#rsgyc – The RStGYC May/June Friday Series (open to all comers) for Laser and RS dinghies had another two great races last night writes Heather King. Good to see the increased turnout and we were lucky with a little ridge of higher pressure between a series of lows and by start time the breeze had eased all the way back to a very pleasant 10 knots, blowing out from the direction of Seapoint's Martello Tower.

#rstgyc – Races were rattled off by surely one of the youngest Race Officers Dun Laoghaire has ever seen for adult racing. Adam Hyland, who has represented the George overseas with distinction and topped national rankings in both the 420 and Optimist classes, performed one master-stroke in particular. He noticed he had time pre-start to shift his freshly-laid course 200 yards offshore. He saw fresher breeze and, crucially, big flicks to the left and, had he not relaid, the weather mark would have required a position way South, which would have been a very interesting obstacle course over the West pier !

RSs went off first for 3 rounds W/L and at the first mark the Boys Craig/Foley led in a 200 from Ryan/Murphy in the 400. However, Emmet and Luke in the bigger rig soon showed great speed and downwind angles, allied to slick boathandling, to dominate both races for the rest of the night. Craig/Foley led the 200s home comfortably in race one but were further back in the two lap second race when Clodagh and Adrian Hinkson staged a remarkable comeback on the lead 200 raced by Laser/Fireball ace Justin Maguire. The Hinksons carried a beautiful, soaking downwind course in a softening breeze and, had they not required one final gybe just a few metres from the line, they would surely have pipped Maguire and crew Heather Craig. Downwind finishes sure are interesting !! The other 200 and 400 crews all had their moments in the challenging patchy, shifty conditions.

The Lasers sailed two rounds each time and it was good to see some additional new faces this week in Ross O'Leary, Conor O'Leary and Peter Docherty. Things were competitive, especially when Ross challenged in race One and Conor got well in the mix in race Two. However Patrick Cahill again showed apalling disrespect for his elders, claiming both guns ! This Radial sailor will have no problems at all with the Full rig going forward, that much is clear. It also shows this Friday series is absolutely perfect for younger sailors anywhere close to the transition stage between the smaller Laser rig and the Full. Plus what better way to take a little break from studies on a Friday night ?

Hyland wrapped things up to give his two old sea dog assistants a rest onboard the flagship and things looked decidedly gloomy and dark for 8 o'clock. Sure enough the heavens later opened up but boats were all derigged and pints and burgers were already being guzzled down under cover on the balcony.

We'll welcome more next week for sure as 4 or 5 cyclists were absent, not on the visting Giro D'Italia but away terrifying people with their lycra on the island of Mallorca. Lads, please note the lycra is out on this racetrack, especially "Giro pink". The peloton will no doubt also be boosted by the returning Hugh Sheehy. Expect double figure turnouts in both RSs and Lasers. 

Regatta entry here

#isora – The arrival of three Howth Yacht Club boats onto the ISORA scene this season has produced immediate results with HYC entry Dux, an X302 yacht skippered by Anthony Gore-Grimes winning the first ISORA race from Dún Laoghaire to Arklow on Saturday. 

Although the strong winds and big seas cancelled most of the local inshore racing for Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC), the 15–offshore yachts came to the line off Dun Laoghaire's East pier in what was some of the strongest breezes of the day. Dux followed by top performing J109 Ruth (Liam Shanahan of the National Yacht Club) made the best of the 40 – knot southerly winds that saw a number of retirals on the upwind leg along the Dublin and Wicklow coasts. Conditions dictated a shortened course to the Wicklow outfall buoy instead of North Arklow, a reduced distance of some 38 miles instead of 50 that produced an early (and welcome) high speed reaching leg back to Dublin Bay.

The provisional results for Race 1a - the Dún Laoghaire day race (incorporating the first Royal Alfred Yacht Club Coastal Series) is available to download below as a jpeg file.

In a move that has drawn the international support of ISAF's offshore working party, the ISORA crews are experimenting with iphone navigation during the race and 'virtual marks' to adjust the courses. 

In deploying the new mobile technology ISORA has teamed up with app developer 'Predict Wind Tracker'. 

Unfortunately on Saturday, ISORA did not get to use them to full effect. The weather was so awful that the basis of the course was to keep as close to land as possible but away from banks and headlands.

