The 1720 Sportsboat are raiding Ireland in Viking style on an anti-clockwise route. Their Europeans at Galway Bay SC in early May saw Fionn Lyden of Baltimore take the win, and since then Baltimore has been one of the focal points. But this week, starting Thursday 21st August and concluding Saturday evening, August 23rd, they're sweeping up to Howth for the Annual Championship.
Front runners in a class noted for its intense competition are expected to include Ross McDonald of Howth & Royal Cork on Atara, and Julian Hughes of Waterford Harbour SC with Roots One, apparently so-called because his large scale agricultural operation is the main supplier of carrots to Tesco.
His crew for the Nationals includes Shane Hughes of North Sails, which certainly gives an edge, but the Matthews and O'Suillebhain family teams from Kinsale will provide a formidable challenge.
Collie Byrne from the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire will be emerging with a new mast, having lost the previous one in a "freak collision" (is there any other kind?) in the Galway series, while Class President Robert Dix of Howth will be skippering the debut of his newly-acquired LemonCello.
"And see the sun come up on Galway Bay" – 1720 Europeans in the first of the 2025 heatwaves on Galway Bay in May, with the Burren and Black Head beyond
ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP
Furthest-travelled sailor will be Superyacht captain Mark O'Reilly, returning to his orginal home port from an exotic un-named location. He'll find the 1720s in full roadshow mode, as the Ulster Championship in Bangor follows in a week's time (27th-28th August), and Howth Yacht Club are offering interim storage to 1720s from the south and west who'll want to trail on northwards a few days hence.
