Howth Yacht Club has been selected to host the J/24 European Championships in 2021.

Ireland’s proposal was made at the 2019 World Council Meeting in Miami on 28 October 2019 and voted on by the European NJCA’s with the announcement made this week.

The Irish J/24 Fleet and Howth Yacht Club will rekindle a previously successful partnership which saw the North Dublin club host both the J/24 Europeans in 2011 and J24 World Championships in 2013 that Afloat's W M Nixon reviewed here.

Irish J24 Class President Mark Usher said: "The Irish J24 fleet is once again indebted to Howth Yacht Club. We are fortunate to have a club with their experience, expertise, facilities and infrastructure as our host club. I would like to recognise those who led the bid, Commodore Ian Byrne, Vice-Commodore Paddy Judge and Neil Murphy who were assisted by Flor O’Driscoll. We look forward to working with Howth Yacht Club to organise and deliver a top-class event both on and off the water.”

HYC Commodore Ian Byrne welcomed the news and said "Howth Yacht Club is delighted that our proposal to host the 2021 J/24 European Championships has been successful. Our continued support of the Irish J/24 Class and our team's previous success running national and international championships was instrumental in bringing this major European regatta to Fingal County. We will now set to work to provide world-class racing in our stunning setting and make the event memorable with our Howth hospitality ashore."

The Irish J24 Fleet is undergoing a period of significant growth demonstrated by 32 boats entering the recent Irish National Championships at Lough Erne Yacht Club.

The growth has been accelerated by a commitment to an Under 25 development programme which has been supported by Irish Sailing, Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) and West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA) who have both provided grants to clubs for development of Under 25 teams.

In previous years, the hosting of international events has acted as a catalyst for new entries to the Irish fleet seeking to challenge themselves against top-class international competition.

Racing got underway Tuesday in hot and sunny Miami, Florida at the J24 World Championships. The 80 teams, (but none from Ireland despite the rejuvenation of the fleet here) had to wait out a two-hour onshore postponement while the sea breeze kicked in at 8-10 knots. After two races, three teams are tied at 7 points: Rossi Milev's Clear Air (1,6 on the day), Chris Stone's Velocidad (5,2) and Keith Whittemore's Furio (4,3). Eighty teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) are scheduled for 10 races through Saturday.

Milev, 2017 J/24 World Champion and winner of the first contest, summarized his starting strategy, "We started just above the mid-line boat. There were a couple of boats we barely lived with, and then we saw something on the left. It was nice pressure, and more about the wind than the five-degree shift." Milev and Mike Ingham's Nautalytics traded the lead until Clear Air passed them on the second downwind for the victory. Todd Fedyszyn's Spoony Tactics followed in third. Tony Parker's Bangor Packet and Stone were launched on the fleet in race two, when winds decreased slightly. Whittemore placed third, lining up the three-way knot for first.

Top ten after 2 races
1. Rossi Milev / Mark Goodyear / Victor Diaz de Leon / Vince Somosa / Jerry Edwards, CAN, 7.0 points
2. Christopher Stone / Mike Marshall / Pat O'Connor / Billy Parkins / Brian Kamilar, USA, 7.0
3. Keith Whittemore / Shelby Milne / Willem Van Waay / Mark Rodgerd / Brian Thomas, USA, 7.0
4. Mike Ingham / Quin Schwenker / Justin Coplan / Max Holzer / Marianna Schoke, USA, 16.0
5. Tony Parker / William Bomar / James Niblock / Zeke Horowitcz / Ross Deedoff, USA, 17.0
6. Carter White / Molly WHite / Ted Widele / Michael McCallister / Chris Lombardo, USA, 17.0
7. Robby Brown / Mark Liebel / Martin Koleman / Steve Liebel / Ron Hyatt, USA, 19.0
8. Edmond Rees / Rakesh Patel / Paul Chinord / Paul Rees / Daniel Sheedy, USA, 25.0
9. Daniel Frost / Timo Chorrosch / Felix Leupold / Jeronimo Landauer / Daniel Schwarze, USA, 27.0
10. Evan Petley-Jones / Peter Soosalu / Matt Soosalu / Ben Maloney / Shawn Kaiser, USA, 28.0

Full results

JP McCaldin and his Lough Erne Yacht Club crew were victorious at last weekend’s J24 Western Championships hosted by Lough Ree Yacht Club.

A 13 strong fleet defied the aftermath of Hurricane Lorenzo to return Lough Ree for a re-run of the event which was originally blown out in mid-April. The easterly breeze on day one ranged between 10-15 knots with increasingly persistent rain, although the conditions did not dampen the competition with closely fought racing throughout the fleet.

