Over 30 Howth boats in nine classes will head for Dublin Bay this week to contest the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta which starts on Thursday and runs until Sunday 10th. And HYC entries are tipped for success in a number of the classes over the four-day event, billed as Ireland's biggest regatta with over 400 boats ranging from Lasers to Class Zero.
Howth's sole representative in that latter class, 'Crazy Horse' (Chamber/Reilly) faces stiff opposition there but in Class 2, six HYC boats will be in the frame, with Rear-Commodore David Cullen's 'King One' already fancied to do well in last week's Irish Times sailing column. The likes of 'Dux' (Anthony Gore-Grimes), 'Impetuous' (Noonan/Chambers) and 'MiniMumm' (Cobbe/McDonald) are also expected to be in contention, however.
In Class 3, the HYC charge is likely to be led by Basil McMahon's 'Holly' and Kevin Darmody's 'Gecko' while Noel Davidson has opted to enter his Puppeteer 'Pinocchio' into the handicap fray.
Three HYC boats will compete in the White Sail Division - 'Bite the Bullet' (Colm Bermingham), 'Brazen Hussey' (Barry/Sterling) and 'Voyager' (Joe Carton) - and there are six in the Howth 17s and five in the SB3s. There are also a couple of entries in each of the Etchells, Squibs and Fireball classes.
Howth Yacht Club will again be involved on the administrative side of the event, assisting the Regatta Organisers by providing the Free Enterprise as a flagship on one of the courses, together with Race Officer David Lovegrove and his race management team.
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