In what started as a drifter for the DBSC  Flying Fifteens and the PRO Jack Roy considering cancelling the racing for the evening a fresh breeze filled in from the SW and provided perhaps the most exciting conditions for racing so far this season.

An impressive fleet of 20 Flying Fifteens were on the start line including Tom Murphy in a new boat. (IRL 4057). The bias was clearly at the committee boat end and there was the usual eagerness for the favoured spot resulting in a couple of boats OCS. Mulligan & Bradley along with Gorman & Doorly were quick out of the blocks and we were to find out later why! As the boats headed in towards the shore to Battery mark Mulligan led the way followed closely by Gorman, McCourt and Green. A reach out to East mark saw Mulligan extend his lead but on the next exciting two sail reach Gorman and McCourt closed the gap. Gorman took the lead but inadvertently went through the start line where other boats were still starting to be later disqualified, McCourt moved into second .As the leaders headed to the finish line Gorman crossed but there was no hooter, McCourt was next and got his victory, Mulligan was next but no hooter allowing Green & Murphy to claim second spot with Colman & Quinn in third place. It was a great race and nice to see one of the new boats in the Royal St George take line honours.

Thanks to Jack and his team on Freebird for perservering and providing a great course.

This promises to be an exciting year for the class on the bay as there are now about 30 boats across the waterfront in the DMYC, RStGYC and the NYC.

In the first DBSC race of the season there was an impressive turnout of fifteen Flying Fifteens on the start line last night. The first race is usually a mix of trepidation and excitement, there were some new boats out, new crew combinations and new members to the fleet. 

On a wintery night PRO Jack Roy warned the fleets that it was going to be a tricky unpredictable evening as the wind was flicking around and was forecast to drop off during the evening.

The wind held and being the first race the majority of the fleet were very eager to start at the biased committee boat end particularly as it was a fetch to the first mark.

Some boats got squeezed out, others were over the line but Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly started a few lengths down and were out of the starting blocks quickly and with clear wind soon took a lead that they were able to hold to the first weather mark at Bay and on till the finish.

Behind at the weather mark there was a scramble but Mulvin & Beirne were second followed by Green & Mulligan. Downwind to Omega there was plenty of action with lots of luffing duals. Niall Colman & class captain Mick Quinn along with Ryan & McAree made good gains after poor starts but there was to be no change in the first three.

Thanks to Jack and his team on Freebird and to the wind Gods for being kind.

This promises to be an exciting year for the class on the bay as there are now about 30 boats across the waterfront in the DMYC, RStGYC and the NYC.

Sailors at the Dublin Bay Flying Fifteen pre–season reception at the National Yacht Club this evening will be briefed of the 2018 season on the Bay but will also hear news of the qualification rules for the world championships on the capital's waters in 2019.

Tonight's gathering is one week ahead of the first DBSC race next Thursday, April 24th. The 30–boat class is the biggest one design keelboat on the bay.

A short briefing on the season ahead will be given by class Captain Mick Quinn, followed by a 'DBSC Update' from fleet rep Joe Hickey.

Chairperson of the 2019 Flying Fifteen Worlds at the NYC, Niall Meagher, will set out plans for the championships for September 2019.

Finally FFAI President Chris Doorly will brief on the FFAI qualifying events for 2018 and rules for qualification for the 2019 Worlds.

Details of the 2018 DBSC season were detailed recently by Afloat's WM Nixon here.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club has saluted its largest one design keelboat and dinghy fleets on the eve of the 2018 season. 

Boat entries everywhere are a perennial problem for organisers but that's not the case for either the Water Wag or Flying Fifteen fleets on Dublin Bay this season.

'Bravo the Water Wags and the Flying 15s who have - very conscientiously – heeded our previous appeals to get their entries to the secretariat in good time', DBSC Commodore Chris Moore told a meeting of DBSC's 22 classes this week. 

Currently – at just a fortnight from the first race – Moore reported that only slightly more than 'half of the 320 boats who race with DBSC have registered'. 'The situation of IRC certs is infinitely worse', he added. 

The oldest dinghy class in the world, the clinker–built Water Wag, with a history dating back to 1899, boasts 32–boats for the 2018 season to outstrip any other dinghy class on the Bay.  Seymour Creswell is this year's DBSC Wag Class Captain.

Meanwhile, the evergreen Flying Fifteen class, based at the National Yacht Club, has 29 boats entered, according to the just published 2018 DBSC Yearbook. The keelboat class has recently launched a new website for its hosting of the 2019 World Championships on the Bay and celebrates its season start under FF Class Captain Mick Quinn at a pre–season reception at the East Pier Club on April 19th.

The National Yacht Club has launched a website and is ramping up preparations for its staging of the 2019  Flying Fifteen World Championships at Dun Laoghaire.

As Afloat.ie previously reported here, the 2019 Championships will run from 2nd -13th September on the waters of Dublin Bay.

