An inaugural joint event will see the Fireball Munster Championship and International 420 Leinster Championships 2023 come together on the waters of lower Lough Derg.

Over 30 double-handed performance dinghies, including Fireballs and International 420s, are expected from July 22 to 23.

Jim Ryan, the Commodore of Killaloe Sailing Club, emphasised the significance of this occasion, saying, "We're excited to witness the Fireball and 420 fleets together on the same waters and warmly welcome sailors to this scenic part of Co Clare for a great weekend of sailing. Plenty of space for camping and motor homes which makes Killaloe sailing club a low-cost venue for regattas. Wishing everyone all the best of luck on the water.”

Fireball Class Association chairman Neil Cramer warmly welcomed the joint hosting event by Killaloe SC in its new club premises on Lough Derg. "This is a perfect match of classes, representing a win-win for all involved. For clubs it makes perfect sense to host compatible classes together for logistical and economic reasons and is the way forward for sustainable regattas in Ireland. Fireballers are delighted once again to visit Killaloe SC for their penultimate regional event of the year and of particular interest this weekend is the large crop of younger sailors competing in Fireballs."

"Plenty of space for camping and motor homes which makes Killaloe sailing club a low-cost venue for regattas"

The 420 class has been a stepping stone for many young sailors, with several transitioning to compete in the Fireball category during their college years and beyond. Notably, Cara McDowell, Daniel Thompson, Henry Thompson and Hugo Mika, all 420 class coaches, will be participating in the Fireball races this weekend, a testament to the symbiotic relationship between the two classes.

The 420 class - a stepping stone for the Fireballs

Martina Whyte, the President of the Irish 420 Association, expressed her gratitude towards Killaloe Sailing Club and Race Officer Liam Maloney (LDYC) for hosting this event. She shared her excitement, looking forward to thrilling tactical racing and the opportunity to renew sailing acquaintances with their Fireball counterparts. Alongside the sailors familiar with the Shannon waters from Lough Ree Yacht Club, a fleet of sailors from 420 strongholds in Galway, Spiddal, Malahide, Kinsale, and Waterford are expected to compete. This event also serves as a warm-up for the upcoming 420 and Fireball National Championships, again to be jointly hosted in Waterford Harbour, scheduled for August.

The regatta will kick off on Saturday, July 22, with the first gun firing just after noon. Commodore Jim Ryan extended a warm invitation to all sailing enthusiasts and spectators to come and watch the racing.

Fireballs enjoyed spectacular sailing at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta over the last three days. Sixteen Fireballs entered the event, and only injury and family commitments prevented a full turnout.

Especially impressive was the number of youth teams competing, and especially rewarding was to watch these teams manage very well in sometimes hair-raising conditions. With winds occasionally reaching 30 knots, the high-performance dinghy lived up to its pedigree as racers zoomed around the courses over the long weekend.

In the days before the event, it is fair to say sailors from all fleets were watching the rather ominous forecasts and were concerned the whole event could be in jeopardy, but by the Thursday the more worrying forecasts had softened, and confidence grew that a few days of great racing was on the agenda. On Thursday itself, racing was cancelled for the vast majority of classes as extreme gusts swept in.

A handful of Flying Fifteens managed to get one race in, but even those keelboats suffered several dinghy-style capsizes, which saw crews standing on keels. Friday dawned breezy but very sailable and Fireballers sped out to the start to be greeted by an AP as the race committee settled a fairly complicated trapezoid course into position. When racing got underway, the Fireballs screamed off the line in winds of around twenty knots. Jon Evans & Aidan Caulfield got to the weather mark first followed closely by Frank Miller & Ed Butler. As they roared down the run in big winds seeking the leeward marks, both made the error of heading to the inner rather than the outer trapezoid gate, and although they finished first and second they took a retirement giving Stephen Oram and Neil Cramer the race win.

The youngest team of David Evans & William Draper, took 2nd place in that race, a fantastic achievement given that they were probably also the lightest team at the event.

The youngest Fireball team of David Evans and crew William Draper at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta Photo: Michael Chester

Josh Porter and Cara McDowell were 3rd. This was to be their worst result of the regatta which they went on to discard. There was a wind shift after this race which led the race team to abandon the trapezoid course with it’s total of eight marks and two committee boats in favour of a windward—leeward course which is much more manageable in a shifting breeze. Given that the dinghy racing area for the event was Salthill and offshore winds were forecast for the entire event the race team set windward-leeward courses for the rest of the regatta. Having settled in Josh & Cara went on to win the next two races in similar breezes, taking the overnight lead for the event. Saturday dawned with good breezes but distinctly more shifty conditions. While it was breezy, it was a tad less windy than the Friday and warmer, and possibly there might have been an element of a thermal breeze playing with the offshore gradient.

