Fresh from their return from last week's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, both Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins) and Juggerknot II (Andrew Algeo), both from the Royal Irish Yacht Club, won their respective cruiser divisions in last night's DBSC Thursday night race. 

There was a great turnout of 129 boats across all DBSC classes for racing on a fluky Dublin Bay.

In the J109 division, yet another RIYC yacht, White Mischief (Richard and Tim Goodbody), was the class winner.  

Full results across all classes in the AIB-sponsored Summer Series are below. 

DBSC Results for 17/06/2021

Cruiser 0 IRC: 1. Rockabill VI, 2. Tsunami, 3. D-Tox

Cruiser 0 Echo: 1. D-Tox, 2. Tsunami, 3. Lively Lady

Cruiser 1 IRC: 1. Juggerknot 2, 2. Bon Exemple, 3. White Mischief

Cruiser 1 Echo: 1. Juggerknot 2, 2. Black Velvet, 3. Bon Exemple

Cruiser 1 J109: 1. White Mischief, 2. Chimaera, 3. Dear Prudence

31.7 One Design: 1. After You Too, 2. Attitude, 3. Bluefin Two

31.7 Echo: 1. Kalamar, 2. Fiddly Bits, 3. Bluefin Two

Cruiser 2 IRC: 1. Windjammer, 2. Ruthless, 3. Springer

Cruiser 2 Echo: 1. Gwili II, 2. Boojum, 3. Springer

Cruiser 2 Sigma 33: 1. Gwili II, 2. Boojum, 3. Springer

Cruiser 3 IRC: 1. Maranda, 2. Starlet, 3. Eleint

Cruiser 3 Echo: 1. Maranda, 2. Grasshopper 2, 3. Wynward

Cruiser 4 NS-IRC: 1. Boomerang, 2. RunAway

Cruiser 4 Echo: 1. Boomerang, 2. Antix, 3. RunAway

Cruiser 5A NS-IRC: 1. Playtime, 2. Persistance, 3. The Great Escape,

Cruiser 5A Echo: 1. Witzend, 2. Playtime, 3. Katienua

Cruiser 5B Echo: 1. Sweet Martini, 2. Gung Ho, 3. Fortitudine

SB20: 1. Ted, 2. So Blue, 3. venuesworld.com

Flying 15: 1. Hera, 2. Flyer, 3. Thingamabob

Sportsboat VPRS: 1. Jester, 2. Jitterbug

Sportsboat: 1. Jester, 2. Jitterbug, 3. George 2

Ruffian: 1. Shannagh, 2. Bandit, 3. Ruffles

Shipman: 1. Curraglass, 2. Poppy, 3. Twocan

B211 One Design: 1. Chinook, 2. Isolde, 3. Billy Whizz

B211 Echo: 1. Isolde, 2. Chinook, 3. Billy Whizz

Glen: 1. GlenDun, 2. Glencree, 3. Glencoe

Squib/Mermaid PY: 1=. Lively Lady, 1=. Allsorts, 3. Jill

Tuesday night marks the start of a week-long tribute to long-standing Dublin Bay Sailing Club member Carmel Winkelmann who passed away on Saturday, 12th June. 

DBSC Flag Officers are preparing for a minute's silence on all boats in the fleet before racing commences on each race day this week.

There will be an additional sound signal made five minutes before the first warning signal for the first class each day. The DBSC burgee will be dipped and a minute's silence will be observed in Carmel's honour. 

DBSC Committee Boat MacLir (above) and Freebird (below) displaying an RIP tribute to the late Carmel Winkelmann prior to Tuesday, June 15th's racing

As Afloat repeated earlier, Carmel was an active member of DBSC and also gave a huge commitment to Dublin Bay sailing in general.

Due to the Government restrictions, a family funeral will take a place privately at 10 am on Friday (June 18th).

As a mark of respect, the funeral cortège will be passing the yacht clubs along the Dun Laoghaire Harbour waterfront on Friday morning at 9 am.

