The Flying Fifteen fleet completed three races in light conditions in Dunmore East, County Waterford today for their Southern Championships, together with the 420 dinghy fleet.

Thirteen boats are contesting the Championships, with three boats from Northern Ireland, three from the host club, and six from Dun Laoghaire.

However, the solitary visitor from Connemara is setting the regatta alight.

Niall and Ronan O'Brien are sitting with 2 bullets and a fourth this evening in their recently purchased 4092.

Stuart Harrison & Connor Brennan are second, counting a 4, 1, 3, while third overall is Peter Kennedy and Peter Chamberlain (2, 6, 2).

Best of the Dun Laoghaire fleet is Niall Meagher and Keith Poole in fourth, just ahead of Peter Murphy and Ciara Mulvey.

After an extended run of light wind conditions for Thursday night racing, Flying Fifteen Race Officer John McNeilly had some wind to play with on Thursday night (August 4).

The DBSC results sheet for the night suggests we had 10–18 knots on the course, but post-race John made the comment that he had recorded 10 – 16 knots. My sense was that the higher wind strength was at the start of the evening. Fifteen boats made their way out to the start and as the wind was behaving in accordance with the forecast – N-Westerly, a race from the QW suite of races was chosen – QW2. It appears that this caused some confusion later on the course, with one person citing dyslexia pre-start as their excuse for getting the course wrong.

QW2 – Harbour-Island-Pier-Island-Omega-Island-Finish was a course that involved lots of spinnaker and upwind sailing and resulted in one of the longer races we have had on a Thursday night for some time. Another observation of the night was that there was very little tactical sailing on the night and that the only tactical beat was the leg to Harbour. Aside from that comment, most people seemed to have enjoyed a night where we had good breeze throughout the evening and there were incidents aplenty on the course. There was a port/starboard on the first beat with turns having to be taken, there were two boats who decided to go trawling with their spinnakers, there was an emergency gybe to recover a cherished and distinctive piece of headgear that had blown off its owner’s head – a very commendable gesture by the helm, wearing a more secure hat!! The same boat also had the night’s second port/starboard incident. And to finish off the evening an attempt to squeeze over the finish line at the pin end caused the boat in question to loose the boat closest to him and certainly one other place. And as for the racing…………

A brisk NW wind, an ebbing tide, a relatively short first beat, a consideration as to which side the spinnaker would fly on the leg to Island and determining where to start in a fifteen-boat fleet gave everyone food for thought. Mulligan & Bradley (4081) attempted to commandeer the pin and were marginally too early. They sailed through the line, gybed and restarted finding a gap not too far from the pin to wend a way out onto the course side. Others in the area of the pin were Tom Galvin & Keith Poole (4093), Alistair Court & Conor O’Leary (3753) and possibly Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774). In close proximity to this bunch could be found Class Captain Jill Fleming sailing with Joe Coughlan (3913). On the opposite side of the start, working a more offshore passage were Alan and Caroline Green, sailing Phoenix (4083) and David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (4068). As the fleet closed out the latter stages of this leg, Mulligan found himself being pushed to the wrong side of Harbour mark by Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara (3896). A hail to the effect that Harbour was to be rounded to starboard, like all the other marks on the night, had the desired effect. At Harbour, Galvin & Poole had a good lead, with Mulligan and Bradley in second. However, with spinnakers finally set, the chasing pack was spread across the course with Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028), the Greens, Murphy & Mulvey and Court & O’Leary almost in a row from inshore to offshore. Most people put into a number of gybes on the way to Island which Galvin & Poole rounded in first place. Mulligan played greyhound to Galvin’s rabbit while behind Mulligan, Green, Colin, Murphy P and Court played greyhounds to Mulligan’s rabbit.

With the ebbing tide, the universal view was to go inshore with Galvin leading the charge. Mulligan appeared to be closing the gap in straight line terms while he occupied a position slightly to windward of Galvin. An inboard tweak of the genoa caused Mulligan to drop to Galvin’s lee, but Mulligan’s speed was not compromised so that the straight-line distance between the boats continued to reduce. Galvin went offshore first while Mulligan hung on to the inshore route for that bit longer. The wind was now showing some fluctuation so lifts and headers came into the equation to an enhanced extent. Mulligan’s passage to the right-hand side of the beat showed that he had closed considerably on Galvin, because although the latter crossed him on starboard, the gap between the boats was down to a couple of boat-lengths. Behind, Colin, Green, Court and Murphy were still in close company but Mulligan had enhanced his lead over them.

