#lambayrace – Following the success of the First 31.7, Bluefin Two (Bernie Bryson & Mia Delaney) from Dun Laoghaire who won the Lambay Lady  a week ago, race sponsors ITC have produced a short five minute video of the 116th edition of the Howth Yacht Club race.

#hyc –Two J109s were top of class one in yesterday's annual Lambay race from Howth Yacht Club. Pat Kelly's J109 Storm was the IRC class one winner,  second in class one was the Mills 30 Raptor and third was ISORA and Dublin Bay performer Joker skippered by John Maybury,

The smiles on the faces of those who completed the 2012 ITC Lambay Race said it all. Fresh westerlies (backing to south-westerly later), flat seas, close racing in most classes, with sunshine as the crews returned to the marina and you have most of the ingredients for a great regatta. The fact that most completed the course in less than 3 hours - one of the fastest Lambay Races in years - was an added bonus.

This year's Lambay Race - the 116th time it has been staged - was generously sponsored by Independent Trustee Company, one of Ireland's largest providers of self-administered pension structures.

From the Offshore Course flagship, Class 1 got proceedings going and after just two and half hours of racing, HYC's Storm (Pat Kelly) held off the challenge of two RIYC visitors to win on IRC from Raptor and Joker 2. Raptor took the ECHO honours from Howard McMullen's Another Adventure.

Dermot Skehan's Toughnut won Class 2 on the double, winning IRC from Ian Byrne's Sunburn and ECHO from Paddy Kyne's Maximus.

Class 3 saw Vincent Gaffney's new Alliance II perform particularly well on close reaches and enjoying the last leg to the finish to stretch out a lead and beat Brian McDowell's J/24 Scandal from Malahide who in turn beat another J/24 Jibberish (O'Kelly et al) by 4 seconds on the line. Hellyhunter (Lional McMurtry, HYC) headed the biggest fleet of the day on ECHO, ahead of RIYC visitor Saki.

In the First 31.7, Bluefin Two (Bernie Bryson & Mia Delaney) from NYC won both Scratch & ECHO and also were awarded the Lambay Lady.

Robert & Rose Michael's Mystique of Malahide topped the White Sails A division on IRC ahead of Bite the Bullet and Changeling, while Rebellion (Hughes & others) and Cogar (K&C Halpin) won oin ECHO and HPH respectively.

In the White Sails B fleet, Terry Giles' Xebec led the fleet home and won on IRC by a comfortable margin, while runner-up Sandpiper of Howth (Andy Knowles) won on ECHO and also finished second on HPH behind Cu na Mara (Clifford Brown of HYC).

The Shipman and Ruffian fleets both came from outside Howth - all bar two were from Dun Laoghaire - and it was Henry Robinson's Whiterock which headed the Shipman class while the Ruffians were led home by Ruffles (M.Cutliffe of DMYC).

The Squibs was a match race between Kerfuffle (Craif/Ruane) and Fantome (R.MacDonnell), with the former winning by 2.5 minutes, while the Etchells it was virtually the same, with Fetching (Quinn/O'Flaherty) having about 30 seconds to spare over Glance (O'Reilly/Dix).

The Puppeteers had a new name on the trophy this year with Colin and Kathy Kavanagh in Blue Velvet putting their gear damage problems of last season behind them to beat the pre-race favourite Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) by a minute, with Neil Murphy's Yellow Peril in 3rd. On handicap, the honours went to Shiggy (G.Kennedy) ahead of Gannet (T.Chillingworth).

A small Seventeens' fleet was headed up by Rita (Curley/Lynch) with Ian Malcolm's Aura 2nd and Peter Courtney's Oona 3rd while on handicap, it was Pauline (O'Doherty/Ryan) which took the honours.

Full results below.