Principal Race Officer David Dickson and team performed with textbook efficiency to deliver four high-quality races in typically shifty lake conditions which ensured there were plenty of snakes and ladders to contend with.

The Gold Fleet became a shoot out between Il Riccio helmed by JP McCaldin from Lough Erne Yacht Club and local boat Headcase helmed by Cillian Dickson. Il Riccio revelled in the shifty conditions to return three bullets, however, a fourth place in Race Three allowed the consistent performance of reigning Irish National Champions Headcase to finish the day within one point of the lead.

A strong performance by Diarmuid O’Donovan’s Yahtzee was marred by retirement in Race Four, however, it remained enough to lead the Silver Fleet overnight and stay in contention for the overall podium places with Mark Usher in Jumpin’ Jive and Flor O’Driscoll in Hard on Port.

A fine dinner provided by Lough Ree Yacht Club and numerous hot whiskies revived cold competitors ashore – at least until the next morning.

Day two provided a spectacular autumnal morning with lighter breeze from the west. A prompt start from David Dickson ensured two tight races to close out the event. The clinical Il Riccio crew only required one race to secure overall victory, a further bullet enough to win with a race to spare from Headcase. Il Riccio had successfully snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on several previous occasions during the year so this victory in the season finale was greatly welcomed by the crew. The evergreen Flor O’Driscoll and crew completed the Gold Fleet podium placings in third.

The lighter breeze saw new competitors enter the fray with Fergus Kelliher from Tralee Bay SC on Jibe securing their best individual result with a second in Race Five with newly installed Class President Mark Usher’s Jumpin’ Jive narrowly missing on a race win in Race Six.

Diarmuid O’Donovan’s Yachtzee completed a successful weekend for Lough Erne crews by securing Silver Fleet honours with a narrow victory over Conor Haughton’s Jade from Wicklow Sailing Club. Dave Lane’s YaGottaWanna from Royal Cork Yacht Club completed the Silver Fleet podium.

Lough Ree Yacht Club delivered an excellent event with special mention at the prize giving reserved for J24 stalwart and event organiser Finbar Ryan. The J24 Irish fleet now enter the winter period following an excellent season of racing including a record-breaking entry for the National Championships and a different winner in each of the four events demonstrating the competitiveness within the fleet. 2020 will see the prestigious J24 World Championships hosted in Poole, Dorset, therefore, the Irish circuit will be full of well-primed crews preparing for the challenge.

Away from Lough Ree, Colm O’Flaherty from Sligo Yacht Club represented the fleet at the hotly contested All Ireland Sailing Championship in Dun Laoghaire. The Rosses Point helm won the repechage before finishing 7th overall.

The fleet awoke on Sunday morning to a lake that looked like a sheet of glass and were none too optimistic as they headed to the race course on the final day of racing at the Irish J24 National Championships writes Elaine O'Mahoney. But as the morning went on wind started to build and by the time the fleet had made it to the race area a steady 10-12kts had materialized enabling OOD Derek Bothwell and his team to lay marks and get racing off on schedule. With just five races completed out of a scheduled nine the race management team were eager to get as many races in as possible and all racing for the day started with the U flag.

Going into the final days racing Cillian Dickson’s Headcase from Howth Yacht Club were lying in third place behind Darragh McCormack’s Stouche from Foynes Yacht Club in first and JP McCaldin’s El Riccio in second. However Headcase climbed their way back up winning the first two races but still needing to finish two places ahead of Stouche in the final race. That race was won by Jana from Sligo Yacht Club but Headcase’s third place ahead of Stouche’s fifth was enough for them to finish the event on level points and win on countback.

J24 National National Champions Headcase Sam O’Byrne, Cillian Dickson, Marcus Ryan, Ryan Glynn, Louis Mulloy. The Commodore of Lough Erne Yacht Club John Carton and Head of the Organising Committee June Clarke are pictured at either end Photo: Martin Denneny/LEYC

ICRA Under 25 J24 National Champion Janx Spirit Tadgh O’Loinsigh, Hugh Stewart, Tadgh McSweeney, Brian Fox, Donnagh O’Buachalla Photo: Martin Denneny/LEYC

Tadgh O’Loinsigh on Janx Spirit from Tralee Bay Sailing Club sailed a superb series and is the new ICRA Under 25 J24 National Champion. He will receive a grant from ICRA to assist with his J/24 campaign which will be presented at the ICRA National Conference later this year along with a presentation on the importance of supporting under 25 programmes.

