Bob Fannin Jnr feels most at home on the high seas. For as the Bristol-based writer, broadcaster and university lecturer told the members of the Cruising Group at his former club of Howth on Tuesday night, when sailing the sea, life is simple. There are basically just three very important matters that have to be handled very well indeed on a daily basis, with the ship tidy and properly shipshape - and the food good - well up the list.

Yet in trying to live a decent shore life, a natural seaman is constantly assailed by what seems like wave after wave of relative trivia that needs constant attention. But he or she soon learns that you can survive and get by with “a barely acceptable level of response”, however unsatisfactory that may seem. That said, he gave an understanding nod to the old dictum “that when a man gets to like a sea life, then he is not fit to live on land.”

Bob Fannin Jnr – “in the years he has been away, he has somehow ended up looking like Bruce Springsteen’s seagoing brother”

UNMATCHED SEA-GOING EXPERIENCE

His sea-going experience is off the scale, and in the years he has been away, this talented son of sailing cartoonist Bob Fannin Senr has somehow ended up looking like Bruce Springsteen’s sea-going brother. That’s as may be. But with skippers and shipmates like Arctic-pushing John Gore-Grimes and world-girdling Bill King on smaller yachts, combined with years of experience in the Caribbean and Mediterranean with classic big superyachts like Sumurun, Puritan and Tuiga, the depth of knowledge and tough experience he can draw on is mind-boggling.

Some of Bob Fannin’s best classic experience was gained on the renowned 15 Metre Tuiga

But out of all that, he says that the simple most important thing is something that he learned from Bill King, something that is sublime in its simplicity. The secret to keeping the sailing show on the road in a lengthy sailing project, says Bob, is to be found in straightforward kindness and thoughtfulness towards your shipmates.

KINDNESS IS ALL

He frankly admitted that this was something he personally had to learn, remarking that until he sailed with Bill King, it wouldn’t have been his first reaction in difficult times, or indeed in most times. But Bill King with his unrivalled range of experience knew how to get the best out of his shipmates through empathy, courtesy and the right level of tolerance.

Bill King of Galway – “in getting the best out of a crew, the right level of kindness is everything”

It was so central to his character that you got the feeling that this was the way he’d been born, but Bob says Bill King modestly claimed he’d had to learn it like most other truly successful skippers.

Since then, Bob has tried to carry this approach with him, even if it sometimes took quite a bit of personal adjustment. But it certainly has stood him to the good, as he was able to review a hugely-varied sailor’s life, a way of life that clearly has provided him with more experiences than the entire enthralled HYC Cruising Group combined.

The 1914-vintage Fife ketch Sumurun

The annual Brassed-Off Cup for Optimists which has been running in Howth for 21 years, was held on Sunday in breezy south easterly conditions over a relatively flat sea with some strong gusts to test the boat handling of the fleet. Eighteen enthusiastic sailors took part with the event being used by many as a final practice session before the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships in Royal Cork next weekend.

Given that the event schedule was three races without a discard, the PRO had hopes that the fleet might not be too aggressive on the start line and tried the first start on a Blue Peter. After a general recall, with at least half the fleet over, as promised in the briefing, the U flag was then broken out for all subsequent starts.

On the second race start, the tide under the fleet picked up pace and was a major factor in two general recalls. The race committee was beginning to anticipate a long day on the water and was relieved to get the race away on the third attempt. By the third race, the sailors seemed to have mastered the art of starting with tide under them and a clean start was achieved on the first attempt.

The overall and Senior Fleet winner with three bullets was Juliet Ryan HYC/MYC/Royal St George Yacht Club who built a commanding lead in each of the races. The Junior Fleet winner was Juliet’s younger brother Ollie Ryan MYC/RStG, who sailed consistently to finish 7th overall.

Always having the Friday and Saturday of the last weekend of March as the "fixed fixture" for your annual event is usually guaranteed to provide lively conditions and Howth YC's Scorie Walls's regular yearly staging of the University Keelboats team champs, using the club's flotilla of J/80s, has again been appropriately rewarded in 2024, even if some of the racing had to be sailed with a mandatory reef in the main.

