The Howth 17 Championship at the fleet's home club may have been held during this Bank Holiday weekend, but the class's strong family ethos means that participants have plenty of time to fulfill their other duties and interests. This is thanks to a user-friendly format where the Friday evening is used for a pier-start race in normal non-topsail weekday club-racing form, while three open water races north of Ireland's Eye are staged on Saturday with full sail unto jackyard topsails being used.
For 2024, this had the boats finished and the series well wrapped up as planned in time for Saturday-evening après sailing on the HYC sun-deck, followed by an eccentrically convivial in-club prize-giving supper with the unique MC talents of Class Captain David O'Shea, and all under the watchful eye of Class President Harry Whelehan. He last owned and raced a Howth 17 in 1969, but like Hotel California, you may think you've checked out, but you never really leave.
"This is more like it". Weather comes good on Day 2 for Leila (Roddy Cooper). Photo: Dave O'Shea
The evening breeze starts to make in on Day 1 for Eileen (Rima Macken, second overall HPH), and Gladys (Eddie Ferris & Ian Byrne), third overall on HPH, and winner on scratch of Race 4, while Eileen was HPH 2nd OA. Photo: Dave O'Shea
TWO SETS OF RESULTS
While all race together, there are two sets of results with two sets of prizes. The wind pattern for the two days was interesting, with Friday evening's calm after the day's southerlies being shifted by a warm wind close off the land that might not have been available, had they been out at the "offshore" course. But in the Sound it kept them going, with Harry Gallagher of the Sutton DC Race Officer Academy making the best of it as Officer of the Evening with a clever course that saw the Turvey brothers, with their 1988-built Isobel, come in a minute and nine seconds ahead of their close sister Erica (Davie Nixon) which - like Isobel – is one of a brace of boats that uniquely were built at Howth Castle by master-shipwright John O'Reilly.
"We have ignition". The evening breeze becomes more purposeful for Rita, Leila and Deilginis as the evening start approaches. Photo: Dave O'Shea
NINETY YEARS AGE GAP, ELEVEN SECONDS RACE GAP
On the water, Erica managed to be just 11 seconds ahead of Jane & Michael Duffy's Hera, which is precisely ninety years older, being one of the original of five 1898 Hilditch of Carrickfergus-built boats. That 11 second gap in Erica's favour would ultimately decide the outcome of the series, but there was a lot of racing to be got through before the results were finalized, with the alternative HPH Results of Race 1 seeing the win going to Harriett & Bryan Lynch's Echo, with Rima Macken's Eileen second and Ian Byrne & Eddie Ferris's Gladys third.
Isobel (Conor & Brian Turvey) was overnight leader. She is one of two Howth 17s built by John O'Reilly in a shed at Howth Castle in 1988, the first 17s ever to be built in Howth. Photo: Dave O'Shea
Saturday was forecast to provide a veering towards the west with healthier less-humid air quality. But although there were periods of sunshine, as our photographer was also crew of the boat racing to what became seventh on scratch, his most illustrative photos were grabbed mainly under cloud.
SCORIE WALLS ON THE JOB
The Day 2 racing was supervised by another noted Sutton alumna, Scorie Walls, and she got in the full programme in a timely manner, even if the weaving sou'west to west wind showed its style in the first race with very favoured sides. Thus Erica won with Ian Malcolm's Aura second and the notably hotshot Deilginis (Massey, Toomey & Kenny) in third, but overnight leader Isobel was back in tenth.
The clincher. Davie Nixon's Erica takes the win in Race 3, effectively setting them up to take the title. Photo: Dave O'Shea
RACE 3 BECOMES DECIDER
With the Championship decided on just four races with a discard available if all were sailed, Race 3 was effectively the decider. In it, things looked as though Deilginis was becoming a serious challenge among all the top contenders, as she took first ahead of Hera, with Peter Courtney's Oona third. However, Erica's fourth meant she only had to keep Deilginis under control in the final race to clinch it. She did that, but no more than was necessary, although Race 4's machinations resulted in Eddie Ferris taking the win with Gladys, while defending champion Sheila (Dave Mulligan & Andy Johnston) got a look-in at second, with Rita (Marcus Lynch & John Curley) taking third.
TIE FOR THIRD
But with the discard kicking in, Erica pipped it overall on 7 pts by one point over Deilginis, while Isobel and Hera tied on 11 nett, but the Turvey brothers in Isobel took it on countback.
Hull speed for The Brotherhood's Deilginis, runner-up this tme round but winner in times past. Photo: Dave O'Shea
HPH OPENS IT UP
The application of the Howth Performance Handicap gave a different angle on it, as Bryan and Harriett Lynch's Echo notched a string of firsts to take first overall on minimum points, while Rima Macken's Eileen was similarly place on second. Of particular interest was the showing by Eddie Ferris & Ian Byrne's 1907-vintage Gladys, built in distant Portrush by the legendary James Kelly, who had previously built the Dublin Bay 21s.
We have a result. The Howth 17s heading for home after racing concludes, as they have been doing for 126 years. In the foreground is the 1907-vintage Rosemary (Jones, Curley & Potter). In March 2018 she was flattened with the destruction of the Class's harbourside storage shed in Storm Emma, but she rose again and in 2022 won the Championship. Photo: Dave O'Shea
Gladys finished on a high with that scratch win in the final race, but even here we find that Echo and Eileen's ratings keep them ahead of her on HPH. As for the top 9 scratch boats, they all race in HPH on 1.350, and with that in the HPH Division, Erica leads in 6th overall.
With Class Captain Dave O'Shea (right) are Erica's winning team of (left to right) Paul Phelan, Paul Manning, Damian Cronin and Davie Nixon. Photo: Howth 17 Assoc.
So another Howth 17 National Championship is completed as they work their busy way through Year 126. They're active until October, and then 2025 will have an extra spark as two new boats – for Gerry Comerford and Donal Gallagher – will be making their debut. And it being Fastnet Centenary Year, they'll probably hold a special race for all those Howth 17 sailors who have done the Fastne Race or the Round Ireland Race - there are some who have done both.
