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Howth Yacht Club’s WD-40 Autumn League, sponsored by Team PR Reilly, got off to a blustery start on Sunday (25th September), with the ten classes encountering fresh 26-knot southerlies, stronger gusts and tough sea conditions.

 

Perhaps it was the post-Rugby World Cup match euphoria or the gale forecast that was off-putting, but whatever the reason, around a quarter of the 150 boats entered for this year’s WD-40 Autumn League didn’t make it to the starting line for the first race of the series! As it was, some boats experienced gear damage and others were unable to complete the course.

 

It’s been a good season for Pat Kelly’s ‘Storm’ and the run continued with a comfortable win in Class 1 on IRC while ‘Tiger’ (Harris/Hughes) took the spoils on ECHO in a race which saw the first four boats crossing the line within a minute.

 

Line honours by a minute converted into a bigger IRC win for Anthony Gore-Grimes’ ‘Dux’ over second-placed ‘Superhero’ (Byrne/Banahan) in Class 2 and was also enough to earn top spot on ECHO too, in that case ahead of ‘Indigo’ (Ritchie/Eadie).

 

In Class 3, Antrim visitor Alfred Mayrs’ ‘Quickflash’ and ‘Starlet’ (Ed Bourke) battled it out at the head of the fleet, with the local boat taking the gun and ECHO honours (ahead of ‘Shenanigans’ – Douglas/Keane, MYC) and the northern crew heading the IRC standings.

 

Another visitor, Paul Tully of Dun Laoghaire Marina on ‘White Lotus’, clearly enjoyed heading the dozen Howth boats in Class 4 (White Sails) on ECHO while Colm Bermingham’s ‘Bite the Bullet’ did enough to beat ‘Changeling’ (Kieran Jameson) into second place on IRC. In the other White Sail division – Class 5 – ‘Demelza’ (Ennis/Laudan) had a good win over bigger rivals on ECHO and Harry Byrne’s Alphida’ topped the IRC rankings.

 

The Etchells was a match-racing affair, in effect, with Jay Bourke’s ‘Dirty Protest’ having a fairly comfortable margin of victory over ‘Glance’ (O’Reilly/Dix) while in the J24s, national champion Flor O’Driscoll (‘Hard on Port’) had a similar lead over second-placed ‘Crazy Horse’ (Mossy Shanahan). A feature of the J24 event is two boats – ‘Scandal’ and ‘Kilcullen’ – being sailed by two HYC Development Squad crews and they finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

 

The biggest entry and biggest fleet on the day was the Puppeteers and national champions ‘Harlequin’ (Clarke/Egan) filled their accustomed position at the top of the standings, with two minutes to spare over ‘Mojo’ (Callen/Stanley), although that order was reversed under the HPH handicap.

 

Biggest scratch win of the day was in the Squibs where ‘Kerfuffle’ (Craig/Ruane) had over 6 minutes in hand over ‘Too Dee’ (Dave Sheahan) and almost as big a win on HPH over ‘Arctic Fox’ (G.Barry). Only 22 seconds separated ‘Oona’ (Peter Courtney) and ‘Isobel’ (the Turveys) in the Seventeens after an hour and a half’s racing, but the latter had the consolation of winning on HPH.

 

The WD-40 Autumn League, sponsored by Team PR Reilly and supported by H.B.Dennis Airside and Windguru, continues next Sunday, 2nd October, with the second race in the 6-race series.

Class 1 IRC
1. Storm, P Kell, HYC
2. Equinox, R McDonald, HYC
3. Tiger, Harris/Hughes, HYC

Class 1 ECHO
1. Tiger, Harris/Hughes, HYC
2. Riot, B Linehan, HYC
3. Storm, P Kelly, HYC

Class 2 IRC
1. Dux, A Gore-Grimes, HYC
2. Indigo, Ritchie/Eadie, HYC
3. Maximus, P Kyne, HYC

Class 2 ECHO
1. Dux, A Gore-Grimes, HYC
2. Indigo, Ritchie/Eadie, HYC
3. Maximus, P Kyne, HYC

Class 3 IRC
1. Quickflash, A Mayrs, ABSC
2. Starlet, E Bourke, HYC
3. Goyave, Camier/Fitzpatrick, MYC

Class 3 ECHO
1. Starlet, E Bourke, HYC
2. Shenanigans, Douglas/Keane, MYC
3. Goyave, Camier/Fitzpatrick, MYC

Class 4 IRC
1. Bite the Bullet, C Bermingham, HYC
2. Changeling, K Jameson, HYC
3. White Lotus, P Tully, DLM

