#ICRA – A record entry of 123 boats racing in 7 sailing divisions will compete for honours at this weekend's BMW Cruiser Nationals being hosted by Howth Yacht Club on behalf of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA).

Seven races over three days – a mixture of round-the-cans and windward-leewards - will be provided on three separate courses, with Class 0 and 1 together, Class 2, 3 and 4 on another, and two divisions of non-spinnaker cruisers racing for the Corinthian Cup.

Last year's championship winners in the first four divisions will all be in Howth to defend their titles. Anthony O'Leary's Antix from Cork will again be among the favourites in Class 0 although he can expect strong challenges from Jump Juice (Denise Phelan) and George Sisk's WOW, while Richard Fildes Impetuous from Wales had a useful warm-up on the race track in winning last weekend's Corby Cup.

Pat Kelly's Storm (HYC & Rush) won Class 1 in Cork last year and there are six other J109s in the line-up to keep them on their toes. Six of the 21 entries are from outside Dublin.

In Class 2, Brian Goggin's Corby 25 Allure from Kinsale was the winner a year ago and will be expected to be a front-runner in the biggest fleet (31 boats) in the Championships, the majority of which are visitors. Of the local entries, Dave Cullen's King One, Ian Byrne's Sunburn and Anthony Gore-Grimes Dux are contenders.

The modified quarter-tonner Tiger (Neil Kenefick) from Cork is undoubtedly the boat to beat in Class 3, having been the outstanding boat in this division over the past couple of years. Half a dozen J24s will have to be at their very best to compete against this very fast, well sailed boat, while in Class 4, Goyave (Camier/Fitzpatrick) from Malahide and Basil MacMahon's Holly of the host club will be fancied.

The Corinthian Cup entries have been split into two divisions, with local boats Changeling (Kieran Jameson) and Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) among those fancied in division 5 and Harry Byrne's Alphida and Demelza (Laudan & Ennis) serious contenders in division 6.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – In light winds the Squib one design class was won last night by Chatterbox (J Kay). Second was Too Dee (D Sheahan) and third Kerfuffle (Craig/Ruane). On scratch handicap in the Puppeteer class Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) were winners but there was a tie for second between Gold Dust (Walls/Browne) and Eclipse (A & R Hegarty). Full results below: TUESDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 22/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2=, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; 2=, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Arcturus C McAuliffe; 2, Schiggy G Kennedy; 3, Mr Punch NiBhraonain/Wilson; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Too Dee D Sheahan; 3, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; Squib HPH: 1, Chatterbox J Kay; 2, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane; 3, Too Dee D Sheahan; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Jabberwocky S Knowles; 2, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty; 3, Kootamundra D O'Grady

#CORBYCUP – Richard Fildes Pwhelli based Corby 37 Impetuous was the winner of Howth Yacht Club's Corby Cup today.

Originally built by Corby Yachts for Royal Cork's Eamonn Rohan in 2006 and known as Blondie, the now Welsh based yacht was twice winner of Irish IRC Championships and also a top scoring yacht out of 174 entries in Scottish Series.

Second was Dun Laoghaire Corby 33 Rockabill skippered by Paul O'Higgins of the Royal Irish YC. Third was the Kinsale based Corby 25 Allure. 

Sailed in tough conditions on Saturday in 16-22 knots with heavy seas, sailors were glad to finish the third race and retire to the bar after three tough windward leewards.

Although there were just nine entries there was a good representation of the Corby designs as follows: Impetuous - Corby 37; Rockabill - 33; Eazi Tiger - 29; Ruthless - 26; Allure - 25; Tribal - 25; Smile - 25; Impetuous - 25 and Will2Win - 25

Sunday was altogether a different affair with two round the cans races, the second one with a downwind start. Everything was to play for in the last race with all but one boat, Impetuous owned by Fergal Noonan doing the right course and once spotted by the rest of the fleet, the overall result hung in the balance. Eventually Impetuous (Corby 37) owned by Richard Fildes snatched victory with the No Retreat decanter for the smaller fleet going to Allure owned by Brian Goggin.

Race officer Derek Bothwell who is also in action at next weekend's BM Championships in Howth commented that as the Corby's had worked through many early season glitches, they should be a potent force next weekend at the BMW ICRA Nationals.