GOING MAD WITH THE COLOURED SAILS

As there was nothing said about restrictions on going mad with the coloured sails up front, the sailing students made full use of the offwind opportunities. And none more so than University College Cork, captained by Michael O'Suillebhain of Kinsale, with the UCC team heading home with the top prize.

"Sailing off the east coast in the mad March days...." Everything under control at this stage, but it's anybody's guess what might happen if that black squall finlly hits the fleet. Photo: Emmet Dalton

Those who are resident and with a sea view at Howth have become accustomed to seeing the local club-owned J/80s being used for HYC's extensive sail training and introduction afloat programme. And - not to put a tooth in it - in those circumstances, the boats aren't necessarily seen to be looking their best. But all credit to Ireland's student sailors, they were on top of the challenge from the get-go, there was exceptonally close racing throughout, and the J/80s were looking great in these past two days to remind us what a notably handsome little craft we have with this classic J/Boat.

The "Scorie Walls College Keelboat Champs" provided the opportunity for competent student sailors to demonstrate the J/80 at her handsome best. Photo: Emmet Dalton

The best laid plans often go awry - despite what was set to be a great turnout for the annual Howth Yacht Club Round the Island Race last Saturday at Howth, the weather gods didn't play ball, and a decision was taken 48 hours before the event in the face of an expected easterly gale to cancel the day's sailing (it was a very accurate call – on the day, the waves were sweeping the Howth East Pier almost as if it wasn’t there – Ed.). It meant great disappointment, not only for the series regulars who have been racing in HYC nearly every Sunday since November, but also for the strong visitor turnout. The event was due to see a variety of boats from all over the country, including Fireballs from Cork, RS Aeros from the North and Mermaids from North Dublin.

Here’s success for Ukraine – Oleksandr Bezpalyi of the Obolon SC in Kiev is in the frame at Howth

This one’s for West Cork – Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC made good on the East Coast

However, all was not lost, as the shore-side of the day's agenda could still proceed uninterrupted. The prizegiving for the both Frostbite series and the New Year's Day Race, followed by a lunch and the 6 Nations rugby matches on the big screen gave everyone plenty to look forward to on the day, but we’ll put the rugby down to experience

MANY VOLUNTEERS

Commodore Neil Murphy said a few words to welcome everyone. The main thanks of the event go to the volunteer race officer team, who share weekly duties among themselves and have done so for many years. Harry Gallagher, Jim Lambkin, Liam Dineen, Dave Jones, Richard Kissane, Ronan MacDonell and Neil Murphy as race officers, along with many more volunteers who manage the results, and the RIB crews all do a great job of ensuring that everyone gets great, safe racing done all winter long.

Rising star. Andrei Samoilov collected the trophy for most improved sailor

Special mentions were also given to the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Frostbite series and Laser/ILCA racing in HYC next Autumn, where there will be a number of on and off the water events to mark the special milestone. Winter sailing in HYC has lots to look forward to - a growing PY fleet including GP14s, B14s and RS Aeros out every week set to be joined next year by a fleet of Melges 15s.

“Gee thanks Dad!” Series organiser and prize winner Conor Murphy with Mr Big

New talent - Charlie Robertson and crew took the Junior Title in PY

As the prizes were given out, great enjoyment was taken in identifying past winners of each of the trophies and reminiscing on years gone by, while also looking forward to the coming years. Most trophies saw new names being added to them this year, and there were many new visitors to the podium places in each class. While most of the prizes are given out for podium finishes in the series, one prize is given each year to recognise the most improved sailor among the participants. This year, Malahide's Andrej Samoilov won this prize in his second season at the HYC Frostbites, as this year he obtained podium results and led the fleet on occasion.

Ciara McMahon is yet another branch of the top sailing clan

The tops! Daragh Sheridan led a successful solo charge with the RS Aero.

All prizes awarded and photos are below.

