Hot Racing On A Cold Day For Howth Wave 1

24th May 2024

WM Nixon

Line ahead towards the misty Hill of Howth on Day One of Wave,with the Dun Laoghaire-based ultra-black First 8 Allig8r chasing towards success in class Credit: Annraoi Blaney

From a selective look at the damp and occasionally drizzly weather stats issued from Howth today (Friday, May 24th), you might be tempted to talk of “hot racing on a soft day” to describe the first outing in the Porche-sponsored Wave 2024. But being mid-May with an underlying trend to north in the mostly westerly 9 – 11 knot breeze, at times it seemed almost Arctic, and “soft” was not the adjective which would have sprung most readily to mind, had you had the time to think outside the box of making a boat go fast.

Boats battling, birds breeding – Quarter Tonner ding-dong as gannets exercise their reproductive rights on the northeast headland and The Stack at Ireland’s Eye. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Tell Napoleon to bring it on….racing towards the Bonaparte-era Martello Tower on Ireland’s Eye. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

But Race Officers David Lovegrove and Derek Bothwell made sure the varied fleet had little time for excessive contemplation of conditions, as they shovelled through two (and for Classes 0, 1 & 2 a cool three) races for a very varied multi-class fleet. Yet being hospitable souls, they somehow provided a setup which made the many visitors think their journey to the Peninsula had been well worthwhile, with top scorers including Two Farr from Rush/Crosshaven, Impetuous from Pwllheli, Allig8r from Dun Laoghaire, and Jelly Baby from Crosshaven, though the home boats led the non-spinnaker class in the form of Bite the Bullet, Tiger and defending overall champion Toughnut.

The J/109 Outrajeous, distinguished flagship of the Royal Hills of the Naul Yacht Squadron, having a bit of a moment. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

“It ain’t half cold, mum”. Defending champion Toughnut showing well. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

The hope is that some clearance with even a bit of sun as forecast for tomorrow (Saturday) will be fulfilled. For apart from the boost on morale, it’s a great help to be able to see Lambay when you’re trying to race round it, the centerpiece of the day’s programme.

Impetuous from Abersoch working hard for her success. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

When the going gets a bit crowded, it helps to have the cool head of an experienced skipper like Nobby Reilly on Ghost Raider. Photo: Annraoi Blaney

Wave Regatta 2024 results below

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in Wave Regatta

Tagged under

Wave Regatta

About The Author

WM Nixon

Email The Author

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.