This was a day when those keeping their speed up and their heads out of the boat were rewarded, and once again Josh & Cara prevailed with two wins and a second while Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty took the win in race 5. There were several close finishes on the Friday, with a surprise shortened course at a gate catching several sailors out while providing an opening to those paying closest attention. By Saturday night it was clear that after six races and with two to go Josh & Cara had a fairly unassailable lead. Next were Adrian & Ossian, with Frank & Ed Snr lying third and Jon & Aidan fourth on equal points. Two points adrift were Stephen & Neil in 5th.

Frank Miller and Ed Butler lead a group of Fireballs downwind at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Photo: Afloat

Sunday dawned with initially light winds but a slightly ominous forecast showing possible thunderstorms and lightning. Sure enough, while sailors rigged, the wind picked up considerably, and the race office decided to postpone by an hour, allowing a squall to blow through. By the time competitors were sailing out the wind was softening, and a few were caught out as race seven started bang on time and in quite light winds. The start line was strongly pin biased, but the sensible ones started at the committee boat where there was more pressure. Most headed inshore to escape the incoming tide but this approach wasn’t always rewarded as there were big variations in pressure around the course. Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe led to the weather mark by taking the inshore course but on round two, lost their lead by the same approach and fell to fourth, managing to get back to 2nd on the final run. Unsurprisingly at this stage, Josh & Cara triumphed in boat races. In the final race the wind had picked up somewhat, and most sailors changed settings to medium. With Adrian & Ossian fairly secure in 2nd place, the main battle was for the 3rd prize. Frank & Ed had a good battle with Jon & Aidan on the run, and with Stephen & Neil on the beat but ultimately made the fatal decision of losing contact with their main rivals and going offshore into what looked like better breeze only for it to fade and for the breeze inside to fill. When the final sums were done Josh & Cara took the overall, Adrian & Ossian were 2nd with Jon & Aidan 3rd. Stephen and Neil were 4th on equal points with Frank and Ed who fell to 5th overall.

It would be fair to say that for Fireballs this was one of the most successful Volvo DL Regattas in recent memory. The conditions were spectacular, providing the class with an opportunity to showcase its brilliant design and especially its fantastic and fearless young competitors.

From left overall winners Cara McDowell and Josh Porter, 2nd Ossian Geraghty and Adrian Lee and 3rd Jon Evans and Aidan Caulfield Photo: Frank Miller

The next event for Fireballs is the Munster Championship at Killaloe SC on the weekend of 22nd & 23rd July, shared with the 420 class. Sailors are really looking forward to a different kind of racing, most likely in more gentle breezes, at a very welcoming host club with a spanking new clubhouse and locally available food and camping.

With four wins from six races sailed, Josh Porter and Cara McDowell lead the Fireball class by six clear points into the final two races of the 2023 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta on Sunday.

Second place in the 13-boat fleet is held by Sligo Yacht Club's Adrian Lee and Ossian Geraghty, who earned his first race win in Saturday afternoon's Race Five on the sheltered Salthill Course in the northwest Dublin Bay area.

Lying third is the DMYC's Frank Miller on 17 points.

Racing was postponed for one hour on the penultimate day to allow strong winds to abate, a decision that proved correct as Dublin Bay yielded perfect summer sailing conditions in the afternoon.

The breeze was south westerly at 15 knots, with some strong gusts and big wind shifts off the Blackrock shoreline to make for some exciting racing for the dinghy course.

Results are provisional and subject to protest.

The 2023 regatta, the ninth edition of Ireland's largest regatta, concludes on Sunday with two final races for most classes and a great festival of sailing across the waterfront and Dun Laoghaire town as four sailing clubs come together for the biennial event; Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club.

Sixteen Fireball dinghies are lined up to compete in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta this long weekend. While keelboats take to the water on Thursday, the dinghy series kicks off on Friday around trapezoid courses at Salthill. The relatively large Fireball entry has taken even the class committee by surprise. It is clear now that the resurgence spurred on by last year's Worlds in LDYC Dromineer is here to stay.

When you look at it, it's actually not that surprising - as an affordable high-performance boat the Fireball is the perfect step up into competitive adult racing. Compared to alternatives, the boat is very affordable, stable yet fast, and a lot of fun to sail. The almost endless tuning possibilities mean that the Fireball can be raced successfully by a wide range of crew combinations across a full spectrum of weather conditions. Looking at the forecast for the regatta, this flexibility will be tested to the full as crews rake back masts, use struts and pullers to add additional pre-bend, open up the slot with the adjustable jib tracks and raise their centreboards to keep their craft trucking without being overpowered. At the time of writing, the forecast for the entire regatta looks lively, with winds approaching thirty knots on Friday at least.

