#springchicken – We're back into 2015 already and Team INSS kicked off their 2015 racing with the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Spring Series sponsored by Rathfarnham Ford. It was a cold windy start to the season with ice having to be scraped off the deck of our 1720 before we could safely rig for sailing.

Towing out, there was a cold breeze in form the West, Fintan Cairns and his team laid a triangular course with a start line just off the harbour mouth and a windward mark near Sandymount strand with the outfall mark being the gybe. Team INSS had a completely new team out of which one person had only competed with the team in the series before. Due to the stormy weather we have had over the past month, a training day was not able to happen prior to the event so our crew were totally fresh out of the blocks so to speak.

A heavily biased pin end saw all the 1720s in the third start converged with all getting off the line with no bumps or bashes. From here the pecking order quickly established itself with 'Third Time Lucky' and 'Merlin' both hailing from the George, duelling for the lead. Team INSC settled into third with 'Lady A' the fourth 1720 and the two other 1720s from the Irish in fifth and sixth.

There were no major changes across the race track but the gusty conditions did catch a few boats out including a 1720 going into a full capsize.

A great start to 2015 on the bay with the new Team INSS looking forward to a fantastic season ahead!

#dbsc – Results from last Sunday's first race of the Rathfarnham Ford sponsored DBSC Spring Chicken series on Dublin Bay together with starts and handicaps for next Sunday are downloadable below.

#dbsc –The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) prizegiving is a highlight of the Dun Laoghaire sailing season with an array of magnificent and ancient yachting silverware. This year's event was especially so because it marked the close of DBSC's 130th season.

Prizes were awarded in all of DBSC's 22 classes by Commodore Pat Shannon at a packed Royal St.George YC clubhouse last Friday night.

DBSC historian and Hon Sec Donal O'Sullivan provided insightful commentary to the award winners – and the trophies –  and we reproduce a sample flavour of this with Donal's citations for the club's 'Premier awards' below.

In its 130th season, the club – one of the largest yacht racing clubs of its type in Europe – was acclaimed by Afloat blogger WM Nixon who posed the question: Is Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) The Most Effective Sailing Organisation in the World?

Scroll down for awards photography of the evening by DBSC photographer Joe Fallon plus the full DBSC 2014 awards table.

PREMIER AWARDS

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Trophy
This is for the best new boat racing in the DBSC fleet. Cruisers I, with its strong contingent of J109s, is a vigorous, competitive fleet. Though a newcomer, the winning boat more than held her own in a very competitive racing environment – Jigamaree, Ronan Harris.

The George Arthur Newsom Cup
An important figure in the Dublin commercial life of his day, a director of Jacobs, of biscuit fame, Newsom was one of the early Dublin Bay pioneers who raced competitively in a number of fleets and contributed much to the development of DBSC. When he died in 1933 his wife presented this cup in his memory.
The owner and skipper of the winning boat in 2015, through her family has deep roots in the Dublin Bay sailing community. Besides racing locally, she has also sailed off-shore, bringing and navigating a boat on one occasion, I recall, to Iceland. The winning boat this year is the Shipman Gusto, Christine Heath.

The Waterhouse Shield
There has been a Waterhouse Shield at this event since the 1890s. Waterhouses were jewellers in Dame St and they used to do the engraving of the club's trophies in its early days. There are great names among the winners of the Waterhouse Shield and this year it's our pleasure to add a very competitive Cruiser 2 to the list- Red Rhum, sailed by the Nicholson brothers, Jonathan and Chris.

The Dr.Alf Delaney Cup
Dr Delaney first joined DBSC in 1932 and raced competitively until a few short years ago.This cup commemorates Alf's achievements as a sailor, both locally and elsewhere- he was one of the Irish team in one of the post-war Olympics. It's for the best boat on the dinghy course and this year it goes to the almost unbeatable Fireball 15061, sailed by Stephen Oram.

The Brendan Ebrill Cup
Brendan was my predecessor as hon secretary and organised this event over many years. The Ebrill trophy commemorates Brendan's' life-long commitment to DBSC. It's awarded to the highest-scoring boat with the highest attendance not winning a major trophy. The owners of the winning boat frequently grace this event, but this year they are without their partner, who died earlier this year. So, the winner of the Brendan Erill trophy in 2015 was Something Else – John and Brian Hall and the late Sue McDonnell.