At Pier, Galvin & Poole’s lead was down to a few boat-lengths and they and Mulligan & Bradley sailed the leg to Island in reasonably close company until late on in the leg when the lead pair eked out a few more metres of a lead. Mulligan was requested to execute a rounding that would leave them sitting to windward of Galvin for the start of the leg to Omega. He duly obliged to put some more visual pressure on Galvin. With a lead that allowed Mulligan to concentrate on hauling in Galvin rather than looking over his shoulder at Colin, Green, Murphy and Court, 4081 progressively bit into 4093’s lead and by Omega, Mulligan had taken the lead by an 80m margin. Galvin’s approach to Omega went a little awry which allowed Colin to get to very close quarters and indeed, Colin may have rounded in second place. Behind these two, Court & O’Leary were not too far away and Mulvin and P Murphy were also in striking distance. Omega to Island was executed safely by Mulligan with Galvin, Colin and Court staying in close company. The Greens may still have been here, but Alan advised that they had a hiccup on the water and it may have been on this leg, as I can’t place them at this stage of the race.

The leg to the finish, upwind of Pier, again meant getting out of the tide, now running out at its strongest. So, heading inshore was the best policy which everyone adopted. However, as one sailed towards the shore and the harbour, the numbers on the compass made it obligatory to take the highs and try and mitigate the lows. And so, approximately halfway up the leg, Mulligan as leader, started to play the shifts, encouraged by the crew not to stray too far from a loose cover on the rest of the fleet and wherever possible to occupy a weather slot relative to the chasing pack.

A little bit later, Colin & Casey broke ranks and put in a tack to the offshore side of the beat. Ever wary of Colin’s tactical nous, Mulligan & Bradley decided that he should be given more attention than the others simply because he had done something different to everyone else. They sailed across on a favourable number to make sure there were no “eleventh-hour” surprises as the finish came into view. They were still in the “pound seats”!

Mulligan & Bradley took the gun at the pin-end of the line in close company with a Beneteau 21, while Colin finished closer to the committee boat. Galvin and Court were very close closing in on the pin, and from our perspective Court was slightly to leeward of the pin and in danger of not making the finish line. He then appeared to tack to get over the line on port tack, but extremely close to Gavin who was on starboard. Court may then have clipped the pin so had to go back to the course side and re-finish which cost him a place to Mulvin & Beirne. The excitement never stops!

DBSC Flying Fifteens Thursday Night Series

Thursday 4th August.
1. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley 4081
2. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 4028
3. Tom Galvin & Keith Poole 4093
4. David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne 4068
5. Alistair Court & Conor O’Leary 3753

Thursdays Overall Series B.
1. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14pts
2. Niall, Susan & Laura Coleman 18pts
3. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley 19pts
4. Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey 24pts
5. Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara 27pts

Thursdays Overall (All season)
1. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 30pts
2. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley 54pts
3. Ian Mathews, Tom Galvin & Keith Poole 56.5pts
4. Niall, Susan & Laura Coleman 70pts
5. Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey 78pts.

Thirteen Flying Fifteens enjoyed fabulous conditions on Saturday past on Dublin Bay. Race Officer Barry O’Neil set himself up well to the west of the harbour to avail of a wind that was blowing around the 130°mark. The day saw a return to action by David Gorman (4099) with Chris Doorly stepping into the sharp end, a first since the end of the 2019 World Championships in Dun Laoghaire. Holidays also saw a number of other changes with Peter Sherry sailing with Tom Murphy (4057) and Tom Galvin sailing with Ian Mathews (4093).

The afternoon gave us good winds and on checking the Dublin Bay buoy readings on Sunday, the breeze got into the high teens with gusts just over the 20knot threshold.

Gorman & Doorly took the first race, leading from the first mark with Mathews & Galvin in close pursuit until an issue caused them to retire. There were some very busy mark roundings behind these two, especially at the first weather mark and first leeward mark of the 2-lap Windward-Leeward course. And at the 2nd leeward mark a B21 influenced the finishing order as well.

