seems to aim for the Sovereigns with a special attitude of group determination. And even with social distancing, 2021 was a vintage year, with Bob Rendell's impressive new Grand Soleil 44 Samatom winning the biggest class – the IRC Coastal Division – while Mike and Richie Evans new J/99 Snapshot – with Howth's 1996 All-Ireland Champion Helm Laura Dillon on the strength – put in a hugely impressive performance in the hyper-hot IRC 1 to win the Sovereigns Cup itself.

Neither today nor yesterday…..Howth Yacht Clubs fondness for invading Kinsale at Sovereigns Cup time goes back a long way.

Sovereigns Cup Kinsale 2021, and the successful Howth crews of Snapshot and Samatom get together.

Here it is, only the 3rd July in a season which was really only properly underway on June 7th, and Howth is already piling on the silverware in a way which is reminiscent of certain special periods in the Club's history. Not that they're resting on their laurels – this weekend they host the Optimist Leinsters, and in a week's time, it's the 1720 Championship – but nevertheless, a minute or two's pause to reflect on this almost freakish club 2021 scorecard is surely merited.

HOWTH UP AGAINST IT

For it seems that Howth and its sailing appear to thrive on adversity, and environmental adversity in particular. When Afloat.ie published the latest chart of the serious silting of the harbour recently, people elsewhere wondered how on earth they'd any keelboat sailing going on at all. In some places, there was practically dry land with grass growing where there should have been a clear all-tides channel.

The most recent survey of Howth Harbour shows depths continuing to deteriorate

Yet despite that, Howth Yacht Club managed a more-than-useful programme in 2020 even with the lockdown limitations. And this year after the preliminary starting signals had been given for some return towards normality from Monday June 7th, not only did five of the venerable Howth 17s make a point of having an official race at 10:30 hrs on that Monday morning, but the following Saturday – June 12th – saw a fleet of 78 HYC-only keelboats heralding the new season in the time-honoured Lambay Race, so they're definitely sailing well underway, even if the bigger keelboats sometimes find themselves ploughing a lonely furrow getting in and out of the harbour.

Some of the 78 keelboats which raced in HYC's Lambay Race on June 12th. The larger ones may have found themselves ploughing gently through soft mud as they left the harbour. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Now admittedly the depths shown in that new chart will only bottom out three or four times a year. But you'd think – particularly when you compare it with a splendidly deep harbour like Dun Laoghaire – that the very fact of having to worry about those depths much of the time would impinge on Howth sailors' pursuit of their sport.

Work on Howth's Middle Pier is already well underway to expand trawler berthing. Photo: W M Nixon

Not a bit of it. On the contrary, as we've seen, Howth sailing in 2021 is already on a mighty roll of success. Yet this is despite the harbour engineers already intruding on the place with their work in progress on the Middle Pier. As to the village generally, work is at last underway on the waterfront Techrete site (formerly Parsons) immediately to the west of the harbour for the construction of a handful of 8-storey apartment blocks.

THE ESSENTIAL HOWTH HARBOUR DREDGING PLAN

Howth Harbour as it was until recently, as seen from the northeast. Work is now underway to enlarge the middle pier for trawlers with dredging, while outside the harbour immediately to the west on the north-facing waterfront (at centre of photo), work has started on building a development of apartment blocks on the former Techrete Factory site.

The future Howth Harbour? The proposal to infill the dredged spoil from within the harbour to the westward of the West Pier will create a completely new geographic and hydrographic dynamic, with a real possibility that the sand-carrying ebb tide running along the beach from the west will no longer be so distinctly re-directed as a silt-carrying offshoot into the harbour.

Thus already the insistent natter of the pile-driver blends with the liquid call of the curlew, the shrill trill of the oyster-catcher, and the demanding yapping of the herring gull far into the Howth summer nights. And beyond all that, once the much-anticipated dredging programme gets underway, it'll be like the re-building of central Dublin after 1916 on steroids, as the idea is that everything coming out of the harbour bed in several identifiable phases will in-filled to the west of the West Pier to create what we're told will in time be a new marine park, and getting it there could involve lorry-loads in their thousands unless special ways can be devised to get barges to take the spoil – after treatment – round to the new location.

The current plan for the phased dredging of Howth Harbour also indicates the stages for the creation of new land to the westward of the harbour. With the dredging area now clearly defined, alterations in the timeline and order of work might be a possibility, but either way, it will be quite a lengthy process.