2023 HYC Pre-Christmas Series

• ILCA 7 (Courtney Cup): Rory Lynch (Baltimore SC), Daragh Kelleher (SSC), Dave Kirwan (MYC)
• ILCA 6 (Stafford Trophy): Tom Fox (Rush SC), Darragh Peelo (Malahide YC), Peter Hassett
• ILCA 4 (Frazer Casey Firefly Cup): Oleksandr Bezpalyi (Obolon SC), Harry Dunne (Howth YC), Stan O'Rourke (MYC/HYC)
• PY: Daragh Sheridan (RS Aero, Howth YC), John Phelan (RS Aero, Howth YC), Jeremy Beshoff & Declan McManus (B14, Howth YC)
• PY2: Charlie Robertson

2024 New Year's Day Race

• ILCA 7 (New Year's Day Mug): Colm Cunningham (Malahide YC)
• ILCA 6: Peter Hassett
• PY: Daragh Sheridan

2024 Post-Christmas Series

• ILCA 7 (Rowan Trophy): Conor Murphy (Howth YC), Dan O'Connell (Cobh SC), Rory Lynch (Baltimore SC)
• ILCA 6 (Elliot Cup): Tom Fox (Rush SC), Vikor Samoilov (MYC/HYC), Ciara McMahon (Howth YC)
• ILCA 4 (Fitzpatrick Cup): Stan O'Rourke (MYC/HYC), Oleksandr Bezpalyi (Obolon SC), Charlie Power (Howth YC)
• PY: Daragh Sheridan (RS Aero, Howth YC), Alan Blay & Hugh McNally (GP14, Howth YC), Sam Street & Josh Lloyd (GP14, Blessington LSC)

Peter Hassett was in the frame in ILCA 6s

All welcome. Commodore with Daragh Peelo of Malahide

Dave Kirwan was another of the Estuary Invaders from Malahide

Young Stan O’Rourke successfully carried the banner for a renowned Dublin sailing name

Commodore with John Phelan, whose successes come inshore and offshore, winter and summer

Howth Yacht Club has cancelled Saturday's (March 9th) Round the Island Dinghy Race due to strong easterly winds, going against a large ebb tide.

The Round the Island Race typically marks the end of the winter dinghy season in HYC.

The traditional Frostbite prizegiving and luncheon will go ahead as planned, according the club's Conor Murphy.

The nine weekend post-Christmas series at Howth drew to a close on Sunday morning 3rd March, and for the first time in 2024, properly gentle winds and warm sun greeted the sailors as they arrived on the race course. Despite it being the end of the nine-weekend series, the winter season isn't finished just yet - the annual Round the Island Race is set for Saturday, 9th March, where all ILCAs and PY classes are welcome to compete to see who can circumnavigate Ireland's Eye the fastest, with the pro- and anti- clockwise fans getting a free rein.

With all fleets having podium places open to compete for on Sunday, everyone had to be at their best to close out the series well and sea a total of 14 good races in the can. Race Officer Ronan MacDonell set two windward-leeward courses for this final day in the gentle westerly breeze, and with a flooding tide, the races got away.

Sam Street of Blessington (seen here in an earlier race at Howth) finished on a high with the two wins ahead of a strong GP14 contingent in the PY Division

GOOD DAY FOR GEEPS

The PY fleet had a strong turnout, and the light breeze and flat water obviously suited the GP14s, taking five of the available 6 podium places. Sam Street's GP14 came away with two wins, followed by Conor Twohig's GP14 and Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero in race 1, and in race 2 he was followed by Alan Blay and Conor Twohig.

RIGHT TO THE WIRE FOR PY

There was remarkably close competition in Race 2 between the GP14s, with all 3 crossing the finish line within 11 seconds of each other. The PY fleet continues to show great diversity with an Enterprise, B14, and RS600 all on the water in addition to the GP14s and Aeros. In the series overall, however, Daragh Sheridan did enough to seal his win overall, closing the series with 17 points. Alan Blay and Hugh McNally came second with a Geep, and Sam Street came third similarly kitted.

Another one we made earlier – Daragh Sheridan’s consistency in the RS Aero in the earlier races in the 14-race series ensured he won the PY Division overall

ALL TO PLAY FOR IN ILCA 7s

The ILCA 7s had a lot on the line coming into the final day's racing, with all podium places available depending on how the racing went. In Race 1, Dan O'Connell (Cove of Cork), Conor Murphy (Howth) and Dave Kirwan (Malahide) battled around the course, all swapping places on the beats and runs, with ultimately O'Connell taking the win followed by Kirwan and Murphy. In Race 2, O'Connell again established a lead, this time followed closely by Murphy and Darragh Peelo, with positions changing around the course.