With the Volvo on the doorstep of most Fireballers, this is a chance for quality racing with a great social programme without everyone having to tow. At the recent Leinster Championship, the younger members of the class carried home the silverware ahead of the class veterans so this coming weekend will be an opportunity for some of the regulars to see if their experience, and weight, in heavy weather can pay dividends. Of the runners and riders, the highly experienced team of Jonathan Evans & Aidan Caulfield are always fast in a breeze and it will be interesting to see if the extremely well-coordinated but lighter pairing of Josh Porter & Cara McDowell can get to the front based on their typically flawless teamwork. Relative newcomers Adrian Lee and Ossian Geraghty also bring a lot of experience and skill from GPs with them and are worth watching, as are the new team of Stephen Oram, helming with Neil Cramer on the wire.

Whatever way you look at it, this weekend is shaping up to be a regatta to remember for Fireballs and it may literally be a case of survival of the fittest. One suspects the sailors will afterwards be looking forward to heading to Killaloe SC for the weekend of 22nd & 23rd July and a Munster Championships to be sailed in presumably more serene conditions.

Ed Óg Butler and Sean Collins are the new Fireball dinghy Leinster champions after five races in often exciting conditions at Skerries SC last weekend.

Racing took place over Saturday and Sunday as part of the Skerries annual two-day regatta, incorporating both the Fireball Leinsters and the E-boat National Championship. Skerries SC as a club and as a venue never disappoints, and over the two days a full Smorgasbord of conditions were served up.

Earlier in the week the forecast for the weekend looked ominous but by the weekend more reasonable winds were on the agenda, especially for the Saturday.

Once the wind settled race officer Liam Dineen and his team set an excellent Olympic Triangle type course for race one, and in fact, the race committee and mark layers managed to set that course, favoured by Fireballs and most of the other classes, for the entire weekend despite several challenging wind shifts. The first of those shifts took place during race one when the SSE wind shifted easterly.

Conditions for race one were medium winds with an incoming tide tempering the urge to go out to sea in search of better pressure.

Those who came out on top were the boats that judged this best, and it frequently did pay to head out – but not always! Ed Óg & Sean Collins made the best sense of the shifts and the zones of pressure, though they were chased hard by Josh Porter & Cara McDowell, and by Chris Bateman sailing with Tiernan Brown in Tiernan’s boat.

For race two, in fresher breeze, the pattern was repeated but in race three, Chris and Tiernan found their groove and took the gun with Butler 2nd and Porter & McDowell 5th.

Frank Miller sailing with Ed Butler Snr led to the weather mark in that race but couldn’t hold off the top teams and ended up 3rd. It should be said that although the breeze was solid there were remarkable sudden vacuums to contend with, typically just ahead of a shift.

Top-class race management meant that the marks were tweaked accordingly and the course remained fair. Many sailors were caught out by the sudden holes and shifts and those who stayed on high alert were rewarded.

Conditions for race two and three were especially enjoyable for their fast and exciting reaching angles but it was race four which really go the adrenalin flowing. The race team, consulting with competitors, decided to go for the fourth race because the forecast for Sunday was decidedly iffy. Conditions were excellent, the temperatures stayed high and there were no signs of exhaustion so the fleet rocketed off the start-line in a lot more breeze with everyone on heavy settings. This race was to prove the pinnacle of the weekend, with incredibly exciting reaches and waves to play with downwind.

Cara McDowell and Josh Porter finished second at the Fireball Leinster Championship at Skerries Sailing Club

Ed Óg & Sean again prevailed, with Josh & Cara 2nd and Chris & Tiernan 3rd only due to some gear failure. Anyone who has seen Chris sail in a breeze knows that he is frequently unbeatable in strong wind. Once ashore, sailors enjoyed some great catering, two very busy bars and an idyllic après-sail atmosphere.

Sunday delivered pretty much exactly what the forecasts suggested. Boats were launched in light conditions with a little drizzle and the AP was flown for nearly an hour as the race officer waited patiently for the direction to settle. This it did in a Southerly direction and a race was got underway in light to medium winds. Unsurprisingly there were challenges around the course including those sudden holes and shifts. One such shift saw leading boats sailing the second reach as a very light air beat to leeward while those chasing got a nice spinnaker angle to bring them back into contention. Josh & Cara excel in these conditions and they took the win with Ed Óg & Sean 2nd and Chris &Tiernan 3rd. The wind died completely after race five and after a respectable wait N over A was flown and the competitors headed back for shore. The drama wasn’t entirely over though as the wind filled again with boats on the slipway and towards the end of boat pack-up a massive squall with large hailstones swept through the forecourt knocking over chairs and sending everyone scurrying for shelter. The wind indicator on the club roof recorded speeds of over 35 knots in the squall so the decision by the race team to call it a day was inspired.

Chris Bateman sailing with Tiernan Brown, pictured club officials, finished third at the Fireball Leinster Championship at Skerries Sailing Club

When the maths was done Ed Óg and Sean emerged on top, followed by Josh and Cara and just one point behind Chris and Tiernan. Frank Miller & Ed Snr lead the veterans beating locals Niall McGrotty and Neil Cramer by just two points. Young David Evans & William Draper won the silver trophy with an excellent and fearless display throughout, often putting the senior fleet under pressure. Once again, the eleven Fireballs which made it to the event were treated to really excellent sailing. While some regulars were missing due to injuries and family commitments a notable feature of the fleet which turned out was it’s youth and the appearance of many young faces, including Jack McNaughten & Mark Greer, Cormac Breen sailing with his father Colm and Rory Rafter sailing with Thomas Schoemaecker.

