November is not a month renowned for its calms, but Sunday (November 8th) saw the eclectic fleet at the Howth Yacht Club Frostbites start in sunshine and finish in grey cloud cover, yet with precious little wind under either drapery.
Nevertheless, they got a race in for ILCAs in three classes, while the Melges 15s have been staging their own format, and a PY fleet includes no fewer than three Olympic Finns and other exotica.
Apart from the intriguing boat types, the variety of clubs represented is impressive, with entries from all the Fingal clubs, from Skerries down to Sutton, while the RStGYC and DMYC provide a Dún Laoghaire presence.
Stonking Ebb Tide
A strong ebb tide, which continued to build throughout the race, combined with very light and patchy winds to make for a particularly challenging day on the water.
Sailors had to stay switched on, spot the available patches of breeze, fight the tide and hope for a little luck along the way.
The race committee succeeded in completing one windward-leeward race, shortened to two laps. However, with the breeze struggling to settle or strengthen, it was decided not to run a second race.
In the ILCA 7 fleet, two sailors who missed the opening weekend stormed straight to the front. HYC's former Irish Optimist National Champion Harry Dunne took the race win, while RStGYC's John Marmelstein marked his first appearance of the series with an excellent third place. Davie Carr split the pair with a strong performance to secure second.
While the morning’s blue sky evaporates eastward, John Marmelstein (RStGYC) takes second in ILCA7. Also in pic are a blue-sailed Enterprise (remember them?) and another ILCA with one of the three classic Olympic Finns. Photo: HYC
The podium finishers from the previous week all recorded higher scores than they would have wanted, opening up the leaderboard ahead of next Sunday.
Daragh Kelleher of Skerries retains the overall lead on 10 points, with Tom Fox of Rush and David Kirwan tied behind him on 13 points.
