#sb20 – 11 SB20s battled it out for honours in the final Sunday Series on Dublin Bay in a shifty force 3 easterly breeze yesterday.

After 4 races in series 3, Manamana (Graham, Ronan and Katie) were tied with Should Be... (Michael, Dave and Kieran) on four points after both boats carded 1,1,2,2 score lines last weekend. However, with four more races scheduled and a second discard due to kick in, there was plenty of opportunity for the chasing pack to make up lost ground. In true SB class style, this series was going to go down to the wire...

Race 1 got off to a clean start from a pin end biased line. Odin (James, Ted and Keith) bravely tried to port tack the fleet but Rubadubdub (Nick, Conor and Rob) were bossing the pin and forced them to tack over onto starboard. Odin managed to squeeze them off and led half the fleet, including Should Be... out to the left while the other half of the fleet, including Manamana, headed out to the right. As the boats progressed up the beat, the wind started shifting to the left and the boats on the left side of the course led into the weather mark. Should Be... led around followed a few boatlengths behind by a closely knit bunch including Odin, Alert Packaging (Justin, Bob and Anonymous) and Rubadubdub. Series joint leader Manamana were unlucky in that they were caught on the wrong side of the shift up the beat and rounded deep in the pack with plenty of work to do.

The boats soaked down the run and at the leeward gate both Should Be... and Alert Packaging opted for the right hand gate. Odin broke off from the leaders and headed out to the right hand side of the course but was quickly followed by both Should Be... and Alert Packaging. Also in close pursuit was Venuesworld.com (Ger, Chris and Rory) and Manamana who had made a great recovery and were charging up the fleet. With the wind shifting around through 20 degrees, the boats gained and lost on each other as they battled up the second beat and at the weather mark it was Should Be... by the narrowest of margins from Alert Packaging. After an incident at the wing mark, Alert Packaging had to do a 360 degree penalty turn which allowed Odin to get back into second place and they would hold that position to the finish. At the finish it was Should Be... in first followed by Odin in second, Alert Packaging in third, Venuesworld in fourth and Manamana in fifth.

Race 2 saw a reversal of fortunes for the early series leaders when Manamana got off to a great start and led the fleet to the first weather mark while Should Be... found themselves buried behind a wall of sails with a lot of work to do to catch up. Again, the left side of the beat seemed to pay and at the weather mark, Venuesworld held a narrow lead over Bad (Jerry, Jimmy et al), Manamana, Alert Packaging, Odin and Rubadubdub ahead of Should Be... in seventh.

As the boats made their way around the course, Manamana skilfully held on to their lead but there were plenty of place changes behind them with Should Be... sneaking up to second by the leeward mark. At the next weather mark, Manamana bravely gybed off shortly after rounding the weather mark leaving Alert Packaging and Should Be... a few boatlengths behind to continue on to the right down the run. The move paid off handsomely with Manamana pulling out a sizeable lead over their nearest challengers. In the end it was Manamana by a comfortable margin from Alert Packaging in second, Should Be... in third, Venuesworld in fourth, Odin in fifth and Rubadubdub in sixth. At this stage, it was all tied at the top for the series lead with Manamana and Should Be... each counting seven points with Should Be with a marginally better discard.

Race 3 saw an individual recall at the start with Probably (Ian, Mark and Billy) recalled while the rest of the fleet made their way towards the weather mark in a wind that was gradually beginning to die. Venuesworld once again showed the fleet a clean pair of heels and led at the weather mark from Alert Packaging with Bad in third followed closely by Should Be..., and Odin. Down the run, Venuesworld extended their lead to a clear margin but Alert Packaging were chasing hard, shadowing their every move. There were plenty of place changes up the next beat as the competitors struggled with the oscillating breeze.

By the top of the second beat, Should Be... had snuck into second place behind Venuesworld with Odin in third, Alert Packaging in fourth and Manamana making another storming charge up into fifth place and chasing hard. Despite some very close quarters manoeuvres and near misses, the places remained that way until the finish with Venuesworld in first, Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third and Odin in fourth a single second ahead of Manamana!