Fighting for the ILCA7 title – Dave O’Connell of Cove, Conor Murphy of Howth, and Daragh Kirwan of Malahide were glued together for the two final races. But though O’Connell won both, Murphy was right there and had enough points from earlier in the 14-race series to win overall. Photo: Neil Murphy

FLEET COMPRESSES IN FALLING WIND

But after a big drop in breeze on the final run, the 3 boats compressed, and on the short beat to the finish, O'Connell took the win, followed by Murphy and Peelo. Murphy did just about enough to obtain the series win by a single point over O'Connell, followed by Rory Lynch in 3rd.

The ILCA 6s saw series leader Tom Fox of Rush SC return to make sure his results came good at the end. Ciara McMahon excelled in the light and shifty conditions in race 1, taking the win followed by Glenda Gallagher and Fox. Race 2 saw Fox take the win, followed by Carla Fagan and Ciara McMahon. Tom Fox won the series overall, followed by Viktor Samoilov and Ciara McMahon.

Ciara McMahon (Howth, third OA ILCA6), Viktor Samoilov (MYC & HYC, second OA ILCA6) and Richard Tate (Royal St George YC) battling for clear downwind air as the breeze eases. Photo: Neil Murphy

The ILCA 4s saw Harry Dunne (Howth) win the first race, followed by Oleksandr Bezpalyi (Obolon SC) and Stan O'Rourke (Malahide & Howth). But Race 2 saw Harry Dunne OCS, with O'Rourke and Oleksandr Bezpalyi taking first and second respectively, which confirmed Stan O’Rourke as overall winner.

Some of Friday’s snow is still evident on the distant Wicklow Hills as Glenda Gallagher (Malahide) sails towards a 2nd and an 8th in the ILCA 6s in the final series races at Howth. Photo: Neil Murphy

HOWTH LASER FROSTBITE 50TH PARTY IN AUTUMN

That marks the end of a great series, with a special thanks to the volunteer race management team that make it all possible. The Round the Island Race marks the end of the winter dinghy season in HYC, and with all visitors welcome, it's bound to be a great race. Next season of the Frostbites in October/November marks the 50th anniversary of the event. Stay tuned for updates on the events which the club plans to run to mark the occasion – we may even see some of the golden oldies from the first series in 1974 taking part.

Full results available below

The beginnings of a new breeze from the south are already making in as the boats return to Howth Harbour after a good morning’s racing, with Ireland’s Eye out beyond the harbour, ready and waiting for special sport in Saturday 9th March’s two-way circuit

With chilly conditions and a building easterly breeze very accurately forecast, the penultimate Sunday of the post-Christmas series of the HYC Dinghy Frostbites kicked off at the weekend to fight it out for the remaining races, and build on any late attempts to climb the leaderboard writes Conor Murphy.

Race Officer Neil Murphy and team set two Olympic courses, and despite a general recall for the ILCAs due to the tide pushing them across the line, the rest of the starts got away cleanly. With wind against tide, and both increasing, the sea state got lumpy and challenging as time went on.

Spinnakers have more fun…..Sam Street (Blessington) and Conor Twohig (Sutton) in their GP14s

CONSISTENT O’CONNELL

The ILCA 7s saw consistency in Dan O'Connell from Cove of Cork leading each lap of each race, despite pressure from the host club’s Conor Murphy and Colm Cunningham. O'Connell took first in both races, as did Murphy with second, while Colm Cunningham took third in Race 1, and Andrejs Samoilovs took third in race 2, a strong showing for the Malahide contingent.

Looking like a winner – Dan O’Connell notched two bullets for the Rebel County

Rory Lynch of Baltimore on 13 still leads the series, although his absence has shortened the gap to second place Conor Murphy (16) and Dan O'Connell (20). With one more weekend scheduled, anything could happen at the top of the ILCA 7 leaderboard.

