Howth Yacht Club's all-conquering vintage Half Tonner Checkmate XV was the winner of the ICRA Boat of the Year Award at the association's agm held at Lough Derg Yacht Club yesterday. The cruiser-racer award completes a stellar season for the North Dublin campaign that has seen victories on both the national and international stage.
Cullen, already an Afloat.ie Sailor of the Month, emerged as clear overall champion in Howth’s successful Wave Regatta in June and then went on to record outright class wins in both the National and Royal Irish Yacht Club Regattas. See those respective regatta reports here and here.
A skilled helmsman himself, Cullen is also noted for his ability to provide impressive standards in boat management programmes, and top-level personnel resources with the likes of Nin O’Leary, Maurice Prof O’Connell and Mark Mansfield readily joining the Cullen crew lineup.
In August, he went further on the international stage when he won the Half Ton Classics Cup in Belgium with a convincing win in the final spectacular race run in glorious sunshine and big seas off Nieuwpoort. Checkmate XV (1985 Humphreys) and her crew of owner David Cullen, Darragh O'Connor, Nin O'Leary, Jonathan Sargent, Aidan Beggan, Niki Potterton and Franz Rothschild of Howth Yacht Club claimed a well deserved overall victory in the Cup. For Checkmate XV this was the third time she had earnt the right to have her name engraved on the Half Ton Classics Cup (equalling the legendary Swuzzlebubble's record) and for David and his team is was their second win, to complete a memorable season.
Dave Cullen is also shortlisted for the Sailor of the Year Award, see WM Nixon's 2018 review here