The Viking Award
This award is for a notable able contribution to sailing. The recipient this year is an occasional DBSC Flying 15 sailor when he has the time but his greatest achievement in sailing was in a Fireball in 1995 when with John Lavery they won the Fireball Worlds. He is mostly known today as a marine journalist and publisher, performing a valuable public service in bringing maritime matters to public attention. He is chairman of the Irish Marine Federation, which inter alia, organises the boat show.
As publisher and editor of Afloat Magazine, despite a daunting publishing environment, he has continued over many years to maintain the magazine's high journalistic, typographical and design standard. Its associated web site is an extraordinary achievement - drawing news, information and comment from a wide range of sources in the maritime world. It's DBSC's pleasure this year to present the Viking Award to David O'Brien

 

All prizegiving photos by Joe Fallon

TROPHY	CLASS	Yacht	1ST NAME	SURNAME	SERIES
Centenary Trophy (4)	Cruisers 0	Lively Lady	Derek	Martin	Saturday Echo overall
Knox-Gore Cup (2)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Saturday IRC overall
Knox-Gore Bowl (1)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Thursday Echo overall
Martin Cup (3)	Cruisers 0	WOW	George	Sisk	Thursday IRC overall
Tiamat Trophy (6)	Cruisers 1	Black Velvet	Leslie	Parnell	Thursday Echo overall
Weir Cup (8)	Cruisers 1	Bon Exemple	Colin	Byrne	Saturday IRC overall
West Pier Officers cup (7)	Cruisers 1	Bon Exemple	Colin	Byrne	Thursday IRC overall
Osterberg Cup (5)	Cruisers 1	Jump the Gun	Jn. Kelly &	Ml. Monaghan	Saturday Echo overall
Centenary Cup (10)	Cruisers 2	Antix	Derek	Ryan	Thursday ECHO overall
T.P. Early Cup (11)	Cruisers 2	Bendemeer	L J.Casey &	Denis Power	Saturday Echo overall
Briscoe Trophy (9)	Cruisers 2	Bendemeer	L J.Casey &	Denis Power	Tuesday Echo overall
Silver Foam Trophy (77)	Cruisers 2	Black Sheep	Eoin	Healy	Most improved boat
Silver Salver (12)	Cruisers 2	Red Rhum	Jon.& Chris	Nicholson	Saturday IRC overall
Lady Shamrock Trophy (13)	Cruisers 2	Red Rhum	Jon.& Chris	Nicholson	Thursday IRC overall
Smalldridge Cup	Cruisers 3	Quest	B.Cunningham	& Jonathan Skerritt	Thursday IRC overall (3a)
Jack Kennedy Memorial Cup (15)	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Saturday IRC overall
Mercia Cup (16)	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Saturday Echo overall
Viking clock Trophy	Cruisers 3	Supernova	J.McStay, J.Timbs	J.Monaghan, J.Costello	Thursday Echo overall
Whimbrel Rose Bowl (19)	Cruisers 3(b)	Eezee Tiger	Olivier	Prouveur	Thursday Echo overall
Sanderling Trophy (14)	Cruisers 3(b)	Gung Ho	Grainne & Sean	O'Shea	Thursday IRC overall (3b)
Annette Cup (90)	Cruisers 3(b)	Papytoo	M.Walsh &	Frank Guilfoyle	Tuesday overall
White Sail Class Trophy (21)	Cruisers 5	Persistance	Charles Broadhead, Ian	Stuart & Jerry Collins	Saturday IRC overall
Burford Trophy (23)	Cruisers 5	Persistance	Charles Broadhead, Ian	Stuart & Jerry Collins	Thursday IRC overall
Anna Livia Trophy (22)	Cruisers 5	Sweet Martini	Bruce	Carswell	Saturday Echo overall
Gerry Henry Salver (20)	Cruisers 5	Warrior	David	Shanahan	Thursday Echo overall
Rupert Bowl (26)	Sigmas 33	Leeuwin	Henry & Caroline Leonard	Robert Kerr	1st Saturday Series-Trophy
Bective Lights Crystal Trophy (27)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Saturday overall
Fireseal Sigma 33 Trophy (24)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Thursdays overall
J.B. Stephens Trophy (25)	Sigmas 33	White Mischief	Timothy	Goodbody	Thursday & Sats combined
Horrigan Cup (28)	31.7s	Fiddly Bits	PJTimmons,W.Quigley	G.Murray, D.Breen	Thursday Overall -Echo
Feanor Trophy (31)	31.7s	Levana	Jean	Mitton	Thursday overall One-Design
Long John Silver Cup (29)	31.7s	Levante	Michael Leahy &	&John Power	Saturday Overall- Echo
Arandora Trophy (30)	31.7s	Magic	David	Espey	Saturday Overall-One Design
Oxford & Cambridge Cup (33)	Dragons	Diva	Rick Johnson	& R.Goodbody	Thursday overall
Old Time Cup (87)	Dragons	Diva	Rick Johnson	& R.Goodbody	Combined Sunday & Thursday
RIYC Cup (32)	Dragons	Phantom	David J.H	Williams Esq	Saturdays Overall
Torry Cup (88)	Dragons	Whisper	Michael	Cotter Esq	Special conditions