Conor Murphy of the host club took two seconds on a busy morning

The ILCA 6s saw a new race winner in Dave Kirwan of Malahide – usually an ILCA 7 sailor, he dropped to the ILCA 6 fleet, and came away with two race wins. He also finished fourth on the water overall in the combined ILCA fleet in both of the races, showing remarkable speed against the ILCA 7s despite the smaller rig.

Dave Sheridan made a shrewd choice in a scale-down to the ILCA6

By scaling down to the ILCA 6, Malahide’s Dave Kirwan won twice – and was ahead on the water of some ILCA7s while he was at it
Ciara McMahon and Viktor Samoilovs took 2nd in a race each, while Glenda Gallagher took 3rd in each. Tom Fox (Rush) still leads the series on 13 points, with Samoilov (22) and McMahon (28) filling out the rest of the podium spots.

The ILCA 4s had remarkable consistency in their results for both races. Current Irish Optimist National Champion Harry Dunne (Howth) continued his successful transition to ILCAs by winning, followed by Stan O'Rourke, Oleksandr Bezpalyi and Charlie Power in both races.

TOP COACHES REAP REWARDS

Their coaching from Luke Turvey and Rocco Wright is still paying dividends, as the ILCA 4s featured in the first batch of sailors around the top mark, demonstrating great starts and first beat speed & tactics. Overall, O'Rourke (14) leads Bezpalyi (18) and Power (29) heading into the final weekend.

Daragh Sheridan was Aero and overall dominator in PY, and will be the man to beat in the enlarged Aero fleet at the Island Race on 9th March

The PY Fleet saw Daragh Sheridan continue his run of form, making it five firsts in a row after winning both races. The triangular courses with fast reaches benefitted the light planing RS Aero, enabling Sheridan to win by nearly 2 minutes on corrected time in one of the races.

The GP14s of Alan Blay and Conor Twohig swapped 2nd and 3rd in each race. Despite winning one of the races by over 3 minutes on the water, the fierce handicap on Jeremy Beshoff's B14 unfortunately meant they didn't feature on the podium. Sheridan (11) leads the series, followed by Alan Blay (16) and Sam Street (26).

It’s a blast….Conor Twohig’s GP14 making the best of the rising wind and steepening sea

RS AEROS AMONG THOSE TARGETING ISLAND RACE ON SATURDAY MARCH 9th

One weekend of the regular Sunday series remains, after which all focus shifts to the Round the Island Race on Saturday, 9th March. This iconic race marks the end of the winter season in HYC, and all dinghies with a PY handicap are welcome to take part. With a strong RS Aero entry already, it's shaping up to be a great event. Details and entry are available on www.hyc.ie.

Full results for the Dinghy Frostbites are available below

Spring was very much in the air - for the time being anyway - as the intriguing selection of boats in a growing fleet took to the water in glorious sunshine in the HYC Dinghy Frostbites on Sunday, with the
prospect of a good morning's racing and leaderboard consolidation top of the agenda.

Race officer Liam Dineen planned for three races: two windward-leewards followed by one all triangles. As the breeze sparked up in Race 2, the support RIB cover was put to work, aiding some unfortunate capsizes on
the runs, so the decision was confirmed to send competitors on a more stable triangular course to close out the day. The breeze was from the west, sharpened with a building flood tide in the sound to push some sailors over the start line.

Out on his own. Daragh Sheridan, with the RS Aero 6, regained his overall lead in the PY division. Photo: HYC

The PY Fleet turned out in growing strength, with 17 sailors across 9 boat types. Daragh Sheridan (Howth) undoubtedly came away as the winner of the day with race victories in his RS Aero 6, while the GP14s of Sam
Street (Blessington), Alan Blay (Sutton) and Conor Twohig (Sutton) took the remaining podium places for the first two races.

In Race 3, HYC's Fiachra and Cormac Farrelly stormed onto the podium in their "John the Baptist" Melges 15, taking their first third place of the year in HYC's latest doublehanded class, which should be present in strength when the next series comes around. Sheridan regains the lead on the series overall with 12 points, followed closely by Alan Blay on 14, with Sam Street on 30.