So, with one race to go in series 3, Manamana needed to win the race in order to win the series. Nothing else would do but a win would guarantee them the series. For their part, Should Be... just needed to make sure Manamana didn't win, relying on their slightly better discard to get them over the line.

Race 4 saw another hotly contested start and first away was Venuesworld with Alert Packaging once again in hot pursuit. Manamana experienced some traffic at the start and quickly tacked off to the right side of the course joining Odin out right. Should Be... we're anxious to get over and cover Manamana but were blocked from tacking by Probably on their weather hip and near astern. After a number of boatlengths, Should Be... managed to tack over to cover but Manamana now had some decent separation out on the right hand side of the course. It would now all depend on the wind shifts for these two boats while around them the rest of the fleet were getting on with trying to win the race. As the boats approached the starboard lay line, Manamana, to leeward of Should Be... tacked onto starboard first. This time, the wind gods smiled on Should Be... and a left hand shift meant that they were able to cross 3-4 boatlengths ahead of Manamana and tack ahead and to weather doing maximum damage with their wind shadow.

Up ahead, Alert Packaging rounded the weather mark in first followed closely by Venuesworld in second, Probably in third, Odin in fourth and Rubadubdub in fifth. Should Be rounded in sixth just ahead of Seriously Bonkers (Peter, Michael et al) with Manamana further back still. The wind was gradually dying further and the boats struggled down the run. At the leeward mark, Alert Packaging still held the lead from Venuesworld with Odin in third place ahead of Rubadubdub in fourth. Despite their best intentions to keep Manamana at the back of the fleet, both Should Be... and Manamana made gains down the run and Should Be... rounded in fifth inside Manamana at the leeward mark.

The race leaders chose the right side of the final beat while astern the series leaders had a tacking duel with Should Be... frantically trying to keep ahead of Manamana. Their tacking duel inadvertently took these two boats out to the left side of the course to the port tack lay line. Up ahead, the wind died further out on the right side of the course and Manamana and Should Be... came storming in from the left giving the leaders a fright. Venuesworld and Should Be... managed to sneak ahead of early pace setter Alert Packaging at the end of the beat. At the finish it was Venuesworld in first just ahead of Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third, Manamana in fourth and Odin in fifth. Overall, Should Be... pipped Manamana for the series by two points.

Finally, as we have reached the end of the DBSC season, it is important to express our deep gratitude to all the volunteers that have helped to make the season such a successful one. In particular, Barry O'Neill has been our (almost) ever-present OOD and his organisation, professionalism and commitment have been the cornerstone to the great racing that we have enjoyed all season long. Con Murphy kindly took over the reigns in Barry's rare absence and did a superb job in very difficult conditions earlier in the season. Barry has been ably assisted on Sundays by an equally committed and great team on the committee boat including Fionnuala Loughrey, Cathy Booth, Barbara Conway, Michael Keogh, Ger Bythell, Dave Barry, Bob Allen, Jim C, Owen Laverty, Owen McNally, Steve Beresford, Jerry Dowling and other guests that have made the racing possible and so enjoyable. Many thanks to you all for your very valued contribution. Last, but by no means least, an honourable mention must go to Joanne Sheehan from DBSC and her excellent team of James Tate, Herbie Fowler, Ciaran Nolan, Conor Lynch, Maurice Johnson, James Traynor. They never let us down and were most obliging and helpful throughout the entire season. We are most grateful to them for their help this year and sincerely appreciate their efforts on our behalf.

Look forward to seeing you all in Lough Ree at the end of this month (27/28 September) for the midlands – Michael O'Connor

#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)

#D-Zero – First there was the RS Aero to visit Ireland and now there's the D-Zero. It's another single-handed dinghy markque making its debut on Dublin Bay later this month when two of the Devoti made singlehander dinghies are launched on Irish waters and made available for demonstration sails.

The D-Zero is based on the Punk dinghy, the unique concept designed by Dan Holman. The D-Zero is a single handed performance dinghy, fully fitted by Harken, with a two piece carbon mast and an 8.1m2 sail, raised by a halyard, and a carbon boom. The hull is 4.2m long overall with a beam of 1.42m.