The Silver Fleet was won by Colm O’Flaherty from Sligo Yacht Club on Jana. The Bronze Fleet was won by Conor Houghton from Wicklow Sailing Club on Jade.
The band playing outside on the Saturday night was a little bit of magic and gave the event a festival feel and the racing finished on a high with three great races. 

Full results downloadable below

In complete contrast to Day 1, the forecasted steady wind of 10-15 knots failed to materialise on Day 2 of the J24 Nationals at Lough Erne Yacht Club, writes Elaine O’Mahoney.

Race 5 started on schedule yesterday (Saturday 24 August) in about 8 knots of wind but died just after boats round the first weather mark.

It then became a battle to find the brief and small patches of breeze scattered around the race course.

Boats becalmed on Lough Erne yesterday at the J24 Nationals

Just four boats made it back up to the weather mark on the second beat to complete the race within the time limit.

Racing for the day was then abandoned. This race will feature as the discard for most of the fleet. Results so far can be found HERE.

While the official entry was thirty-one for the 2019 J24 Irish National Championships at Lough Erne Yacht Club, twenty-eight made it to the first start line including five under 25 teams writes Elaine O'Mahoney.

The under 25 team from Royal Cork Yacht Club at their first J24 event were unfortunate to have broken a mast immediately after the start of the first race but thanks to the efforts of Lough Erne Yacht Club they are being loaned another boat to enable them to compete in day two. The 2019 AGM took place after racing and Brian McDowell from Howth Yacht Club stepped down as President.

The committee would like to thank Brian and also Martin O’Reilly and Sinéad Enright who are also stepping down this year, for all their hard work and commitment to the association over the past few years. We would also like to wish newly elected President Mark Usher from Greystones Sailing Club the very best of luck and to welcome Tadgh O’Loinsigh from Tralee Bay Sailing Club as the Under 25 representative on the new committee.

We asked three boats to give a summary of their first day of racing at the J/24 National Championships in Lough Erne Yacht Club.

Reports from the Fleet

The forecast said “ten knots, gusting close to twenty”, but as the fleet made its way to the race course it was clear that the “Breeze was on” for Day 1.
The starts were hectic with twenty-eight boats fighting for front row positions, the fleet got away clean for three of the four races.
The upwind legs were a battle between finding flatter water and picking your way through the wind shifts across the broad Lough. There were gains to be made on both sides of race course and all through the fleet boats traded positions with only small margin making the difference of often multiple places.
The front half of the fleet was always still tightly packed as they approached the first windward mark, and with spinnakers hoisted and powerful gusts, the downwind legs in the first couple of races were fun and felt short.
The leeward gate created opportunities as the fleet split each time for a second lap.
By the time the warning signal for Race 3 was raised, the breeze showed signs of dropping a little and about half the fleet made the change to their larger head sail. On balance, those who stuck with Jib’s probably fared better during the next race and only by Race 4 had the wind moderated enough to make sailing with the J24’s big Genoa really manageable.
With testing wind conditions and a very competitive fleet every place was fought for and as is so often the case in big fleets consistency was the key to success on day 1. After four races completed and still no discard, the McCormacks Stouche from Foynes Yacht Club managed to stay just ahead of Flor O'Driscoll's team in Hard on Port. Behind them and still in the running to grab the National title are the local team of JP Caldin on Il Ricco and Headcase owned and sailed by the first graduates of the Howth YC J24 “Under 25” development programme.
Day 2 promises a little less wind but even more competition. - Brian Raftery - Gossip

Windier conditions today than expected gusting 25/26 kts easily. Some excellent close racing, testing the crew's boat handling and tactical skills. A great job from the race committee getting all four scheduled races in. Roll on day two. - Team Jumpin’ Jive

So glad to be out here in Enniskillen what a fantastic venue to compete in. Our teams first time racing here and it didn’t disappoint. While our results weren’t as good as we would have originally hoped we had a great day on the water all the same. OOD Derek Bothwell and his team set great courses which made for extremely competitive and nail-biting races for us all day long. We were met with testing conditions at the beginning of the day which gradually eased. It took us a while to get the boat going but we dusted off the cobwebs and eventually got into the groove. We are happy to say our results improved as the day progressed. Hopefully, our performance will continue to improve tomorrow and the day after. - Foynes Yacht Club Under 25 Team

With just over a week to go until the start of the J/24 National Championships on Ireland's second-biggest lake, the entry has hit 30 with at least another three boats promised to enter writes JP McCaldin

This is the largest entry ever, surpassing the 29 at the Royal St George in 1999, and almost triple the entry of the last time the event headed North in 2014.