Alan Blay's GP14 is two points off the overall lead in the PY Division. Photo: HYC

BALTIMORE LEADS ILCA 7s

The ILCA 7s had 10 boats on the water, and Rory Lynch of Baltimore showed why he continues to lead the series with a 2, 1, 1 across the races. Race 1 saw an individual recall for Dave Kirwan and Conor Murphy,
who returned and then had to fight their way through the packed fleet. Dan O'Connell (Cove of Cork) stormed into the lead, followed by Lynch and Colm Cunningham (Howh). Race 2 saw another individual recall, this time for Rory Lynch, who fought hard and tenaciously made his way through the fleet, regaining the lead by the end of the six leg race, followed by a photo finish between Murphy and O'Connell. The shift to a triangular course didn't slow Lynch down, and he was joined on the podium by Cunningham and Kirwan, making the most of the fast reaches. Lynch extends his lead on the series (11), followed by Murphy (16) and
O'Connell (22).

Cork's Dave O'Connell with it nicely in hand for the time being on Conor Murphy (Howth) and Dave Kirwan (Malahide) Photo: HYC

The ILCA 6s were flying once again, in the mix with the ILCA 7s for much of the racing across the day. Ciara McMahon started the day strong with a win in Race 1, followed by Tom Fox (Rush) and Viktor Samoilov. Tom Fox then went on to win the remaining 2 races, followed by McMahon & Peter Hassett in Race 2, then Hassett and Samoilov in Race 3. Fox extends his lead on the series counting just 10 points, with Hassett (18) and Samoilov (21) not far behind. The ILCA 4s saw Oleksandr Bezpalyi take the win over Charlie Power in each of the races, bringing Bezpalyi to the top of the leaderboard.

INCREASING FOCUS ON ISLAND RACE IN MARCH

With two Sundays remaining in the regular Frostbite series, attention will soon shift to the annual Round the Island Race Every-which-way on Saturday, 9th March. With plenty of prizes up for grabs, it's sure to be
a great day on the water followed by a memorable lunch and prizegiving, so be sure to get signed up. Entry is available on www.hyc.ie. Series results are available here.

Spring was very definitely in the air off Howth on Sunday, but there might be a brief return of winter in a day or two. Photo: HYC

Although some five day forecasts had made any resumption of Howth’s Frostbites seem unlikely, a sudden change of tone and a very welcome weather window arrived over the weekend. After a three-week enforced break, when each named storm had seemed to run into the one ahead while pulling along the one behind, the HYC Dinghy Frostbites resumed regular service on Sunday, 11th February.

With those three weekends missed, the race organisers aimed to complete three races to get the show back on the road. 24 boats across the ILCA and PY fleets hit the water, where they raced in a westerly breeze up to 20 knots, with a strong ebb tide for the sailors to fight against as they headed upwind. Jim Lambkin set fair windward/leeward courses for each of the races.

Darragh Peelo of Malahide in windward action. Despite pessimistic forecasts at mid-week, the weekend weather came good

BALTIMORE, CORK AND HOWTH BATTLE FOR HONOURS

The ILCA 7s saw series leader Rory Lynch (Baltimore) battling with Dan O'Connell (Cove SC) and Conor Murphy (Howth) for podium places in the first two races, with Conor taking a win in the first and Rory taking it in the second. The 3rd race saw a strengthening tide pushing everyone down onto the pin, and an individual recall was signalled, so a number of boats returned to restart.

And why shouldn’t he be smiling? After three close contests on the morning, Rory Lynch of Baltimore SC emerged from Sunday’s racing as the overall leader of the ILCA 7s

Conor Murphy didn't return, either being confident he was not OCS or - with a number of his competitors returning to restart – hoping he’d an opportunity to gain some distance on them. He called it right to lead the race, followed by Colm Cunningham (Malahide) and Rory Lynch to round out the podium. Lynch now leads the series overall on 9 points, followed by Murphy (10) and O'Connell (18).

