As Afloat.ie reported on Sunday, David Gorman and Chris Doorly of the National Yacht Club won the 32–boat Mitsubishi Motors Flying Fifteen Championships of Ireland at the weekend beating a visiting triple world champion in the process. Here Chris Doorly describes how the cup was won.

The Notice of Race for National Championships should carry a health warning, both for physical and mental well being! Going up the last beat of Race 6 on Sunday morning we were in sixth place, we needed to be third to win the event and avoid sailing the last race (quiet a luxury really!) The legs were burning, the wind was fickle and the mind was playing games on us, were we going to lose out and leave it all to the last race?

The 32–boat championship fleet start race five

It was not a pleasant thought, patience and calmness were the order of the day, we checked in with our inner mind and settled down to just do what we always do, stick to the process just like the rugby lads! Soon after the leeward gate we got past Brian O’Neill and then Tom Murphy, up to fourth, would it be enough, Dave thought it might be. Last year’s winners Andy and Dougie were in good form today and it was far from a given that we would pass them.
As we approached the weather mark Steve Goacher was leading followed by Sean Craig, we watched the water for pressure it was now light in most places, where would the wind come from next? we saw texture on the water to the right and noticed Steve had a bit more pressure, also at the right as he rounded the mark, we took the risk and went in on port to the right side, on the lay line we tacked and we crossed the lads, third place! Downwind the wind was still light and all over the place, it was a long 1.2 miles to the gate and finish! There was total concentration on the spinnaker. We stayed close to them deliberately, or were they staying close to us waiting to pounce? We just managed to stay ahead gybing at the leeward mark on the inside and crossing the line in third, we had done it! There was great delight on board so much so that some on the committee boat were wondering why we were celebrating after getting third in a race!

Steve Goacher and Martin Grady prepare for a hoist

It was a three day event with racing starting on Friday, we like the three day events as we tend to go well in all conditions and are not heavy or light weather specialists. In the build up we would have been considered one of the favourites, a tag that means very little in sailing, but with the entry of Steve Goacher and Sean Craig our expectations were dampened but we were determined to give it our best shot.

There was a severe weather forecast for Saturday in particular and it was blowing over 20knots on Friday at the briefing. International race officer Jack Roy and his team put on three races on Friday in case Saturday got cancelled. On the water the 20knots had disappeared and Jack put up the AP. Eventually we got going, there was a general recall on the first start but on the restart the pin was biased and we nailed it, this was critical as the boats at the pin end were the lead boats for the race, Steve led the way at the weather mark and to our surprise we passed him downwind just before the gate, our joy and confidence boost were short lived as the tide pushed us up against the mark and we had to do our turns, we carried on finishing second to Steve with Brian Willis third and Sean Craig fourth, it was good to start with a counter.

Sean Craig and Alan Green finished third overall

In racing you need a little luck, in race 2 in light conditions we finished second as we were out on what ended up the favoured left side, some would call it the windier side, with Sean Craig who won the race, Steve was on the right and got caught out to finish seventh. Similarly in Race 5 on Saturday in the westerly winds we had spotted wind on the right and got a fantastic 20 degree lift up to the mark as our competitors were on the left side, we went on to win this Race while Sean was fourth and Steve fifth. In saying that we aware that while left into the shore generally pays it was not always the case and our eyes were scanning the course for wind. On Saturday night we had a four point lead but from previous experience we knew that it may not be enough but were delighted to be in the lead and in contention.

Roll on race six on Sunday where we managed the required third place to take the cup back to the National Yacht Club. Race seven was windier with some exhilarating downwind sailing to round of a fantastic weekend of sailing. Again Goacher and Craig didn’t have it all their own way as local boys Ian Mathews & Keith Poole and last years champions Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan took off to be first and second with Steve third, Sean piped us on the line to take fourth place but this was to be our discard.

Thanks to Jack Roy and his race team, the race office, the National Yacht Club and to the local class captain Ronan Beirne along with all the competitors who all did a great job ensuring the success of this event.

The National Yacht Club's David Gorman and Chris Doorly completed a text book win of the seven race Mitsubishi Motors Flying Fifteen national championships this afternoon, beating in the process the pre–championship favourites, visitors Steve Goacher and Martin Grady from Lake Windemere.