Funeral notice here

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderick O’Gorman helped by Olivia Eaton (age 8) and her sister Sadbh (age 5) have launched the new launch Dublin Bay Biosphere Award on Portmarnock Beach.

The new three-part programme was developed by Scouting Ireland and the Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership.

Children who successfully complete the programme will earn a badge which can be sewn onto scout uniforms, school bags or clothing in recognition of their efforts to protect local wildlife.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderick O’Gorman helped by local Portmarnock Scout Rohan Belgan (age 14) on Portmarnock Beach

The Dublin Bay Biosphere covers an area of over 300km2, from Howth to Killiney, with over 300,000 people living within its boundaries.

Biospheres are recognised for their internationally important wildlife, but are also places to be shared by people and nature.

The Dublin Bay Biosphere Award is a call to all young people to ‘get outside, explore, learn, and take action to protect our biosphere’. For details on the Award scheme go here

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Commodore Ann Kirwan rounded off a successful DBSC Race Training Mini-Series yesterday before racing commences after Bank Holiday Monday from next Tuesday, June 8th.

The well-attended series, running since May 16th - in line with COVID guidelines -  presented a great opportunity for boats and crews and race personnel to prepare for the summer racing season as lockdown eases. 

Next week the AIB DBSC Racing season begins in earnest where the country's biggest yacht racing club welcomes back training participants along with the rest of the membership to the following schedule.

DBSC Weekly Racing Programme

• Tuesdays: Keelboats – From Committee Vessel
• Tuesdays: Dinghies – Harbour sailing
• Wednesdays: Water Wags – Harbour sailing
• Thursdays: Keelboats – Committee Boat starts
• Saturdays: Keelboats – Committee Boat starts
• Saturdays: Dinghies – Harbour sailing

Meanwhile, the last week of the training series ran as follows: 

Tuesday dinghies - RO Barbara Conway aboard DBSC committee vessel Freebird ran one training race in light winds inside the harbour. 9 PYs and 22 Lasers over 2 starts.

Wednesday Water Wags - RO Harry Gallagher aboard DBSC committee vessel MacLir ran 2 training races in light winds inside the harbour for a full complement of training Wags.

Two Water Wag training races in light winds were held inside the harbour

Thursday keelboats - RO Jack Roy aboard committee vessel Freebird headed outside the harbour to survey the conditions and reported gusts of over 30 knots and a big swell in a strong southerly wind. Jack (Red Fleet) and Barry MacNeaney (Blue Fleet) decided to cancel race training for all classes.

Saturday saw the last day of DBSC’s Race Training mini-series.

RO Barry MacNeaney aboard MacLir ran race training for the Blue Fleet of 36 boats with Cr 0 - 2, Cr1 - 7, B31.7s - 7, Cr2 - 3, Cr3 - 7, Cr 4&5 - 7, Shipman - 3, Glen - 0.

RO Barry O’Neill aboard Freebird ran 2 training races for the 34 Green Fleet boats with SB20s - 5, FFs - 13, Sportsboats & Dragons - 3, Ruffian - 5, B211 - 7, Squibs & Mermaids - 1.

RO Suzanne McGarry aboard committee vessel Spirit of the Irish ran race training for the Dinghies (2 races) with 19 boats - PYs - 5, Lasers 14 over 2 starts.

After a long break due to COVID, recreational diving is back on Dublin Bay and divers were out over the past two weekends at Dalkey Island and other popular bay sites.

A class of open water students got back into the water after a long break for a snorkel.

Local boat bives are also now fully operational in Dublin Bay again with regular departures to favourite dive sites around Scotmans Bay, Dalkey Island and the Muglins Beacon.

The Ocean Divers 'Ocean Enterprise' RIB takes divers out into Dublin Bay from Dun Laoghaire

Ocean divers, a dive firm that operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, says on social media, it is now running snorkel and boat trips over the next couple of weeks as the 2021 season reopens.

