Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Fourteen DBSC Flying Fifteens had a cracking night on the water last night on Dublin Bay when the light zephyrs of the past few sessions, Thursdays and Saturdays, were replaced by a robust breeze out of the west. The forecast had…

On arrival at the sea-front late on Saturday morning, one might have been forgiven for thinking that Keat’s Ode to Autumn was in vogue as a mist had descended on Dun Laoghaire to the extent that there was shore-side speculation…

After the first Saturday was blown out due to high winds, DBSC’s subsequent fixtures have been characterised by light and fickle winds. And last night was no exception, with the addition of a strong ebbing tide on the start line…

The final day of the 2021/22 Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine and hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club was bathed in sunshine from start to finish. Across Ireland and the UK we were bathed in sunshine (I was in…

While thirty-five boats had entered the extra Bank Holiday DMYC “Snakes Alive mini dinghy regatta, a slightly smaller number actually appeared on the water in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Of the twenty-five boats that did race, full marks go to the…

Yet again, without there being a named storm in the vicinity of Ireland’s East Coast, the forecast from the middle of the week in advance of yesterday’s Viking Marine sponsored Frostbite racing in Dun Laoghaire wasn’t great. For the latter…

The statistics for the post-Christmas Frostbites make for sobering reading. In nine Sundays up to yesterday, only five races were sailed across three Sundays. There have been six weekends in which no racing took place and four of those have…

Despite an intent to start a race, Mother Nature got the better of today's Viking Marine DMYC Dinghy Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Initially, the race area reconnaissance suggested a breeze in the order of 16.5 knots with gusts marginally in…

From late Thursday evening to as late as 10:00 on Sunday morning the prospects for the Viking Marine sponsored DMYC Dinghy Frostbites went through a series of iterations as to what might be possible. On Thursday the forecast was for…

From as early as Thursday evening, the wind forecast for Sunday afternoon and the Viking Marine sponsored DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour was dodgy, 3 knots gusting four was the prediction! By Saturday that had improved slightly to 6knots…

After two Sundays of high wind forecasts leading to the cancellation of racing the Viking Marine sponsored DMYC Frostbites Series 2, post-Christmas, got underway yesterday in bright sunshine and good winds. In contrast to the previous Sundays when the late-week…

From an entry list of 72 dinghies, a fleet of 45 answered the Race Officer’s call and presented themselves in the start area of the Christmas Cracker Race – sponsored by Viking Marine and hosted by the Dun Laoghaire Motor…

Series 1 of the Viking Marine-sponsored Frostbites hosted by the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club closed yesterday in light and challenging conditions for the Race Management Team and the competitors alike. Having enjoyed very reliable winds for all of his…

From Thursday onwards the forecast for the penultimate round of the Viking Marine sponsored Frostbites, hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, showed winds of the order of fifteen knots with gusts in the high twenties. With a projected wind…

A record 69 boats were on the water for the fifth round of the Viking Marine-sponsored, DMYC-hosted Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday 5th December, beating by one the attendance on the opening day of November 7th. The PY…

There is no doubt that weather forecasting has come a long way in that we can enjoy much earlier forecasts of what the wind is going to be doing – most typically seven days before the key date. This correspondent…

Due to the increasing Covid numbers, the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen Fleet AGM was moved at relatively short notice from a person-to-person meeting in the DMYC to an online Zoom meeting last Thursday night. Given that there are thirty-plus Flying…

The internal debate about whether to have a light wind race or no race at all surfaced for the second round of the Viking Marine sponsored Frostbites yesterday. Both “Windy” and XCWeather were forecasting winds of 6 – 8knots from…

Having experienced a shortened season in 2020 because of the immediate impact of Covid, the 2020 Flying Fifteen Class Captain in Dun Laoghaire offered to serve a second term and on Saturday past, Neil Colin, Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club…

With top-five results in all seven races sailed – and three race wins to boot – John Lavery and Alan Green successfully defended their Irish Flying Fifteen title in a light air contest at the weekend. The pair, sailing Phoenix…