The Punk has already enjoyed considerable success on the UK dinghy racing circuit. Helmed by Dan himself, on PY 1050, the Punk has made a memorable impression at some of the UK's best known handicap events. Aimed at helms from beginner to expert, the D-Zero can be car topped or carried on industry standard compatible road trailers.

The Irish visit is being organised by DBSC dinghy sailors.

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

#dbsc –The MGM boats sponsored DBSC Cruiser Challenge was held in some of the best condititons of the entire summer sailing season. Cruiser classes Zero, one, two and three were joined by Sigma 33s, Beneteau 31.7s and White Sail fleets to produce a stunning season finale at the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire yesterday.  There were eight protests heard. Full results class by class are downloadable below as word docs. (subject to protest).

#dbsc – DRAGON - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al), 3. Zu (M Minch/C Grimley/T Pearson)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. FFantastic (N Meagher & N Matthews)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. FFantastic (N Meagher & N Matthews), 3. The Last Resort (John O'Sullivan)

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

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown), 2. Paramour (Larry Power et al), 3. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 3. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 3. Pintail (M Muldoon)

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

#sb20 – The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) series two for the SB20s came to a nail-biting conclusion last Thursday on Dublin Bay.

With a force 5-6 southerly gusting force 8-9 forecast, the assumption by many was that there would be no racing. However, DBSC are made of stronger stuff than that and the fleets went out to race in some of the most exhilarating conditions experienced all season. With only the final race to sail, Should Be... (Michael, Ted and Gavan) led Venuesworld.com (Ger, Chris, Rory et al) by two points. With Should Be... discarding a third place, only a first place and daylight between the boats would do it for Venuesworld.com. For their part, Should Be... knew that a cancellation or a second place or better would seal the second series for them.

On the day, only five boats braved the conditions, including Alert Packaging (Justin, Dave and Darren), Bad (Enda, Jerry and Jimmy), Lupi d'Irlanda (Marco et al), Should Be... and Venuesworld. The OOD set a course with a good first beat from the start in the middle of the course up to Bay mark inshore beside the old Dun Laoghaire baths. Alert Packaging got off to a screamer, starting on port at the pin and port tacking the fleet on their way up the first beat. Venuesworld and Bad followed close on their heels trying to keep flat in the now strong breeze. Should Be... and Lupi d'Irlanda had stayed ashore too long in the expectation of a cancellation and were late starting, with Should Be... approximately 2 minutes late for the start and Lupi another few minutes further back. Should Be... were therefore reliant on Alert Packaging or Bad to do them a favour and finish ahead of Venuesworld as it was unlikely that they would catch up to second place if Venuesworld were to get the bullet...

Alert Packaging rounded first approximately 6-8 boatlengths ahead of Venuesworld with Bad another few boatlengths back. The first two reaches were quite tight and the boats two sail reached it to Poldy followed by another two sail reach to Zebra. Although the boats were only two sail reaching, some of the fastest speeds of the season were reached as the boats were still planing down the waves in the gusty conditions. As the lead boats went back on a beat up towards Battery mark by Sandycove harbour, Alert Packaging still held onto their lead from Venuesworld and Bad. As the boats headed towards Battery mark, Alert Packaging and Venuesworld headed towards shore in search of less tide while Bad tacked out left for more favourable breeze or a left hander shift to bring them back into it. Alert Packaging (cheered on by Should Be...) seemed to sail the leg to perfection and managed to get around Battery Mark with a comfortable 15 boatlength lead over Venuesworld. All that was required was a clean hoist and a comfortable pair of gennaker reaches and the series would belong to Should Be...

