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Royal Irish Yacht Club to Host DBSC Turkey Shoot Sailing Series

10th October 2016
Adelie, the 2015 winner of the DBSC Turkey Shoot Series on Dublin Bay, also competed in the 2016 Round Ireland Race, pictured here prior to the Wicklow start last June Adelie, the 2015 winner of the DBSC Turkey Shoot Series on Dublin Bay, also competed in the 2016 Round Ireland Race, pictured here prior to the Wicklow start last June Credit: Afloat.ie

The Royal Irish Yacht Club is hosting this year's Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Sailing Series from Sunday 6th November to Sunday December 18th. 

  • Entry forms and the NOR is downloadable below.

A series of seven races to be held on Sunday mornings (First gun 10.10 hrs) under modified ECHO.

'Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome', according to DBSC race organiser Fintan Cairns.

As a DBSC incentive to get people sailing, a boat that takes out a non–sailor (new to sailing) will get a 2% discount on it’s handicap that day. The non-sailor will qualify as such for 3 races if taken. There may be overlaps with non-sailors so rules will again evolve! Names must be registered before racing on the day. Cairns says the rule should be 'used in the spirit meant'. 

Dun Laoghaire's Irish National Sailing School has been quick off the mark to launch a 'Turkey Shoot Sailing package' for beginners, providing tuition and racing each Sunday in a 1720. Full details on this INSS package here.

Entry fee to the series at €70.00 – includes temporary membership of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Irish YC

Entry forms and the NOR is downloadable below.

Sailing instructions will be available on Sunday 6th November and will be emailed to entrants beforehand.

After sailing, food will be available to competitors in the Royal Irish YC

Downloads

Published in Turkey Shoot

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Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

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