The final weekend of October sailing at Howth came last Saturday (October 19th), as the members have to use the up-coming Hallowe'en Holiday Weekend to check out that their boats and yachts in Croatia and other more reliably sunny coasts are okay. And this last outing from the peninsula port was a matter of dealing with Storm Ashley, with he or she proving to be like a lion with an increasingly painful thorn in its paw.
Thus on Saturday, Ashley was huffing and puffing to provide sunny and warm but uneven winds for racing. Yet while Sunday was still sunny, the lion was roaring big time, there was no racing for the dinghies' final day, and keelboat owners – having got in their sport on Saturday – looked to check that their boats were well secured, and then kept an eye out for loose tiles on houses and shipmates alike.
1898 CLASS SET THE SPIRIT
Like it or not, the Howth spirit is set by the1898-vintage Howth 17 One Designs, with the Puppeteer 22s trying with reasonable success to catch some of their magic dust. Yet the whole business of a class thriving as a racing class, but with boats exactly as they were designed by Herbert Boyd of Howth and Merrion Square 127 years ago in October 1897, is distinctly off the wall. For you have to realise that this is pure flat-out racing with no holds barred, rather than some carefully-rehearsed historic procession.
It's as though there happened to be twenty or so 1898 Panhard racing cars in Ireland, and their owners continue to race these vintage terrors just as hard as they'll go on country roads three or four times a week.
This 1898 Panhard is the automobile contemporary equivalent of the Howth 17s. Photo courtesy Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh
And as it happens, 1898 was a big deal for Panhard cars, as their new Panhard et Levassor Tonneau marked the change from tiller to wheel steering. But despite their reputation for being something special, the only roadworthy one we can find seems to be in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburg's Frick Art & Historical Center, provider of the following notes:
"Our 1898 Panhard et Levassor Tonneau is believed to be one of the earliest automobiles on the roads of Pittsburgh. By 1898, it was probably one of the most technologically sophisticated vehicles, with such features as aluminum gear-box casing, front-mounted vertical engine, pneumatic tires and wheel steering.
"This two-cylinder, forty horsepower Panhard was purchased in Paris during the summer of 1900 by Howard C. Heinz, son of Henry J. Heinz. Howard drove the Panhard in the French Century Run, reaching a speed of forty mph (astonishing at the time) before bringing it home to the streets of Pittsburgh."
LITHIUM LESSONS FROM AMERICA'S CUP
At a time when you think that the only real lesson for ordinary sailors to learn from last weekend's 37th Africa's Cup final is that lithium batteries don't seem to be the perfect power storage system we'd hoped for (in fact, they can be dangerous), you can see why the Howth 17 and Puppeteer 22s helms and crews include high-powered international business executives. They may have been round the world on work matters between weekend races, yet it's essential that they return to little old boats that find their only One-Design racing in one place, and a slightly odd place at that.
Difficult to believe that next day it was blowing 120 kph-plus. Gentle sailing in the last race of the season for Ian Malcolm's Aura ahead of Oona, Orla, Erica and Deilginis. Photo: Tom Ryan
Of course there were also Cruiser-Racer Classes racing in the Autumn League, five of them with their results diced every which way racing twice on Saturday on offshore course set by David Lovegrove, while inshore with Scorie Walls and Mike Head running the show, the One Designs had the gradually reviving Squibs in addition to the thriving Pupps and Seventeens.
OVERALL IRC WINNERS
Overall on IRC, the winners were Mike & Richie Evans J/99 Snapshot in 1, the Noonan/Chambers Corby Impetuous in 2, Stephen Mullaney's Sigma 33 Insider adding yet another notch to her season's excellent score in 3, Colm Bermingham's Elan 33 Bite the Bullet in 4, and the "cruising" Sigma 33 Leeuwin (E Burke & J Murray) taking Class 5.
Last of the summer wine…Simon Knowles' J/109 Indian won Class 1 HPH. Photo: Tom Ryan
ONE DESIGN OUTCOMES
The three One-Design Classes saw the Squibs with a new star on top at the end, with Stephen Kay's Crackertoo clear on top ahead of Fantome (Caroline O'Kelly & Suzanne Barry) with Tom McMahon's Tears in Heaven third.
The Puppeteer 22s saw a great year being rounded out for Alan Pearson & Alan Blay's 2024 National Champion Trick or Treat, as she emerged three points clear of hot boat Shiggy Shiggy (Paul & Laura McMahon), with class veteran David Clarke in Harlequin at third staving off the challenge of class newby Nigel Biggs (he of the First 50 Checkmate XX) by three points.
UNPRECEDENTED RESULT FOR HOWTH 17s
Back in 1988, the Howth 17s got a real boost with the first addition of new-built boats since 1914. These were Erica and Isobel, built by master-craftsman John O'Reilly in a shed off the farmyard at Howth Castle, and their debut at the new HYC clubhouse attracted an enormous crowd of well-wishers, reflecting the old class's colourful and widespread history.
The classic shapes of two new-build Howth 17s (the first for 73 years) begin to emerge in a shed at Howth Castle. Photo: W M Nixon
But until now, 36 years later, it is believed that there has never been a major Howth 17 event in which the two "castle boats" have taken first and second overall. Yet thanks to Erica (Davie Nixon) going into Saturday's final races well up on points, and Isobel (Conor & Brian Turvey) emerging successfully from the mighty battle for second overall, the job is done, with the 1907-built Deilginis (Massey, Toomy & Kenny) third, just one point behind Isobel.
The great John O'Reilly at work on building Erica in 1987-88. Although long retired from the boat-building and shipwright department in Dublin Port, his skills were sharper then ever. Photo: Jamie Blandford
John O'Reilly with Erica's deck beams in place in early 1988, with sister-ship Isobel beyond in the shed at Howth Castle. Photo: Jamie Blandford
DINGHIES WIPED
There was no question of racing for the mixed dinghies scheduled to conclude the Claremont League on Sunday, but in reading the runes the powers that be have concluded that Emmet Dalton won overall on PY in his RS Aero, with two IDRA 14s helmed by Ryan Cairns and Alan Carr taking third and fourth, while the new and growing Melges 15s saw the win going to Cormac & Aoibhin Farrelly, with the Evans family second and the Quinn family third.
All results here
The future is revealed – the new Howth 17s Erica and Isobel make their debut at the 1987-opened (and very crowded) Howth Yacht Club at the start of the 1988 season. Photo: Jamie Bandford
