#flyingfifteen – The Flying Fifteen Northern Championships hosted by Strangford Lough YC in Whiterock took place in perfect conditions at the weekend and was won by Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly (NYC) who sailed a very consistent series, Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (NYC) were in second place with Roger Chamberlain & Simon Murray from the local club in third place. There was also a great performance from Lee Statham & Andy Paul (WHSC) who finished fourth in their first event.

On Saturday three races were held in 10-15 knots of breeze from the northwest, the weather mark was out in the Lough so the usual tidal streams had to be negotiated but the PRO PJ Gault set great course's with good start lines. In the first Race Gorman was quick out of the blocks and headed left to stay out of the ebbing tide. He was first at the weather mark but was closely followed by Mathews, Chamberlain and Lawson, this was the way it stayed over the race to the finish.
Race 2: Mathews led the way but on the second beat current Irish Champions McCleery & Dougan took the lead and won the race, behind it was very close with Mathews pipping Gorman on the line for second place. Roger Chamberlain led all the way in Race 3, Gorman had a poor start at the pin end and managed to get back in touch by the weather mark finishing second holding off Lee Statham (WHSC) and Shane McCarty fourth.

After racing most of the competitors had food and refreshments in the club and then adjourned to Daft Eddies for more refreshments. Some visited the Down Cruising Club on board their club the old lightship Petrel which is 100 years old this week.

Sunday was again sunny with a slightly more northerly breeze. There were three boats in contention for the title, Gorman, Chamberlain and Mathews- all to play for! The tide still had an hour to come in, Gorman started at the boat end as there was more breeze on that side of the course and he had the option of tacking in the shifts. This he did and he led at the weather mark but it was all very close, Statham and McKee were close and the lead changed several times with McKee taking the gun, Gorman second, Statham third and Malcolm Crichton fourth. With Mathews fifth and Chamberlain sixth this was enough to give Gorman & Doorly the title. They sailed the last race which was a great race, Statham led the way sailing well but on the last reach he had a problem with the spinnaker and this allowed Gorman through, Statham didn't give up and as they approached the line Gorman lee bowed him to stay in front and take the gun, after over an hours racing there were second between the first five boats, great racing!

At the prize giving local class captain Roger Chamberlain thanked the many volunteers including the PRO and his team, Dave Gorman did likewise but included his long suffering crew Chris. Charlie Boland & Rob McConnell (WHSC) won the Silver Fleet. 

The next event is the South Coast Championships which will be held in Dunmore East in July.

#dbsc – Last night's 16-boat DBSC Flying Fifteen race consisted of nine marks all to be left to port and started with a good upwind leg to Bulloch Mark on Dublin Bay. Much was lost and gained on this first leg. The fleet got away 'all clear'. In general, the fleet favoured the right hand side of both the starting line and the upwind leg. Perhaps the incoming tide was over–considered. The fleet were all very much to the right wing side of the upwind leg. However, leaders Alan Green and Mick Quinn taught the fleet the lesson that sometimes sticking with your wing principles pay off as they literally arrived on port tack out of 'left field' to round Bulloch with a commanding lead.

The closest chasers were David Gorman Tom Murphy, David Mulvin, Tom Galvin and Alan Dooley.

After many gybes, beats etc Gorman eventually got close to them following a tight reach to Pier Mark. On the subsequent beat to Island Mark, Gorman took advantage and ultimately won the evening.

In conclusion, the race for the Thursday FF crown has hotted up! Gorman is now Number one on nine points followed by Coleman on 11; Green carrying 12 and Dooley on 13.

DBSC results here.

#flyingfifteen – Betty sailed by Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly won the two races at the weekend where 17 Flying Fifteen fleet turned out in the DBSC Saturday series. Tom & Eamon Galvin also had a great day getting two seconds. Race Officer Barry O'Neill and his team on Freebird set great windward- leeward course's in a building southerly wind. The start line was long enough this week and the bias was at the committee boat for both races.
Race 1: the tide was flooding and the wind was oscillating, there appeared to be slightly more wind upon the left towards the harbour, this proved correct as Tom Murphy reached the weather mark first just ahead of the Galvin brothers and Gorman with Mulligan & Green in Frequent Flyer just behind. Downwind Galvin took the lead and it was only on the next beat that Gorman got ahead by going in to the right for more pressure. It remained close up to the finish, Gorman first, Galvin second, Mathews third and Mulligan fourth.
Race 2 the committee boat end had a slight bias and the tide had started to ebb, Mulligan tacked to the right as the main fleet went left, it was shifty and Mulligan was looking good, suddenly there was another shift, those on the left got a lift and Murphy again lead at the weather mark followed by Gorman, Mulligan and Galvin. Downwind Gorman took the lead, on the remaining beats the wind had shifted slightly to the right and going towards the shore paid each time. Gorman led the way to the line, Galvins were second with Mulligan third and Mathews fourth.
A feature of the racing was how close it is between all the boats, It was great to see so many boats out racing. This Thursday the DBSC series continues this week.

