Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

MOD70s Thrill Dublin Bay with City Races

8th September 2012
MOD70s Thrill Dublin Bay with City Races

#mod70 – After six City Races it took one exciting Speed Match tie-break finale, a short out-and -back reaching sprint, to decide the overall winner of the Dun Laoghaire City Races.

From two days of tight competition in a great mix of breezes Spindrift racing, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and FONCIA finished locked together with the same 63 points aggregate.

But it was Yann Guichard's team on the black and white hulled MOD70 Spindrift racing that won the start and broke the finish line first in the showdown, to secure the overall City Race series in Dun Laoghaire.

modsandycove

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild reaches past Sandycove

It was a fitting and very exciting conclusion to a fabulous day of inshore racing for the MOD70 European Tour's second stage.

After Dublin Bay saw an incredibly close finish to the 1238 miles first offshore leg from Kiel when FONCIA, Spindrift racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild finished within 77 seconds after three and half days racing, the inshore series carried on the same level of suspense and tension which is becoming increasingly associated with this exciting MOD70 one design fleet.

Friday's racing was in light and fickle breezes when FONCIA won two races but today the SW'ly winds topped 20kts at times.

Complemented by perfect September sunshine which helped draw sizeable crowds to the East Pier to watch the racing, the strong breezes placed the greatest premium yet on crew work and manoeuvres round the compact race course and over the piece Guichard's crew were the better starters and the most fluid around the turning marks.

Spindrift racing looked to have set themselves up to win the first race of the day when they lead down the first downwind leg but they were passed on the short, fast reaching leg by Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who went on to take first gun. With the mark for the leeward offset mark drifting, race direction had set a RIB with flag M as a mark and alerted the fleet by VHF.

The leading two boats went to the drifting mark whilst both Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Musandam-Oman Sail both rounded the substitute mark-boat and gained.

In the second race of the day perfect timing and placement was the key to Spindrift racing's flying start with the breeze up at its strongest, 18-21kts, and Guichard's team were unstoppable, going on to win.

FONCIA made an uncharacteristically slow start and struggled, finishing up fourth, pipped to third by Sidney Gavignet's Musandam-Oman Sail.

Race 6 saw Race for Water profit at the top end of the windward leg to lead Musandam-Oman Sail in second around the course. But with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild rounding third, FONCIA fourth and Spindrift fifth the final order meant these three closely matched teams all finished with the same points aggregate.

When it came to the high pressure finale it was Spindrift racing who, again, won the start, accelerating away to lead round the one turning mark and win the series overall.

DunLaoghaire City Race, Overall after 6 races

1- Spindrift racing EUR (Yann Guichard FRA) 12+11+9+11+12+8 = 63 points

2- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild FRA (Sébastien Josse FRA) 9+10+11+12+11+10 = 63 points

3- FONCIA FRA (Michel Desjoyeaux FRA ) 11+12+12+10+9+9 = 63 points

4- Race for Water SUI (Stève Ravussin SUI) 10+9+10+8+8+12 = 57 points

5-Musandam-Oman Sail OMA (Sidney Gavignet FRA) 8+8+8+9+10+11 = 54 points

Speed Match

1- Spindrift racing(Yann Guichard)

2- Groupe Edmond deRothschild (Sébastien Josse)

3- Musandam-Oman Sail(Sidney Gavignet)

4- Race for Water(Stève Ravussin)

5- FONCIA (MichelDesjoyeaux)

Published in Dublin Bay
Published in Dublin Bay
Tagged under
Afloat.ie Team

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

Direct Donation to Afloat button

You might also want to read...

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

© Afloat 2020

Dublin Bay Buoy

4WeHelp Movers Cincinnati

Kish Lighthouse

4WeHelp Movers Cincinnati
Afloat Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Copyright © 2024 Baily Publications Ltd Terms and Conditions

Our site uses cookies. If you're not happy about that please hit your back button.

Web Design & Development by Red Evolution