This, says Peter Ryan of ISORA, is a cost effective method of recording any offshore race that can be viewed live and also replayed after the event. ISAF's David Brunskill has offered to judge any issues surrounding the use of the virtual marks.

First race winner Dux sailed by seasoned campaigner Anthony Gore-Grimes'  Photo: Robert Bateman

Ryan adds that if the innovative approach to setting courses is successful, 'it will radically change offshore racing to the betterment of all', a sentiment supported by the world sailing body.

The next race is the Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire qualifying race on 10th May. This is followed by the return race from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead on 24th May. One of the highlights of the ISORA series this year is the Midnight Race from Liverpool to Douglas on 6th June.

#dunlaoghairelifeboat – Both RNLI lifeboats at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay were called out yesterday afternoon following a 999 emergency call that a two-person canoe was drifting close to shore off Dalkey.

The Irish Coast Rescue 116 helicopter at Dublin Airport and Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit were also tasked due to concern for the occupants of the craft.

The incident occurred at around 1.15pm but was stood down 15 minutes later when the two canoeists were located safe and well with friends by the CG shore team at Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey.

The ILB recovered the canoe and returned it to them before returning to station.

#dlhc – Royal St. George Yacht Club vice–commodore Justin McKenna has been appointed to the Board of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. Well known yachtsman McKenna is a former chairman of the Dun Laoghaire Comnied Yacht Clubs and the current vice–chairman of the country's biggest yacht club, the Royal St. George that occupies a key location within the harbour on Dun Laoghaire's waterfront.  He joins two new Board members appointed to the Board by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD and come into effect immediately.

The appointments are:

· Mark Finan who is a barrister-at-law with particular expertise in regulatory compliance, European and international law. He lives in Monkstown, Co Dublin.

· Justin McKenna who is a solicitor at the Dún Laoghaire-based solicitor practice, Partners at Law.

· James Jordan is a retired SIPTU trade union official and continues to be a community activist in the Dún Laoghaire area. He lives in Glenageary, Co Dublin.

The Board of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company now comprises eight members, which is the maximum membership it can have.Speaking on the appointments, Chairperson of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, Eithne Scott Lennon said: "The appointment of three additional members to the Board of the Harbour Company by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, gives us greater strength as we move into one of the most active development phases in the Harbour's history. "Following on from the Harbour Company's development plan, we are now embarking on the execution of some major infrastructural projects which will – I believe – position Dún Laoghaire as the primary leisure port facility in Ireland."

Plans include the delivery of an International Diaspora Centre on the historic Carlisle Pier, a deep cruise berth facility and a new mixed use housing and retail development. A number of initiatives to add to the leisure offerings at the Harbour have already been instigated, including the Urban Beach project, the Shackleton Exhibition and the new drive-in movie initiative which will commence later this month.

A key area of development for the Harbour Company has been the increase in cruise-calls to Dún Laoghaire in recent years, and we expect to deliver 100,000 leisure visitors and crew to Dún Laoghaire and its hinterland in 2015

#corkweek – July's Royal Cork Yacht Club's Cork Week regatta will share the same title sponsor as Dun Laoghaire regatta according to this morning's Irish Times Sailing Column. It's a move that gives the Swedish car marque the headline name to both of Ireland's big sailing events.  As previously reported by Afloat.ie, the Crosshaven event has had a number of key changes to its format for 2014 aimed at reducing costs for both competitors and organisers alike. 

The new sponsorship deal will be a shot in the arm for the biennial event that is Ireland's longest running international regatta, a sporting event that became a global name in the nineties when competitor boat numbers reached 700 in 1998 to rival the UK's Cowes week regatta.

Royal Cork's John Roche is to chair the new week with top Cork helmsman Anthony O'Leary in charge of the famous Cork Week courses.

The J109 fleet will race for national honours as part of the week and a new trophy for short handed competition is also to be introduced. Royal Cork's own 1720 sportboat fleet will also be racing.

The Irish Times has more on the story here.

#fireball – The combination of "N over A" was flying over the DMYC Clubhouse again yesterday, Sunday 23rd February, signalling that racing for the day had fallen victim to the weather. While conditions were mild, the forecast was for F4 - 6, rising to F8 later in the afternoon.