Full results below:

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. CORBY CUP (O'ALL) 20/05/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Impetuous R Fildes SCSC (6.00); 2, Rockabill V P O'Higgins RIYC (6.50); 3, Allure B Goggin KYC (11.50); 4, Wil2win W Partington PSC (15.00); 5, Impetuous Noonan/Chambers HYC (20.00)

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – The Hegarty's Eclipse was the winner of the Puppeteer Howth Yacht Club race today with Schiggy (G. Kennedy) second. In the White sails Xebec (T. Giles) took the honours. The full Howth Yacht Club results are below:

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. SATURDAY SERIES 1 (RACE) 19/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; 2, Schiggy G Kennedy; 3, Cloud 9 C Feeley; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Schiggy G Kennedy; 2, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; 3, Arcturus C McAuliffe SAT WHITE SAIL White Sails IRC: 1, Xebec T Giles; 2=, Toughnut D Skehan; 2=, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; White Sails HPH: 1, Xebec T Giles; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham; 3, Starlet Bourke/Others TUE + SAT SERIES 1 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Oona P Courtney; 2, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 3, Anita Cassidy/Faherty; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Anita Cassidy/Faherty; 2=, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 2=, Oona P Courtney

#J24 – With a third place in the opening race being his worst result in the six-race series, JP McCaldin in Jamais Encore from Lough Erne YC was an impressive winner of the Mediagasmic-sponsored J/24 Eastern Championships at Howth YC over the weekend writes Graham Smith.

Even National Champion Flor O'Driscoll on Hard on Port couldn't match the level of consistency that the northern visitors demonstrated while another feature of the weekend was the steadily-improving performance of the HYC K25 Team on Kilcullen Euro Car Parks who finished 5th overall.

Discarding an 11th in the first race, the crew - led by John Blake and with Cillian Dickson on the helm - clearly learned a lot as the days went on, culminating in top notch 2nd and 3rd finishes on the second day.

The Championship started on Saturday with four races in fresh north-easterlies and first blood was drawn by Howth's Jibberrish (Fergus O'Kelly & others) whose gamble of a left-side long tack paid off handsomely for a sweet victory ahead of O'Driscoll and McCaldin.

Race two, three and four saw Nyah (Hyde & Deasy, RCYC/RStGYC) and Jamais Encore take turns to head the fleet, with Nyah winning two to head the fleet overnight. The fourth race highlighted just how competitive the fleet was, with 12 boats finishing within five minutes.

Fortunes were reversed on Sunday when Nyah had a disastrous 9th in the opening race and then a 4th while major rival McCaldin by comparison, had a dream day on the water. The fifth race in the series saw the Lough Erne crew win by a massive margin and while they only had to sail safely in the last race, second behind Hard on Port was more than enough to secure the Eastern Championship trophy with a margin of four points.

The Mediagasmic-sponsored event attracted visiting boats from Malahide, Lough Erne, Lough Ree, Lough Swilly, Royal Cork and Carrickfergus and was considered an outstanding success by the 13 crews, with much praise heaped on PRO David Lovegrove and his team for the quality of the racing.

The top 5 Overall 

1 Jamais Encore JP Caldin LEYC 8.00

2 Hard on Port F O'Driscoll HYC 12.00

3 Nyah Deasy/Hyde RCYC/RStGYC 14.00

4 Crazyhorse M Shanahan HYC 24.00

5 Kilcullen Euro Car Parks HYC K25 HYC 26.00

#DEVELOPMENT - The International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) inaugural Development Symposium at Howth Yacht Club recently "promised much in the way of passionate discussion", according to its review of the two-day event.

Presentations were given by Tony Wright, training manager of the Irish Sailing Association, who outlined the ISA's national programme that keeps the focus of the sailor "at the centre of all that they do"; and Simon Jinks who walked through his new Guide to Offshore Personal Safety for Cruising and Racing.

Meanwhile, World Youth Sailing Trust coach Hugh Styles spoke on the subject of cohesive training programmes adding value to international events and leaving a legacy for host nations and teams alike.

Participants from the federation's member nations kept an 'ideas bank' which listed development ideas for future consideration, including a proposal for a development forum for sailing coaches, and using the model of the European Qualifications Framework as a reference for coaching competencies.

New Zealand, South Africa, Iceland and Turkey were also suggested as locations for future symposiums.

For more see the full review of the Development Symposium at the ISAF website HERE.

#TOPPER – The Topper Leinster sailing Championships at Howth Yacht Club on March 31st/April 1st is the first event of the season for the Irish Topper class and with qualification for the ISA Topper Squad at stake, a competitive fleet of up to 40 boats is expected from clubs as far apart as Wexford and Antrim.