85 boats will compete with entries from as near as the UK, Europe and as far away as Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand where the most recent World Championships were held.

As well as being a boost to the local Dun Laoghaire economy, it is hoped the event will increase interest in this exciting two–man boat. The event will showcase Dublin Bay as a premier racing venue as it follows on from other European and World Championships events in the Bay in 2018, such as the Laser Master World Championships.

The Event Chairman is the club's Niall Meagher who has sailed in the FF fleet since 1996, first participating in a world Championship in the 50th anniversary event in Cowes ; since then Niall has taken on the role of Class Captain of the Dunlaoghaire Fleet (1999) and President of the Flying Fifteen Association of Ireland (2000-02).

The new event website is here

Coweslip, is now on display alongside the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh.

The 15 foot (on the waterline), two-person keelboat is on loan to the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust and is now on display in Edinburgh for visitors to enjoy. Designed and built by legendary sailor Uffa Fox, the Flying Fifteen was launched in June 1949 and, in the words of Uffa, it was "a sensible, safe boat, that was fun to sail as well, for the rough and tumble of tidal waters around the UK".

In Ireland, the Flying Fifteen remians ons of the strongest one design keelboat fleets with bases in Waterford, Dublin and Down.

Historic yacht Coweslip is the most famous of the Flying Fifteen keelboats, having been presented to Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip as a wedding present in 1949. Prince Philip frequently sailed on Coweslip with Uffa Fox and, together, they had great success sailing competitively, including winning the Britannia Cup in 1952 and in fact, in 1962 at Cowes, Coweslip nearly sank when she was hit by a gust of wind and capsized, throwing both Uffa and The Duke into the water.

Uffa Fox was born on the Isle of Wight and raised in East Cowes and was responsible for many of the developments which have contributed to the modern popularity of dinghy sailing.

The Flying Fifteen Frostbite Series supported by Mitsubishi came to a conclusion at the National Yacht Club weekend with four races in a light west –nw wind and a strong outgoing tide. The new format introduced two weeks ago with multiple short races was introduced for this final day. An impressive 18 boats were entered in the series, going into the last day there were three boats in contention with Green & Doorly leading Niall & Nikki Meagher by three points and Neil Colman & Mick Quinn in third.

Alan Green with Ben Mulligan crewing had an impressive day winning three of the four races and had a third in race three, a race won by David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne with Stuart Harrison visiting from Lough Neagh in second place.

With the short races there was no room for error and Alan and Ben got it right each time to win the day and the Series. Ken Dumpleton also had a good day recording two seconds. Alan of course is more known for his crewing exploits so to win as a helm was particularly satisfying, with a few crew changes along the way he managed the series well and was a deserving winner.

Niall & Nikki Meagher were second with Niall Colman & Mick Quinn third overall. The Silver fleet was won by Alan Dooley & Joe Hickey.

Thanks to Ian Mathews and all his assistants over the weeks on the committee boat, in particular John Gorman the boat owner, also to all in the ribs, we couldn’t race without them! Thanks also to those who sponsored and contributed towards the prizes.

That’s the end of an exciting summer, special thanks also to Dun Laoghaire Class Captain John O’Sulllivan who put in a lot of work behind the scenes to make things happen. Next week see’s the annual Class dinner and prize giving which will have a twist to it as there will be a special edition of Mr &Mrs (helm & crew) to spice up the evening’s entertainment!

The Flying Fifteen Frostbite Series supported by Mitsubishi recommenced after the Bank Holiday break with a new format designed to thrill and shake up the overall series, it didn’t disappoint! Dubbed Super Saturday there were six back to back races enjoyed by all on a blustery day with strong W-NW winds, beautiful sunshine and a strong out going tide.

Good starts and a good first beat were the order of the day. There were four different race winners, Race 2 was won by Niall & Nikki Meagher who just managed to stay ahead of Ken Dumpleton & Paul Nolan. They were to get their moment of glory in Race 5 when they hit the right hand side to win comfortably. Race 4 was won by Susan Halpenny & Mick Quinn. But the day belonged to Alan Green & Chris Doorly in Frequent Flyer who had 3 race wins to win the day and take over the lead in the Series with two weekends of racing left. This was in spite of their efforts to mess it up by being over the line twice and going back, But good tactics and boats speed got them back in the mix each time by the weather mark.

The 12 boat fleet had a good gender mix today with Gill Fleming helming with Conor O'Leary, along with Susan Halpenny and Valerie Mulvin driving their boats. We also had Stuart Harrison and his crew down from Lough Neagh who have joined the series. After the tough day the fleet were happy to adjourn to the National Yacht Club for refreshments and to warm up.

The National Yacht Club's David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne lifted the Flying Fifteen Western Championships after four races sailed on Lough Derg yesterday as part of the Lough Derg Yacht Club's Freshwater Keelboat Regatta writes our special correspondent.

