A rainy and blustery start greeted sailors as they arrived to mark the mid-point of the Spring Series of the Howth Yacht Club Dinghy Frostbites. Rigs whistled as sailors watched the Brass Monkeys fleet venture outside the harbour, battling white horses on exit. However, when the time came for the dinghies to launch, the wind abated, and the first race got underway in improving conditions as both wind and rain eased off.
A strengthening ebb tide combined with a westerly breeze made for long upwinds, followed by much quicker downwinds. An Olympic course was set for race 1, switching to a windward-leeward for race 2. The breeze varied throughout the races, with moments of hiking interspersed with lighter patches where sailors sat in, coaxing their boats to keep moving.
In the PY Class, the IDRA 14s of Alan Carr and Pierre Long swapped 1st and 2nd places in each race. Conor Costello’s Enterprise, crewed by son Brendan, made their first appearance on the podium in race 1, while Ryan Cairns’ IDRA 14 took 3rd in race 2. Series leader Daragh Sheridan’s RS Aero wasn’t out, but he still maintains his lead over Alan Carr by a healthy 6 points.
The ILCA 7s saw very close racing throughout the fleet of eight boats, with only boat-lengths separating many of the finishers. Conor Murphy, after an absence in the preceding four races, returned to form with two hard-fought wins over Tom Fox in 2nd. Andrejs Samoilovs was in the mix for a top-two finish in race 1 but just missed out to take 3rd, while Davie Carr fought off close competition from Jack McMahon to secure 3rd place in race 2. Dave Kirwan continues to lead the series, but Tom Fox sits just one point behind. With eight races still to go, it’s all to play for.
In the ILCA 6s, Peter Hassett recorded his 3rd win of the series so far, followed by Stan O’Rourke and Darragh Peelo. Darragh Peelo responded strongly in race 2, claiming the win over Peter and Dylan Cassidy. That result was enough to keep Darragh atop the leaderboard, but with only three points separating the top three, expect some snakes and ladders in the weeks to come.
There are four weekends remaining in the Spring Series, all leading up to the Round the Island Race to close out the season. Always a popular event, all are welcome to join for racing and craic afterwards at the prizegiving. NOR and entry forms will be available shortly on www.hyc.ie
