HOWTH YACHT CLUB. TUE + SAT SERIES 2 (RACE) 12/06/2012 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Oona P Courtney; 2, Rita Curley/Lynch; 3, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Rosemary Curley/Jones; 2, Oona P Courtney; 3, Rita Curley/Lynch TUESDAY SERIES 2 (RACE) 12/06/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2, Ghosty Ned D Harkin; 3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 2, Chatterbox J Kay; 3, Fantome R McDonell; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Northside Dragon J Bourke; 2, Kootamundra D O'Grady; 3, Jabberwocky S Knowles; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Ghosty Ned D Harkin; 2, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 3, Nefertari Morgan/Murray; Squib HPH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 2, Chatterbox J Kay; 3, Fantome R McDonell

#HYC – HOWTH YACHT CLUB. WEDNESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 30/05/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; 2, Trinculo M Fleming; Class 1 HPH: 1, Trinculo M Fleming; 2, Crazy Horse Chambers/Reilly; Class 2 IRC: 1, Sunburn I Byrne; 2, Toughnut D Skehan; 3, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; Class 2 HPH: 1, Toughnut D Skehan; 2, MiniMumm Cobbe/McDonald; 3, Sunburn I Byrne; Class 3 IRC: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; 2, Toy Yot Mullaney/Pitcher; 3, Starlet Bourke/Others; Class 3 HPH: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney; 2, Starlet Bourke/Others; 3, Turtle R Hogg; White Sails HPH: 1, On the Rox C & J Boyle; 2, Force Five R & J McAllister; 3, Sojourn Blandford/Lacy; White Sails IRC: 1, On the Rox C & J Boyle; 2, Force Five R & J McAllister; 3, Jokers Wild G Knaggs

#ICRA2012 – Three Cork IRC victories, two titles retained and local success on ECHO and in the BMW Corinthian Cup were the outstanding features of the overall results of the BMW Cruiser Nationals run by Howth Yacht Club for the Irish Cruiser Racing Association, with the 7-race series finishing on Sunday in glorious sunshine but in tricky northerly breezes.

The event brought together 123 boats in one of the biggest fleets of the Irish sailing season with 80% of the fleet visitors to Howth. This year the event got a Government approval when Marine Minister Simon Coveney TD lent his support to the Cruiser National Championships when it opened last Friday.

Anitx and the view the other Class Zero competitors got. The Royal Cork Yacht retained her Irish IRC title

Royal Cork boats Antix and Tiger retained their Division 0 and 3 Irish titles respectively but in totally different ways. Anthony O'Leary's Antix was pushed so hard all the way by Richard Fildes' Impetuous that the Welsh Corby 37's double win on the last day set up the intriguing scenario of a tie after discards. With four wins to Fildes' three, O'Leary made it by the tightest of margins.

Welsh yacht Impetuous hoists on the tail of Jump Juice

Neil Kenefick's Tiger from Royal Cork sailing to success in Howth

The opposite was the case in Division 3 where the Keneficks' dominance on Tiger was underlined by two more wins on the third day to seal an emphatic victory by the biggest margin (9 points) of any fleet. The pre-event favourites saw off the early challenge of Tim Goodbody's White Mischief, although the Royal Irish boat had the consolation of winning the ECHO award from another RIYC boat Quest.

Dun Laoghaire's Sigma 33 White Mischief skippered by Tim Goodbody held an early lead in class three IRC and won overall on ECHO

In Division 0, Crazy Horse from Howth (Chambers/Reilly) took the ECHO honours, with four race wins enough to beat the National's Vincent Farrell in Tsunami by two points. Only two points separating the top three showed how competitive Division 1 was on IRC with another Royal Cork entry Jelly Baby (Nagle & O'Malley) emerging on top, with a final race win the difference in edging out Xtravagance (Colin Byrne) from RIYC while more success went to the Dun Laoghaire club with Rockabill V's (Paul O'Higgins) narrow on ECHO.

Colin Byrne's Xtravangance from Dublin Bay was at the top in Class One but was edged out by Cork yacht Jelly Baby (Ian Nagle and Paul O'Malley) below.

After the first day, it was pretty straightforward for Checkmate XV, Nigel Biggs' entry from the Royal St. George, and three more race wins was enough to finish with a 7.5 points gap over second-placed Dux (Anthony Gore-Grimes of HYC). The performance was also sufficient to take the ECHO plaudits too, although the margin over Howth's Dave Cullen in King One was a little closer.

The only perfect scoreline in the Championships came in Division 4 where Team Toy Yot from Howth had a clean sweep on IRC while consistency earned Malahide visitor Goyave (Camier/Fitzpatrick) second overall, with the latter reversing the order on ECHO by virtue of one more race win.

