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HYC League Still Blessed with Sunshine

11th October 2009
HYC League Still Blessed with Sunshine

Tight finishes both on the water and on handicap were the order of the day for the penultimate sailing of this year’s Howth Yacht Club's Autumn League which was again blessed with fine conditions, with a pleasant 12-16 knot westerly breeze for the morning writes Graham Smith. Mere seconds separated the leaders in several classes while the biggest margins of victory were recorded in Class 3 and 5.

The League, with a three-way sponsorship from Irish Life Investment Managers, Today FM and Crystal Holidays, now looks forward to the final race next Saturday. Before the real socialising starts though, there are many titles up for grabs, with very few cut-and-dried winners already evident.

In race 5, the big winners were Vincent Gaffney’s ‘Alliance’ in Class 3 and Skerries visitor ‘Dobharchu’ (Fox & others) whose adjusted times gave them over two and half and five minutes of a margin respectively over the second-placed boats.

‘Alliance’ took the gun in Class 3 and the IRC honours but of perhaps greater satisfaction to the crew was the fact that major rival ‘Starlet’ (O’Kelly/Walsh) slipped to fourth (behind ‘Goyave’ and ‘Quickflash’), a result that gives them a single point advantage overall going into the final race. ECHO honours went to Lionel McMurtry’s ‘Hellyhunter’ but Antrim visitor ‘Quickflash’ (Alfred Mayrs) maintains the overall lead.

Last week, ‘Dobharchu’ won the Class 5 race (they only sail under ECHO) so this week they clearly decided they wanted to prove it was no fluke and duly won again, this time by the biggest margin of the day – five minutes. It’s too late, however, for the Skerries boat to make an impact on the overall standings where clubmates ‘Tully Too’ (Declan Higgins) lead by just two points from Andrew Knowles’ ‘Sandpiper’.

Another back-to-back winner was Katy Moore’s ‘Mystic Force’ in Class 4 ECHO although ‘Changeling’ (Kieran Jameson) now assumes overall leadership from Colm Bermingham’s ‘Bite the Bullet’ while the positions are reversed on IRC. Race 5 on IRC was won by the Toomey’s ‘Harmony’ from ‘Changeling’ and ‘Alphida’ (Harry Byrne).

A good win for ‘Equinox’ (Ross McDonald) in Class 1 (just ahead of ‘Flashback’ crewed by the ‘Kinetic’ contingent) upset the order of things at the top of the table and both boats now fill 1st and 2nd slots, with a point separating them and ‘Crazy Horse’ (Chambers/Reilly) another point further adrift. ‘Tiger’ (Hughes/Harris) again won on ECHO and a nine point gap overall on ‘Makutu’ looks like being enough to win the trophy this year.

Class 2 saw a new winner in the form of Dermot Skehan’s ‘Toughnut ahead of last week’s winner ‘Dux’ (Anthony Gore-Grimes), a result that pulls the latter to within three points of IRC series leader ‘King One’ (David Cullen) who had a day to forget. ‘C’est la Vie’ (Flannelly & others) kept up the winning streak on ECHO and with 13 points to spare, can be confidently declared the overall winner with a week to spare.

On the one-design course, 30 seconds separated first from last in the Etchells and Simon Knowles’ (‘Jabberwocky’) 17-seconds gap over ‘Crop Duster’ (O’Grady/Reilly) sets up a winner-takes-all last race, as they both share the lead on 6 points.

Biggest win on scratch came in the Puppeteers where David Clarke’s ‘Harlequin’ had an impressive 3-minute margin over Garret May’s ‘Ibis’ which should be enough to settle the series. HPH winner for a second successive week was ‘Mr Punch’ (NiBhroanain/Wilson) but second-placed ‘Papagena’ (Kieran Barker) has quietly slipped into the overall lead by 4.5 points with a race to go.