The many months of Lockdown in its various forms have prevented the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association from physically holding their regular monthly winter meetings at Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club in Dublin Port. Each of these friendly gatherings – with specialist speakers on a wide variety of maritime topics - traditionally raised substantial sums for Howth Lifeboat through the simple and relatively painless expedient of the attendees on arrival dropping a minimum of €5 into an RNLI yellow welly on a table by the door.

The pandemic shutdowns might have stopped this intensely personal programme in any form, were some ordinary body involved. But the DBOGSA are made of sterner stuff. And as we've commented before on Afloat.ie, the more die-hard of a traditionalist any sailing enthusiast might be, the more he or she seems to be comfortably on top of modern communications.

Thus with tech whizzes like Mark Sweetnam and the current DBOGA Hon Sec/Treas Darryl Hughes on the job, the DBOGA smoothly transformed its monthly winter gatherings into an eclectic series of online Zoom talk/discussions – many of them previewed in Afloat.ie - which continued the lifeboat fund-raising as part of the online process, and provided the bonus of an edited version of the monthly show appearing on YouTube, usually within 24 hours.

A long-established and friendly relationship: the Howth 17s come to visit the Old Gaffers Association during their Golden Jubilee Celebrations at the Poolbeg Y & BC in 2013. Photo: W M Nixon

Now that the light of lockdown-lifting is on the horizon, it is time to take stock, and Johnny Wedick, President of the DBOGA, has received an appreciative letter from Rose Michael, leader of the Howth RNLI Fund Raising Crew, with the news that the DBOGA "Lockdown Lolly" has reached €7,571, and there's probably more in the pipeline.

As it is, it's a tidy sum. So when the DBOGA hold their annual Cruise-in-Company to Howth in August - by which time it's hoped proper freedom of movement will have arrived – there'll be one of those slightly wacky ceremonies where the Old Gaffers hand the Howth RNLI an enormous cardboard cheque with the final amount inscribed thereon. Upon which, everyone will doubtless then spring to the mainbrace, and great will be the splicing thereof.

DBSC Thursday night training is cancelled for all fleets this evening on Dublin Bay due to current weather conditions and the forecast for further strong southerly winds.

Three training fleets were in operation as over 90 boats from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour waterfront clubs turned out for the first training session last Saturday, as Afloat reported here.

DBSC is running the mini-series this month in order for crews and DBSC race management teams to train and to get ready for the racing season on June 7 as sailing is now considered a safe, non-contact sport with no material difference between training and competition re COVID-19.

"Brilliant to be back!" was the verdict from Dublin Bay Sailing Club sailors who returned to the water yesterday as part of a training minmi series, the first DBSC  on the water event since the cancellation of its Turkey Shoot Series last November.

Three training fleets were in operation as over 90 boats from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour waterfront clubs and marina headed out onto the bay yesterday afternoon in a light to medium easterly breeze.

DBSC is running the mini-series this month in order for crews and DBSC race management teams to train and to get ready for the racing season as sailing is now considered a safe, non-contact sport with no material difference between training and competition.

DBSC Committee Vessel MacLir

DBSC Commodore Ann Kirwan and Eddie Totterdell (as DBSC PRO) held a briefing for the ROs and volunteers to outline the training guidelines as well as the Covid protocols before the fleet left the marina.

On the water, Race Officer Suzanne McGarry was in charge of DBSC dinghies inside the harbour with approximately 30 boats over three starts comprising mainly of Lasers that are again reporting big numbers this season.

The series is running on the regular DBSC Race nights of Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday and Saturdays at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Race Officer Eddie Totterdell was aboard Committee Vessel MacLir on DBSC's Blue/Red Fleet course. Totterdell ran boats six starts for approximately 31 boats with Cr1x7, Cr2x6, Cr3x3, Cr4 & 5 x 7, 31.7s x 5 and Shipmans x3.

No results for the training races are being published in line with DBSC's training series regulations.