Howth boats were very much to the fore in the non-spinnaker classes competing for the BMW Corinthian Cup, winning the A and B fleets on both handicap systems. On the Rox (C&J Boyle) wrapped up the A division with two wins to finish six points ahead of Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) while they had five points to spare over Colm Buckley's Blue Eyes on ECHO.

Howth boat On the Rox won the Corinthian A fleet divison. More photos in the gallery below.

In the B fleet, Harry Byrne's Alphida (with Paddy Cronin on helm) stayed in the top four throughout and also recorded three wins to beat off the challenge of Joe Carton's Voyager on both handicaps. A second and a bullet on the last day brought Richard McAllister's Force Five into the top three frame on ECHO at the end.

At the prize-giving ceremony, Barry Rose, Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association complimented Howth YC on its handling of this major national event for a third time, and paid particular thanks to the organising committee, the three race officers and their teams of helpers and RIB drivers.

BMW Cruiser Nationals & Corinthian Cup 2012, Howth Yacht Club, Winners and (provisional) results after Day 3:

Division 0 IRC:

ANTIX, Anthony O'Leary

Division 0 ECHO:

CRAZY HORSE, Chambers/Reilly

Division 1 IRC:

.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley

Division 1 ECHO:

ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins

Division 2 IRC:

CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs

Division 2 ECHO:

CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs

Division 3 IRC:

TIGER, Keneficks

Division 3 ECHO:

WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody

Division 4 IRC:

TOY YOT,

Division 4 ECHO:

GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick

Non-Spinnaker A IRC:

ON-THE-ROX (C & J Boyle)

Non-Spinnaker A ECHO:

ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle

Non-Spinnaker B IRC:

ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne

Non-Spinnaker B ECHO:

ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne

BMW Cruiser Nationals & Corinthian Cup 2012, Howth Yacht Club, Provisional results after Day 3:

Division 0 IRC: 1.ANTIX, Anthony O'Leary 2.IMPETUOUS, Richard Fildes 3.JUMP JUICE, Denise Phelan. Division 0 ECHO: 1.CRAZY HORSE, Chambers/Reilly 2.TSUNAMI, Vincent Farrell 3.LOOSE CHANGE, Mitton/Redden. Division 1 IRC: 1.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley 2.XTRAVAGANCE, Colin Byrne 3.ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins. Division 1 ECHO: 1.ROCKABILL V, Paul O'Higgins 2.JELLY BABY, Ian Nagle & Paul O'Malley 3.XTRAVAGANCE, Colin Byrne. Division 2 IRC: 1.CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs 2.DUX, Anthony Gore-Grimes 3.KING ONE, Dave Cullen. Division 2 ECHO: 1.CHECKMATE XV, Nigel Biggs 2.KING ONE, Dave Cullen 3.DUX, Anthony Gore-Grimes. Division 3 IRC: 1.TIGER, Kenefick's 2.WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody 3.HARD ON PORT, Flor O Driscoll. Division 3 ECHO: 1.WHITE MISCHIEF, Timothy Goodbody 2.QUEST, J Skernilt 3.HARD ON PORT, Flor O Driscoll. Division 4 IRC: 1.TOY YOT, Team Toy Yot 2.GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick 3.ASTERIX, Counihan/Bowhell/Meredith. Division 4 ECHO: 1.GOYAVE, Camier/Fitzpatrick 2.TOY YOT, Team Toy Yot 3.ASTERIX, Counihan/Bowhell/Meredith. Non-Spinnaker A IRC: 1.ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle 2.BITE THE BULLET, Colm Bermingham 3.CHANGELING, Kieran Jameson. Non-Spinnaker A ECHO: 1.ON-THE-ROX, C & J Boyle 2.BLUE EYES, Colm Buckley 3.PRETTY POLLY, Chris Horrigan. Non-Spinnaker B IRC: 1.ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne 2.VOYAGER, Joe Carton 3.DEMELZA, W. Laudan / S. Ennis. Non-Spinnaker B ECHO: 1.ALPHIDA OF HOWTH, Harry Byrne 2.VOYAGER, Joe Carton 3.FORCE FIVE, R&J McAllister.

#ICRA – A record entry of 123 boats racing in 7 sailing divisions will compete for honours at this weekend's BMW Cruiser Nationals being hosted by Howth Yacht Club on behalf of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA).

Seven races over three days – a mixture of round-the-cans and windward-leewards - will be provided on three separate courses, with Class 0 and 1 together, Class 2, 3 and 4 on another, and two divisions of non-spinnaker cruisers racing for the Corinthian Cup.

