#inss – The Irish National Sailing Club (INSC) Race Training Team that usually competes on a Sunday morning in the DBSC Spring Chicken series were welcomed yesterday morning in Dun Laoghaire by gusts of 30-40 kts writes Kenneth Rumball.
The mood in the INSC was of disappointment that for the second time in this series the race training crews would be unable to go racing on the INSC 1720 Sportsboats. Later while travelling over to the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) pontoons where the boats are kept during the winter months in our launch, the lack of activity of boats on the marina and in the Royal Irish Yacht Club coupled with code flag N flying from the marina flagstaff confirmed our suspicions that racing would indeed be cancelled for the day.
Undeterred our crews returned to the INSC clubhouse where Kenneth gave an brief lecture on how to use a compass most effectively in inshore yacht racing both pre-start and during the race. During this one of the crew members of Adelie a 34.7 from the National Yacht Club that is now crewed by a mixture of INSC staff and INSC graduates suggested a race between the current crew of Adelie and the INSC Race Training Team.
Challenge Accepted!
A quick agreement that Kenneth and Alexander would act as race officer and mark layer respectively, our Race Training Team and the Adelie crew left the INSC Clubhouse to take our fleet of Squibs out for some racing inside the Harbour.
Despite gust of 30+ kts, 5 squibs with two reefs and crewed by two persons headed out for three races. INSC staff were put under pressure by INSC graduates with one particular staff member only winning a race due to an INSC graduate coming a little too close to the last leeward mark! Close racing in our fleet of identical modified Squib keelboats ensured it was the best sailors who won the races and not the fastest boat! The Race Training Team who would usually expertly crew the 1720s were now putting their helming skills to the test while Alexander gave race coaching during the races to ensure everybody learnt as much as possible from the day!
A fantastic morning that meant our sailors were still able to take to the water and learn despite both the DBSC Spring Series and DMYC Frostbites being held ashore.