Against many weather predictions, summer-like conditions at Howth Yacht Club blessed the third weekend of the Autumn League on Saturday afternoon with warm weather, increasingly bright sunshine, and an improving sailing breeze from south to southeast as the programme developed through the day writes W M Nixon.
The two Race Organisation teams – inshore and offshore – took full advantage of this gift from the weather Gods to put in two races back-to-back, thereby amply compensating for the previous weekend’s cancellation. The hundred-plus fleet reflected Howth and Fingal sailing in all is variety, for though there was a large and varied display in both the right-on and white-sail IRC/ECHO Classes, one of Howth’s sailing’s great strengths is the unique One Design Classes which are based only at the peninsula port. Both the classic gaff-rigged jackyard topsail-toting Howth 17s and the Puppeteer 22s were turned out in strength for excellent racing.
As well, another class which has achieved a special local character in Howth is IRC 2, which is the domain of Howth’s continually up-graded classic Half Tonners. Here, Dave Cullen’s Checkmate XV has found form after a second place on opening day. She recorded two straight wins on Saturday to keep her ahead of Johnny Swann’s Harmony with her 1,3,2, while Mike and Richard Evans Big Picture currently lies third with a 3rd, 2nd and 5th in a class of 16 boats.
The Puppeteer 22s are currently experiencing an infusion of even more new blood, and a hot fleet of 18 boats has seen the Murphy/Costello team on Yellow Peril in sparkling form to record a scoreline of 2,1 1 over the series to put them ahead of seasoned campaigners Alan Pearson and Alan Blay in Trick or Treat, with the veteran Clarke/Egan crew on Harlequin lying third.
Howth 17s in strength, jackyard topsails and all. One hundred and ninetten years of sailing history are encapsulated in this photo, the 1988-built Isobel (left) currently narrowly leads the points table. Photo Conor Lindsay
Sixteen boats are racing in the 1898-established Howth 17 Class, but it is one of the “newer” ones, Conor & Brian Turvey’s Isobel (1988) which came out of Saturday ahead on points, but only just. The 1907-built Deilginis (Massey/Twomey syndicate) won Saturday’s cracker of a second race to add to an existing scoreline of a 2nd and 5th, and while Isobel may have gone into that concluding race with a first on opening day and a 2nd in Saturday’s first race, she could do no better than fourth as Saturday evening closed in.
One of the original five, the 1898-built Rita (Marcus Lynch & John Curley) is currently third with a 4th, 1st and 7th, while the very newest, Ian Malcolm/s French-built Orla of July 2017 vintage, is fourth overall. There’s now all to play for in a series which ends on October 21st after six races.
Detailed Results here