The annual Freshwater Regatta incorporated the Flying Fifteen West Coast Championships and was deservedly won by the National Yacht Clubs David Mulvin and the clubs Commodore Ronan Beirne with Rory & Andy Martin (SLSC) one point behind in second place. Despite Storm Brian’s best efforts the regatta was not all lost as four races were raced on Sunday after Saturday's cancellation. As forecasted the winds had moderated in this area for Sunday.

A few boats didn’t make it down for the weekend but it was their loss as the racing was close, exciting and very competitive in a shifty W-SW wind. The race team with PRO (and Commodore) John Leech did a great job with short courses and quick turnarounds. Because of the short course there was plenty of drama and excitement with plenty of close calls and near misses but the fleet showed great seamanship in the varied conditions. One of the most exciting moments came after Race 2 when Green & Doorly were not happy with their downwind angles as their winddex was damaged so Alan decided to climb up the mast, capsize the boat, fix it, swim back and pop into the boat as it righted itself- no bother to him but read on to see if it made a difference!

David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne storming to victory on Lough Derg

Back to the racing, despite the short races it was amazing that places changes so regularly, just when you thought you were in a good position the wind gods decided to come in from the other side, in the last race when Mulvin need to finish ahead he was last on lap 1 with Roy and Andy leading and by the finish he had steered the boat into second place with Rory behind him, enough to take the title!

Race one was won by David & Ronan, they set off on the pin and were always going to be in a good position due to the bias. Willis & McPeake made a great recovery downwind and moved into second ahead of Green & Doorly, this is how it finished but Willis nearly pinched the win in the shifty last beat.

Race 2 was nearly the opposite, Rory & Andy led all the way while Mulvin was sixth. Willis was looking good with his consistency getting a second 2nd position just ahead of Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney..

Race 3 there was a shift and an increase in the wind, the course was adjusted. On the first downwind leg Mulvin broke away to the left showing great speed and went on to win, the Meaghers were sailing extremely well and were second with Rory & Andy third but it was all very close and you could throw a blanket over the boats as they finished.

The wind died a bit during the final race, Race 4- there were no discards (rightly so) so it was all to play for between the Martins and Mulvin- winner takes all! Everyone was eager to win a race, Coughlin & Poole and the Murphy father and son looked like upsetting the pecking order as they stormed up the right side to lead at the first mark, The Martins were in the mix while Mulvin was watching his chances of winning slip away as he held up the rear. On the last weather mark Green & Doorly led from Doyle but Doyle got inside at the gate to go on and win the race, Greens winddex clearly working now!. In a shifty phase between the gate and the finish a lot changed, Mulvin rounded everyone to get second, Martin were third with Green fourth.

Despite Storm Brian it was a great weekend and Sundays racing was fantastic with short snappy races. Huge thanks to John Leech and his team on and off the water. The meal on saturday evening was great and it is always good to share events with other classes, in this case the Dragons, SB20’s and the Squibs. The club are so welcoming and the FF's look forward to returning . . . without Brian! 

Download results below

Niall and Nikki Meagher in Ffantastic Mr Fox had two great race wins in very difficult shifty conditions in the National Yacht Club Flying fifteen Frostbite Series on Sunday. The strong winds of the morning had abated and by the start it was only about 10-12knots in a flat sea.

The large turnout of 15 boats were a bit too keen and there was a general recall. On the first beat there was very little difference between those went hard left and those who went right. David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne led from Adrian & Alex Cooper, behind it was very bunched with O’Sullivan, Green and Coughlan well in the mix. Downwind the Coopers took the lead and held it till the last beat on lap three where the wind gods decided to play with the fleet. Eventually after a calm shifty period those out on the left came good, The Meaghers and Ken Dumpleton & Paul Nolan had got well ahead followed by Mulvin, Coleman and Green fairly spread out behind them. It wasn’t a sure thing on the downwind leg towards the finish as the wind flicked around as far as the NE at one stage but the Meaghers got the gun followed by Dumpleton with Mulvin third, it was bad luck on the Coopers who had sailed a great race.

For Race 2 the wind flicked to the west and just as we were in the sequence it flick back to the south west and PRO Ian Mathews had to reset the course as the fleet waited. Off they went up the beat, Colman out on the left came in to the weather mark first just ahead of the Meaghers and Mulvin, but it was very close behind with Dooley and Coughlan going well. The winds had got lighter on the second beat and as Colman led around the weather mark he came to a standstill in the now strong incoming tide at the wing mark allowing the Meaghers to overtake and go into the lead. Behind Dooley, Mulvin and Green were all chasing. There was another lap to go .. or was there? The blue flag went up much to the delight of the Meaghers and the race was shortened as the winds flicked back to the west.

Thanks to Ian Mathews and all his assistants on the committee boat and in the ribs, we couldn’t race without them! The fleet take a break next week as they head off to the Freshwater Regatta in Lough Derg, Dromineer for their West Coast Championships.