The Squibs had a few epic battles and only 9 seconds separated the first three over the line but almost inevitably it was Emmet Dalton’s ‘Klipbok’ which crossed first, a foredeck ahead of the McMurtrys’ ‘Pot Black’. That pretty well seals it for ‘Klipbok’ while another HPH success for ‘Pot Black’ puts them in the driving seat for next Saturday.

In the Seventeens, ‘Rita’ (Lynch/Curley) was another two-in-a-row winner, a minute ahead of Peter Courtney’s ‘Oona’ and Ian Malcolm’s ‘Aura’ (back after repairs) and that is precisely the same order overall after five races, with just 3.5 points between them. On handicap, ‘Deilginis’ (Massey & Others) has resumed the leadership the crew held earlier in the series after winning the fifth race from nearest rival ‘Bobolink’ (Walsh/Doyle).

The final races are next Saturday 17th, with first gun at 1155 hrs.

AUTUMN LEAGUE (RACE) 11/10/2009

Class 1 IRC – 1 Equinox (pictured above), R. McDonald, HYC, 2 Flashback, Breen/Others, HYC, 3 Mumbo, D. Cronin, MYC. Class 1 Echo – 1 Tiger, Hughes/Harris, HYC, 2 Off the Wall, Walls/Cawley, HYC, 3 Equinox, R. McDonald, HYC. Class 2 IRC – 1 Toughnut, D. Skehan, HYC, 2 Dux, A. Gore-Grimes, HYC, 3 Xebec, T. Giles, HYC. Class 2 Echo – 1 C'est la Vie, Flannelly/Others, HYC, 2 Rum Doodle, D. Byrne, HYC, 3 Joslim, J. Connolly, HYC. Class 3 IRC – 1 Alliance, V. Gaffney, HYC, 2 Goyave, Camier/Fitzpatrick, MYC, 3 Quickflash, A. Mayrs, ABC. Class 3 Echo – 1 Hellyhunter, L. McMurtry, HYC, 2 Drumbeat, F. & F. Magann, HYC, 3 K9, C. O'Dea, HYC. Class 4 Echo – 1 Mystic Force, K. Moore, HYC,  2 Out & About, T. McCoy, SSC, 3 Brazen Hussey, Barry/Stirling, HYC. Class 4 IRC – 1 Harmony, D. & H. Toomey, HYC, 2 Changeling, K. Jameson, HYC, 3 Alphida, H. Byrne, HYC. Class 5 Echo – 1 Dobharchu, Fox/Others, SSC, 2 Midnight Sun, Howard/Bolger, HYC, 3 Arctic Fox, Lalor/Others, HYC. Puppeteer Scratch – 1 Harlequin, D. Clarke, HYC, 2 Ibis, G. May, HYC, 3 Trick or Treat, A. Pearson, HYC. Puppeteer HPH – 1 Mr Punch, NiBhroanain/Wilson, HYC, 2 Papagena, K. Barker, HYC, 3 Flycatcher, Wright/Dillon, HYC. Squib Scratch – 1 Klipbok, E. Dalton, HYC, 2 Pot Black, I. & R. McMurtry, HYC, 3 Puffin, E. Harte, HYC. Squib HPH – 1 Pot Black, 2 Puffin, E. Harte, HYC, 3 Astrix, M. McCaughey, HYC. 17 Footer Scratch – 1 Rita, Lynch/Curley, HYC, 2 Oona, P. Courtney, HYC, 3 Aura, I. Malcolm, HYC. 17 Footer HPH – 1 Deilginis, Massey/Others, HYC, 2 Bobolink, Walsh/Doyle, HYC, 3 Sheila, D. Bothwell, HYC. Etchells Scratch – 1 Jabberwocky, S. Knowles, HYC, 2 Crop Duster, O'Grady/Reilly, HYC. 3 Blue, Johnston/Others, HYC.

 

 

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Howth Yacht Club information

Howth Yacht Club is the largest members sailing club in Ireland, with over 1,700 members. The club welcomes inquiries about membership - see top of this page for contact details.