Next up for Fireballs is the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta which has sixteen Fireballs already entered and the Fireball Munster Championship at Killaloe SC on 22nd & 23rd July which promises to be a great event.

Fireballs enjoyed a fantastic two days of racing during their Ulster Championship at Newtownards SC at the weekend. Day one proved light as per forecast, but the wind steadily improved throughout the afternoon. The first race took place in quite light airs complete with holes, and to cap it all a 180-degree shift saw sailors scrambling to douse spinnakers and beat towards the new wind.

The first attempt at a start led to a general recall and race officer Jennifer Bryce, and mentor Sam Lyness set down a marker by flying the black flag for the subsequent start. Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe led around much of the course but were reeled in near the finish by Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty.

For race two, the wind had settled to a medium Northerly, and local Fireballer Josh Porter & crew Cara McDowell won well. Race three again featured medium winds with some quite decent gusts; Josh & Cara took the gun again to take the overnight lead. Ashore sailors enjoyed a great welcome and terrific hospitality with club volunteers' barbecue and bar service.

Many stayed nearby in camper vans or tents, and there was a most pleasant and relaxed atmosphere at the club.

More wind was forecast for Sunday, and the predictions held true. Racing took place in solid Northerly breezes of between fourteen and eighteen knots, delivering champagne sailing conditions with relatively flat water on the lough. Race four saw Franco Cassidy & Stephen Oram showing some extremely fast sailing to take the gun. The pair tended to work their way towards to starboard layline on the beats, tacking only to stay in the better patches of wind. They were challenged by Josh & Cara, who made inroads by playing shifts more and tending to play the left side. The middle of the course featured some quite light patches, and to add spice, there were some big shifts to keep everyone on their toes.

Louise & Hermine fell victim to one such shift and suffered a messy capsize which resulted in their retirement.

Race five saw Adrian & Ossian chalk up another win, keeping the contest wide open. Franco & Stephen were 2nd and Josh & Cara 3rd.

The final race saw Frank Miller and Neil Cramer finally find their full speed; the pair led all the way around the course but tragedy struck at the final leeward mark when their spinnaker jammed and refused to come down, allowing Franco & Stephen to take the win, followed by Josh and Cara.

When the sums were done Franco & Stephen were declared winners on countback as Josh & Cara had equal points. The victory was especially sweet for Franco Cassidy, who last won a Fireball Ulsters twenty years ago. Third place went to Adrian and Ossian.

Fireball Ulster Championships winners at Newtownards SC were Franco Cassidy (left) and Stephen Oram  Photo: Frank Miller

Fireball Ulster Championships winners at Newtownards SC were Franco Cassidy (left) and Stephen Oram  Photo: Frank Miller

Special mention must go to young David Evans and crew Mark Greer. The two sailed extremely well in all conditions and never seemed to struggle even in the strongest gusts. Their reward was the Silver trophy, and the icing on the cake was beating David's father Jonathan sailing with Adrian Caulfield.

(Both photos above) Fireball Ulster Championships Silver fleet winners at Newtownards SC were David Evans and crew Mark Greer (left)  Photo: Frank Miller

So, all in all, this was a terrific event despite a somewhat disappointing turnout of eight boats caused by some last-minute hitches amongst those intending to travel.

The next event is the Leinster Championship hosted by Skerries SC on June 24th & 25th, and a bigger turnout is very much anticipated.

Fireball Ulster Championships second overall at Newtownards SC were Josh Porter and Cara McDowell Photo: Frank Miller

Fireball Ulster Championships third overall at Newtownards SC were Ossian Geraghty and Adrian Lee Photo: Frank Miller

The Irish Fireball Class opened their 2023 summer sailing season with a one-day training session and reported here on Afloat, followed by a one-day regatta -The Open Championship, hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), with a programme of six short-duration races.

The cold and overcast conditions of Saturday were replaced by a sunny Sunday morning and a forecast of 6-8knots from a northerly direction. Of the fourteen boats in attendance for the training, twelve initially made the starting area with a youthful contingent of three boats from Cork, with three Batemans helming – Chris, Ethel and Olin – making up 25% of the fleet. The other visitor was Josh Porter, down from Newtownards Sailing Club, who was partnered by his regular crew, Cara McDowell.

Noel Butler & Stephen Oram, 15061 competing at the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

DMYC provided a committee boat and crew and three RIBs for the regatta, the third RIB being driven by coach Thomas Chaix who took on-the-water videos to back up what had been discussed the previous day. Race Officer for the day was Cormac Bradley, off another successful Frostbite Series, with a brief to get races of 25 minutes duration.