R1: Gorman & Doorly (4099), Dumpleton & Hickey (3955), Mulvin & Beirne (4068), Court & O’Leary (3753), Cooper & Crew (3896).

Before the second race the wind appeared to build in strength and the RO advised that he had tweaked the course in accordance with a shift in the breeze. Mulligan & Bradley (4081) decided the pin was the place to be and together with Mulvin & Beirne they headed out to sea. The balance of the fleet was inshore of these two. Mulvin & Beirne peeled off first while Mulligan sailed on for another 100m and tacked. Shortly thereafter he got a lift that took him a substantial way to the first weather mark and ahead of the rest of the fleet. For the three-lap windward-leeward he was never in trouble and led around all the marks. Messrs Gorman and Dumpleton both had mainsheet issues on rounding one of the leeward marks but they both recovered, only losing distance to Mulligan.

R2: Mulligan & Bradley (4081), Gorman & Doorly (4099), Dumpleton & Hickey (3955), Mulvin & Beirne (4068), Court & O’Leary (3753).

Cumann Badoireachta & Seoiltoireachta, An Cheathru Rua, is in Connemara and must be the westernmost sailing club in the country! It is as far west as you can get in County Galway without getting your feet wet – the next parish is the Aran Islands and then America.

Over the weekend of 21/22 May they hosted an invitational event for the Flying Fifteen fleet and four boats from the class stronghold of Dun Laoghaire made the trip across the country to this new venue. Alan Green took his own boat, Mach Five (4026) and teamed up with Bryan Willis from Whitehead. Ian Mathews and Keith Poole travelled with Mike Wazowski (4099), Ben Mulligan and Cormac Bradley took Enfant de Marie (4081) on the road and Alistair Court and Conor O’Leary brought Ffinistere (3750).

The Flying Fifteen Invitational fleet gathered at Cumann Badoireachta & Seoiltoireachta, An Cheathru Rua, in Connemara Photo: Maria Uí Bhriain

They were all rewarded with wonderful sailing, a very warm welcome from the Chonamara Flying Fifteen community and endless hospitality over the weekend. And as for the sailing conditions, we were blessed with robust breeze for the two days but still managed to get five races in over the weekend.

And over and above all this they went to great lengths when one of the travelling quartet had a bearings problem on the way down on Friday evening. Parts were cannibalised from another road trailer at the venue and brought back to the east side of Galway in order that the boat could make the final part of the journey and a further plan was made when it was discovered that the second bearing on the same trailer was in trouble. Another sailor from the 420 community stopped at the roadside in Galway on Friday night when he saw “a jacked-up trailer with boat” on the hard shoulder and offered help as well.

Saturday morning revealed a slightly lumpy seascape in the inner bay off the Pier at Carraroe under grey clouds, but we were advised that we would be sailing outside on the open sea. A quick meeting was convened to set out the flags for a conventional 5-minute start sequence and we used as Galway GAA flag for the Warning Signal/Class Flag and a small white pennant for the Preparatory Signal. It worked fine and our only concern was for the gentlemen who had to hold the Class Flag for all of the five minutes in blustery conditions.

Cumann Badoireachta and Seoiltoireachta race officials fly the flags from the Connemara Committee Vessel at the Flying Fifteen Invitational

Race Officer Cian O’Brien ran five excellent races with a minimum of fuss, with a long course of two laps in the open sea on the Saturday for three races and two three-lap races in the inner bay on the Sunday. His lines were good and the downwind legs in the brisk breezes were great fun and really exhilarating. The upwind legs were hard work, but the reward was the off-wind legs. Windward-Leeward courses were the norm for the weekend. The forecast had suggested 16/17 knots on Saturday with gusts in the low twenties and that was the order of the day. On the Sunday the wind had gone further west and on initial viewing, the inner bay seemed calmer, but the “older wisdom” of the members on the shore advised that sailing in the open sea should not be contemplated and so we raced “inside” and had another two exhilarating races. Sunday was more blustery, with wind coming off the land making life that bit more interesting! Indeed, a blast came through during the countdown for the second race which led to the abandonment of the start, on the advice of one of the senior travellers. Opinions ashore afterwards gauged that wind at 30knots.