Class 4 ECHO
1. White Lotus, P Tully, DLM
2. Sojourn, Lacy/Blandford, HYC
3. Bite the Bullet, C Bermingham, HYC

Class 5 IRC
1. Alphida, H Byrne, HYC
2. Demelza, Ennis/Laudan, HYC
3. Voyager, J Carton, HYC

Class 5 ECHO
1. Demelza, Ennis/Laudan, HYC
2. Alphida, H Byrne, HYC
3. Voyager, J Carton, HYC

Etchells
1. Dirty Protest, J Bourke, HYC/GSC
2. Glance, O'Reilly/Dix, HYC

J24
1. Hard on Port, F O'Driscoll, HYC
2. Crazy Horse, M Shanahan, HYC
3. Scandal, HYC Dev Red, HYC

Puppeteer Scratch
1. Harlequin, Clarke/Egan, HYC
2. Mojo, Callen/Stanley, HYC
3. Gold Dust, Walls/Browne, HYC

Puppeteer HCap
1. Mojo, Callen/Stanley, HYC
2. Harlequin, Clarke/Egan, HYC
3. Flycatcher, Dillon/Wright, HYC

Squib Scratch
1. Kerfuffle, Craig/Ruane, HYC
2. Too Dee, D Sheahan, HYC
3. Arctic Fox, G Barry, HYC

Squib HCap
1. Kerfuffle, Craig/Ruane, HYC
2. Arctic Fox, G Barry, HYC
3. Too Dee, D Sheahan, HYC

17 Footer Scratch
1. Oona, P Courtney, HYC
2. Isobel, B & C Turvey, HYC
3. Deilginis, Deilginis, HYC

17 Footer HCap
1. Isobel, B & C Turvey, HYC
2. Oona, P Courtney, HYC
3. Deilginis, Deilginis, HYC

Published in Howth YC

Howth Yacht Club's Lambay Race is renowned for providing a real mix of conditions to test the skills - and patience - of the hundreds of crews participating.... and the 2011 event was certainly no different!

Light to moderate westerlies which greeted the fleets at their respective starts veered and died, veered some more and gained in strength, faded along the back of the island and eventually veered to the south-east by the finish in a steadily increasing wind!

The effects were reflected in a number of the class results where pre-race favourites became victims of tidal flows and wind fluctuations, although there would be no complaints about shortening both courses after three and a half hours and more on the water.

Class 1 was led home by Crazy Horse (Reilly/Chambers) on the water but it was Makutu (Doyle & Others) who took the IRC honours by three minutes corrected ahead of the fleet leader while Trinculo (M/Fleming) was comfortably the ECHO winner.

MiniMumm (Cobbe/McDonald) got the gun and the IRC award in Class 2 ahead of Impetuous (Noonan/Chambers) and was runner-up to Superhero (Byrne/Banahan) on ECHO by a narrow margin.

Royal Irish YC visitor Supernova (Lawless & Others) were clearly not fazed by the conditions, romping home in Class 3 by a massive 25 minutes on the water, corrected to over 15 minutes on IRC ahead of Holly (B.McMahon). Unsurprisingly, the margin was also good enough to win ECHO too, from Lee na Mara (R.O’Malley).

The White Sail ‘A’ Division saw On the Rox (C&J Boyle) get the better of Bite the Bullet (C.Bermingham) on both IRC and ECHO while Alphida (H.Byrne) topped the ‘B’ Division on IRC and was runner-up to Bandersnatch (K.O’Grady) on ECHO.

Five First 31.7s travelled from Dun Laoghaire to compete with Howth’s C’Est la Vie in a scratch event and it was magic (O’Sullivan/Espey) of the Royal Irish which came home first by just under two minutes. An importation of six Shipman from the southside saw Joslim (Clarke/Maher, RSt.GYC) beat second-placed Just Good Friends (M.Carroll, DMYC) by over three minutes.

 

The other one-design classes started on the Inshore Course with the Squibs and Howth 17s given a head-start before a 3-class start of Etchells, SB3s and J24s gave chase, followed by E-Boats, Ruffians and Puppeteers.

Fetching (Quinn/O’Flaherty) had just 23 seconds to spare over second-placed Glance (Dix/O’Reilly) in the Etchells, Shockwave (E.Quinlan) had the better of Sin a Bhuifl (G.Guinness) in the SB3 match-race and former All-Ireland Sailing Champion Stefan Hyde (RCYC) on Kilcullen headed home the J24s by a little over a minutes from Hard on Port (F.O’Driscoll).