The former triple World Champion finished four points behind Gorman and Doorly who sailed a very consistent series in light and medium winds to count six top three results to finish this afternoon on 12 nett points. Third overall was the Royal St. George Yacht Club's Sean Craig sailing with Alan Green on 16 points, the same score as Goacher who took second place on the tie–break rule.

Full results for the 32–boat fleet are downloadable below.

The fine Irish turnout was only marginally below the 36–boat fleet assembled for this year's British Isles Championships.

Flying Fifteen podium at the National Yacht Club – From left Sean Craig and Alan Green (third overall), Chris Doorly and David Gorman (winners) and Steve Goacher and Martin Grady (second overall)

Read also: How We Won The Flying Fifteen Irish Championships 2015

Triple world Flying Fifteen champion Steve Goacher will sail in this afternoon's Irish national championships sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors. The Lake Windermere sailor is one of a number of visitors for the bumper championships that has attracted a fleet of 32–boats from eight different sailing centres to the National Yacht Club.

More on the event in this morning's Irish Times Sailing Column here.

The first race of the seven race series is on Dublin Bay this afternoon at 2pm but the big question this morning is how strong will forecasted weekend winds blow? 

Be careful out there, some horrible weather is on the way http://t.co/4nzr6otADd Pic: @darkskyapp pic.twitter.com/51qTSWxikI

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) September 10, 2015

The Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen fleet launched next week's Mitsubishi Motors Ireland 2015 Flying Fifteen Championships of Ireland at the National Yacht Club yesterday.

The Championships will be held next week-end 11 – 13 September on Dublin Bay. There will be seven races for gold, silver and bronze fleets are scheduled over the three days under International Race Officer Jack Roy.

Over 30 boats are expected to compete with visitors from Strangford, Whiterock, Killyleagh, Portaferry, East Antrim, Dunmore East as well as some UK visitors expected.

UK visitor Charles Apthorp sailing with Alan Green will be favourites after their fifth placing at the recent World Championships in France. Current National champions Andrew McCleery & Colin Dougan from Killyleagh as well as former champions Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly from the host club will be hoping to give them a run for their money.

The local Dun Laoghaire FF Committee under the command of Class Captain Ronan Beirne along with NYC Officers/Sailing Manager have been organising the event with one of the ‘off the water’ highlights being a visit to the Maritime Museum.

#flyingiffteen – The Flying Fifteen Southern Championships hosted by WHSC in Dunmore East took place in classic Dunmore East conditions with its SW winds and large waves at the weekend and was won by Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly (NYC) , Ben Mulligan & Alan Green (NYC) were in second place with Brian Willis & John McPeake (CASC) in third place. It was a joint event with the 420 Munster Championships and the Fireball Nationals.

Results sheet downloadable below as a jpeg file.

On Saturday PRO Con Murphy postponed racing for two hours as there were winds over twenty knots and a large sea. Eventually we got out and three races were held in 14-22 knots of breeze from the southwest.
In the first race the tide was going out and there was still a big sea, Mulligan was quick out of the blocks and led for the first lap, the racing was very close with Gorman, McKee, Statham and Willis snapping at his heels. On the second lap Gorman took the lead and held it to the finish, second was McKee, third Mulligan and fourth Statham.

Race 2 started shortly after, the tide was now coming in and most of the fleet headed in towards the shoreline on the right, there didn't seem to be a huge difference between those who went out as they had more wind but they did have to battle bigger sea's. Again racing was incredibly close, Gorman lead all the way and McKee was again second, Mulligan third and Statham again fourth.

By race 3 the winds had dropped to only about 15knots, local class captain Charlie Boland & Rob McConnell started on the pin end and crossed the fleet to take the lead, a lead they kept to the end despite the close attention of the other contenders. At the last mark Gorman was second, with Mulligan, Willis and McKee close behind. Downwind to the finish these all sailed different lines hoping to make gains, Willis on the right came in second, Mulligan out on the left inches behind was third and Gorman going down the middle was fourth a further boat length behind, all very close!.

After racing most of the exhausted competitors had badly needed food and refreshments at the club BBQ. As usual the hospitality of this great club was fantastic, many also enjoyed the other local restaurants and bars and with it being the 4th of July there was plenty of entertainment into the small hours. Gorman & Doorly led overnight from Mulligan and McKee who were tied a couple of points behind. All to play for on Sunday and with the racing so close any of the top four could win.