To qualify for the 2012 ISA Topper Squad sailors must compete in both the Leinsters in Howth and the Mitsubishi Youth Nationals in Dun Laoghaire in mid-April. The Topper squads are training groups formed, co-ordinated and managed by the ISA (and RYA in the North).

The ISA squad comes under the Olympic pathway which allows for progression from the junior fleet to the Olympic classes. The squad will be re-selected in April after the Youth sailing Championships and will prepare the sailors to compete in the 2012 Topper World Championships at Workum in Holland.

Friday 23rd March is the deadline for discounted entry fees of €50/£45 (after which they increase by €10/£10) for the Leinsters and entry is restricted to members of the Irish Topper Class Association.

The event, under the guidance of PRO Richard Kissane and his team, has a schedule of six races over the two days.

#DEVELOPMENT - Representatives from the International Sailing Federation's member nations throughout the world will meet at Howth Yacht Club from 17-18 March for the inaugural ISAF Development Symposium.

The aim of the two-day conference is to develop the criteria and future strategy for sail training and development within the governing body of world sailing, based on three core requirements:

• Fulfilling requirement set out in the ISAF Constitution to develop the sport and increase participation;
• Providing a structure for the sport to grow to meet expectations of the International Olympic Committee; and
• Supporting member nations in growing the sport in their own countries.

"Training is the key that will unlock and secure the future for our sport," said the ISAF in its development statement at the federation's annual conference last year.

Dublin was chosen as the host location for this first symposium as it will be hosting the ISAF Youth Worlds in July, just before the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The international delegates, chaired by event organiser and ISAF training and development manager Dan Jaspers, will be supported by a group of ISAF representatives such as vice president Nazli Imre, development and youth committee chairman Olivier Bovyn, ISAF-nominated experts and the World Youth Sailing Trust coach, as well as invited specialist technical advisors.

More information about the ISAF Development Symposium is available HERE.

#NORTH SAILS SEMINAR – US Sailmaker Bill Gladstone of North Sails returns to these shores for a nine stop lecture tour of Ireland starting this Saturday at the country's biggest club, the Royal St George YC in Dun Laoghaire. Gladstone was last here in 2009 and the series proved popular. From Dun Laoghaire the North Sails seminar heads West to Galway Bay. The full schedule is below.

Gladstone has been teaching sailing and racing for over 30 years. Topics this week, for the €20 pay at the door event, include starting tactics, upwind trim, wind shift Strategy to spinnaker trim and handling.

For more information, contact the club, Maurice O'Connell ([email protected] / 086 2364200) or Nigel Young ([email protected] / 087 2514434)

2012 SEMINAR SCHEDULE

Royal St George Yacht Club.....28 January 2012
9:30 am - 1:30 pm
National Yacht Club..................30 January 2012
7 pm - 11 pm
Galway Bay Sailing Club...........31 January 2012
7 pm - 11 pm
Tralee Bay Sailing Club...........01 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Cork Yacht Club.............02 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Kinsale Yacht Club...................03 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Irish Yacht Club.............04 February 2012
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Howth Yacht Club....................06 February 2012
7pm - 11pm
Royal Ulster Yacht Club*......... 07 February 2012
7pm - 11pm

Pay at the door. €20 per person. *RUYC £18 per person.

One of Ireland’s longest running dinghy frostbite series begins its 37^th running on Sunday 6^th November when Howth Yacht Club’s Laser Frostbite gets underway.

The Frostbite, which began in 1974, comprises a pre-Christmas and post-New Year series (starting January 8^th), a New Year’s Day Race (to blow away the festive cobwebs) and finishing with the traditional Round the Island Race and prize-giving on March 11^th.

First gun each day is 11.00am, with two short races of approximately 35 minutes duration. Courses are dedicated solely to the Laser Class with our own committee boat and support crews in the sheltered waters just to the West of Howth Harbour.

The end-of-series race round the island will also coincide with an ‘Inter-Club Masters’ Challenge’, introduced very successfully last year and which attracted sailors from Dun Laoghaire and Ballyholme.

The emphasis is on fun and camaraderie, with all standards welcomed. Former winners include Philip Watson and Gordon Maguire and standards are still high at the front of the fleet, with current No.1-ranked Laser sailor in Ireland, Ronan Cull, racing again this year.

The series has become famous for its welcome, with senior sailors always willing to coach and encourage newcomers, both ashore and on the water, and there is always lively banter in the bar afterwards.

Notice of Race and Online Entry are available on www.hyc.ie and there is a Facebook page for the event (Howth Laser Frostbites).