Last year's championship winners in the first four divisions will all be in Howth to defend their titles. Anthony O'Leary's Antix from Cork will again be among the favourites in Class 0 although he can expect strong challenges from Jump Juice (Denise Phelan) and George Sisk's WOW, while Richard Fildes Impetuous from Wales had a useful warm-up on the race track in winning last weekend's Corby Cup.

Pat Kelly's Storm (HYC & Rush) won Class 1 in Cork last year and there are six other J109s in the line-up to keep them on their toes. Six of the 21 entries are from outside Dublin.

In Class 2, Brian Goggin's Corby 25 Allure from Kinsale was the winner a year ago and will be expected to be a front-runner in the biggest fleet (31 boats) in the Championships, the majority of which are visitors. Of the local entries, Dave Cullen's King One, Ian Byrne's Sunburn and Anthony Gore-Grimes Dux are contenders.

The modified quarter-tonner Tiger (Neil Kenefick) from Cork is undoubtedly the boat to beat in Class 3, having been the outstanding boat in this division over the past couple of years. Half a dozen J24s will have to be at their very best to compete against this very fast, well sailed boat, while in Class 4, Goyave (Camier/Fitzpatrick) from Malahide and Basil MacMahon's Holly of the host club will be fancied.

The Corinthian Cup entries have been split into two divisions, with local boats Changeling (Kieran Jameson) and Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) among those fancied in division 5 and Harry Byrne's Alphida and Demelza (Laudan & Ennis) serious contenders in division 6.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – In light winds the Squib one design class was won last night by Chatterbox (J Kay). Second was Too Dee (D Sheahan) and third Kerfuffle (Craig/Ruane). On scratch handicap in the Puppeteer class Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) were winners but there was a tie for second between Gold Dust (Walls/Browne) and Eclipse (A & R Hegarty). Full results below: TUESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 22/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2=, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; 2=, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Arcturus C McAuliffe; 2, Schiggy G Kennedy; 3, Mr Punch NiBhraonain/Wilson; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Too Dee D Sheahan; 3, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; Squib HPH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 3, Too Dee D Sheahan; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Jabberwocky S Knowles; 2, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty; 3, Kootamundra D O'Grady

#CORBYCUP – Richard Fildes Pwhelli based Corby 37 Impetuous was the winner of Howth Yacht Club's Corby Cup today.

Originally built by Corby Yachts for Royal Cork's Eamonn Rohan in 2006 and known as Blondie, the now Welsh based yacht was twice winner of Irish IRC Championships and also a top scoring yacht out of 174 entries in Scottish Series.

Second was Dun Laoghaire Corby 33 Rockabill skippered by Paul O'Higgins of the Royal Irish YC. Third was the Kinsale based Corby 25 Allure. 

Sailed in tough conditions on Saturday in 16-22 knots with heavy seas, sailors were glad to finish the third race and retire to the bar after three tough windward leewards.

Although there were just nine entries there was a good representation of the Corby designs as follows: Impetuous - Corby 37; Rockabill - 33; Eazi Tiger - 29; Ruthless - 26; Allure - 25; Tribal - 25; Smile - 25; Impetuous - 25 and Will2Win - 25

Sunday was altogether a different affair with two round the cans races, the second one with a downwind start. Everything was to play for in the last race with all but one boat, Impetuous owned by Fergal Noonan doing the right course and once spotted by the rest of the fleet, the overall result hung in the balance. Eventually Impetuous (Corby 37) owned by Richard Fildes snatched victory with the No Retreat decanter for the smaller fleet going to Allure owned by Brian Goggin.

Race officer Derek Bothwell who is also in action at next weekend's BM Championships in Howth commented that as the Corby's had worked through many early season glitches, they should be a potent force next weekend at the BMW ICRA Nationals.

Full results below:

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. CORBY CUP (O'ALL) 20/05/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Impetuous R Fildes SCSC (6.00); 2, Rockabill V P O'Higgins RIYC (6.50); 3, Allure B Goggin KYC (11.50); 4, Wil2win W Partington PSC (15.00); 5, Impetuous Noonan/Chambers HYC (20.00)

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – The Hegarty's Eclipse was the winner of the Puppeteer Howth Yacht Club race today with Schiggy (G. Kennedy) second. In the White sails Xebec (T. Giles) took the honours. The full Howth Yacht Club results are below:

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. SATURDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 19/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; 2, Schiggy G Kennedy; 3, Cloud 9 C Feeley; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Schiggy G Kennedy; 2, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; 3, Arcturus C McAuliffe SAT WHITE SAIL White Sails IRC: 1, Xebec T Giles; 2=, Toughnut D Skehan; 2=, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; White Sails HPH: 1, Xebec T Giles; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; 3, Starlet Bourke/Others TUE + SAT SERIES 1 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Oona P Courtney; 2, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 3, Anita Cassidy/Faherty; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Anita Cassidy/Faherty; 2=, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 2=, Oona P Courtney

#J24 – With a third place in the opening race being his worst result in the six-race series, JP McCaldin in Jamais Encore from Lough Erne YC was an impressive winner of the Mediagasmic-sponsored J/24 Eastern Championships at Howth YC over the weekend writes Graham Smith.

