Record Entry for Howth Yacht Club Double-Handed Race

11th August 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Tough Nut races past the rocky shoreline off Howth during Howth Yacht Club’s annual Double Handed event, where crews of two faced a varied course in 10–14 knot conditions

Howth Yacht Club’s annual double-handed race attracted a record entry across three classes on Sunday, 9 August, as crews tested their shorthanded boat-handling skills in 10-14 knots and August sunshine.

The fleet was divided between Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker and Puppeteer classes, bringing together established pairings and newcomers for one of the club’s distinctive challenges of the season.

Spinnaker Fleet Faces Testing Takedown

The Spinnaker class started in Howth Sound on a downwind leg, with a strong east-going tide rewarding crews prepared to hoist early.

The course opened with a three-mile spinnaker run to East Mark, followed by a beat to West Mark and a return towards Howth, leaving Ireland’s Eye to starboard. With only two sailors aboard each boat, spinnaker handling provided one of the day's biggest tests.

Big Picture encountered trouble at East Mark when the load remained on its spinnaker during the drop, resulting in the sail going over the side and into the water.

Big Picture: Shorthanded sail handling is put to the test off Howth as the two-person crew of Michael & Andrew Evans negotiate the course in 10–14 knots during the club’s annual Double Handed race

As the breeze built, boats using asymmetric spinnakers found the reaching legs and manoeuvres more manageable than those carrying conventional symmetric sails. On some of the larger yachts, autopilots also proved particularly useful while the two-person crews concentrated on sail handling.

Burke and Brennan Fight Back for IRC Win

The Non-Spinnaker and Puppeteer fleets followed a separate course, running to Garbh before completing two legs between Cush and Dunbo and returning around Ireland’s Eye to starboard for the finish.

Tiger: Stephen and Joan Harris work Tiger around the course during Howth Yacht Club’s Double Handed event, taking first prize in the Non-Spinnaker HPH division

Eamonn Burke and Jimmy Brennan were late reaching the start but recovered through the race to claim a narrow Non-Spinnaker IRC victory over Windsor Lauden and Steffi Ennis aboard Demelza.

Demelza: Windsor Laudan and Steffi Ennis race Demelza in Howth Yacht Club’s Double Handed event, finishing second on IRC in the Non-Spinnaker class

Race Officer Richard Kissane set the two courses for the three fleets.

Double-Handed Winners

The first prizes were awarded to:

Spinnaker IRC: Mike and Andrew Evans
Spinnaker HPH: Fiachra Farrelly and crew
Non-Spinnaker IRC: Eamonn Burke and Jimmy Brennan
Non-Spinnaker HPH: Stephen and Joan Harris
Puppeteer HPH: Phil and Rozz Byrne

Prize Time: Prizegiving celebrations at Howth Yacht Club following the annual Double Handed race, which attracted a record entry across its Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker and Puppeteer classes

Full results are available here.

Published in Howth YC

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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

What is Howth Yacht Club?

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.

Where is Howth Yacht Club based?

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.

What is Howth Yacht Club's Eircode?

D13 E6V3

When was Howth Yacht Club founded?

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.

What does Howth Yacht Club do?

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.

Who are the flag officers of Howth Yacht Club?

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.

How many members does Howth Yacht Club have?

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.

What are Howth Yacht Club’s burgee and ensign?

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.

Does Howth Yacht Club organise racing?

Does Howth Yacht Club cater for youth sailing?

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Does Howth Yacht Club cater for sail training?

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

What sailing classes does Howth Yacht Club host?

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.

Does Howth Yacht Club have its own fleet?

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

What facilities does Howth Yacht Club have?

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.

Does Howth Yacht Club have a bar and/or dining facilities?

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.

What are the opening hours of Howth Yacht Club?

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.

Does Howth Yacht Club host functions such as weddings, parties or corporate events?

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.