In contrast to previous Sundays when racing was cancelled but training sessions under other organisations continued, yesterday there was no sailing activity at all in Dun Laoghaire's harbour except for the hardy INSS Squib sailing adventure

#frostbites – Thanks to weekend storms both east and south coast sailing frostbite series were cancelled yesterday. Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club's Frostbite Dinghy harbour series was scrubbed and likewise on the south coast where Kinsale's renowned sheltered harbour was no match for the south westerly gale that prompted an orange alert warning from Met Eiereann and the Coast Guard.

Both series are expected to resume next Sunday.

#DunLaoghaire - The Irish Times reports that a planning application has been lodged for the proposed 'urban beach' on Dun Laoghaire's waterfront.

The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company submitted its application to An Bord Pleanála just before Christmas for the €2.5 million project, a joint venture with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) inspired by the Badeschiff in Berlin.

Set to be constructed on berth 1 at the East Pier of Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the artificial beach will come with a floating, heated swimming pool built on a converted river barge, plus a cafe, changing area and other facilities.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the proposals were available for public consultation in September (click HERE to see an artist's impression of the completed project) and the final application will itself be open for submissions till 3 February 2014.

And it may only be the first of such 'urban beach' facilities for the South Dublin town, according to a local council member.

Independent councillor Victor Boyhan says DLRCC is still committed to its own plans to redevelop the derelict Victorian baths south-east of the East Pier that last operated as the Rainbow Rapids in the 1990s.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#Cruises - Dun Laoghaire Harbour officials have reported a "huge endorsement" by American cruise companies of their plans to transform the Dublin Bay port into a top cruise destination.

The team from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, joined by a senior official from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, has just returned from an informal sales trip to Seattle, Los Angeles and Miami where they pitched the port's plans for a new cruise liner quay to some of the top operators in the industry.

Speaking to Afloat.ie, Dun Laoghaire Harbour chief executive Gerry Dunne described the trip as "very successful" in drumming up interest for the new berth proposals.

It's expected that the new development would future-proof the harbour to accommodate the next generation of cruise liners currently too large to dock in Dun Laoghaire or Dublin Port - which itself has plans for a modern cruise terminal.

Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company (DLHC) is commencing a process of market research with potential developers in relation to the development of a 3.24 hectare site on the harbour at St Michael's Pier.
In November, the Harbour Company placed a notice in EU-Tenders indicating an intention to seek a developer for a mixed-use scheme at the current ferry terminal site. Developers interested in being considered for the market research have until this evening (02.12.13) to submit their interest.
After the deadline, the market research will commence and DLHC has instructed RSM FGS Asset Management and Lisney to undertake this work.
The kind of development – outlined in the Masterplan for the Dún Laoghaire Harbour – is likely to comprise mixed-uses of residential / hotel; leisure; food and beverage; enterprise and retail; as well as associated car-parking and marine activity uses. The opening up of the pier-side as a public area and strengthened connectivity with the town are central to the concept which in turn is a key component of the overall Masterplan for the Harbour.
Speaking about the market research for the development of St Michael's Pier, Chief Executive of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, Gerry Dunne said: "The process is the first phase of our work in the redevelopment of St Michael's Pier. We are conscious of the need to test the appetite and viability of the development before any costs are incurred in entering a public consultation and development phase.
"Dún Laoghaire has really suffered from the economic downturn and the planned developments at the harbour offer some optimism to the commercial, community and social interests in the area. I would hope that through market-engagement on St Michael's, we will get a clear sense of the appetite and interest among developers in transforming this part of the harbour.
"Already, the Harbour Company has advanced plans for an outdoor bathing facility, as well as a cruise facility to facilitate second generation cruise-liners. We have also advanced our plans for developing a diaspora centre at Carlisle Pier. These initiatives will breathe new life into Dún Laoghaire and highlight the beauty and the value the harbour offers to the wider community," he said.
The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company's plans for overall development are outlined in its Masterplan, published in 2011 (http://dlharbour.ie/masterplan/).
The response to the market research will determine the next steps in framing the envisaged development at St Michael's Pier. In the event that this market research stimulates significant interest, it is envisaged that the Harbour Company will go to an open competition in early-2014.
To submit interest in the market engagement, please email to: [email protected]