For those who are wondering how the harbour came to be so silted, please don't ask. Were Howth a port in the Netherlands, the harbour would be dredged as a matter of course every five years. But once the major project which broadly gave us today's Howth Harbour was completed in 1982, that was it - the place has seen only small-scale piecemeal dredging since, and the fishing fleet and recreational boats alike have been increasingly hampered in their activities as the siltation quietly builds up such that in the Outer Harbour, a drone photo at low water reveals each boat to be reposing in its own circular mud bed.

Low water in the Outer Harbour, where 40 years of siltation have resulted in an all-enveloping layer of soft mud where each boat on a swinging mooring has gently created its own bed, normally invisible except from an aerial photo. Photo: Tom Ryan

In the circumstances, the default attitude among Howth's maritime population is quiet yet not undue pessimism, for we know that official grand schemes such as that now being contemplated - or indeed relatively standard schemes - tend to run over time and over budget, and we know that in Howth that is not necessarily an undesirable outcome.

And even when underway, such major projects can be overcome as environmental obstructions. For instance, in 1981 in the midst of the biggest harbour works programme of all, Howth Yacht Club hosted the Optimist Worlds simple by moving all operations westwards along Claremont beach to a new HQ at the Claremont Hotel.

As for Howth's own sailing performance at such times, the impetus is strong to seek success elsewhere, and thereby get away from the noise and inconvenience of harbour works at home. This happened with one major dredging project in 1966-1970, it happened again in 1979 to 1982, and though some very clever and creative minds are being applied to seeking out the least disruptive ways of implementing the current dredging proposals, the results thus obtained in 2021 suggest an increase in HYC's already healthy tendency to look outwards.

"ACCIDENTAL" BENEFITS

When the major scheme of 1979-1982 was nearing completion, it was found there was nothing left in the public kitty to demolish the haphazard row of ancient buildings down the West Pier, as had been planned. For long enough, they simply stayed there with many of them empty. But as Howth Yacht Club's stratospheric sporting, social, and hospitality success in the 1980s and 1990s contributed to the harbour developing its own special attraction as a destination venue, that quaint row of buildings – which you could never have planned deliberately - became such successful little restaurants that on a warm summer's evening the atmosphere and aroma is like a good Breton or Galician fishing port.

So who knows what may come of the creation of a new bit of Ireland to the west of the harbour? Admittedly if it's carried through to completion as planned, the popular over-water Aqua Restaurant at the end of the West Pier will have lost its unique sea-dominated position, something which we can't see being lightly relinquished.

But beyond that, the proposed overall shape will affect the tidal flow in a way which may reduce the future need for dredging. At the moment, when the flood comes through Howth Sound north of the East Pier lighthouse nib, it flows on clear in a west to northwest direction. Yet when the ebb starts to run eastward, there's a strong line of it starting from Baldoyle Creek and sweeping along Claremont Beach, with a significant sand-carrying offshoot being deflected into Howth Harbour.

Yet if the most northwesterly "headland" of the new bit of Ireland west of the pier is at the location shown, there'll be much less inclination for the sand-carrying ebb to be side-tracked into the harbour, and with any luck the tendency towards silting will be reduced.

But whether or not people see this new little bit of land to the west of the harbour as attractive recreational space is another matter. The fact is, when people go out for a bracing walk at a harbour, they want to be able to stride down a pier with the sea close bedside them left and right.

The new land to the west, showing clearly how it will direct the ebb tide stream further away the harbour entrance. And surely it has many more possible uses – such as Kite-Surfing Central - than just another a dull seaside mini-park and strolling area

However, that amorphous green space planned to the west of the West Pier looks altogether too vague. Its exposure to the prevailing westerlies will limit any green space and mini-park development potential, and its very location relatively out of sight and out of mind on the perimeter of the harbour suggests nefarious purposes – in fact, they might as well put up a sign saying: "This Way to the
Flash Mob Rioting and Anti-Social Behaviour Zones".

KITE-SURFING CENTRAL?

Yet not so far away along Claremont and Burrow Strands, the new building or up-grading of trendy beachside houses is currently going on at such a pace it makes you think it should be re-named Dermot Bannon Boulevard. Is it unthinkable that some west-facing waterfront properties on that new bit of Ireland is an idea that is out of the question? Or how about a choice location for a kite-surfing centre…..?