#flyingfifteen – On a great evening for sailing on Dublin Bay with an incoming tide and winds from the west varying from 10–knots to gusts of 25 the Flying Fifteen fleet turned out in good numbers again with 13 boats competing. The pin end appeared to be biased at the start but the wind flicked which made it more square. Murphy, Colman and Balfe were quick off the start at the pin end with Ben Mulligan sailing with Chris Doorly tonight in Frequent Flyer starting in the middle of the line.

The boats all headed towards the shore up towards Harbour mark. Mulligan went closest to the shore on the lay line and got to the mark first, with the spinnaker up quickly they pulled ahead in the strong gusts. Behind Colman was next followed by Balfe and Mulvin. Mulvin also caught the gusts and overtook Colman on the way down to Island mark. On the long beat to Bay mark Mulvin went inshore but Mulligan decided not to cover and stayed on the right playing the shifts and heading towards some dark clouds which brought plenty of wind.

This is how it remained as the fleet sailed out to East mark and up to the finish. Mulligan took the gun comfortably, Mulvin was second, Colman third and Murphy just pipped Balfe on the line to take fourth place. Colman & Quinn still lead the Series with consistant sailing in the first month.

Well done to the PRO Jack Roy and his team on Freebird for a good race in great conditions. After racing the Fleet has an organised dinner at the NYC where class captain Ronan Beirne presented some spot prizes.

This Saturday the DBSC series continues. Results here.

#flyingfifteen – On a beautiful summers day the Flying Fifteen fleet turned out in good numbers again with 19 boats competing in the first DBSC Saturday series. Race Officer Suzanne McGarry and her team on Freebird got two races in a flooding tide and a building southerly breeze. Frequent Flyer helmed by Ben Mulligan with Alan Green had a great day winning the two races followed closely by Gorman & Doorly with two second places.
Race 1: Ben and Alan got a great start and led the way for the whole race, behind there was a battle for the minor places, Dooley & Hickey were in great form and in lap two got into second place, it was nip and tuck between them and Gorman but on the last beat Gorman got ahead to win by a whisker. Niall Meagher sailing with Mary Jane Mulligan were a comfortable fourth followed by Maguire and Poole who had a great battle to the finish line.
Race 2: had a general recall, this was no surprise as the start line was way too short for the number of boats. Again the committee boat end had a slight bias, on the restart Colman went out to sea as Mulligan, Gorman and Poole went inshore mainly because of poor starts! Approaching the weather mark Colman was looking good coming in from the left but Mulligan got around followed by Colman and Murphy with Gorman back in the pack. It was only two laps so there was not much time to catch up, Mulligan held on but there was a lot of traffic at the final leeward mark and a large group of Fifteens arrived at the mark together with the squibs. Most tacked off to the left including Murphy and Poole to clear their air, Mulligan went in on port as did Gorman who was in the middle of the group, Gorman tacked on a good line, with the wind increasing and veering to the right it was a sprint up to the finish, Gorman was now within a boat length of Mulligan, Murphy was just behind in third, this is how it finished.
This Thursday the DBSC series continues. Results for Saturday's race here.

#flyingfifteen –  Frequent visitor to Ireland, UK Flying fifteen champion Charles Apthorp, sailing with Alan Green, produced four wins at the East Coast Championships to be unstoppable at a windy County Antrim Yacht Club at Whitehead yesterday. The National Yacht Club's David Gorman and Chris Doorly were second (on tie– break) in the 20–boat fleet with County Antrim's own Bryan Willis and John McPeake third. Full results downloadable below. 

