Howth YC’s fleet of 15 wins five titles in heavily competitive – and windy – eight-race series

After a testing four-day series at Kinsale Yacht Club, Howth Yacht Club reigned supreme on Saturday at the annual ICRA National Championships held as part of the biennial Sovereigns Cup event.

From a fleet of 15 club boats dispatched southwards, three national titles and two overall trophies were won by club crews in the highly competitive eight-race series.

The two remaining titles were won by Dún Laoghaire boats, marking a shift towards Dublin in cruiser racing that yet may be a cause for concern.

Equinox, Ross McDonald's X-Yachts 32-footer, won Division 2, a fleet comprising 17 boats, including a mix of revamped half-tonners as well as racing production boats.

McDonald’s scoreline of six race wins more than compensated for a shaky start to the series in Wednesday’s light airs, when he placed fourth and third.

Those races were taken on the double by club-mate David Cullen on Checkmate XV, on her first major outing under her new owner. The boat was previously raced with huge success by Nigel Biggs, and it appeared that this division was headed the same way.

Although Cullen regained form on the final day with two second places, Equinox was well ahead and a certain candidate to win the Sovereigns Cup overall trophy, in addition to the ICRA national title for Division 2.

Howth’s haul included wins in divisions 3 and 4, where there were similarly sized fleets of 15 to 17 boats.

Anyone of five possible contenders might have taken the Division 3 championship, but it was Richard Colwell and Ronan Cobbe's Corby 25-footer that held sway, eventually winning by just two points, with veteran sailor Tim Goodbody on White Mischief the runner-up.

Maximus maximises

That class also provided the winner of the Portcullis Trophy, awarded to the best performing boat in the fleet on the Irish ECHO handicap system.

Paddy Kyne's Maximus narrowly missed a podium result in the class, but won it under the other handicap system.

And, in Division 4, Howth's Under 25 team won the national title on their J24 Kilcullen, even though they were listed as finishing second.

In a curious twist of the rules, the first boat in the class was a revamped quarter-tonner from Cowes. The series was also deciding the Irish title for these former IOR-designed types, which were included in the division.

Owner Tony Hayward arrived in Kinsale with a crack crew – including professional sailors – to compete for the Irish Quarter ton cup.

However, as stated in the Notice of Race document, the event places limits on professional crews taking part. Two “Category 3 Sailors” are allowed on Division 0 boats and one is permitted on the smaller Division 1 boats. However, no limits are placed on competitors for the quarter-ton cup itself.

Therefore, Blackfun picked up the cup while the Under 25 crew in second place were the clear winners for their form, which had picked up with the breeze on Friday and Saturday.

In Division 0, George Sisk's WOW emerged victorious in a battle for this 10-boat class, which was badly hit by damage and incidents in Friday's windy conditions.

Andy Williams Keronimo from Plymouth had been set – on paper at least – to win the division without a matching challenger, damage on Friday left the owner opting to return to the UK early despite winning three races.

East Down YC's Forty Licks also headed home early after breaking it's boom while broaching in the strong winds. And the Royal Cork's Jump Juice was almost out of action for the final day but for the efforts overnight on Friday to return Conor Phelan to action for a 2-1 result on Saturday.

Phelan will be in Dublin next week for the Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta, where Sisk will have a challenge to his new national title.

John Maybury, Sisk club-mate from the Royal Irish YC, won the largest class of the event. Joker 2 emerged from the eight-race series as Division 1 national champion as well as the Irish J109 title winner.

Ian Nagle's Jelly Baby from the Royal Cork YC had initially led the 23-strong class until Maybury drove ahead. A late challenge from Rob McConnell's Fools Gold, winner of the recent Scottish Series, came within a point of denying him the ICRA national title.