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. LAMBAY REGATTA (RACE) 09/06/2012 Class 1 IRC: 1, Storm P Kelly HYC; 2, Raptor Bradley/Others RIYC; 3, Joker 2 J Maybury RIYC; Class 1 ECHO: 1, Raptor Bradley/Others RIYC; 2, Another Adventure H McMullen HYC; 3, Axiom M O'Neill RIYC; Class 2 IRC: 1, Toughnut D Skehan HYC; 2, Sunburn I Byrne HYC; 3, King One D Cullen HYC; Class 2 ECHO: 1, Toughnut D Skehan HYC; 2, Maximus P Kyne HYC; 3, Makutu Doyle/Others HYC; Class 3 IRC: 1, Alliance 11 V Gaffney HYC; 2, Scandal McDowell Family MYC; 3, Jibberish O'Kelly/Others HYC; Class 3 ECHO: 1, Hellyhunter L McMurtry HYC; 2, Saki Ryan/McCormack RIYC; 3, Sunchaser M Marr HYC; First 31.7 SCRATCH: 1, Bluefin Two M & B Bryson NYC; 2, Magic O'Sullivan/Espey RIYC; 3, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC; First 31.7 ECHO: 1, Bluefin Two M & B Bryson NYC; 2, Magic O'Sullivan/Espey RIYC; 3, C'est la Vie Flannelly/Others HYC; Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Blue Velvet C & K Kavanagh HYC; 2, Harlequin Clarke/Egan HYC; 3, Yellow Peril N Murphy HYC; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Schiggy G Kennedy HYC; 2, Gannet T Chillingworth HYC; 3, Arcturus C McAuliffe HYC; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane HYC; 2, Fantome R MacDonell HYC; Squib HPH: 1, Kerfuffle Craig/Ruane HYC; 2, Fantome R MacDonell HYC; 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Rita Curley/Lynch HYC; 2, Aura I Malcolm HYC; 3, Oona P Courtney HYC; 17 Footer HPH: 1, Pauline O'Doherty/Ryan HYC; 2, Rita Curley/Lynch HYC; 3, Aura I Malcolm HYC; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Fetching Quinn/O'Flaherty HYC; 2, Glance O'Reilly/Dix HYC; Shipman SCRATCH: 1, Whiterock H Robinson RIYC; 2, Jo Slim J Clarke RStGYC; 3, Just Good Friends M Carroll DMYC; Ruffian 23 SCRATCH: 1, Ruffles M Cutliffe DMYC; 2, Paramour R Sastre NYC; 3, Crescendo L Balfe NYC; White Sail A IRC: 1, Mystique of Malahide R & R Michael HYC; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC; 3, Changeling K Jameson HYC; White Sail A ECHO: 1, Rebellion Hughes/Others HYC; 2, Cogar K & C Halpin HYC; 3, White Lotus P Tully DLM; White Sail B IRC: 1, Xebec T Giles HYC; 2, Sandpiper of Howth A Knowles HYC; 3, Brazen Hussy Barry/Stirling HYC; White Sail B HPH: 1, Cu na Mara C Brown HS&BC; 2, Sandpiper of Howth A Knowles HYC; 3, Xebec T Giles HYC; White Sail B ECHO: 1, Sandpiper of Howth A Knowles HYC; 2, Xebec T Giles HYC; 3, Brazen Hussy Barry/Stirling HYC; White Sail A HPH: 1, Cogar K & C Halpin HYC; 2, Bite the Bullet C Bermingham HYC; 3, On the Rox C & J Boyle HYC

#HYC – When you've been staging a successful sailing race annually since 1899 or thereabouts, it's something which has will have acquired its own momentum with a significant amount of baggage in the nostalgia stakes. And its enduring popularity inevitably means that anyone minded to donate a trophy to the hosting club will want to get aboard the high-flying bandwagon of the big one.

Today's annual ITC Lambay Race at Howth looks to have everything going for it, not least an improvement in the ghastly weather which has dominated this past week. The race's prestige is such that it seems to have accumulated more silverware through its various divisions and classes than any other single race on the east coast – and perhaps the entire country, for that matter.

Taking in courses round the handsome Lambay and its quirky little sister island of Ireland's Eye, the Lambay Race is a celebration of the coast of Fingal which - during the ICRA National Championship a fortnight ago - showed how it can provide good sailing breezes when Dublin Bay is serving up windless frustration.

For this classic, they seem to have found a trophy for just about everything except being dog last, and even that must be only a matter of time. The supreme award is the Lambay Lady (think Little Mermaid of Copenhagen), and it goes to whichever winning boat in any of the myriad classes has the greatest margin ahead of the runner-up.

You might reasonably think this inevitably means whoever wins it sails in the most uneven and uncompetitive class of all, but somehow this never seems to happen, as it all often comes down to split seconds. And as they try to run the prize giving a short time after the very last boat has finished, the calculators are over-heated to come up with a result.

Last year, Dun Laoghaire's Ken Lawless and his team with their very competently up-graded vintage Quarter Tonner Supernova were initially declared the winners. The Lawless crew were well on their way back across Dublin Bay with their boat groaning under a load of silverware when some enthusiast in HYC ran a computer check on all the results and came up with the news that the host club's David Clark with his Puppeteer 22 Harlequin should have been awarded the Lambay Lady.

Dave Clark being the man whose day job is keeping the vintage dishwashers of Howth in working order through these stringent times, this just had to be put right, and Howth YC handled it with some style. They have experience of being on the receiving end of this kind of error. Five years ago, when local boats were scoring big internationally, Howth's Roy Dickson with the Corby 36 Rosie was announced as the initial overall winner of the British IRC Championship in the Solent, a big deal by any standards. The trophy had been back in Howth for 24 hours, and well celebrated, when Royal Ocean Racing Club CEO Eddie Warden-Owen made a sheepish phone call asking for their cup back – Rosie had actually been beaten for first overall by a fraction of a point.