Even National Champion Flor O'Driscoll on Hard on Port couldn't match the level of consistency that the northern visitors demonstrated while another feature of the weekend was the steadily-improving performance of the HYC K25 Team on Kilcullen Euro Car Parks who finished 5th overall.

Discarding an 11th in the first race, the crew - led by John Blake and with Cillian Dickson on the helm - clearly learned a lot as the days went on, culminating in top notch 2nd and 3rd finishes on the second day.

The Championship started on Saturday with four races in fresh north-easterlies and first blood was drawn by Howth's Jibberrish (Fergus O'Kelly & others) whose gamble of a left-side long tack paid off handsomely for a sweet victory ahead of O'Driscoll and McCaldin.

Race two, three and four saw Nyah (Hyde & Deasy, RCYC/RStGYC) and Jamais Encore take turns to head the fleet, with Nyah winning two to head the fleet overnight. The fourth race highlighted just how competitive the fleet was, with 12 boats finishing within five minutes.

Fortunes were reversed on Sunday when Nyah had a disastrous 9th in the opening race and then a 4th while major rival McCaldin by comparison, had a dream day on the water. The fifth race in the series saw the Lough Erne crew win by a massive margin and while they only had to sail safely in the last race, second behind Hard on Port was more than enough to secure the Eastern Championship trophy with a margin of four points.

The Mediagasmic-sponsored event attracted visiting boats from Malahide, Lough Erne, Lough Ree, Lough Swilly, Royal Cork and Carrickfergus and was considered an outstanding success by the 13 crews, with much praise heaped on PRO David Lovegrove and his team for the quality of the racing.

The top 5 Overall 

1 Jamais Encore JP Caldin LEYC 8.00

2 Hard on Port F O'Driscoll HYC 12.00

3 Nyah Deasy/Hyde RCYC/RStGYC 14.00

4 Crazyhorse M Shanahan HYC 24.00

5 Kilcullen Euro Car Parks HYC K25 HYC 26.00

#DEVELOPMENT - The International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) inaugural Development Symposium at Howth Yacht Club recently "promised much in the way of passionate discussion", according to its review of the two-day event.

Presentations were given by Tony Wright, training manager of the Irish Sailing Association, who outlined the ISA's national programme that keeps the focus of the sailor "at the centre of all that they do"; and Simon Jinks who walked through his new Guide to Offshore Personal Safety for Cruising and Racing.

Meanwhile, World Youth Sailing Trust coach Hugh Styles spoke on the subject of cohesive training programmes adding value to international events and leaving a legacy for host nations and teams alike.

Participants from the federation's member nations kept an 'ideas bank' which listed development ideas for future consideration, including a proposal for a development forum for sailing coaches, and using the model of the European Qualifications Framework as a reference for coaching competencies.

New Zealand, South Africa, Iceland and Turkey were also suggested as locations for future symposiums.

For more see the full review of the Development Symposium at the ISAF website HERE.

#TOPPER – The Topper Leinster sailing Championships at Howth Yacht Club on March 31st/April 1st is the first event of the season for the Irish Topper class and with qualification for the ISA Topper Squad at stake, a competitive fleet of up to 40 boats is expected from clubs as far apart as Wexford and Antrim.

To qualify for the 2012 ISA Topper Squad sailors must compete in both the Leinsters in Howth and the Mitsubishi Youth Nationals in Dun Laoghaire in mid-April. The Topper squads are training groups formed, co-ordinated and managed by the ISA (and RYA in the North).

The ISA squad comes under the Olympic pathway which allows for progression from the junior fleet to the Olympic classes. The squad will be re-selected in April after the Youth sailing Championships and will prepare the sailors to compete in the 2012 Topper World Championships at Workum in Holland.

Friday 23rd March is the deadline for discounted entry fees of €50/£45 (after which they increase by €10/£10) for the Leinsters and entry is restricted to members of the Irish Topper Class Association.

The event, under the guidance of PRO Richard Kissane and his team, has a schedule of six races over the two days.