Howth Yacht Club (HYC) is 125 years old. It operates from its award-winning building overlooking Howth Harbour that houses office, bar, dining, and changing facilities. Apart from the Clubhouse, HYC has a 250-berth marina, two cranes and a boat storage area. In addition. its moorings in the harbour are serviced by launch.

The Club employs up to 31 staff during the summer and is the largest employer in Howth village and has a turnover of €2.2m.

HYC normally provides an annual programme of club racing on a year-round basis as well as hosting a full calendar of International, National and Regional competitive events. It operates a fleet of two large committee boats, 9 RIBs, 5 J80 Sportboats, a J24 and a variety of sailing dinghies that are available for members and training. The Club is also growing its commercial activities afloat using its QUEST sail and power boat training operation while ashore it hosts a wide range of functions each year, including conferences, weddings, parties and the like.

Howth Yacht Club originated as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. In 1968 Howth Sailing Club combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club. The new clubhouse was opened in 1987 with further extensions carried out and more planned for the future including dredging and expanded marina facilities.

HYC caters for sailors of all ages and run sailing courses throughout the year as part of being an Irish Sailing accredited training facility with its own sailing school.

The club has a fully serviced marina with berthing for 250 yachts and HYC is delighted to be able to welcome visitors to this famous and scenic area of Dublin.

New applications for membership are always welcome

Howth Yacht Club FAQs

Howth Yacht Club is one of the most storied in Ireland — celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020 — and has an active club sailing and racing scene to rival those of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs on the other side of Dublin Bay.

Howth Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Howth, a suburban coastal village in north Co Dublin on the northern side of the Howth Head peninsula. The village is around 13km east-north-east of Dublin city centre and has a population of some 8,200.

Howth Yacht Club was founded as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. Howth Sailing Club later combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the village’s West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Ian Byrne, with Paddy Judge as Vice-Commodore (Clubhouse and Administration). The club has two Rear-Commodores, Neil Murphy for Sailing and Sara Lacy for Junior Sailing, Training & Development.

Howth Yacht Club says it has one of the largest sailing memberships in Ireland and the UK; an exact number could not be confirmed as of November 2020.

Howth Yacht Club’s burgee is a vertical-banded pennant of red, white and red with a red anchor at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue-grey field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and red anchor towards the bottom right corner.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club hosts sailing and powerboat training for adults, juniors and corporate sailing under the Quest Howth brand.

Among its active keelboat and dinghy fleets, Howth Yacht Club is famous for being the home of the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class, the Howth Seventeen Footer. This still-thriving class of boat was designed by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 to be sailed in the local waters off Howth. The original five ‘gaff-rigged topsail’ boats that came to the harbour in the spring of 1898 are still raced hard from April until November every year along with the other 13 historical boats of this class.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has a fleet of five J80 keelboats for charter by members for training, racing, organised events and day sailing.

The current modern clubhouse was the product of a design competition that was run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 1983. The winning design by architects Vincent Fitzgerald and Reg Chandler was built and completed in March 1987. Further extensions have since been made to the building, grounds and its own secure 250-berth marina.

Yes, the Howth Yacht Club clubhouse offers a full bar and lounge, snug bar and coffee bar as well as a 180-seat dining room. Currently, the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Catering remains available on weekends, take-home and delivery menus for Saturday night tapas and Sunday lunch.

The Howth Yacht Club office is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Contact the club for current restaurant opening hours at [email protected] or phone 01 832 0606.

Yes — when hosting sailing events, club racing, coaching and sailing courses, entertaining guests and running evening entertainment, tuition and talks, the club caters for all sorts of corporate, family and social occasions with a wide range of meeting, event and function rooms. For enquiries contact [email protected] or phone 01 832 2141.

Howth Yacht Club has various categories of membership, each affording the opportunity to avail of all the facilities at one of Ireland’s finest sailing clubs.

No — members can join active crews taking part in club keelboat and open sailing events, not to mention Pay & Sail J80 racing, charter sailing and more.

Fees range from €190 to €885 for ordinary members.
Memberships are renewed annually.

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