Pterodactyl Cup (34)	Glens	Glendun	Brian	Denham	Thursday overall
Glen Challenge Trophy (35)	Glens	Glendun	David	Houlton	Crews races
Pair of Silver Vases (39)	Glens	Glendun	Alison	OBrien	Ladies Race
Hamilton Reid (38)	Glens	Glendun	Brian	Denham	Dalkey Island Race
Harry Maguire Memorial Cup (36)	Glens	Glenluce	Donal and Rd	O'Connor	Saturday overall
The McMullen Cup (37)	Glens	Glenluce	Donal & Richard	O'Connor	Sts & Thurs combined + regatta
Commodore O'Meara Trophy	Glens	Glenluce	Donal and Richard	O'Connor	Olympic races
John Donnelly Perpetual Cup (41)	Ruffians	Alias	David Meeke	& Martin McCarthy	Best Tuesday Boat
British Airways Trophy (44)	Ruffians	Bandit	A Kirwan, B Cullen	C Brown	Saturday Overall
Huet Trophy (43)	Ruffians	Diane II	Chris Helme &	Alan Claffey	Thursday overall
J.Lamont Brown Trophy (42)	Ruffians	Ruffles	Michael	Cutliffe	Sat & Thurs overall
The Shipman Perpetual Trophy (47)	Shipmans	Curraglas	John	Masterson	Special conditions
The Malindi Cup (46)	Shipmans	Gusto	Christine	Heath	Saturdays overall
The Midweek Trophy (45)	Shipmans	Gusto	Christine	Heath	Thursdays overall
Sunday SB3 Cup (51)	SB3	Should be	Michael	O'Connor	Sunday overall
Bealtaine Trophy (49)	SB3	Should be	Michael	O'Connor	Special Conditions
Equinox Trophy (50)	SB3	Should Be	Michael	O'Connnor	Special Conditions- 3rd series)
Crichton Trophy (52)	SB3	Should be....	Michael	O'Connor Esq	Thursday overall
Lunasa Trophy (48)	SB3	Venuesworld.com	Ger	Dempsey	Special Conditions (Sunday Series 2 etc)
G.Pugin Melden Trophy (53)	Water Wags	Swift	Guy	Kilroy	Wags Series 2
Goldsmith Cup (54)	Water Wags	Swift	Guy	Kilroy	Wednesday Overall
Blue Bird Trophy (55)	Water Wags	Tortoise	William & Linda	Prentice	Wags Series 1
Brian S.Ryan Trophy (57)	Flying 15's	Fflogger	Alan	Dooley	Saturday overall
Flying Fifteen Gun (56)	Flying 15's	Frequuent Flyer	Chris Doorley &	Alan Green	Thursday overall
Fifty Something Cup	Flying 15	Thungamabob	Tom	Galvin	First Thursday Series
Blake Cup (89)	Flying 15's	Thingamabob	Tom	Galvin	Special Conditions
Stella Cup (60)	Mermaids	Aideen	Br. Martin	& Dan Brennan	Thursday;special conditions
Amy Cup (58)	Mermaids	Aideen	Br. Martin	& Dan Brennan	Tuesday Overall
Iolar Cup (59)	Mermaids	Jill	Paul Smith &	Patrick Mangan	Saturday overall
J.B.Kearney Shield (61)	Mermaids	Tijuana	David	Stedmon	Saturday-special conditions
Shannon Cup (62)	Squibs	Perfection	Jill	Fleming	Saturday Overall
Minx Trophy (63)	Squibs	Perfection	Jill	Fleming	Thursday Overall
The Saturday Cup (65)	Fireballs	Licence to Thrill	Louis	Smyth	Saturday Overall
Nuits St.George Trophy (64)	Fireballs	15061	Stephen	Oram	Tuesday overall
Melampus Cup (78)	IDRA 14's	Dart	Pierre	Long	Special conditions
Crews Challenge Cup (79)	IDRA14's	Dunmoanin'	Therese	Clarke	Special Conditions
The Kennedy Cup (66)	IDRA 14's	Dunmoanin'	Frank	Hamilton	Saturday overall
Bay Cup (67)	IDRA 14's	Slipstream	Julie	Ascoop	Tuesday overall
Half-Way Trophy (80)	IDRA 14's	Spray	Chris	Corrigan	Special Conditions
The Windmill Cup (68)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	Tuesday overall
Sailcraft Tray (69)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	Combined Saturday & Midweek
Early Bird Trophy (71)	PY	Laser 192703	Ronan	Kenneally	1st series Tues, & Sat.combined
Lanaverre Cup (70)	PY	177852	Richard	Tate	Saturdays overall
Seapoint Cup (82)	Optimists	1475	Clare	Gorman	Optimist September Series
Mitchell Cup (83)	RS Feva	1588	Laura	Coleman	RS Fever September Series
PY Junior Trophy	PY	8655	Helen	Sheehy	PY September Series
Lawson Cup (84)	Toppers	46767	Oscar	Gleeson	Topper September Series
Pioneer Trophy (85)	Lasers 4.7	170857	Toby	Hudson Fowler	Laser September Series
Jimmy Mooney Goblet (86)	Laser Radial	180244	Finn	Coolican	Laser Radial September Series
Dr Alf Delaney Cup (73)		Fireball 15061	Stephen	Oram	Best Boat on dinghy course
Newsom Cup (74)		Gusto	Christine	Heath	Best one -design boat
Dun Laoghaire Harbour Trophy (72)		Jigamaree	Ronan	Harris	Best new Boat
Waterhouse Shield (75)		Red Rhum	Jon. and Chris	Nicholson	Best Cruiser on handicap
Brendan Ebrill Memorial Cup (81)		Something Else	John & Brian	Hall & Sue McDonanell	Special conditions
Viking Trophy (76)			David	O'Brien	Notable contribution to sailing

