Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

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…

As was feared at the close of business yesterday, the weather on arrival at Strangford Lough Yacht Club was reminiscent of the Flying Fifteen British Championships sailed at the same venue a couple of years ago when we sat ashore…

Twenty-two entries to the Flying Fifteen Nationals translated to twenty boats on the water with 12 boats arriving from South of the border. Of these, all bar three were from Dun Laoghaire. Dunmore East had a 100% turnout with Lee…

As we are days away from the Flying Fifteen Championship of Ireland, to be hosted by Strangford Lough Yacht Club in Whiterock, from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th August, it seems entirely appropriate to publish an assessment of who might…

The penultimate and ninth round of the DBSC Thursday Series for Flying Fifteens was sailed in a light breeze that came from an easterly direction. A windward-leeward course was set, using Molly as the windward mark and an inflatable as…

Twenty-four hours ago, the forecast for Dublin Bay was showing strong winds for the morning and early part of the afternoon but that the wind would start dropping off as late afternoon and evening set in. Still, by 18:45, the…

For the third Thursday in a row, conditions on Dublin Bay were very challenging, so much so that the big boat fleets didn't get a race in. However, in the Red Fleet, which consisted of SB20s, Sportsboats, Dragons, Flying Fifteens,…

The Facet Trophy for Flying Fifteens on Dublin Bay is unique in that it is the only event within the DBSC Flying Fifteen Series where the trophy is presented on the day of the racing. This is due to the…

For those who were unable to make the first Flying Fifteen "away" regatta since the summer season of 2019, you missed glorious sunshine, great hospitality, fickle winds, and challenging tides! The venue was Portaferry on the northern shores of the…

14 Flying Fifteens enjoyed glorious sunshine and light winds just inside the narrows of Strangford Lough for their Northern Championships on Day 1. Race Officer John McAlea had his hands full with fickle winds and a strong tide but still…