The class can claim fairly to be an all-Ireland class with entries from Kerry to Derry, Cork to Carrickfergus, Malahide to Mullaghmore, Dublin, Foynes, Athlone, Sligo and many points in between. The largest entry is from the host club who have mustered 8 boats with a 9th chartered to Royal Cork’s U25 team. The event boasts at least 5 under 25 teams and at least four past Irish champions.

No team has dominated 2019 with the two completed events so far this season both coming down to the last race and going to different winners. Team McCormack in Stouche, Foynes YC, took the Southerns in May in Fenit by a single point and fresh from their victory in the Mermaid nationals are among the favourites. The Easterns in Howth in June again came down to the last race with Fergus Kelliher and team on Jibe, Tralee Bay SC, taking their first event win in the J24. Local team and 2017 champions El Riccio have been the bridesmaid on both occasions can they go one better on home waters? Multiple Irish champion Cillian Dixon the Howth u25 team graduate and his team on Headcase are sure to be in the mix, as will the Ushers from Greystones who were victorious on the last visit to the Erne in September 2018. No preview of runners and riders would be complete without a mention of Flor O'Driscoll and his Hard on Port team who are even more successful in winning in Ulster than his beloved Munster rugby team.

With the fleet split into gold, silver and bronze fleets after day 1 there will be something to race for, for everyone throughout the fleet. The winner automatically qualifies for the worlds in Poole in 2020 with extra qualification points available for the runners up. Pure one design racing will be enforced with a day of measurement prior to the event, several crew are rumoured to have been on diets to make the 400kg crew weight limit. To ensure on fair sailing on the water umpiring will be provided by Gordon Davies and Derek Bothwell, the classes adopted race officer, and his team will provide championship standard races.

With generous sponsorship from North Sails, Fermanagh and Omagh council, Ropelocker.ie, Sport NI and Experience Enniskillen, the entry has been kept to a minimum, and great prizes guaranteed throughout the fleet.

The J/24 Eastern Championships took place last weekend at Howth Yacht Club writes Elaine O'Mahoney. The two-day event was run in conjunction with the Squib Easterns which made for a very busy lifting schedule for the cranes at HYC with thirty-five boats between both fleets.

The weekend brought challenging weather conditions for OOD Derek Bothwell and his team and wind shifts of 20 to 40 degrees were commonplace throughout day one keeping the race team very busy. While the seventeen J/24s taking part were racing windward-leeward courses the OOD was also laying a trapezoid course for the Squib fleet with a rolling start, Squibs followed by J24s.

The J24 Easterns fleet at Howth

After a brief delay waiting for the wind to settle race one got off in just over 10kts westerly breeze. Mark Usher on Jumpin Jive IRL3060 took the early lead which he held all the way to the finish and left the battle for places to the remainder of the fleet behind him. The changes in wind direction meant there was a considerable delay before the next race. When race two eventually got underway the J24 fleet had the benefit of seeing the strengthening tide push the Squib fleet over the line for two general recalls and were on their best behaviour to get a clear start first time. In race two and three, Fergus Kelliher’s Jibe IRL4252 from Tralee Bay Sailing Club and JP McCaldin’s IRL5219 El Rico from Lough Erne Yacht Club traded the first two places. After seven hours on the water, the fleet was happy to head for home and a well-earned dinner in Howth Yacht Club.

Jibe ahead of Gala Racing at the J24 Easterns at HYC

Sunday brought sunshine and more settled wind direction from the south but this time the challenge was wind strength. Race four started in a steady 6-knots but was shortened on the second beat as winds lessened. Simon McGibney’s Gala Racing IRL5278 took first place. Thankfully wind, as forecast, increased to 8 to 10 knots as the morning progressed enabling the OOD to complete two more races. Steve Atkinson’s Bád IRL4628 from Carrickfergus Sailing Club won race five. The final result for the overall winner came down to the final race between JP McCaldin’s El Rico and Fergus Kelliher’s Jibe. While Headcase IRL4247, helmed by Killian Dickson, won their first race of the event, Jibe’s third place finish ahead of El Rico’s sixth was enough for them to take their first regional championship win in the Gold Fleet.

This was a hugely competitive event with no boat dominating the series and six different winners in each of the six races. All participants complemented Howth Yacht Club for hosting a fantastic event and in particular the crane operators for their efficiency and the OOD Derek Bothwell for completing all six scheduled races in extremely challenging conditions.

The next event in the J/24 calendar is the J/24 National Championships at Lough Erne Yacht Club from the 23rd to the 25th August. The fleet are pushing for thirty boats to take part. Any boats needing crew or logistics to do with the event are encouraged to contact Lough Erne Yacht Club or the J/24 Association who will assist in any way they can.