So HYC's Brian Turvey handled the Supernova imbroglio with exemplary diplomacy, offering Ken Lawless dinner for two in Howth YC with all the trimmings if he could just see his way to bringing the Lambay Lady over with him, though of course keeping all the other cups. Today, we'll expect a double run on the results before making the final award. But even then, if you do win the Lambay Lady but subsequently have to give it back again, don't mess about - hold out for free dinner for all the crew.

W M Nixon's sailing column is in the Irish Independent on Saturdays

#Lambayrace – Short-handed sailing is a feature of this weekend's Lambay race with a fleet of eight J80s racing travelling from Dun Laoghaire for the Howth event sailing with only two crew apiece.

Over 100 boats in 12 classes are expected on the Howth Yacht Club line for the 116th staging of the race, a 14 mile circuit.

An Offshore Committee Boat will start the races for Classes 1, 2, 3, White Sail Cruisers (A and B fleets) and Shipman.

On the Inshore Course, the one-design classes racing are Etchells, Puppeteers, Ruffian 23s, E-Boats, Squibs and Howth 17 Footers.

As is tradition, the 'Lambay Lady Trophy' will be awarded to the class winner with the largest time differential over the runner-up.

"We are delighted," said James Markey, "to have the support of Independent Trustee Company in running this year's event, as the costs associated with running such events continue to rise year-on-year."

The J80's are being raced from Dun Laoghaire as 'an informal affair', with the crews listed below sailing double handed.

The likely J80 course is -

· 10:00 - Start from Dun Laoghaire

· Leave Ireland's Eye to Port

· Leave Lambay to Starboard

· Leave Ireland's Eye to Starboard

· Finish in Howth Sound

The J80 doublehanders:

Ali Kissane + Ed Butler

Jake Mealy + Ronan Murphy

David White + Colm Core

Graeme Grant + Jenny Andreason

Conor Kinsella + Jamie Conlon

Ben Scallon + Dave Fitzgerald

Tomas Duke + Eoghan Duke

Michael Harrington + Donal Murphy

#ICRA – Entries for the BMW Cruiser Nationals at Howth Yacht Club in two weeks’ time have broken the 100 boats mark, a figure which also includes 66 boats and crews in Howth for the three-day event. Scroll down for the full entry to date.

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association is expected to confirm the breakpoints for the various classes in the near future, but it is likely that four of the classes involved will each have highly competitive fleets of 20 boats.

In Class Zero, the leading contenders will be Antix and Jump Juice from Cork, WOW from Dun Laoghaire and Crazy Horse from the host club.

Up to 20 boats ranging between 30ft. and 50ft. are expected to contest the non-spinnaker Corinthian Cup.

Organising Committee Chairman Chris Howard is delighted with the entry level, saying that the magic figure of 100 boats had always been the target and that it was pleasing to have achieved it.

#RAYC – 50 boats entered the Royal Alfred Yacht Club Niobe Trophy, run in conjunction with the last day of the Howth YC Spring Warmer series on Saturday 28th April.

The RAYC Niobe Trophy has long been a feature of the racing calendar in Howth. This year, in a change of format, the Niobe Trophy was sailed in conjunction with the last day of the Howth Yacht Club Spring Warmer Series. In this way, boats had an extra reason to compete on the closing day of the series.

Traditionally both the Niobe Trophy and the Spring Warmer series were events for one-design keel boats. This year they were also open to the Cruiser Classes.

The blustery north easterlies, with associated lumpy seas and cold rain, made for exciting conditions. All classes sailed two races. In keeping with objective of providing additional motivation for crews winning the Spring Warmer series winning boats did not guarantee victory in the Niobe Trophy.

At the prize-giving, RAYC Rear Commodore Joe Carton thanked the owners and crew for ensuring the success of this new formula, which will be repeated next year.

The Royal Alfred Yacht Club will be providing more racing for boats from Howth this year. The revived Royal Alfred Superleague will be open to boats from Howth, with a special welcome this year for the Puppeteers.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB TUESDAY SERIES 1 01/05/2012 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Harlequin Clarke/Egan; 2, Trick or Treat A Pearson; 3, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Mr Punch NiBhraonain/Wilson; 2, Eclipse A & R Hegarty; 3, Trick or Treat A Pearson TUE + SAT SERIES 1 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 2, Aura I Malcolm; 3, Leila R cooper; 17 Footer HCAP: 1, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 2, Leila R cooper; 3, Anita Cassidy/Faherty

#HOWTH YC – The forecast of fresh north-easterlies in a big lumpy sea was enough to dissuade several skippers from completing this year's Key Capital Private-sponsored Spring Warmers Series last Saturday but despite the smaller numbers, there was exciting action afloat and two closely contested races in the eight classes.

