While the Howth 2023 "Spring Series" section of the annual dinghy frostbites saw every race completed in January, at times, the weather was anything but Springlike. Yet the new Bank Holiday of St Brigid's Weekend saw Sunday's first races of February sailed in the sunshine and a gentle south-to-southeast breeze in which competitive conditions benefitted greatly from the sharpening effects of strong weather-going Spring ebb. That said, this meant the long run back up Howth Sound against the tide provided a real test of downwind skills, but it gave the trio of vintage enthusiasts in GP14s setting their good old-fashioned spinnakers a chance to shine, and they took it in style.
Further education in sorting things out after a General Recall was another by-product of that pushy tide. And although the new Bank Holiday Weekend effect seems to have resulted in some regular faces being absent for the long weekend - presumably to check out their Mallorcan villa or the family beach hut at Bettystown - there were more than enough newcomers to provide rising starter numbers in the continuing countdown to the come-all-ye Round the Island Race on Saturday 11th March.
With long runs up Howth Sound against the tide, the GP 14 spinnakers were worth their weight in gold, and Alan Blay (Sutton DC, left) took one of the PY wins by three seconds. Photo: HYC
The strong turnout across all the fleets brought a new race winner in all classes, with some long-standing winning streaks coming to an end.
The shifty and light southerly breeze brought challenges that most of the competitors haven't experienced in a while. Thoughts shifted from focusing on keeping the boat flat in weeks gone past, to considering lifts and headers this time round. Race Officer Richard Kissane ran two starts, one for the ILCAs and one for the growing PY class. The first race was windward leeward, one of the first of the year, while the second was a triangular course. In the first race, the ILCAs were pushing the line hard and only got away on the third attempt. A "U" flag start followed for all fleets, and while the first race eventually got away cleanly, the second race saw many sailors fall foul of the U flag.
In a banter-prone fleet like the Howth Frostbites, it takes guts to make your debut with an RS600, but Tristan Nelson gave as good as he got. Photo: HYC
The ILCA 7s were missing some of the series leaders to date, and there were two new race winners in Oisin Hughes and Dave Kirwan. Oisin Hughes made the most of the light weather and established a solid lead in Race 1, while Dave Kirwan, Conor Murphy and Stephen Quinn battled it out for 2nd place with a few position shifts within that group as they proceeded around the course. A late surge from Aidan Breen saw him clinch 4th place. Race 2 saw Oisin Hughes, Dave Kirwan and Stephen Quinn establish themselves as the leading pack, but as Oisin was one of the victims of the U flag, Dave Kirwan took home first place. He was followed closely by Stephen Quinn, while Conor Murphy was a distant 3rd. Conor Costello made his return to the series, finishing the day just behind Zander Mackay and Richard Tate. While Ronan Wallace still tops the overall table, consistency brings Oisin Hughes up to 2nd place, joint on points with Dan O'Connell in 3rd.
Marco Sorgassi (RStGYC, left) hanging in to get a second and third to maintain his substantial overall lead. Photo: HYC
The ILCA 6s saw a new race winner in HYC's Luke Turvey, who walked away today with two first places, beating not only all the ILCA 6s but holding a lead on many of the ILCA 7s for a lot of the racing. Series leader Marco Sorgassi settled for a second and a third, but still has a convincing lead in the overall series. MYC's Daragh Peelo and Rush's Daniel O'Hare took the remainder of the podium places for the day's racing. The fleet was delighted to see the return of Peter Hassett in his first racing of 2023.
The ILCA 4s, most of them fresh from a pre-racing coaching session from HYC's Aoife Hopkins, were eager to show their new skills in the light weather. They also saw a new race winner in HYC's Thea Daly, who took home first in race 2. Charlie Keating, fresh from winning two races last week, took first in Race 1, but he - along with three other ILCA 4s - fell victim to the U flag in Race 2. MYC's Glenda Gallagher and Rush's Aisling Kelly clinched the rest of the podium places on the day in two tight races. Aisling Kelly still leads the series overall with 19 points after 10 races, but Riaghan Boardman of Rush and Viktor Samoilovs of Skerries aren't far behind.
Sweet sailing for early FebruarySutton DC, - and it may get een better for the Big One, the Round the Island Race in four weeks time on March 11th. Photo: HYC
The PYs welcomed yet more fresh faces to the fleet, adding the RS600 of Tristan Nelson to their numbers this week. The PYs also had a new race winner in Alan Blay and his GP14, ending Daragh Sheridan's long running streak with the RS Aero, after they narrowly snatched victory by three seconds on corrected time in Race 2. Daragh still leads the series with an impressive 8 points in 10 races after 2 discards, while Jeremy Beshoff's B14 sits in second place overall. Third place in the series will be hard fought over the coming weeks, with the GP14s of Conor Twohig, Alan Blay and Peter Boyle and Mike Evans' RS800 not separated by many points.
Dave Kirwan of Malahide recorded a useful win after an intense battle in Race 2. Photo: HYC