Results:
Gold Fleet:
1st Jibe Fergus Kelliher Tralee Bay Sailing Club
2nd El Rico JP McCaldin Lough Erne Yacht Club
3rd Headcase O’Byrne, Ryan & Others Howth Yacht Club/Lough Ree Yacht Club/Mayo Sailing Club

Silver Fleet:
1st Gala Racing Simon McGibney Foynes Yacht Club
2nd Jana Colm O’Flaherty Sligo Yacht Club
3rd Gossip Brian Rafferty Sligo Yacht Club

Full results here

The J24 Southern Championships were held at Tralee Bay Sailing Club over the weekend of 24/25 May. Fifteen boats travelled from all over Ireland for the event including four local boats.

Racing was scheduled at 1125 on Saturday but contrary to the forecast there wasn’t a puff of wind. Eventually a light breeze filled in from the NW and PRO Peter Moore sent the fleet off on two laps of a windward-leeward course, The breeze was shifty and fickle but eventually, all boats finished within the time limit. There was a further delay as the wind strengthened and backed to the SW.

Race 2 was all action as Janx Spirit lead at the leeward mark for the final time only for a problem with their spinnaker to allow Stouche through. Stouche lost a crew overboard though at their next tack wnd could only finish in 6th. Race three and four were more orderly affairs although the wind had increased to 20 knots or more.

Overnight Stouche lead on 6 points with Il Ricco and Gossip hard on their heels both on 7 points.

Sunday morning was fresh and sunny with a steady NW breeze. Peter started bang on time and race 5 finished with Gala Racing in 1st followed by Stouche and Il Ricco. It was still wide open for the final race and Il Ricco lead for most of the way to take another win. Stouche was 3rd at the leeward mark but just edged out Janx Spirit to claim 2nd at the finish line.

A protest delayed the final results but eventually, Stouche was declared the winner on 10 points with Il Ricco second on 11 and gossip 3rd on 15. The silver fleet was won by Gala Racing with Yachtzee second and Crazyhorse 3rd. The under 25 team prize went to Janx Spirit.

J24 Southern Championships Results

Sail No Boat Type of Boat Owner Points Place R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6
IRL4215 Stouche D. McCormack 10 1 2 6 3 1 2 2
5219 Il Ricco JP. McCaldin 11 2 1 5 1 5 3 1
IRL4212 Gossip B. Raftery 15 3 3 1 4 3 9 4
IRL4252 Jibe F. Kelliher 27 4 4 4 7 11 5 7
IRL8824 Janx Spirit Tadg O'Loinsigh 30 5 6 3 6 12 14 3
IRL5278 Gala Racing McGibney/O'Mahony 32 6 8 8 12 7 1 8
IRL5067 Jana C. O'Flaherty 32 7 5 14 2 4 7 18
IRL3060 Jumpin Jive M. Usher 33 8 10 9 5 6 8 5
IRL4794 Hard on Port F. O'Driscoll 38 9 12 7 13 2 4 18
IRL4532 Jelegnite F. Ryan 42 10 11 2 8 10 12 11
IRL5285 YachtZee D. O'Donovan 43 11 9 12 10 13 6 6
IRL4533 Crazyhorse L. McBride 49 12 7 13 9 8 13 12
IRL4188 Jasper 2 FoynesU25 50 13 13 11 11 9 10 9
IRL400 Jaguar G. Fort 60 14 14 10 15 18 11 10
GB4083 Jenepi Daly/Magowan 71 15 15 15 14 14 15 13
IR4384 Proud Mary McGibney/O'Mahony 90 16 18 18 18 18 18 18
IRL4628 Bad S. Atkinson 90 16 18 18 18 18 18 18

Gerry Gilligan, who was very widely known and loved in Irish sailing has died. Gerry was an avid and accomplished GP14 dinghy and J/24 helmsman and sailor, and will be very much missed writes Michael Clarke.

He was a good friend and strong supporter of Lough Erne Yacht Club and our recent Autumn J/24 Series in which he first competed with Barry Humphreys in TJ then in his own newly acquired J/24 Jana. The funeral notice is below: 

Gerry Gilligan, Parkhill, Ballyshannon Co. Donegal. Peacefully at his residence. Veterinary Surgeon. Remains will repose at his residence today (Sunday 9 December) from 4pm until 10pm and on Monday from 2pm until 10pm. House private at all other times. Remains will arrive in St. Patrick's Church, Ballyshannon on Tuesday for 12pm Funeral Mass followed by interment in Saint Ninnidh's Cemetery, Bundoran.