#glensailing – The Glens are celebrating 50 years sailing and racing together as a class in Dublin Bay Sailing Club, writes 'Glenshane' skipper Pete Hogan. As a very successful season draws to a close for the 12 or so Glens in Dublin Bay there seems all prospects that the fleet can continue for a further 50 years.

The story of the Glens is worth repeating. Designed by the celebrated Scottish Marine architect Alfred Milne in 1945 the Glens were built by the Bangor boatyard over the following 20 years. Possibly 39 Glens, at least, were built which gives them claim to be Milne's most successful design and also one of the last of Alfred Milne Senior's designs. The firm still exists. He also designed the Dublin Bay 21's and the 24's which were recently in the news on Afloat.ie

At first the Glens were confined to the North but started appearing in Dublin over 50 years ago. Glenluce G67 celebrated last year being 50 years in the sole ownership of the O'Connor family. They started racing together as a class under DBSC organisation in 1964 and have been racing ever since.

Glens are classic little yachts, retaining their looks up to today as reminders of what sailing boats looked like before the era of plastic mouldings, high freeboards and self-draining cockpits. 25 ft. long with a full keel and sensible sail plan they represent state of the art pocket cruisers of the period.

Glens were often compared to Dragons. They are heavier, shorter and carry a bit more sail. But they were never allowed to become the development class which the Dragons became and never made the seismic shift into fibreglass construction. Their handy size however, has allowed them to survive just as the 17's in Howth survive and thrive. There is a mini wooden boat building fraternity centred on the Glens and their needs. The Brennan boatbuilding family in Dun Laoghaire, all three generations of it, being its mainstay.