As Alert Packaging hoisted their kite, they managed to get the mother and father of all wraps in it that just wouldn't seem to come out. Venuesworld rounded behind but had a clean hoist and thundered down on Alert Packaging under full sail (by now, Should Be... were swearing Alert Packaging on!). In a desperate attempt to get their kite free, Alert Packaging skillfully threw in a pair of quick gybes, freeing their kite in the process. With Venuesworld now approximately 6 boatlengths behind and approaching fast, Alert Packaging suddenly caught a gust and they were off again, just in the nick of time. After rounding Omega and then Molly, Alert Packaging still held a slender lead from Venuesworld. Venuesworld refused to give up on the first place and the series and chased Alert Packaging all the way up the final beat to the finish but in the end, the boys on Alert Packaging managed to shade it from them, handing the second series to a very relieved Should Be... Bad came third and Should Be... followed them over the line in fourth. In celebration of their victory on the night, Alert Packaging hoisted their kite and went on a c. 20knts speed junkie burn across the bay.

After racing, 30 SB20 sailors and friends sat down to a very enjoyable sailing supper in the George. It was great to see Barry O'Neill, our resident OOD at the function along with so many other SBers, new and old. Attached are some photos of the evening enjoyed by all. The merriment went on until the small hours...

SB20 Class Notice:

The final two SB Sundays are this coming Sunday, 7th September and the following Sunday, 14th September. These are Sundays 2 and 3 of series three. Unfortunately, we lost Sunday 1 of series three due to inclement weather and it is not possible to re-sail that Sunday. In an attempt to make up the lost races and provide a better series, we will be running four slightly shorter races on the final two Sundays if the conditions allow. In other words, we will attempt to have four races on Sunday 7th September and four races on Sunday 14th September. Therefore, we will now (hopefully) have 8 races with two discards rather than 6 races and one discard in series three. Looking forward to seeing you all out on the water on the 7th.

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 3. Magic (D.Espey)

BENETEAU 31.7 ECHO - 1. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan)

CRUISERS 0 ECHO - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 1 ECHO - 1. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Jigamaree (R Harris)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 2 ECHO - 1. Helter Skelter (A & A Jermyn), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Black Sheep (E Healy)

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

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

FIREBALL Race 1- 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FIREBALL Race 2- 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. TBA (David Mulvey)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey)

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

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

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 2. Icicle (C Murray), 3. Paramour (Larry Power et al)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. Viking (Brian Glynn et al), 3. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Popje (Ted McCourt), 3. Springer (I Bowring)

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

SQUIB Race 1 - 1. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS ECHO - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Spirit (Colin O'Brien et al), 3. Warrior (D Shanahan)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Avalon (R.Conan/J.Fox), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Levana (Jean Mitton), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Magic (D.Espey)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Joker 11 (John Maybury)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Albireo (D Simpson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Antix (D Ryan)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Jester (Declan Curtin)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 2. As Good As It Gets (Ross Doyle), 3. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge)

GLEN - 1. Glencoe (Rose Mary Craig et al), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)

SB20 - 1. Alert Packaging (J Burke D Burke), 2. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey), 3. Bad - Kilcullen (J Dowling)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Macro One (Joseph Murray), 3. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. September Song (Barry Colleary)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. White Lotus (Paul Tully)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. White Lotus (Paul Tully), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