On the water, the “north-south” combination of Willis & Green won four of the five races, only dropping Race 4 which was won by Ian Mathews & Keith Poole, who matched this result with four second places. The winners and second placed boats didn’t have it completely their own way, though the winners did stretch their lead in the latter parts of each race. Upwind, particularly on the first beats, Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley were in close company with both Willis and Mathews and Messrs Court & O’Leary were never too far away either. Of the local fleet, of which there were eleven, Niall O’Brien and Mairtin Hehir (3621) gave an excellent account of themselves and but for an unfortunate spinnaker problem in the last race would have appeared further up in the overall rankings. Their best finish was a third in Race 3. Dermot Flaherty & Thomas McDonagh (3704 but using sail number 3955) also put in appearances among the visitors and scored a second place in Race 4.

But aside from the placings on the water, the encouraging aspect of the Chonamara Flying Fifteen Community is their enthusiasm for racing the boat and how that has been instilled across a number of father and son teams, a father and daughter team and a number of all-junior teams. It was infectious and hugely encouraging. To give you a sample of what I am getting at, Mary Nic Dhonncha and her father Sean Mac Donncha race 3275, Mind over Matter, Cian Mac Donncha & Eanna Gannon raced 3408, but conditions made it a challenge for them. They don’t all fly spinnakers on the downwind legs, but they all endeavour to finish. All the visitors found themselves being quizzed by the younger members of this fleet and their enthusiasm was genuinely infectious.

On the Saturday night, a buffet dinner was organised for competitors and helpers alike in “An Chistin Bar” just around the corner from the club. From my perspective, all the crews were in attendance plus the race management team. Later on, Alan Green could be seen having an engaging conversation with some of the younger members of the fleet, while Messrs Court, O’Leary and Bradley talked spinnaker techniques and teamwork with the crews who had been snapping at their heels on the water. Bryan Willis had a father and son combination in awe over an older boat, completely refurbished at his facility in Larne. None of the travellers were left in their own company.

Ashore, all the crews were given a very generous lunch pack on Saturday and after Sunday’s racing sandwiches, cake and tea/coffee were being offered to all the competitors and organisers alike. A mobile food stall was on site on the Saturday morning for a hot breakfast. Vehicles and people were volunteered to haul boats out of the water on both days. Additionally, a camera man was taking footage ashore and afloat and a report on the regatta featured on TG4 on Sunday night.

A very generous prize-giving took place outside in sunshine, conducted by Mike Hopkins, who was later acknowledged by Alan Green for his work in setting up the regatta, with a prize for the solitary Classic Boat and overall prizes for 10th to 1st. Volunteers were also acknowledged.

Bryan Willis (left) and Alan Green (centre) were overall winners Photo: Seán Ó Mainnín

Keith Poole (left) and Ian Mathews Photo: Seán Ó Mainnín

Cormac Bradley and Ben Mulligan Photo: Seán Ó Mainnín

Flying Fifteen invitational event at Cumann Badoireachta & Seoiltoireachta, An Cheathru Rua

For those who were unable to go to Carraroe, you missed a thoroughly enjoyable weekend with superb conditions for racing Flying Fifteens. No, we can’t always be sure of the weather, but the enthusiasm, warmth of welcome and hospitality of the Chonamara Flying Fifteen Community would have made a wet, storm blown-out weekend in the West a pleasure.

This is a venue we need to come to as a Class for a formal regatta!

There is always a danger with putting together an article of this sort! People who are omitted from the assessment could be offended! Assumptions that people will be in attendance may be unfounded! So, in the best interests of putting together an assessment that enhances the reputation of a very competitive class and therefore promotes the class, I apologise in advance to those who might feel they have been left out of this runners and riders of this weekend's Flying Fifteen East Coast Championships at the National Yacht Club.

One person (singular) who can't be offended by being left out is Ian Mathews, who has returned to his place of work and will not be sailing………but that is not to suggest that "The Gruffalo", 3864 will not be on the water with Keith Poole.

"The Gruffalo", 3864 will on the water with Keith Poole but Ian Mathews (left) is away

From a Dun Laoghaire perspective, there is always the sense that because we have a large fleet of Fifteens "in-situ" we should be better prepared for fleet racing when the regattas come around. Our "out of town cousins" are quite happy to undo that sense of preparedness by upsetting our applecart on our home waters of Dublin Bay. However, with new boats in the fleet and one new combination on the water this weekend, maybe the DL fleet is the best place to start.

