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| Prize Giving & Event Report |
Irish Nationals Winner - Euro Car Parks Kilcullen
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(L-R) Cillian Dickson, Ross Darmody, Cillian McGib, Joseph Murphy,
Gordon Stirling, Harry O'Reilly & Commodore Breda Dillon
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Nationals Winner Overall - IL Riccio
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(L-R) Chris McLoughlin & Commodore Breda Dillon
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Silver Fleet Winner - Gossip
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(L-R) Shane Cronin, Peter Barron, David Meridith,
(Graham Elmo and Michelle Rowley) & Commodore Breda Dillon
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Southworth dominates, HYC U25 team lift national title
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Howth Yacht Club hosted the J24 Irish Championships over the weekend, an event which was both a warm-up for the competitors and a fine tune for the race management team, in advance of the imminent BMW J24 World Championship.
Saturday morning saw the fleet held ashore for a few hours by PRO David Lovegrove due to high winds. Nobody wanted to risk serious damage a week out from the main event. The later start still allowed the 20 entrants from Ireland, Great Britain and USA enjoy four races held in a variety of conditions. Sun, rain, squalls, flat calms, big shifts and a changing tide all created a very unusual mix for Howth. As one race official noted, "If you don't like the weather, hang on for five minutes!".
In spite of the weather challenges, GBR visitors "Il Riccio" ("The Hedgehog") dominated the day and headed for the bar with a 1,2,1,1 score. Top of the Irish boats at that stage was Howth's Mossy Shanahan who bagged a tasty 2, 10, 4, 7. The dividends were paid to those who played relatively conservatively and kept their noses clean.
Lighter and less variable conditions treated the fleet to incredibly tight racing on Sunday with another four races banged off in quick time. By the end of Race 6, "ll Riccio" had sewn up the regatta, pocketing a further two wins, not needing to race in the last two. A clinical display!
The fleet did its best to push the 3PM deadline for a last start by forcing a general recall in the penultimate race. Not to be outdone by the sneaky sailors, our cunning race officer compressed Race 7 to squeeze in Race 8, the decider for the title of Irish National Champion. Taking a hard earned 5th in the last race crowned the HYC K25 Team this year's top dogs.
With a calendar of coaching and tweaking, polishing and measuring, ahead of the Worlds, the Howth will be a hive of activity this week. Many of the visitors have threatened golf outings, punctuated by busy evenings in local hostelries!
Emmet Dalton
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Results are in the Current Results Section
2013 -> Open -> J24 Nationals -> etc.
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