Howth 17 Quasquicentennial Celebrations See 125th Anniversary Nationals Taken by “Sutton Squad”

13th August 2023

The one-two-five team….first pints after winning the Howth 17 Quasquicentennial Nationals with Sheila for the Sutton Squad of (left to right) Tom Mulligan, Sean O’Mahony, Andy Johnston (former Commodore Sutton DC) and co-owner David Mulligan Credit: Judith Malcolm

While the Howth 17s have continued with their usual club fixtures throughout their 125th Year – the Quasquicentennial – with regular events such as the Single-Handed Race (won in 2023 by 2022 National Champion Davy Jones sailing Rosemary), innovative Class Captain David “Daisy” O’Shea has highlighted a Trinity Special, a trio of major happenings to energise the standard programme in honour of the big One-Two-Five.

Initially, this Trinity was planned as (1), a re-sailing of the first race of May 4th 1898 on Thursday, May 4th 2023, then (2) in late June, there was the well-supported fleet transport to West Cork for a Cruise-in-Company among Carberry’s Hundred Isles with a mind-blowing rounding of the Fastnet Rock, and finally (3) there was this weekend’s turbo-boosted National Championship, with the five-race programme starting on Friday and concluding yesterday evening (Saturday).

SEASON STARTS WITH AN IDYLLIC RACE, IDEAL RESULT

But from the beginning of the season, 2023’s wayward weather has played a major role, and not always helpfully. The waters off Howth were simply being blown away by gales on Thursday, May 4th, yet just two days later Saturday May 6th produced such idyllic conditions for the 125th Year Special Race that an ideal result was inevitable – it was won by No 1 Rita (John Curley & Marcus Lynch) just as it had been won 125 years earlier by the same boat when owned by Noel “Pa” Guinness.

Idyllic race, idyllic result – Rita leading the 125th Anniversary Race. She also won the class’s first race in May 1898. Photo: Judith Malcolm

As for the West Cork jaunt, we’ve covered that extensively in Afloat.ie here

SIXTEEN BOATS – MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS

However, the Nationals – with 16 boats out and racing these past two days to provide a combined fleet age well over one thousand years (and that’s before we include the numbers for ever-young yet often decidedly vintage crews) had its own challenges. Strong winds between south and west, funneled through by a seemingly self-perpetuating great big black cloud sitting over the hills to the north above Skerries, gave Race Officer Scorie Walls a real challenge which she nevertheless took in her stride.

Friday evening’s first race sent mixed signals – the big dark self-renewing cloud was already on station in the hills above Skerries to the north. Photo: Alistair Craig

Perhaps that’s because, for some fortunate reason, while there looked to be driving rain everywhere else, in Howth’s sailing waters, they missed it - in fact, the sun quite frequently shone. But that fast-moving air was notably dense, so squalls recorded at 26 knots for quite prolonged periods were carrying a lot of extra damage-creating pressure.

The 1907 Portrush-built Deilginis (Massey, Toomey & Kenny) put down a clear marker with a win in the first race. Photo: Dave O’Shea

The “Castle Boats” – the 1988-built Isobel (left, Conor & Brian Turvey) and Erica (Davie Nixon) are still the only Howth 17s built in Howth, in a shed at Howth Castle by master boat builder John O’Reilly. Under one of the class’s more archaic rules, the originally leg ‘o mutton spinnaker must be carried to weather of the jib. Photo: Dave O’Shea

Thus after a good but brisk race on the Friday evening (won by Deilginis) and two increasingly demanding races on Saturday, that fine fleet of 16 boats in full racing trim was reduced to just seven. Yes, that’s seven – less than half the opening turnout. Yet if Scorie had allowed a fourth possibly boat-breaking race, it would have opened up the options of a discard.

Built in France by Skol ar Mor in 2019 and the newest boat in the class, No 21 Orla (Donal Gallagher & Marc Fitzgibbon) finished third overall. Photo: Dave O’Shea

But it might have opened up some boats wide open as well, so she decided against it, even though some members of the heavy brigade were making it known that they were mad keen for one final fight to the death, as things were so close among the top three boats that whoever won that final race would be the Howth 17 Quasquicentennial National Champion.

“On the wings of the storm” – by the time this bit of weather went through in what was to be the final race, only seven boats were still fit to face another contest. Photo: Patricia Nixon

THE TRIBES OF HOWTH

Calling it a “National Championship” when most of the crews come from within the Howth Peninsula may seem a bit OTT, but be aware that within the peninsula there are distinct tribal groupings such as the Sutton Squad, the Baily Boys, the Up-the-Hills, the Village Folk, the Burrow Bunch, and the Claremont Crowd.

Sometimes, they are barely exchanging ambassadors. So when the the countback showed that the Sutton Squad led by former Sutton DC Commodore Andy Johnston in partnership with Dave Mulligan on No 20 Sheila had edged it ahead of Davie Nixon of the Up-the-Hills on Erica (No 18), with fellow Up-the-Hills Donal Gallagher and Marc FitzGibbon third on Orla (number 21), the joy was unconfined in the sunny side of the Howth slopes.

The walking wounded….the 1898-built Hera (Jane & Michael Duffy) returns to port with the gaff jaws in bits. Photo: Dave O’Shea

Despite the shortening, it was a hard day’s racing, with the gybes in particular being Grand Opera at its scenery-crashing best. Yet somehow they summoned the energy for the prize-giving dinner in the club, and at its conclusion Class Captain O’Shea signed off with the telling conlusion: “See you Tuesday”.

For Tuesday evening will see the routine mid-week racing, with its time-honoured pier start. So how do you get to be 125? You just keep going as usual, that’s how.

Results below

Now it’s official. Sheila’s co-owners Andy Johnston (left) and Dave Mulligan with the championship trophy and Class Captain Dave O’Shea together with crewman Sean O’Mahony. Photo: Philip Treacy

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

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About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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Howth 17 FAQs

What is a Howth 17?

The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

How long is a Howth 17?

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

How is the Howth 17 class maintained?

The Howth 17 class is raced and maintained by the Association members preserving the unique heritage of the boats. Association Members maintain the vibrancy of the Class by racing and cruising together as a class and also encourage new participants to the Class in order to maintain succession. This philosophy is taken account of and explained when the boats are sold.

Why are Howth 17s so famous?

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

How many Howth 17s are racing today?

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

Who designed the Howth 17?

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

Who built the original Howth 17s?

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

Why were the Howth 17s designed and built?

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

How many Howth 17s were built?

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

What are Howth 17s constructed of?

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

How many races do the Howth 17s sail in any given year?

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League.

Name a famous Howth 17?

The 1907-built Deiliginis has recently made it four in a row for the national title that Deilginis has won at least six times in all.

What are some big recent events in the Howth 17 class?

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.