Over the past two weekends we have had the Captain's Prize (12th Sept)) and the NYC's 150th Anniversary Race Day (5th Sept) which both had good turnouts. So, these would be a good starting point!

For the Captain's Prize, the clear winners were Shane McCarthy & Chris Doorly (Frequent Flyer, 3970) with two race wins, the first by a comfortable margin and the second with a small element of Sir Alex Ferguson's "squeaky-bum" time when the chasing boats got close to them at the second weather mark. Saturday's weather looks similar to what we enjoyed last weekend, so I am going to state that I expect this combination to be knocking at the podium's door. Not too far behind them in the queue to gain access to the podium are John Lavery and Alan Green (Phoenix, 4083). They were 3rd overall in the Captain's Prize and won the NYC 150th Race Day after the fourth iteration of the results was declared as the final result! Add in the fact that they won the 4-race Nationals in Dunmore East and their collective pedigrees in Fifteens and they must be in the frame. However, they have not had everything their own way in the Dublin Bay "skirmishes". Still, class will always out! Another consistent contender over the past two Saturdays in conditions that heretofore they would not consider to be their favourite is the combination of Neil Colin and Margaret Casey (Ffuzzy, 4028). They were second overall on both Saturdays, so can't be discounted in the DL pecking order. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley will enjoy the more robust winds and over the past two weekends found themselves occupying larger proportions of their race time and the sharp end of the fleet in the new boat, Enfant de Marie, 4081. The new boat is so well set up (by Phil Evans) that they have quickly got into their stride and were in good company these past two Saturdays. Another combination who have been sailing well and seem to have found consistent boat speed is David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne (Ignus Caput Duo, 4068). Their results in DBSC Thursdays have seen them finish third overall.

Alistair Court & Conor O'Leary (Ffinisterre, 3753)

Other boats who may be just a little bit off the podium places include Alistair Court & Conor O'Leary (Ffinisterre, 3753) and Tom Murphy with Karl (Fflagella, 4057). On their day, either of these two could upset the "perceived" pecking order. Sunday looks a bit lighter which means the likes of Niall Meagher & Nicki Mathews (The Ffantastic Mr Fox, 3938) have a distinct advantage over some of the heavier crews. And it would never do to discount Niall Colman (Flyer, 4008) or Ken Dumpleton (Rodriques, 3955).

Ken Dumpleton (left) and John McNeilly (Rodriques, 3955)

From outside the "pale" there are serious contenders from both Northern Ireland and the SE corner of Ireland.

Stephen Kane (left) and Peter Kennedy

Taking the "northerners" first, a number of names come to mind – Rory & Andy Martin (Feckin Hallion, 3974), Peter Kennedy (3920), Bryan Willis & John McPeake (Simply Gold, 4074), Roger Chamberlain (Final Resort, 3962) and Andy McCleary & Colin Dougan (4013).

Andy McCleary & Colin Dougan (4013)

Roger Chamberlain (Final Resort, 3962)

Peter Kennedy bought 3920 after a hugely successful 2019 in the hands of Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly, when among other Class successes, they won the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Boat of the Regatta. Kennedy's Olympic reputation (Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992) makes him a podium candidate every time he takes to the water and add to that a third at the Dunmore East Nationals. The Martin Brothers are perpetually at the front end of the fleet and were the first Irish boat overall at the Worlds in DL in September. Andy & Bryan will also make a point of mixing it with the front end of the fleet so they can't be discounted.

From the SE, we have to look at Lee Statham and Andy Paul (Trigger's Brush, 3896) who finished second at the Nationals in home waters.

Rory & Andy Martin (Feckin Hallion, 3974)

So, the most dangerous paragraph is the penultimate one – a declaration of the likely favourites. With apologies to those who don't get into this paragraph, I am going with a top-five (not in order) of; McCarthy & Doorly, Lavery & Green, Kennedy, Martin Brothers, Statham & Paul. Others who will get in the mix in individual races are; Colin, Mulligan, Mulvin, Chamberlain, McCleary and Murphy.

What must be borne in mind this is based on DL racing, a reduced Nationals fleet and the fact that this is only the second regatta of the season.

John Lavery marked his return to the Flying Fifteen Class after a five-year hiatus by clinching the Irish title at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club today. 

Sailing with Alan Green, the National Yacht Club duo took two wins from four races sailed today after the first two days of the championships were blown out.