Stranger things have happened. And these are strangely exciting times in Howth, both in sailing and in harbour and village development alike.

MORE HYC SUCCESS ABROAD

But meanwhile in the real world of current sailing achievement, as of yesterday evening (Friday), HYC’s Pat O’Neill with his J/80 Mojo has been confirmed as the Danish Open J/80 Champion in Rungsted in advance of the Worlds there next week, Eve McMahon is returning very impressive results in the Laser Radial Youth Europeans in Croatia, and Rocco Wright has got off to a cracking start in the Optimist Worlds on Lake Garda with a 1st and a 5th.

Howth RNLI rescued four people in a yacht who were struggling to make it back to safe harbour and drifting with no propulsion.

Howth RNLI pagers sounded at 3.10 pm Tuesday to reports of a sailing yacht with four people on board who were drifting in the vicinity of Lambay Island.

The Howth RNLI all weather lifeboat and volunteer crew launched 15 minutes later and made it’s way to the scene

Weather conditions at the time gave good visibility but there was a light northerly breeze and a string tide at the location. Howth RNLI Deputy Coxswain Ian Sheridan assessed the situation and as the yacht was completely disabled a decision was taken to take the yacht in tow to the safety of Howth Harbour.

The four people aboard were all wearing lifejackets and were in good spirits.

Speaking following the callout, Stephen Harris, Howth RNLI Deputy Launch Authority said: ‘When the call was raised we were delighted to help the 4 people this afternoon, they all had their lifejackets and safety gear but were not able to make any headway trying to return to harbour, we were happy to assist and they were extremely grateful’.

Howth’s Irish Coast Guard cliff team sprang into action yesterday evening (Sunday 16 May) to rescue a dog trapped on a sea cliff at Red Rock in Sutton.

Freddie the dog had fallen 10 metres down the cliff face while walking with his owners and was stranded on a ledge in the rock.

The coastguard team acted quickly, setting up for an abseil before a rescue climber was lowered to retrieve Freddie and safety reunite him with his relieved owners on the beach below.

“Freddie’s owners did the right thing when the dog got trapped. They didn’t attempt a self rescue and contacted the coastguard on 999,” the Howth unit said.

“We encourage the public to contact the coastguard if they see people attempt a rescue.”

 Howth RNLI in County Dublin rescued four people in an inflatable dinghy who were struggling to make it back to shore against strong winds and tides on Saturday, May 9th.

Howth RNLI was requested to launch the inshore lifeboat at 6.50 pm on Saturday 8th May 2021 to reports an inflatable dinghy with four people aboard struggling to return from Ireland's Eye to Howth harbour.

Weather conditions at the time gave good visibility but there was a strong southerly wind and a powerful tide at the location.

The volunteer lifeboat crew quickly located the dinghy which was struggling to make progress back to Howth Harbour. The 4 people aboard were all wearing lifejackets and were in good spirits.

The volunteer lifeboat crew took the dinghy in tow and returned safely to Howth Harbour.

Speaking following the callout, Stephen Harris, Howth RNLI Deputy Launch Authority said: ‘When the call was raised by a concerned member of the public we were delighted to help the 4 people this evening, they all had their lifejackets and safety gear but were just not aware that they were not making any headway trying to return to harbour, we were happy to assist and they were extremely grateful’.

Howth RNLI was on exercise this afternoon Saturday 24th April when it received a call to join the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 116 who were tasked to locate a kite-surfer who had got into difficulty off Sutton Strand in North Dublin.

The wind had reduced in strength which caused the kite equipment that the kite-surfer was using to collapse into the water and he was unable to launch the kite again and was drifting towards Sutton estuary.

The Coast Guard Helicopter was already on scene and dropped a smoke marker to aid the Howth RNLI Lifeboat locating the casualty.

The kite-surfer was taken aboard the inshore lifeboat and safely returned to shore.

The volunteer lifeboat crew were Ian Martin (Helm), Lorcan Dignam and Ronan Murphy.

Speaking following the callout, Ian Martin, Howth RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Helm said: ‘Our volunteer lifeboat crew are always ready to respond to a call for help and we train for situations just like this. We were delighted to be able to quickly locate the kite-surfer with the assistance of Rescue 116 and bring him back to safety’’.