While the Irish ILCA/Lasers Masters at Howth on May 23rd-24th may not achieve this pace, it’s re-living the memory of once being able to do so that keeps the Class’s Seniors and Super-Seniors going strong.
Howth’s Melange of Matters Maritime, Masters and Menagerie Racing on 23rd-24th May.
Howth’s Maritime & Seafood Festival 2026 on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May promises to have something for everyone. ’Twixt harbour, waterfront and salty village, the Festival will provide a two-day (plus Friday evening) opportunity for locals and visitors alike to celebrate everything that a remarkable fishing, sailing, and socialising village has to offer.
SERIOUS SAILING IN LASER MASTERS
For serious sailors, the focus is on the two-day Irish ILCA/Laser Masters 2026, with Mark Lyttle and Sean Craig the defending champions. The Laser ILCAs, having celebrated their various Golden Jubilees at different centres in Ireland in recent years, this universally popular solo sailing class now has a significant proportion of hyper-keen seniors and super-seniors in its active membership, such that there are times when a Masters event can attract the biggest fleets of all.
But thanks to Howth’s sailing waters having the very clearly area-defining island of Ireland’s Eye plumb in their midst, the ultra-serious contest of the ILCA Laser Oldies can be held - with properly laid courses and committee boats and whatever - to the northwest of Ireland’s Eye, leaving the waters between the island and harbour, and to the southeastward, well clear for something slightly more light-hearted.
Balscadden Bay to the east of Howth Harbour. It is hoped that the final leg of the Howth Maritime Festival Pursuit Race on the afternoon of Sunday May 24th will be from the Balscadden Mark at extreme left of photo to the Race Officers Hut near the lighthouse at the end of the East Pier
PURSUIT RACING OF MANY NAMES
Yet although proponents Dec Mac Manus and Ryan O’Leary are keen to emphasise the fun side of their spectator-friendly Howth Maritime Pursuit Race on the afternoon of Sunday May 24th from 3:0 pm onwards, we note that seriousness is introduced with David “Brains” Cagney calculating the staggered starting times for this “handicaps are taken at the start” event, while Dave Sargent is Race Officer, and the dulcet tones of Brian Turvey will waft across the Sound in a live commentary which will clarify matters for spectators in the admirable style pioneered by the late Jack O’Rourke at the annual Clontarf “At Home”.
ALL FINISH TOGETHER
Ideally, in a Pursuit Race, the carefully calculated staggered starts mean that everybody finishes together. In order to build the visible tension in this at Howth, it is expected that the final leg will be from the Balscadden Mark (it’s off the Nose of Howth where the Cliff Path starts to get serious) northwestward to finish at the Starter’s Hut towards the end of the East Pier.
Because the ILCA Masters will be absorbing all Howth YC’s resources in mandatory rescue boats, etc., at present, the Pursuit Race is only open to keelboats. But here in the Afloat.ie, Pot-Stirring Department, we think that efforts should be made to bring in additional rescue boats so that dinghy classes such as the Melges 15s can be set free to fight their corner against the biggies in the Howth Menagerie Race.
MENAGERIE?
Menagerie indeed. Our own first introduction to Pursuit Racing was the end-of-season race in Ballyholme, when, for reasons closely guarded by the secretive Elders of Ballyholme YC, it was known as the Menagerie Race.
Make of that what you will. But as the final leg for what became the Lufra Cup was close inshore east to west across Ballyholme Bay, many very tightly mixed-up finishes could be closely observed as boats like the local biggy, Harry Townsley’s 15-ton gaff cutter Anolis, chased down minnows like Ed Wheeler’s Cadet dinghy Comet with such determination that at the finish, Ed won the Lufra Cup with the battering-ram bowsprit of Anolis right above him.
The handicapper was well pleased.
The G L Watson designed gaff cutter Lufra of 1893-vintage won owner Howard Finlay the trophy-less end-of-season Menagerie Race at Ballyholme so many times that he presented the Lufra Cup for it – and wen on to win it several times
