It’s not widely known that when the Danes of Howth were being pressurised to become Christians, being Vikings they had a side deal to the effect that, forever afterwards, when the Annual Fete in late Spring at the new church they were signing up to was staged, said Fete would always be blessed with good weather.

As to other distractions in regatta event staging at Howth, it’s only 120 years ago that the first recorded Howth YC Lambay Race was being sailed. But over its relatively few years since first being staged in 1904, the organisers have learned that it goes best when high water is around lunchtime, thereby enabling a mid-morning start to carry the fleet north on the last of the flood and bring them home again southwards on the ebb.

So ideally the best day for the race round Lambay is firstly, when the Fete is being held, and secondly, when the tides are right. Obviously it can be quite a job to get all your ducks in a row when organising this ideal Lambay setup. So when it all additionally has to be fitted into the new-fangled three day Howth Wave Regatta, you’d think it was wellnigh impossible.

“Clear the Way…” The First 50 Checkmate XX powering through to another good day. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Hot stuff off Portmarnock House is a reminder it was once the home of ace helm Willie Jameson. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

Yet today’s (Saturday May 25th) Lambay Race was perfect in every way, despite being preceded by yesterday’s grimly Arctic conditions, and with further Unknown Unknowns in the meteorological pipeline for the final Wave day tomorrow (Sunday May 26th).

The veteran Club Shamrock 30 Demelza – now owned by Steff & Windsor – doing some neat calculation on how close you can go to the north cliffs of Lambay without getting into the baffling wind cushion. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

The innocent and idealistic might well think that such a perfect conjunction of requirements, with the piety of the annual Church Fete and a fine southeasterly racing breeze as the double creams on the cake, might have resulted in a bit of relaxation afloat, an element of give and take.

DOG EAT DOG

Not a bit of it. It was dog eat dog out there on the sunny blue waters of Fingal, with the ferocious pace being set by the Classic Half Tonners. The recently acquired Two Farr of the unlikely but all-powerful Rush-Crosshaven-Howth-Baltimore syndicate squeaked in ahead of near sister Swuzzlebubble (James Dwyer, Royal Cork YC) by just three seconds on IRC, after three hours of racing.

Wind over tide in Lambay Sound brings everything to life. Photo: Annrai Blaney

RUSH SC MAKING HAY

In fact, Rush Sailing Club were making hay (it’s the next item on the agricultural schedule anyway), as Pat Kelly’s J/109 Storm (RSC) nipped in by ten seconds ahead of current Irish J/109 champion Chimaera (Barry Cunningham, Royal Irish YC) in Class 1, with John Minnis’s A35 Final Call II from Belfast Lough just one second (repeat: one second) behind the Cunningham boat, while John and Suzie Murphy put in a shout for the Hills of the Naul with their J/109 Outrajeous barely a minute after Final Call II, but with Mike & Richard Evans J/99 Snapshot (HYC) only another seven seconds behind them.

Everything is as it should be – Pat Kelly’s Storm on her way to another win, and all in sight of home. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

The Boys Are Back In Town – the usual suspects squeezing the last ounce of performance out of Final Call II. Phot: Annraoi Blaney

FIBRILLATOR FINISH

As you might well say if you were in a morbid frame of mind, it was a Fibrillator Finish for the IRC classes. And on beyond the Half Tonners in Class 2, things continued close, although it was a strike for the home club when Stephen Mullaney’s immaculate Sigma 33 Insider in Class 3 managed to get home 36 seconds ahead of Wicklow Sailing Club’s Haughton-Flood-Heather-Kinnane team on Jupiter, with Courtown SC further down the East Coast taking third with the Quarter Tonner Snoopy (Joanne Hall & Martin Mahon.

With our climate, every worthwhile Irish home should have a porch – and a Porsche beside it. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

MORE GENTEEL IN CLASS 0

Meanwhile at the other end of the size scale, the timings were more genteel in Class 0, with the First 50 Checkmate XX (Nigel Biggs & Dave Cullen, HYC) having another good day to finish on IRC CT more than five minutes ahead of Johnny Treanor’s J/112 ValenTina (NYC) with another J, Nobby Reilly’s Ghost Raider, in third ahead of Cork’s Jelly Baby campaigned by the Jones family.

Worry not – Stephen Mullaney’s Sigma 33 Insider is simply ploughing through, one her way to another win. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

NON SPIN

The first of the non-spinnaker divisions, Class 4, relies totally on ECHO handicap, and there’ll be dancing in the streets of Skerries, as Terry McCoy of that town took it convincingly with his handsome vintage First 38 Out & About. Howver, super-chef McCoy keeps O&A in Howth, so those points go to HYC, while the score for second goes across the harbour to John Beckett and Andy George’s Splashdance of Howth Sailing & Boating Club, with third slot being filled by overall defending champion Dermot Skehan with the MG34 Toughnut (HYC).

ONE DESIGNS

It is intriguing to look at the “artificial” closeness of the handicap classes’ finishes, and then set them against the more rough and ready reality of One Design Racing, where such close finishes are wellnigh impossible, as one-for-one boats get in each other’s way.

Peter Courtney’s Howth 17 Oonagh (his family have been involved with the class since 1907) on her way to third place, ahead of Roddy Cooper’s Leila. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Thus with the Puppeteer 22s we see that Ian Dickson’s Weyhey won by more than two minutes from 2023 form boat Trick or Treat (Alan Pearson & Alan Blay), with Dave Clarke’s Harlequin third by another clear minute and three seconds.

As for the Howth 17s, former HYC Commodore Brian Turvey’s continuing successful efforts in keeping Wave top of the agenda were suitably rewarded, as Isobel which he co-owns with brother Conor took the bullet by one and a half minutes from the white-hot Massey-Toomey-Kenny syndicate’s Deilginis, with third generation Howth 17 sailor Peter Courtney (his family have been involved with the class since 1907) getting third.

SQUIBS QUANDARY

The Squibs are in a real quandary this weekend, as ambitious boats will have wished to do the performance-defining Northerns at Cultra with the RNIYC on Belfast Lough, but nevertheless three of them stayed behind to do the Lambay trot, and Emmet Dalton seems to have won on scratch, but Simon Sheahan was out of sight on HPH.

Though several of the re-growing fleet of Squibs from Howth were away at the Northerns, a colouful trio put in their best display. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

SUN SHONE ON INTO EVENNG

Following that devilish deal of the ancient Vikings of Howth, the sun is still shining in Howth as evening draws in on this excellent Lambay Day, when we were meant to get rain and much cloud by early afternoon. The Wave Regatta Financial Returns are looking good, but as for profits on the Church Fete, we will of course have to wait until after the Sabbath for news of trading realities on holy ground.

Although Final Call II was hot to trot, she didn’t have it all her own way by any means. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Half Tonners and friends battling it out. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Results below