Second overall in the 15-boat fleet was Dunmore East's own Lee Statham and Andrew Paul, two points behind Lavery. 

Third place was taken by Strangford Lough brothers Andy and Rory Martin. Peter Kennedy and Stephen Kane, also from Strangford Lough, were fourth. 

Download results below 

Sherry FitzGerald estate agents have come on board for a three-year-deal as title sponsor of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) ahead of the 2016 summer season that gets under way in a fortnight.

The announcement comes with changes in this year’s sailing programme for Ireland’s biggest racing club, as heard today at the launch of its 2016 yearbook in the National Yacht Club, Dún Laoghaire.

‘Be proactive with evolution rather than be reactive to revolution’ is the slogan to bear in mind as the DBSC moves to accommodate demand for speedier, lighter craft, and increasingly popular asymmetric rigs, over classes that have seen continued decline over the past five years.

One notable exception, however, is the Water Wags class, the quintessential traditional wooden boat that’s bucking the trend.

Last year, with 29 boats on the register, Water Wags are probably even more numerous than they were in their Victorian heyday. The Wags have always had an active preservation programme which – allied with a strong class ethos, or esprit de corps – helps them to grow and flourish.

As for the DBSC’s 132nd season, which begins in the last week of April, Saturdays will now have room for three keelboat fleets over previous years’ two.

This follows the committee’s decision to support a new Mixed Sportsboat class that joins the Green Fleet along with Dragons, Flying 15s, Squibs, SB20s (who previously raced on Sundays) and, on occasion, Mermaids.

The biggest change for the established Red and Blue Fleets sees Cruisers 5, formerly White Sails, move from the latter to the front of the former for Saturdays only. Both fleets will continue to race as before, alternating between MacLir and the West Pier for their starts, though courses have been revised, with the assistance of Tim Goodbody and Brian Mathews, to exclude Zebra mark.

The Green Fleet will race from the Freebird and will compete for the most part­ on windward/leeward courses. The sailing instructions provide for triangular courses and even, if the opportunity arises, for trapezoid courses in the North East quadrant to the east of Zebra mark.

On Thursdays, the Mixed Sportsboat class joins the Red Fleet, while Cruisers 5 have now been split into two divisions, with potentially different courses, to manage their varying speeds and wide spread of handicaps, and make for fairer racing. The split does not apply on Saturdays when there is less possibility of boats being timed out.

On Sundays, and inspired by the success of the DMYC’s Frostbite series during the winter months, the DBSC hopes to encourage dinghy turnouts this season with two starts: PY/IDRA 14 at 2.15pm, and Fireballs three minutes later. The club also aims to accommodate any other interested centre-board boats.

The sailing instructions and course cards have been revised to cover the above, as well as a number of changes for class flags.

In 2016’s other big news, the Royal Alfred Yacht Club (RAYC) has now officially been incorporated into DBSC. The move should not affect racing to any noticeable degree.

This year will see three designated coastal races – on May 28th, July 30th and August 12th – which will carry the ‘Alfred’ label to mark the continuation of its ethos in the DBSC programme.

In addition, the once annual RAYC Bloomsday Regatta on June 16th will now be held by the DBSC in years when there are no other waterfront club regattas.

Read also: tomorrow's WM Nixon's Sailing on Saturday Blog on DBSC's 2016 Season 

Both lifeboats at Dun Laoghaire RNLI station were launched this afternoon when a 20 foot yacht with two persons on board got into difficulty close to a rocky shoreline on Dublin Bay.

The incident occurred around 5pm when the Flying 15 keelboat became swamped by the choppy conditions in the area known as Scotman's Bay between Dun Laoghaire and Sandycove. A sea-angling boat, the Brandon Lisa and a local rigid inflatable (RIB) went to the assistance of the casualty.

Volunteer crews of both lifeboats were paged by the Irish Coastguard service's 'MRCC Dublin' at 5.08pm and launched 12 minutes later.

Arriving at the nearby scene, the two occupants were trying to drop the sails and secure their equipment. Both were wearing buoyancy aids and were
uninjured.

The inshore lifeboat assisted preparing the casualty vessel for towing by the RIB while the All-weather lifeboat 'Anna Livia' provided an escort to the inner-coal harbour in Dun Laoghaire where the boat was brought ashore.