Conor Murphy (Howth) chasing Dan O’Connell (Cove SC) as the February sunshine reached its peak

The afternoon cloud starts building over the land to close the weather window, but with their racing still in sunshine, Dan O’Connell (Cove) leads Darragh Peelo (Malahide)

ILCA 6 SYMMETRY

The ILCA 6s' results showed some symmetry, as results were the same in the first 2 races, with Tom Fox (Rush SC) followed by Peter Hassett (Dublin Bay SC and Viktor Samoilovs (Howth & Malahide). Their pace was undeniable, making inroads into the usually faster ILCA 7 fleet. The 3rd race saw a shake up in the results, with Peter Hassett claiming victory, followed by Tom and Darragh Peelo. Fox leads the series on 9 points, followed by Samoilovs (15) & Hassett (20).

TRAINING BENEFITS A DUNNE DEAL

The ILCA 4s were on the water early, with many of them taking part in the preliminary training session led by national stars Luke Turvey & Rocco Wright. Harry Dunne seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the training, coming away from the day with a 2, 1, 1. Stan O'Rourke had a great day, following closely with a 1, 2, 2. Oleksandr Bezpalyi and Freddie Doig claimed the remaining podium places for the day. O'Rourke has a healthy lead on the series with 8 points, followed by Oleksandr Bezpalyi (20) and Connor O'Sullivan (24).

A time to stay cool. Alan Blay does the balancing act as his spinnaker-toting GP14 closes in on the lee mark just as a 20-knot gust arrives

The battle between GP14s and RS Aeros continues to rage in the PY Fleet. Daragh Sheridan's RS Aero, and the GP14s of Conor Twohig & Alan Blay(both of Sutton) each had a race win in the hard day. Sam Street's GP14 from the mountains of Blessington rounded out the podium places among the race winners listed, such that Alan Blay holds a narrow lead on the series over Daragh Sheridan, followed by Sam Street in third place.

Coming up from the lee mark, Darragh Sheridan with his RS Aero keeps a brace of GP 14s firmly in place

The annual Round the Island Race will take place on Saturday 9th March, followed by an afternoon of prizes, lunch and rugby on the TV in the HYC clubhouse. It's always a great day, entry and NOR will be available on www.hyc.ie shortly.

Full results are available below.

The Annual “frostbite finishing” race round Howth’s island of Ireland’s Eye is scheduled for Saturday March 9th. The traditional event’s USP is that each skipper can choose to go clockwise or anti-clockwise

Howth Yacht Club is set to host the biennial Wave Regatta in May 2024, inviting sailing enthusiasts from Ireland and beyond to compete in a showcase keelboat-racing event.

The three-day regatta welcomes all cruiser-racing class boats competing under current IRC and ECHO handicap ratings, providing an opportunity for seasoned sailors and rising stars to test their mettle against the best competition in Ireland.

As Wave Regatta organiser Brian Turvey told Saturday's ICRA cruiser-racer Conference at Dun Laoghaire, for those who prefer a Saturday-only event, the famous Lambay Races promise exhilarating action on the water and the unique and serene backdrop of Lambay Island. One-design keelboats will join the fray, ensuring a diverse and competitive fleet.

Wave Regatta's prestigious trophy

But Wave Regatta isn’t just about keelboat racing; it’s a celebration of all things nautical during the event weekend. There will be opportunities for anyone not competing in the main regatta to learn to stand-up-paddleboard, wing-foil and cheer on rowing competitors as they battle it out on the shore.

The event promises to deliver a legendary three-day party, with an outdoor festival bar serving refreshing drinks and party cocktails, a catering village providing delectable bites all-day, and non-stop music from top bands and DJs, including the incomparable Mark Covell and Howth’s own Vogue Williams.

Party time. Wave Regatta features live performances: Non-stop music to the beat of top bands like Riff Shop and top DJs, including the incomparable Mark Covell and Howth’s own Vogue Williams, spinning tunes that bridge continents

Online entry is now open at waveregatta.com, with an early entry discount available, but act swiftly, as time moves fast! 

Wave Regatta is organised by Howth Yacht Club, one of Ireland’s largest and most famous sailing clubs. Since its inception in 2018, Wave Regatta has become a highlight of the Irish sailing calendar, attracting sailors, spectators, and thrill-seekers from Ireland and around the world.