The regular fleet leader in the Puppeteers, Harlequin (Clarke/Egan), didn’t disappoint and headed the 17-strong fleet home by 15 minutes on scratch from Yellow Peril (N.Murphy), with the result the same on handicap.

Ten Ruffians travelled from Dublin Bay and it was the National Y.C.’s Ruff N Ready (Kirwan & Others) who took the honours from Ruffles (M.Cutliffe, DMYC) while Puffin (E.Harte) topped the Squib rankings by two minutes from Wasabi (C&N Penlerick) on scratch and was runner-up to Pegasus (T&K Smyth) on handicap.

The Howth 17s, almost as old as the Lambay Race itself, were led home after almost 4 hours racing by Aura (I.Malcolm) from Rita (Lynch/Curley) with the latter taking the handicap honours from Leila (R.Cooper).

HOWTH YACHT CLUB.  LAMBAY REGATTA (RACE) 11/06/2011   Class 1  IRC:  1, Makutu Doyle/Others HYC;  2, Crazy Horse Reilly/Chambers HYC;  3, Storm P Kelly HYC;  Class 1  ECHO:  1, Trinculo M Fleming HYC;  2, Makutu Doyle/Others HYC;  3, Gringo T Fox NYC;  Class 2  IRC:  1, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald HYC;  2, Impetuous Noonan/Chambers HYC;  3, King One D Cullen HYC;  Class 2  ECHO:  1, Superhero Byrne/Banahan HYC;  2, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald HYC;  3, Impetuous Noonan/Chambers HYC;  Class 3  IRC:  1, Supernova Lawless/Others RIYC;  2, Holly B MacMahon HYC;  3, Goyave Camier/Fitzpatrick MYC;  Class 3  ECHO:  1, Supernova Lawless/Others RIYC;  2, Lee na Mara R O'Malley HYC;  3, Taiscealai Richardson/Lindberg RIYC;  First 31.7  SCRATCH:  1, Magic O'Sullivan/Espey RIYC;  2, Bluefin Two M & B Bryson NYC;  3, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC;  Puppeteer  SCRATCH:  1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan HYC;  2, Yellow Peril N Murphy HYC;  3, Blue Velvet C & K Kavanagh HYC;  Puppeteer  HPH:  1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan HYC;  2, Yellow Peril N Murphy HYC;  3, Blue Velvet C & K Kavanagh HYC;  Squib  SCRATCH: 1, Puffin E Harte HYC;  2, Wasabi C & N Penlerick HYC;  3, Pot Black I & R McMurtry HYC;  Squib  HPH:  1, Pegasus T & K Smyth HYC;  2, Puffin E Harte HYC;  3, Wasabi C & N Penlerick HYC;  17 Footer  SCRATCH:  1, Aura I Malcolm HYC;  2, Rita Lynch/Curley HYC;  3, Leila R Cooper HYC;  17 Footer HPH:  1, Echo B & H Lynch HYC;  2, Leila R Cooper HYC;  3, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan HYC;  Etchells  SCRATCH:  1, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty HYC;  2, Glance Dix/O'Reilly HYC;  3, Northside Dragon D Cagney HYC;  Shipman  SCRATCH: 1, Joslim Clarke/Maher RStGYC;  2, Just Good Friends M Carroll DMYC;  3, Whiterock H Robinson RIYC;  E Boat  SCRATCH:  1, OctupussE P O'Neill CY&BC;  Ruffian 23  SCRATCH:  1, Ruff N Ready Kirwan/Others NYC;  2, Ruffles M Cutliffe DMYC;  3, Ripples F Bradley DMYC;  SB 3  SCRATCH:  1, Shockwave E Quinlan HYC;  2, Sin a Bhuifl Guinness/Costigan HYC;  White Sail A IRC:  1, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC; 3, Flashback Hogg/Others HYC;  White Sail A  ECHO:  1, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC;  3, Changeling K Jameson HYC; J 24  SCRATCH:  1, Kilcullen S Hyde RCYC;  2, Hard on Port F O'Driscoll HYC; 3, Jibberish Wormold/Others HYC;  White Sail B  IRC:  1, Alphida H Byrne HYC; 2, Voyager J Carton HYC;  3, Demelza Laudan/Ennis HYC;  White Sail B  ECHO:  1, Bandersnatch K O'Grady HYC;  2, Alphida H Byrne HYC;  3, Demelza Laudan/Ennis HYC;  White Sail B  HPH:  1, Voyager J Carton HYC;  2, Sandpiper A Knowles HYC;  3, Alphida H Byrne HYC;  White Sail A  HPH:  1, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC;  2, Sojourn Blandford/Lacy HYC;  3, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC

Published in Howth YC

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

 

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.

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