Moored out in front of the Royal St George YC and each painted a distinctive different colour, the Glens have become as iconic a fixture in Dun Laoghaire as the bandstand, Teddy's ice cream shop or the fishermen casting their lines from the pier. Long may they continue.

The Glen keelboat. Illustration by Pete Hogan

Anyone interested in getting involved in the Glen Class in Dublin could contact Pete on 087 930 9559 or click HERE

 

rnli – A sailor with suspected spinal injuries on a dismasted yacht is receiving hospital treatment this afternoon after a rescue operation on Dublin Bay involving the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat and Irish Coast Guard helicopter.

The incident occurred shortly after 11am when the 33-foot yacht was taking part in a regular Sunday morning race on Dublin Bay. The mast snapped in the breezy conditions and hit the crew-member leading to concerns for a possible spinal injury.

The Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin was alerted and the RNLI lifeboat at Dun Laoghaire was requested to launch along with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Dublin Airport at 1108am. The disabled yacht was located midway between the West Pier and the South Bull Wall.

The operation was complicated by the collapsed rigging hanging over the side of the boat that prevented the crew from using the engine. Lifeboat crew were able to board the vessel to deliver first aid treatment and the winchman paramedic from the helicopter was transferred on board to assess the casualty.

To minimise movement and prevent a worsening of the suspected injury, it was decided that the yacht would be taken in tow by the lifeboat to shore where a waiting ambulance transferred the casualty to hospital for full assessment and treatment. The yacht was towed to a yacht club in Dun Laoghaire where the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard unit winched the casualty to the waiting ambulance.

#dbsc – Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) celebrated its 130th Anniversary last night (Saturday September 27th) with a dinner in the National Yacht Club. Held after the last race of the Club's 2014 season, it was very appropriately attended by a full house of 130 racing enthusiasts who honoured the incomparable contribution the club has made to the development of sailing from Dun Laoghaire during the past 130 years.

Originally founded in 1884 as a club to provide racing for boats too small to be properly facilitated by the big boat-oriented sailing programmes of the large established yacht clubs, DBSC quickly evolved into an interactive force for the greater good of all yacht racing in the Bay, co-ordinating all the racing in and out of Dun Laoghaire harbour, and influencing the development of yacht design through the commissioning of classes such as the Dublin Bay 25s of 1898, the Dublin Bay 21s of 1902, the Dublin Bay Mermaids of 1932, and the Dublin Bay 24s of 1938.

Then as yacht building first became a matter of series construction in wood, followed by mass assembly in glassfibre, DBSC's influence continued, as its official recognition of a new one design - once it had achieved sufficient boat numbers - became fundamental to the new design's growing acceptance and continuing success in racing in the bay.

Over the years, the club has also refined its provision of racing and handicapping for very diverse cruiser classes, such that in Dublin Bay, boats of a very markedly cruiser type, which would be most unlikely to be raced at all in other sailing centres, are regularly raced in the annual programme which also features out-and-out racing machines. The club's long-established Thursday evening cruiser-racing fixture in particular is a remarkable sporting-sociological happening, as nearly two thousand South Dubliners regularly go straight from their work for hotly-contested evening racing afloat which is then followed by sailing suppers at whichever of the four waterfront clubs their boat is affiliated to.

Standing aside from all this, Dublin Bay SC thrives because of its continuing existence as a totally separate club, albeit without a clubhouse. It has a membership of 1300, and registers 400 boats. There's an elected officer board supported by a large core group of voluntary sailing administrators who record, keep and analyse the results. Highly experienced voluntary officials man the two committee boats to organise races over courses which have been developed and refined over the years to maximize the quality of the sport, and they also man the cub's only premises – a race staff hut for shore finishes at the West Pier.

Current DBSC Commodore Pat Shannon – who races in one of Dublin Bay's growing newer OD classes, the First 211 – hosted this lively gathering in the NYC last night. It was emceed by noted Dun Laoghaire waterfront personality Brian Mathews, and a succession of speakers spoke briefly but passionately of what the club means to them and their sailing, and of the enormous voluntary effort which is central to the ethos of DBSC.