Josh Porter & Cara McDowell, 14695, winners of the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

For the majority of the day the wind was as forecast direction-wise, fluctuating approximately 10° either side of due North, and initially in accordance with the strength prediction, 6 – 8 knots although there was a brief period when it got up to 10 knots. However, after a planned break on the water, after three back-to-back races, the wind started to fade and only one more race was sailed, albeit to a shortened course.

Windward-Leeward courses were the order of the day in accordance with resources and as an attempt to keep the fleet reasonably tight. A further measure to try and get races turned around quickly was the use of an “offer of a finish on the water” to those who had become detached from the back of the fleet. This appeared to be well received by the competitors.

After Race 1 the course length was reduced as the target time hadn’t been achieved and the remaining races were closer to target time, although the fourth race had to be shortened at the second weather mark with a “F” flag. Shortly after finishing the fleet, the wind speed was under 2 knots and there were no signs around Dublin Bay that more wind could be expected, so at 14:30 approximately, “N over A” was flown and the fleet headed for home.

The light conditions were very much favoured by Porter & McDowell who took the winning gun in all four races. They led at every weather mark and in most instances increased the lead on the water, though in one race the class stalwarts Noel Butler & Stephen Oram ran them close, to the extent that Porter & McDowell were applying a loose cover on them. As much as the winners were solid in winning, so were the older hands, who scored four second places. The consistency of these two combinations was mirrored in a reverse way by those who finished behind them in the overall placings; Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe, (3rd), Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (4th) and Frank Miller & Ed Butler (5th) who flirted with success but also had some (relatively) big numbers in their scores.

The Silver Fleet was won by Jack McNaughton & Hugo Micka, whose high point would have been a 4th in Race 3 – because a) Jack only started sailing Fireballs in Series 2 of the Frostbites and b) to my knowledge he and Hugo have never sailed together before.

A special mention must go to an even newer combination who had never flown a spinnaker until the day before. Ethel Bateman and Bella Waterman giggled and laughed their way around the course and their enthusiasm for what was happening on the water was infectious. They scored a seventh in the last race after a few spinnaker issues in the earlier races.

Irish Fireball Open Championship DMYC 22 & 23 April 2023 - overall results

The next event on the Fireball regatta schedule will be the Ulsters in Newtownards at the end of May, while summer racing in Dun Laoghaire commences tomorrow evening (Tuesday) for the Fireballs and other dinghy classes.

Cara McDowell & Josh Porter, 1st Overall at the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Stephen Oram and Noel Butler – 2nd Overall at the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe – 3rd Overall at the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Jack McNaughton – Winner of the Silver Fleet at the DMYC Irish Fireball Open at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Last weekend saw a hybrid Fireball Open Weekend hosted by the DMYC. This year instead of a two-day racing event, the class decided to experiment with a blended event combining coaching and racing writes Frank Miller.

The coaching took place over two days under the expert eye of Thomas Chaix of Dinghy Performance.

As well as being one of the more expert dinghy coaches on the island, Thomas has first-hand experience having sailed a Fireball in the last year’s World Championship at LDYC Dromineer.

Fireballs launching from the DMYC slipway at the West Pier in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the Open weekend made up of coaching and racing

The forecast for the weekend was light, and so it proved. Saturday dawned with light northerlies, so most coaching took place inside the harbour. The particular focus was on starts and leeward mark roundings, a perennial obsession with sailors in all classes, given the potential gains available. The briefing before going afloat examined starting issues of positioning, lay lines to the two sides and "runway" positioning to determine the timing on the approach to the line. Thomas has an interesting and arguably more useful approach to the idea of transits, favouring the identification of two transits, one being a safe zone for the approach and another to identify the actual line position.

For Leeward mark rounding, Thomas impressed on the sailors the importance of a plan of approach far in advance of the mark, with zones in which to formulate a plan and others in which to execute the plan. In particular, the areas around the leeward mark were divided into pizza-type slices and the advantages and dangers of approaches into each "slice" were discussed.

Fireballs racing in Seapoint Bay on Sunday in light airs

On the water, the 14 Fireballs went through a series of starting drills. The shifty winds inside the harbour meant that the coach was saved the trouble of moving marks to vary the line bias. Equally, even the short practice races provided plenty of shifts and hollows to keep sailors on their toes. The leeward mark exercises were made challenging by downwind starts with sailors forced to decide early on the best approach to achieve inside berth in crowded conditions with little breeze to spare. The fleet then moved outside the harbour for short races in different conditions. While everyone hoped for a bit more breeze and a few waves, the reality around the corner in Salthill was very light winds and an adverse ebbing tide. Starts were challenging, to say the least, and one of the funniest video commentaries features the coach timing the fleet's struggle to get across the line. After a couple of entertaining races, common sense prevailed, and the fleet went back to the DMYC for showers, tea, beer and pizzas.