RO Barry O’Neill on board Committee Vessel Freebird for the DBSC Green fleet with approx 30 boats over five starts and two training sessions for SB20s, FFs x 14, Mixed Sportsboats & Dragons, Ruffians x6, and B211s x9.

Overall, the club is reporting good feedback from the first day afloat from both sailors and volunteers. The training series coinciding with the publication of the club's 2021 yearbook now online.

Larry Martin tribute

There was a tribute to Larry Martin by the Green Fleet Team Lead by Therese Tyrrell and RO Barry O’Neill aboard Freebird before leaving the marina. Larry, who died in April, was on the Green fleet Race Management team for the last race of last season.

The standby safety vessel the Arctic Ocean that is undertaking a series of geophysical surveys for the Codling Wind Park was back in Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Saturday morning. 

The red hulled Danish flagged vessel is operating on a 24-hour basis between 14 April to 26 May undertaking geophysical operations to 'characterise the export cable sites' for the new east coast wind farm. 

The 45-year-old ship was accompanied this morning at Dun Laoghaire Harbour by a Dublin Port Pilot boat.  She is working in tandem with other work boats Fastnet Pelican based out of the marina and Jackup Jill.

During its work, Arctic Ocean will be towing survey equipment, and requires large turning circles and will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre.

All vessels operating within this area are requested to keep their distance, maintaining at least the 500m safety zone around the survey vessel, and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

More details about the operation are contained in the Department of Transport Marine Notice 21 of 2021 available here

The Séan O’Casey Community Centre in Dublin’s East Wall officially opened its new garden for seniors to the public this week, featuring a new marquee and planting sponsored by Dublin Port Company. Under current Covid-19 restrictions, the redesigned garden will be able to accommodate up to 15 seniors per day for activities such as bingo, knitting, pool, snooker, draughts, wellness talks and live music and dancing.

The Centre, which first opened in 2009, is an important resource to the people of East Wall and prior to the pandemic, offered a Senior Citizen Daycare service, providing four-course meals for 85 seniors, with mental wellbeing and physical activities for up to 100 seniors, five days a week. Throughout Covid-19 it has continued to provide a Meals on Wheels service for East Wall’s senior citizens, but opportunities for older members of the community to come together and socialise have been severely curtailed. It is hoped the garden will offer a safe space for familiar faces to be reacquainted this summer.

Commenting on the opening of the Garden, the Centre’s Chairperson Willie Dwyer said; “The older people in the community of East Wall are very special and have sacrificed so much in the last year. When Covid happened, we put our heads together to see what we could do for them and we came up with this garden. It is important to give them a safe space to get out of the house a few times a week. We have not seen a lot of our senior community in the last year and we want to encourage as many of them as possible to come back. We want to get the word out to older people in our community that the Centre is open again, and that everyone is welcome.

“It has been a tough year but occasions like this give us optimism for the future. We are all looking forward to getting back to offering a full range of services to the community of East Wall again. None of this would have been possible without our sponsors who have worked tremendously well together to get this garden up and running for our senior citizens, so I would like to thank Dublin Port Company, Collen Construction, the Inner-City Trust Fund and Dublin City Council for making this happen.”

Dublin Port Company has had a long-standing relationship with the Centre and the Port’s Heritage Director, Lar Joye, and Edel Currie, Community Engagement Manager, were in attendance to cut the ribbon as the garden welcomed its first visitors.

Lar Joye said; “Dublin Port Company is delighted to be involved in creating a dedicated garden for older citizens in our community as part of our long-running commitment to the Seán O’Casey Community Centre and the people of East Wall. We hope that this new facility provides an outlet for seniors who have been isolated for the last year to come and socialise with each other again. It’s a hub for conversation, story-telling, activity and entertainment that we hope older people will enjoy for many more years to come.

“Well done to Willie and all the staff at the Séan O’Casey Community Centre who have driven this project from an idea through to completion. We all look forward to seeing it used to its full potential when the circumstances allow.”