Particular praise was reserved for long-serving DBSC Honorary Secretary Donal O'Sullivan, and for active sailing enthusiast and longterm race officer Hal Bleakley, who retired from very many years of RO duties on Saturday after officiating at his last race. One of the club's most distinguished sailors, Tim Goodbody, who in addition to local, national and international sailing success, has also been one of the leading developers of the most effective courses on the bay, received a special award as the person who most completely typifies the Dublin Bay SC spirit. And former Race Officer Colin McMullen – who also led the club in development of computer use in organizing yacht races – brought the house down with a Gilbert & Sullivan-inspired song about the lot of the race officer afloat and ashore.

Guest speaker W M Nixon of Afloat.ie concluded the evening by pointing out that not only is DBSC probably unique in sailing worldwide, but it is a remarkable example to other sailing centres. He continued that if it had been necessary to meet the work demands and challenges of this very special totally voluntary organization from scratch in order to meet the needs of the rapidly growing numbers sailing in Dun Laoghaire during recent decades, then it would have required an expensive feasibility study funded by the Sports Council in Ireland and the EU in Brussels, followed by lengthy consultation with research units in prestigious establishments such as the Harvard Business School. The result would inevitably have been a very expensive professionally-manned secretariat in an equally expensive suite of offices. But instead, Dublin Bay sailors were in the happy position of having a highly professional race service provided entirely by skilled volunteers of the highest calibre, and the spirit of the club is a wonder to behold.

Read WM Nixon's Blog on DBSC here

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Jedi (A Sarratt), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jedi (A Sarratt), 2. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 2. Quest (J Skerritt), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

DRAGON Race 1- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Phantom (D.Williams), 3. Whisper (C Hogan)

DRAGON Race 2- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin), 3. Phantom (D.Williams)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 3. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

GLEN - 1. Glenshane (P Hogan), 2. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 3. Glenariff (Adrian Lee)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

PY CLASS Race 1- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser)

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 2. Paramour (Larry Power et al), 3. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Invader (Gerard Glynn), 3. Euphanzel lll (M Muldoon)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB - 1. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Glassilaun (D O'Neill), 3. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 3. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 3. Gringo (Tony Fox)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Antix (D Ryan)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Utopia (J Healy)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Saki (McCormack/Ryan/Ryan), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

DRAGON Race 1- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Phantom (D.Williams), 3. Whisper (C Hogan)

DRAGON Race 2- 1. Whisper (C Hogan), 2. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al), 3. Zu (M Minch/C Grimley/T Pearson)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Ash (Joseph Coughlan)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Ash (Joseph Coughlan)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan), 3. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Squalls (Stephen Harrison), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 2. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 2. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 3. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. Curraglas (John Masterson), 3. Viking (Brian Glynn et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 3. Springer (I Bowring)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson), 3. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Nirvana (Bernard Neeson), 2. Afternoon Delight (Michael Bennett et al), 3. Sweet Martini (Bruce Carswell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 3. Warrior (D Shanahan)

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 ECHO - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Magic (D.Espey), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

CRUISERS 0 ECHO - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 ECHO - 1. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan), 2. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly), 3. Jedi (A Sarratt)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan), 3. Bon Exemple (C Byrne)

CRUISERS 2 ECHO - 1. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 3. Borraine (Ean Pugh)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power)

CRUISERS 3 ECHO - 1. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Pamafe (M Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

DRAGON Race 1 - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 3. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin)

DRAGON Race 2 - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 3. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1 - 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Out of the Blue (F.Mitchell/G Grier)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Out of the Blue (F.Mitchell/G Grier), 2. Betty (D & S Gorman), 3. Perfect Ten (A Balfe)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1 - 1. Chaos (Pam McKay), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2 - 1. Chaos (Pam McKay), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

MERMAID Race 1 - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 3. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

MERMAID Race 2 - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ripples (Frank Bradley), 2. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 3. Cresendo (L Balfe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Poppy (Peter Wallis et al), 3. Whiterock (Henry Robinson)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 3. Moonshine (R.Moloney)

SQUIB Race 1 - 1. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup), 2. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

SQUIB Race 2 - 1. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup), 2. Tais (Michael O'Connell), 3. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Just Jasmin (Philip Smith)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Warrior (D Shanahan), 2. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

Eight SB20s were treated to glorious sunshine and great racing on Dublin Bay yesterday in a shifty force 2-3 north-easterly.