The plan for Sunday was a series of short races with coaching overview and advice between races, with some active advice allowed to the silver fleet during racing. Besides that on-the-water advice the huge benefit to the participants came in the form of a series of video commentaries by the coach uploaded to the Fireball WhatsApp group after sailing. The subtle movements by the top two teams in particular are worthy of careful analysis in the search for optimal sail shape and speed. All-in-all, this was an extremely successful weekend and sailors at all levels drew considerable benefit from the event. Special mention must go to Team Cork, where Chris Bateman is spearheading a Fireball revival and introducing a new young generation to the delights of the boat. In recognition of his work, the class has relocated the class loan boat to the other capital for at least a year.

The class welcomes new sailors, young and not so young and continues its drive to mobilise dormant boats into active new hands. With a busy season ahead, the next class event is the Ulster Championships at Newtownards on May 27th & 28th.

See the race report for the Fireball Open Championship by Cormac Bradley here

The last Sunday of the Frostbites, hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) and sponsored by Viking Marine at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, ended on a high with steady winds out of the north that allowed two races to be sailed without adjustment of the course, allowing two 3-lap Olympic courses to be set. The wind strength was up on forecasts on both XCWeather and Windy, getting as high as 16/17 knots in Race 1 but easing for Race 2.

This allowed a large course to be set on the N/S axis of the harbour with a mark in the middle of the harbour mouth, a gybe mark in the middle of the harbour and a leeward mark off the end of the Carlisle Pier and close to the East Pier. Indeed, some of the pedestrians on the East Pier were able to enjoy a close-up view of a Fireball trying to get off the wall, which at that stage was almost like a lee shore.

All three fleets, PY, ILCA 7s & 4s and ILCA 6s, had good fleets out for the first race, but the robust conditions of the early afternoon took its toll on the ILCA 6s in particular, with nearly a quarter of the fleet not staying out for the second race. The races were sailed in overcast conditions with a bit of drizzle that gave way to drier conditions, and late in the afternoon, the sun also appeared.

A late prompt from a competitor suggesting the start line was very pin biased caused the Race Officer to amend the pin position, and this paid off as all three fleets got away cleanly at the first time of asking. In the PY race Frank Miller (14915) persuaded the newest helm in the Irish Fireball fleet, Jack McNaughton, to go on the trapeze and they were rewarded with a big win on the water, romping home by 1:30 on father and son Frank & Hugh Cassidy (14934) with Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) a further twenty seconds adrift and Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167) another twenty seconds behind. Court & Syme’s early race was looking much better, but a hail of water at the first leeward mark from Cassidy and a subsequent capsize in dropping the kite didn’t help the Court cause. As usual, however, despite a delta of 2:40 on Noel Butler (Aero 6 3289) and 4:28 on Roy Van Maanen (Aero 6 3822) on the water, Miller & McNaughton were relegated to third on handicap. Behind Miller, the Aero 6 (3433) of Sarah Dwyer and the Aero 7 (3288) of Stephen Oram closed out the top five.

The ILCA 7s have seen an injection of enthusiasm in recent weeks and they had eight boats on the water for the third or fourth Sunday in a row. Racing in this fleet has been tight and as of the previous Sunday less that ten points covered positions 1 – 4 in Series 2.

Here the order saw Conor Byrne lead them home in Race 1, followed by Gary O’Hare, Sean Bowden, Gavan Murphy and Niall Cowman.

Conor Byrne (181204) leads Chris Arrowsmith (201829) with Niall Cowman (211857) and Gary O’Hare (201364) in close pursuit in the final race of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In the ILCA 6s, the master has been Sean Craig – those that know Sean will recognise the pun! He scored the first of two wins by a comfortable margin with the chasing pack led by Conor Clancy and followed by John O’Driscoll, Brendan Hughes and David Cahill.

Sean Craig (218154) and Darren Griffin (219867) in close company at the weather mark in Race 1, Sunday 26th March in the final race of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In the ILCA 4s Lucy Ives has made a late-season entry into the proceedings and has been rewarded with a win in each of the races in which she has featured. On Sunday, she took both races with Patrick Foley and Zeta Tempany finishing behind her in the same order, second and third, in both races.

The second race, the starting procedures was blotted by one OCS, but the transgressor was identified and the appropriate flag flown – the boat didn’t return.

In the PY Fleet, Court and Syme made amends for their struggles by winning by a huge margin – they were the only boat to finish in under 30 minutes, 28:47. As a measure of their lead on the water, some random finish times are as follows; Butler, 32:33, Oram, 32:46, Dwyer, 34:38, Colin & Casey 30:01 and Miller 31:11. But on paper, they lost out to Butler by 47 seconds, but saved their time against Oram, Dwyer and Van Maanen.

In the ILCA 7s, Byrne and O’Hare repeated their feat of first and second from the first race, but behind them, the order was changed, with Murphy, Chris Arrowsmith and Niall Cowman closing out the top five.