What would Sunday bring? The forecast was for it to be a bit lighter, 10-14knots from the south with rain. As the boats went out there was still a large swell with crashing waves as it was wind against tide. The committee boat had a lot of trouble settling and our hats go off to them as they did a great job in difficult conditions. With the strong tide most of the fleet were over the line and there was a general recall despite the fact that the U flag was up. Racing got going again after the 420 start, it was quiet light now but in the distance the sky was black. On the fleet went, Mulligan, McKee and Gorman went right, the wind was filling in now and the waves were getting bigger, those on the right got lifted. Gorman was going nicely when suddenly disaster struck as he showed his crew a broken tiller extension, they tried to continue but it was impossible with the large crashing waves. It looked like the regatta was literally slipping from their grasp, a decision was made to go ashore and see if they could get another one and get out for the last race, this they managed. Meanwhile racing continued, McKee, Mulligan and Willis were battling away, on the second beat they all went out and this allowed Meagher & Poole (NYC) who went in towards the shore to take the lead before the last weather mark. On the downwind leg they all took different lines, Mulligan went left, out of the tide, and won the race, Willis was second, Local man Boland was third with Meagher slipping to fourth.

One race to go, what would happen? With discards in play Mulligan was one point behind Gorman, with McKee and Willis 2 points behind. The wind from the SE was blowing hard and as the fleet were beating the waves just seemed to get bigger and bigger, it was like a scene from Perfect Storm. Mulligan and McKee started down the line but Gorman started near the committee boat. Gorman sailed the waves really well, both he and crew were sitting so far back in the boat to get over the waves, with their new tiller extension they got to the weather mark first followed by Willis, Mulligan was back in eight. The run was great on the big waves, on the second beat the wind shifted to the right and this helped Gorman who had gone into the right. The wind was now lighter and the sea's more normal, Gorman extended his lead to deservedly take the race and the Championships.
In a further twist all was not confirmed till ashore as the word was that six boats had been disqualified under the U flag, none of the leaders were involved so the results stood.

At the prize giving Club Commodore thanked the sponsors, the many volunteers including the PRO and his team, Dave Gorman did likewise but included his long suffering crew Chris. Niall Meagher & Keith Poole won the Silver Fleet. Those who didn't travel missed out on a great weekends sailing in a fantastic location.

The next event is the Championships of Ireland which will be held at NYC in September..

#fireball – Racing has been postponed for two hours this morning at Dunmore East in County Waterford for a combined fleet of Fireballs, Flying Fifteens and 420s. Race Officer Con Murphy says big seas running outside the harbour suggests competitior safety may be an issue. Wind is in the high teens. 

#flyingfifteen – On a balmy summer's evening Neil Colman & Mick Quinn in Flyer won the Flying Fifteen DBSC race last night comfortably in the end but they didn't have it all their own way as O'Sullivan with Ben Mulligan crewing lead for the first part of the race.

On what looked like a perfect evening for sailing it turned out to be challenging with the strong incoming tide and a shifty s-se wind. The question was whether to go inshore out of the tide or to stay out in the tide but pick up the stronger wind. Out worked and as the fleet approached Bullock mark those who stayed out lead the way including O'Sullivan, Colman and Dooley.

It was on to East mark and then Pier, at Pier the wind went soft, Colman closed the gap and on the beat up to Island mark took the lead which he held to the end to deservedly take the gun. Meanwhile Green had moved up to third and was neck and neck with O'Sullivan, a poor mark rounding ended the challenge and O'Sullivan was second with Green third. McCambridge was an excellent fourth followed by the O'Neills in fifth.

It was a great night's racing but it should be noted that there were a couple of close port and starboard incidents on the course- crews need to look more diligently and react in good time!
This weekend the fleet head to Dunmore East for the South Coast Championships.

Results here

#flyingfifteen – It's days like this that we wonder why we sail, Dublin Bay was full of holes at the Seapoint side with the prevailing wind battling with the sea breeze but Suzanne McGarry and her DBSC team got two races in with a mainly s-sw breeze with an incoming tide. Both races in the Flying Fifteen class were won by Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly in Betty who managed to find the wind.