Class 1 was a two-horse race between Equinox (Ross McDonald) and Storm (Pat Kelly) with the former winning both races on the last day to share the overall lead with the latter, with Equinox getting the nod on the final race result. Class 2 was a similar two-boat affair with Paddy Kyne's Maximus edging out Ian Byrne's Sunburn by a single point overall.

With Gecko not sailing, the result in Class 3 was guaranteed in favour of Starlet (Bourke & Others) while what was effectively a Squib match-racing event saw Kerfuffle (Craig/Ruane) notch two more wins to confirm their ascendancy over Dave Sheahan's Too Dee.

Dan O'Grady's Kootamundra again stamped its authority on the Etchells fleet to take the honours ahead of Fetching (Quinn/O'Flaherty) and Alan Pearson's Trick or Treat recorded another double bullet to see off the challenge of Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) by a comfortable 5-point margin.

It was a matter of consistency in the two largest classes, the SB3s and the J/24s. Twelve boats hit the line in the SB3s and while Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran) scored two more wins, missing the first weekend put paid to their overall chances. Instead, Dinghy Supplies (Shane Murphy) was consistently in the top three and won the event by a healthy seven points from RStGYC visitor Ruby Blue (O'Connell/Horgan).

Six J/24s contested the final day and with a third and a first, Flor O'Driscoll's Hard On Port had three points to spare over Lough Erne visitor Jamais Encore (JP McCaldin) in the overall standings, despite the northern crew recording a 1 and 2 on the final day.

#HOWTH YACHT CLUB – It was another fresh day for the fleets contesting the second series of races in the Key Capital Private Spring Warmers at Howth YC last Saturday, although the north-westerly winds and flat seas made the going a little easier than the previous Saturday.

Some things didn't change, with Class 1, Etchells and J/24s being topped by double-winners on the day. Pat Kelly's Storm headed Ross McDonald's Equinox in both Class 1 races while Dan O'Grady's Kootamundra had a similar success in the Etchells to open up a three point lead over Fetching (Quinn/O'Flaherty).

After a DSQ for sailing through the finishing line on the last downwind leg last weekend, J/24 national champion Flor O'Driscoll in Hard on Port got back to winning ways in both races, beating Mossy Shanahan's Crazyhorse and Fergus O'Kelly's Jibberish into second place respectively.

Having missed the opening day, Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran) had a couple of minutes to spare in both SB3 races, beating RStGYC visitors Seriously Bonkers (Cuppage/Lee) in race 1 and then Dinghy Supplies (Shane Murphy) in race 2, with the latter now heading the overall standings by seven points.

Kevin Darmody's Gecko and Starlet (Bourke & Others) effectively had a match race in Class 3 and it was honours-even after two races, with only a point between them overall. In the Puppeteers, Gold Dust (Walls/Brown) won the first race from Harlequin (Clarke/Egan), who had to be content with another second in race 2, this time behind Trick or Treat (Alan Pearson), the series leader now going into the final day.

There was no racing in Class 2 or Squibs.

The final two races in the Key Capital Private Spring Warmer series are scheduled for next Saturday 28th April.

If the crews in the eight classes competing in this year's Key Capital Private-sponsored Spring Warmer Series were looking to the early season event blow away the proverbial cobwebs, they probably got more than they bargained for last Saturday morning.

Fresh north-easterlies of over 22 knots greeted the fleets for the opening two back-to-back races and the conditions saw a number of boats retiring with gear damage and in the case of one J/24, a damaged crew member.

With the exception of SB3s, J/24s and Puppeteers with 9, 7 and 5 entries respectively, the entries were disappointing for the first weekend, with the Etchells, Squibs and Class 2 effectively enjoying two match-racing encounters.

Equinox and Storm each had a win and a second place in Class 1 while Maximus did the double over Sunburn in Class 2, as did Kerfuffle over Too Dee in the Squibs, while Starlet notched two wins in Class 3.

In the Etchells, Kootamundra and Fetching shared the spoils and Trick or Treat had two comfortable wins in the Puppeteers, firstly ahead of Harlequins and then Eclipse.

Lough Erne visitor Jamais Encore scored two second places in the J/24, firstly behind Hard on Port and then behind local boat Crazyhorse. The biggest fleet of nine SB3s saw Dinghy Supplies with an emphatic 3-min gap over Ruby Blue in race 1 and then just 9 seconds to spare over TBC in the second race.

The Key Capital Private Spring Warmer continues next Saturday with another two-race schedule.