#flyingfifteen – Team Mulligan, Ben and Mary Jane, won both Flying Fifteen DBSC races yesterday, sailing Thingamabob, as blustery winds on Dublin Bay showcased the strength both of the Flying Fifteen keelboat design and of DBSC organization.
Holiday absences, perhaps the challenging conditions, and the prospect of sailing around the cans as dinghy courses were cancelled, lowered participation from the 26-boat Dun Laoghaire fleet to just seven Flying Fifteens. However, two excellent windward-leeward races were started out in the bay, in the SB20 course, making a pleasant variation from the usual inshore Seapoint venue.
Winds were shifty as well as strong, and those who handled the headers and lifts were rewarded at the finish line.
David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne came in second in the first race, with Tom Murphy and crew third. In the second race, Adrian Cooper, sailing with his daughter, posted a second, with Mulvin and Beirne fighting off a late challenge from John O'Sullivan and Ken Ryan to finish third.
Participating Fifteeners, delighted to get two races in, with other classes cancelled, praised the flexibility and co-operation of the race committee in getting them out on the water.