Race 1 started after a long delay and a relocation of the Committee boat, it was a square line and with the tide coming in. Most boats therefore headed towards the left but Gorman along with Alan Dooley went right where there appeared to be more wind. This proved to be the case as those on the left were all stopped in a hole, the race continued, some on the left were even trying the spinnaker but the sea breeze never filled in from the sea and Gorman won with Dooley second and Murphy third, there was a big gap to the rest but the Cahil brothers were fourth and Geraldine ONeill fifth.

It was hoped the wind would have settled for Race 2, it didn't! Again those who went more right gained, Murphy and Dooley were on that side and Gorman made his way over, again these three were well ahead, at the gybe mark the wind had gone around or so it seemed. Again it was the sea breeze fight the prevailing, Gorman was quick to spot it and gybed out to the left and took the lead from a frustrated Murphy and Dooley. These two battled to the finish and that was the finishing order. Behind Adrian Cooper sailing with his son were going really well and just held off Sherry & Ruddy who were fifth. Tom Murphy leads Series 2 after four races.

It was great to see so many boats out racing. This Thursday the DBSC series continues and next weekend the fleet head to Dunmore East for the Southern Championships.

#flyingfifteen – The Flying Fifteen DBSC Second Series started much the same way as the First Series ended with Chris Doorly & Alan Green in Frequent Flyer winning from Niall Colman & Mick Quinn in Flyer.

On a cloudy grey evening there was a fresh southerly breeze and the tide had just turned to go out, despite PRO Jack Roys warning about the tide a number of boats were over the line but all went back. The first beat was up to Bullock, there was slightly more pressure out on the left and Doorly was first to the mark followed closely by Colman, Geraldine O'Neill in Mellifuence and Brian ONeill & Mary Jane Mulligan in Final Fling. It was a reach to East, at the mark Colman got inside Doorly to take the lead. These two were well ahead now and on the next beat Colman stayed out as Doorly went closer to the shore to where there appeared to be more wind. There was and they took the lead again but it was very close all the way, on the last reach it was tight but with good spinnaker work by Green and by driving down the waves Doorly pulled ahead to take the gun. Colman was second, behind Brian ONeill got up to an excellent third with Geraldine & Dermot ONeill fourth.

After sailing all the crews adjourned to the bar and enjoyed their monthly fleet dinner.

This Saturday the DBSC series continues and the following week the fleet travel to Dunmore East for the Southern Championships.

#flyingfifteen – It's for days like this that we sail, a sunny afternoon with a nice force 3/4 on excellent Flying Fifteen DBSC courses set by Suzanne McGarry and her team on Freebird. There were two races, the first a windward leeward course won by Ian Mathews & Keith Poole in Gruffalo and the second an Olympic triangle course won by Alan Green & Chris Doorly in Frequent Flyer. The wind was forecast to be from the SW but it was mainly westerly and was very shifty, the tide was ebbing.

After last weekend's great racing at the Northern Championships many in the fleet upped their game and racing was extremely close, the Cahills, McCambridge & Murphy and Coughlin & Marshal were in great form sailing particularly well.

In Race 1 Mathews was out of the blocks quickly and lead all the way, behind it was a closer affair, Green had a poor start and was at the left side while those who started adjacent the committee boat and went right had more pressure, Tom Murphy and Tom Galvin along with Coughlin and McCambridge were also doing well as they approached the weather mark. There was plenty of action as the wind strength increased, Fraser Mitchel fell out of his boat, Galvin had to do turns, other came in on port and didn't give way to starboard boats (this should not happen!) while Green did a quick gybe set that kept him in touch with the leaders. On lap 3 Green finally got passed and pulled away from Mulvin and the Cahill brothers to take second place, Galvin was third with David & Valerie Mulvin fourth.

Race two was just as exciting, the committee boat end was favoured, Mathews, Tom Murphy and Tom Galvin were the first group at the weather mark and they went in towards the shore, those on the right were not far behind, positions changed on the tight reach with Mathews leading Green second and Galvin third., again McCambridge in Hi Fibre and Coughlin in Ash were not far behind. On the next beat the right paid but it was shifty, Mathews went more left and Green took advantage in the shifts to get the lead, a lead he was to keep till the gun. On the final reach Mathews and Galvin had spinnaker troubles but Galvin managed to sort himself out to finish second, Mathews was third, McCambridge fourth and Tom Muprhy fifth.
It was great to see so many boats out racing. This Thursday the DBSC series continues this week.

Saturday's DBSC results are here