In a departure from the regular format of three WL races per day, the organisers had decided to run four races for the last two Sundays of series three. By doing so, the fleet would hopefully be able to make up two of the three races lost due to a cancellation earlier in the season and have an eight race, two discard series to finish off the season.

Race 1 saw an individual recall with Venuesworld (Ger, Chris and Rory et al) and Should Be... (Michael, Dave and Gavan) over the line early and having to go back and restart. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet raced up the first beat with Manamana (Graham, Ronan et al) and Alert Packaging (Justin, Bob et al) leading the charge out to the left side of the course while Seriously Bonkers (Peter, Michael et al) and Smoke on the Water (Bob et al) led the charge out to the right side of the course. As the boats converged at the weather mark, Alert Packaging and Manamana had managed to eke out a small lead and they were followed closely by Should Be..., Venuesworld and Smoke on the Water.

In the light breeze, the boats were in soak mode which meant greater opportunity to cause havoc with your wind shadow on the boats ahead and the fleet stayed closely bunched together down the run with several place changes occurring. At the leeward gate, the fleet favoured the port hand leeward mark and Manamana rounded first followed by Should Be... and Venuesworld. The fleet played the shifts up the second beat and down the second run and Should Be... managed to close the gap on leaders Manamana to just a couple of boatlengths at the second leeward mark. With only a short beat to go to the finish, Should Be... attempted to engage Manamana in a tacking duel up the last beat. Should Be... tacked onto starboard a couple of boatlengths after rounding the leeward gate and they were quickly covered by Manamana, only for Should Be... to tack back onto port a few boatlengths later. Manamana crossed and tacked back onto port in a very close cover however Should Be... flicked back onto starboard immediately as Manamana were completing their tack. Cleverly refusing to be drawn in, Manamana continued on port and picked up speed before tacking back onto starboard into a loose cover on Should Be... the boats were now both on starboard tack in a sprint to the finish with Should Be... to leeward but closer to the favoured pin end. At the finish, Manamana held on to win by 1/2 boatlength and both crews collapsed into their boats in an emotional heap! Venuesworld finished in third ahead of Smoke on the Water who had a storming race to finish in 4th ahead of Seriously Bonkers in a very creditable 5th place.

Race 2 also saw an individual recall with Rubadubdub (Nick, Caroline et al) the unlucky culprit this time. Unfortunately for them, they were stuck in the middle of a fleet charging to windward with no way to get back quickly other than to let their sails flap and let the fleet sail by around them before making their way back to restart. Odin (James, Ted et al) made a great start at the committee boat while the rest of the fleet were spread out down along a relatively square line. The majority of the fleet drag raced out to the left side of the course with Venuesworld, Manamana and Should Be... leading the charge out left. Venuesworld were the first to tack back towards the right followed shortly afterwards by Manamana and Should Be... A left hand shift coming up towards the weather mark gave Should Be... a lead over Manamana and Venuesworld. Again, the fleet stayed tightly bunched down the run and up the following beat but there were less place changes amongst the leaders this time around and it finished Should Be... in first followed by Manamana in second, Venuesworld in third, Alert Packaging in fourth and Odin in fifth.

Race 3 saw the (whole!) fleet get away at the first time of asking in a lighter breeze. This time, many of the boats attempted to play the shifts up the beat as the wind was shifting regularly through 20 degrees. Alert Packaging, Manamana and Venuesworld had favoured the left side of the course while others including Should Be... went up the middle-right side of the course. When the boats converged at the top of the beat, it was very even and Alert Packaging crossed the fleet on port tack including Should Be... by no more than 12 inches! At the weather mark, Alert Packaging rounded in first followed close behind by Odin, Should Be..., Manamana and then Venuesworld. Alert Packaging gybed off early into a rich vein of pressure and held their lead down the run followed closely out left by Odin and Manamana while Venuesworld and Should Be... continued out right down the run.