#dbsc – The last Tuesday night race of the 2014 season of Dublin Bay Sailing Club was a frenetic affair with a small course, a very lumpy sea, a curious breeze and lots of inter-class traffic writes Cormac Bradley. At 08:00 yesterday morning the seascape in Dublin Bay was such that I didn't think we would be racing. However, as the day wore on the wind moderated and the sky began to turn blue again. However, we still went out on heavy setting!
XCWeather was suggesting that we could expect 10 knots gusting 17, but it was neither of these – more a case of somewhere in the middle, but with full trapezing upwind. Wind direction was a bit difficult to determine on the water such was the rate at which the compass was fluctuating.
Five boats were present – Stephen Oram, helmed by Phil Lawton (15061), Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly (14713) and Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691).
Miller & O'Reilly got intimate with the pin on what was a curious start line so that cost them an early 360˚ turn. That would be the first of the night! Again the fleet spit 60:40 with Lawton & Colin taking the inshore track up the (very) short beat. Again, with an incoming tide, one would have thought that this was the way to go, but at the first weather mark, Smyth & Bradley were first, followed by the two boats that had gone inshore, McKenna & Miller.
All five boats sailed around with each trying to work the waves on the downwind leg of the 4-lap Windward-Leeward course. But there was no real "oomph" or, to quote our coaching friend from the UK, Adam Bowers, "Woompeta" in the surfing. It may have been that the distance between the waves was too short. The leeward mark was just off the east pier again and sea conditions there were that bit lumpier – possibly influenced by the onshore waves bouncing back off the pier wall.
Smyth rounded first, a short distance ahead of Lawton, with Colin in third. Smyth went inshore up the beat, Lawton went offshore. The other three varies their approaches. This time Smyth stayed ahead of Lawton but the approach to the weather mark was too tight and with the tide washing them onto the mark, Smyth & Bradley took a waltz with the mark – another 360˚ penalty taken, Lawton lost and Colin closed in! The trick with the downwind leg was to sail the majority of the leg on starboard, gybe and put in a late hitch to the mark. This allowed Smyth to get ahead of Colin by the leeward mark. Lawton never relinquished the lead thereafter but behind him the fortunes of the fleet ebbed and flowed. Smyth and Colin sailed a parallel course offshore at the start of the third beat with Colin to leeward – a consequence of independent and simultaneous tacking rather than a covering manoeuvre. But when they tacked back onto port to go up the beat, Smyth had pulled out.
By the third weather mark, McKenna & O'Keeffe were threatening Smyth & Bradley's 2nd place on the water and these two sailed down the downwind leg barely half a boat-length apart. Behind them both Colin and Miller had closed so that with the exception of Lawton & Oram, who had a few more boat-lengths to spare, everyone was watching everyone else. For the 2nd downwind leg in a row, Smyth & Bradley were able to get enough breathing space from their immediate pursuer to round the leeward mark clear, but McKenna was very close. They split tacks with Smyth going inshore again. They met again in the proximity of the committee were a hail of "Starboard" from Smyth & Bradley put McKenna & O'Keeffe about. Miller & Colin had in the meantime gone offshore and this time Miller & O'Reilly were charging up the port layline to threaten Smyth's 2nd place. Another hail of "Starboard" was made but Smyth was able to clear Miller with half a boat length to spare. These two went down the last offwind leg three to four boat-lengths apart with Miller slightly inside Smyth. Behind them, Colin, who was having a strangely inconsistent "yoyo" night had fallen back into fifth place. Smyth & Bradley rounded the last leeward mark without too serious a physical threat from Miller. However, a Laser now entered the fray in the hitch to the upwind finish. Pinching excessively to try and stop Smyth's Fireball going over the top of him, he effectively stalled Smyth and then put in a tack onto starboard. A quickly executed tack called by Bradley avoided entanglement, but Miller suddenly loomed larger than had been the case. Fortunately the Laser was also going for the finish and when he tacked back to cross the line on port Smyth was able to do the same and shut the door on Miller who though he was still a "few paces away" was a lot closer than had been the case at the leeward mark.
McKenna took 4th and Colin 5th. The race had lasted just over 30 minutes but it had been frenetic!

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3; Round 5
1 Phil Lawton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb.
3 Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly 14713 DMYC
4 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC
5 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC

The overall Series 3 results are as follows;
DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3 Overall.
1 Noel Butler/Phil Lawton/Mick Creighton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC 4pts
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb. 11pts
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 14pts
4 Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire 14865 DMYC 19pts
5 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC 21pts
Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 21pts

This concludes eighteen (18) weeks of Tuesday night racing. The Noel Butler/Stephen Oram combination has again confirmed their status as Masters of Scotsmans Bay for they have lost very few races over the eighteen weeks. From a wind perspective we have the full suite of conditions from light wind sessions inside the harbour to avoid foul tides to one or two slightly hairy races.

From a Class perspective we would like to thank all those volunteers who give of their time so that the rest of us can go racing – Race Officers, Committee Boat personnel, Rib drivers and crews and the secretariat of DBSC who collate all the results and post them to the website.