In the ILCA 6s, Craig took another win, with the order behind him being Hughes, Hugh Delap, Clancy and O’Driscoll.

And that brought the curtain down on the 2022/23 Frostbites!

Noel Butler, Aero 6 with the PY Perpetual Trophy of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Sean Craig (ILCA Winner across 3 ILCA fleets) with Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour sponsor Ian O’Meara (R) Photo: Frank Miller

Neil Colin and Ian O’Meara enjoying a moment at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving Photo: Frank Miller

PRO Frostbites, Cormac Bradley addresses the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving with DMYC Commodore, Ian Cutliffe, in a relaxed mode in the background Photo: Frank Miller

Gordon Syme (L) and Alastair Court, Fireball 15167, with the Fireball Perpetual Trophy at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving Photo: Frank Miller

1st Lady in the ILCA 6s, Shirley Gilmour, with Ian O’Meara at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prizegiving at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Zeta Tempany, Winner ILCA 4s overall of the the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites Photo: Frank Miller

Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6, 4th overall at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour and 1st Lady PY Fleet, with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Gavan Murphy – ILCA 7s winner of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Roy Van Maanen, Aero 6, 3rd overall in PY Fleet of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Stephen Oram, Aero 7, 2nd overall in PY Fleet of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Frostbites Series 2 Overall

PY Fleet
1st Noel Butler, Aero 6
2nd Stephen Oram, Aero 7
3rd Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6
4th Stuart Harris, Aero 6
5th Pierre & Remy Long, IDRA 14.
6th Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, Fireball.

ILCAs 7s
1st Conor Byrne
2nd Theo Lyttle
3rd Sean Bowden
4th Gavan Murphy
5th Chris Arrowsmith

ILCA 6s
1st Sean Craig
2nd Conor Clancy
3rd Darren Griffin
4th John O’Driscoll
5th David Cahill

ILCA 4s
1st Patrick Foley
2nd Zita Tempany
3rd Grace Gavin.

At the post-racing prize-giving in the DMYC clubhouse with Frostbite sponsor Ian O’Meara in attendance, the prizes for the combined Series were awarded with Ian doing the honours in tandem with Frostbites Director Neil Colin, who welcomed the competitors to the club.

Principal Race Officer, Cormac Bradley made a few observations on the racing, noting that since Christmas we had managed to race every Sunday, only losing three races, one to rising winds and two to insufficient wind. This contrasted with the pre-Christmas Series when only six races from a potential fourteen had been completed. He thanked those competitors who had discreetly assessed his beats at his invitation to make sure this leg of the course was fair. He also noted and thanked the volunteers who turned out week in, week out to allow racing to take place – mark-layers, rib crews, committee boat volunteers, the results team and the bar and catering staff who look after us after racing. DMYC Commodore, Ian Cutliffe, thanked all the competitors who raced the Series and also thanked the volunteers.

Viking Marine sponsored Frostbites results

Overall Series Results 2022/23
PY Fleet (37 entries)
1st Noel Butler, Aero 6, 31pts – Perpetual Trophy
2nd Stephen Oram, Aero 7, 90.5pts
3rd Roy Van Maanen, Aero 6, 112pts
4th Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6, 118pts
5th Stuart Harris, Aero 6, 131pts
6th Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, Fireball 15167, 144pts – Perpetual Trophy.

ILCA 7s (11 entries)
1st Gavan Murphy, 212521, 78pts
2nd Conor Byrne, 181204, 81pts
3rd Theo Lyttle, 211129, 90pts.

ILCA 6s (39 entries)
1st Sean Craig, 218154, 30pts – Perpetual Trophy
2nd Conor Clancy, 213048, 58pts
3rd Darren Griffin, 219867, 65pts
4th John O’Driscoll, 210361, 106pts
5th David Cahill, 186302, 116pts
7th Shirley Gilmour, 143pts.

ILCA 4s (8 entries)
1st Zita Tempany, 211122, 37pts
2nd Patrick Foley, 211274, 39pts
3rd Grace Gavin, 213526, 50pts.

Fireballs only (12 entries)
1st Frank Miller & Ed Butler, Neil Cramer, 14915, 48pts
2nd Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, 15167, 53pts
3rd Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe, 15016, 65pts.

Aeros only (8 entries)
1st Noel Butler, (6) 3289, 26pts
2nd Roy Van Maanen, (6) 3822, 60pts
3rd Stephen Oram, (7) 3288, 66pts.

In addition to perpetual trophies for the PY Class, the ILCAs and the Fireballs, vouchers for the first three in each of PY, ILCA 7s, 6s and 4s were presented by Viking Marine as well as prizes to Shirley Gilmore and Sarah Dwyer for being the first Lady in the ILCA 6s and the PY Fleets, respectively.

On receipt of his perpetual trophy, Sean Craig spoke on behalf of all the ILCA fleets to commend DMYC and the volunteers for what he considered an exceptionally good series, particularly since Christmas. He noted that the day’s racing would not have looked out of place at a more serious championship. He suggested that a racing fleet of 39 ILCA 6s would currently be hard to beat anywhere.