As the boats came towards the leeward gate, the wind shifted towards the right, favouring Venuesworld and Should Be... who were coming in hotter than the boats that had gone left down the run. Venuesworld was the biggest mover and had made great gains down the run, getting up from fifth at the weather mark into a very close second a couple of feet behind Alert Packaging as the boats approached the leeward gate. There was plenty of action at the leeward gate as Venuesworld attempted to get a late overlap inside Alert Packaging but Justin Burke on Alert Packaging has been around too long to let that happen and expertly shut the door on Venuesworld. Venuesworld, having taken evasive manoeuvres to avoid Alert Packaging, rounded inside but slower than Should Be... who was able to sail around the outside of Venuesworld and up into second place. Up the second beat, Venuesworld, Should Be... and Alert Packaging all tacked off onto the lifted starboard tack. When the expected header came, Should Be... were a little further left than their closest competitors and they were able to tack and cross Alert Packaging to take the lead. Should Be... held onto that lead all the way to the finish. Behind them, Manamana recovered after the run to round the second weather mark in third place, sandwiched between Odin and Alert Packaging. Manamana managed to squeeze their way ahead of Odin down the run picking a very nice line to gybe in to the leeward mark and finished second while Alert Packaging also managed to get by Odin to finish third, one ahead of Odin in fourth with Venuesworld rounding off the top five, having surrendered their previous gains.

Race 4 started with another clear start with the fleet spread out along the line. The majority of the fleet once again favoured the left hand side of the course up the beat with Venuesworld, Manamana and Should Be... leading the fleet out to the left side of the course. Venuesworld was the first of that bunch to head back towards the middle with Manamana and Should Be... continuing on to close to the port tack layline. Alert Packaging, having been forced to tack onto port shortly after the start, made a great recovery up the first beat and came right back into the thick of things as the boat approached the weather mark. Alert Packaging crossed Manamana and tacked to weather of Manamana just before Should Be... could duck them. However a slow tack on Alert Packaging allowed both Should Be... and Manamana to get bow out and squeeze Alert Packaging out before the mark. Manamana expertly went into point mode and squeezed Should Be... out before the windward mark. Rounding in first was Manamana, followed by Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third, Venuesworld in fourth and Odin in fifth at a very tightly bunched fleet at the weather mark (see photo attached). Down the run, Venuesworld were the first to gybe onto port followed by Manamana and Alert Packaging. Should Be... stayed on a bit longer and gybed outside and to the right of the other boats on the way down the run.

At the leeward gate, Should Be... had snuck into the lead from Manamana and rounded the right hand gate as Manamana took the left gate a couple of boathlengths later. Alert Packaging and Venuesworld followed Should Be... around the right hand gate with others including Seriously Bonkers and Rubadubdub choosing the left hand gate. Shortly after rounding the leeward gate, the wind gradually began to veer from the previous high heading on starboard tack of 20 degrees up to 50 degrees, leaving those boats that had rounded the right hand gate in a spot of (ahem) trouble. Manamana regained the lead and extended on the fleet while the rest of the boats were embroiled in a dog fight behind. The boats that had taken the left hand gate made large gains while the boats that had chosen the right hand gate continued on and prayed for a left shift. The left shift (taking the wind back to a heading of 30 degrees - still a big 10 degree lift relative the days previously high heading) arrived just in time close to the end of the beat allowing those boats out left to stay in the running. At the weather mark, Manamana led by 8 boatlengths from Rubadubdub in second overlapped to weather by Should Be... in third. A kite snag on Rubadubdub at the weather mark allowed Should Be... and Seriously Bonkers to sneak past them down the run and it finished Manamana in first, Should Be... in second, Seriously Bonkers in third, Rubadubdub in fourth and Alert Packaging in fifth.

Class Notices:

Next weekend (14th September 2014) sees the final SB Sunday of the season with four more races to look forward to. I would strongly encourage you all to get out there and make it a send off to remember.

We are short one pair of hands for the committee boat next Sunday and would be grateful for a volunteer. If anyone needs any encouragement all I will say is that this weekends team are all in work this morning sporting a healthy tanned glow after the sunshine yesterday and the initial forecast is for more of the same next weekend. If you are able to help out, please get in contact with me directly.

I look forward to seeing you all next weekend for SB Sunday No. 10 and four more great races – Michael O'Connor