Noel Butler addresses the Viking Marine DMYC prize-giving with Ian Cutliffe (Commodore DMYC) and Neil Colin (Frostbites Director) for company Photo: Frank Miller

Noel Butler echoed Sean’s sentiments and noted that this was his 28th or 29th Frostbites without missing a year and agreed that the racing in 2023, in particular, had been very good.

A few weeks past, the Fireball Class gathered at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour to celebrate the 2022 season, to recognise the superb effort that so many people put into the Fireball Worlds in Lough Derg in August and to award prizes for the summer just past. Joined by a number of past members, there was good turnout of current members on the night which left plenty of opportunity to reminisce on the success of the Worlds.

Class Chairman Neil Cramer (Skerries) opened the proceedings by giving a precis of the season just past, noting that while the turnout at some of the domestic regattas was modest there had been a big turnout of Irish boats at the Worlds – 29, exceeding the number at the Sligo Worlds of 2011, when it could be argued that the fleet was a good deal healthier in terms of numbers. Neil also recorded the fact that for the first time in a number of years the Fireball Class had a representative at the Champion of Champions regatta and could have had two, potentially, except that the National Champion couldn’t make the regatta.

In addition to the perpetual trophies that the Class awards, the evening recognised excellence on the water as confirmed by the Travellers’ Trophy, which scores the domestic regattas on aggregate throughout the season.

Travellers’ Trophy

Gold Fleet
1st Chris Bateman & Thomas Chaix 14750, 11pts
2nd Ed Butler (Jnr) & Fionn Conway 14969, 13pts
3rd Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061, 16pts

Silver Fleet
1st Brenda Nash & Glen Fisher 14663, 83pts
2nd Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854, 87pts
3rd Jim Ryan & David Tanner 14584, 88pts

Perpetual Trophies

• 1st Lady: Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe 15016, 5th Overall, Gold Fleet, 30pts
• India Trophy: Most Improved; Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, 15167, 8th Overall, Gold Fleet, 43pts
• Asterix Trophy: Significant Contribution; The Irish Fireball Class Members – for their support and work for the Fireball Worlds.
• (Dun Laoghaire) Class Captain’s Prize: [Owen Sinnott] – Awarded to Glen Fisher for his efforts to get multiple Fireballs back on the water – he owns nearly 10% of the registered fleet, 3 No.
• Bradley Trophy – Awarded to Owen Sinnott for his management of the measurement process at the Fireball Worlds – with a newly International Class Measurer in attendance.
• Neil Cramer made a presentation to Cormac Bradley to recognise his ongoing efforts on behalf of the Class and his representation at Fireball International.

A presentation was also made to Ian O’Keefe for his work on all the merchandising for the Fireball Worlds in Lough Derg. It had started with a T-shirt and ended up as T-shirts, Polo shirts, caps and banners for the event.

All photos below by Frank Miller.

Class Chairman, Neil Cramer about to get proceedings underway...

...and starts with a special presentation to Ian O’Keeffe for designing the merchandising for the Lough Derg Worlds

Thomas Chaix, Winning Crew, Gold Fleet, Fireball Travellers’ Trophy

Ed Butler (Jnr), 2nd Placed Helm, Gold Fleet, Fireball Travellers’ Trophy

Stephen Oram (L) and Noel Butler (R), 3rd Place’ Gold Fleet, Travellers’ Trophy

Glen Fisher & Brenda Nash, Silver Fleet Winners, Travellers’ Trophy

Cariosa Power (L) and Marie Barry (R), 2nd Place, Silver Fleet, Travellers’ Trophy

Louise McKenna (L) and Hermione O’Keefe celebrate winning The Ladies Trophy

Alastair Court, India Trophy Winner with Gordon Syme

Class Chairman Neil Cramer announces that the Irish Fireball Class Members have won the Asterix Trophy

Cormac Bradley (L) presents the Bradley Trophy to Owen Sinnott

Class Chairman Neil Cramer makes a presentation to Cormac Bradley

Louise McKenna closed out the speeches (nearly) by responding to the award of the Asterix Trophy to the membership of the Class by paying tribute to the principal parties involved in bringing the International Fireball World Championships to Lough Derg Yacht Club. By popular acclaim the regatta had proven to be a huge success, by way of total entries, 79 boats, the social side of the regatta and the catering undertaking. Considering the circumstances at the time, and the perceived risk of trying to organise the event at such short notice, it was a tribute to Neil Cramer (Management and Overall Financial Control), Frank Miller (Marketing & Meetings), Owen Sinnott (Measurement) and Marie Barry (Catering) that the event had been such an enormous success. She then revealed a secret plot to have a further dinner to celebrate the success of the regatta and to recognise the contribution of the four named individuals by way of an invitation for them and their partners to attend. A fund has been initiated for the dinner which will take place in February 2023.