On Saturday three races were held in 10-25 knots of breeze from the west/sw. Being so close to the land it was shifty towards the shore and the wind coming around the headland also had an impact on conditions. Racing started at 2pm,

Race 1: the tide was going out towards the north and this held boats back on the line, the pin was favoured and with the wind out on the left it was important to get a good start. Gorman got a great start and soon tacked across the fleet, he led at the weather mark with Apthorp hot on his heels, Apthorp took the lead on the run and held it to the end, on the second beat Gormans outhaul broke and he was out of the race, not good to use your discard so early but he was up and running for the next race. Mc Cleery was second with Malcolm Crichton & Barry Bridges (SSC) third.
Race 2: The wind and rain were lashing the fleet at this stage. Apthorp won comfortably with Gorman chasing him all the way to be a comfortable second. There was confusion as to how many laps were sailed, after three there was no blue flag up so the fleet sailed another but it didn't affect positions. Chamberlain broke his jib halyard and at the weather mark there was a pile up involving three boats with the end result a large hole in Marcus Crichtons boat- no more sailing for him and his crew Roy.
Race 3: the boat end was favoured, Apthorp got away as Gorman got held up at the start by boats sailing over and not going up to keep clear as they should at the start, despite this he was up in third place at the weather mark behind Apthorp and McCleery. On the next beat the two leaders sailed to the left as Willis, Gorman and Mathews headed in towards the shore, this paid and the three were really close all the way to the finish line, the downwind leg was particularly exciting with boats vying for inside position at the last leeward mark. Local man Brian Willis & John McPeak deservedly won with Mathews second , Gorman third with Apthorp and McCleery back quiet a bit in fourth and fifth place.

On reaching the shore after the three races the well organised helpers on the slip were a welcome sight as were the soup and bread rolls. There was an excellent meal provided later in the club and the revelry in this fine club went on late into the night.

For Sunday the forecast was for the strong winds to continue but on arrival it was moderate, there was an early start so we could get in before the low tide.
In Race 4: Gorman got squeezed out at the start and had to turn round and start in the second lane at the committee boat, he headed in towards the shore but left paid and Apthorp led all the way with McKee, Chamberlain and Crichton all chasing. The wind was up now particularly further out of the shelter of the land and there was some great downwind sailing. On the last beat Gorman worked hard on the shifts and just managed to pip Chamberlain and Crichton on the line. The win was enough for Apthorp & Green to retain the title they won last season.
Race 5 was a triangle Olympic course with some hard reaches thrown in just to tire the already tired crews. Gorman lead at the weather mark but was overtaken on the reach by the heavier crew on Frequent Flyer. After some great reaches and close racing Apthorp and Gorman got well ahead of the pack on the second beat to finish in first and second place in the race and overall. Chamberlain was third with Irish Champion McCleery & Dougan fourth in Race 5. Small consolation for Gorman & Doorly is that they are back on top of the Irish Ranking table.

At the prize giving local class captain and Commodore thanked the sponsors and the many volenteers including the PRO and his team. On behalf of the winning crew Alan Green also thanked all involved in the club and also his fellow competitors who all made the effort to travel to this great part of the Irish coastline.

The next event is the Northern Championships which will be held in Whiterock Stangford Lough in June.

#flyingfifteen – Guest helm Sean Craig sailing with Alan Green won DBSC's Thursday's Flying Fifteen race from Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly with Dave Mulvin & Ronan Beirne in third, Again there was a great turn out of 17 boats on a tricky evening with a strong in coming tide and a light easterly breeze. There was a clean start with most boats below the line with the strong tide, the committee boat end seemed to pay but there wasn't a lot in it as there was more wind at the pin end, soon the boats got into their stride and those who went tight gained,

Colman & Quinn were going well as was Craig and Doyle. Gorman tacked more left and rounded the first mark side by side with Colman, Downwind to Bay mark was a drift but Colman led from Craig with Gorman and Mulvin close behind going into the beat out to East mark. This was to be the critical leg-most boats kept going on port but after a while Gorman went out left searching for wind, and was followed by Craig and Mulvin. Craig led with Mulvin moving up to second, Gorman third and Colman back in fourth,
Boats were worried about the time limit, it would be a shame to go to the effort of sailing and not get a finish, there was little or no wind now but on the fleet drifted towards the finish line. Craig stayed clear but there was a final twist behind, Colman seemed to be moving and catching up by coming down the middle, Mulvin gybed over to cover him but this allowed Gorman who was over on the right to drift into second place. Mulvin finished third with Colman fourth and Dooley fifth. On arriving ashore the crews were delighted to see that the BBQ was still going strong..

Well done to the PRO Jack Roy and his team on Freebird for perservering in difficult conditions. This Saturday the DBSC series continues but many of the fleet will be heading to Whitehead for the East Coast Championships being hosted by County Antrim Sailing Club.

Click for DBSC Thursday results

#flyingfifteen – Frank Burgess and Brian Maguire  sailing Flying Fifteen 3747 lead all three Mitsubishi Flying Fifteen DBSC races on Saturday. In a startling contrasting day, launching in a 5 to zero knot breeze, 17 Flying Fifteens ventured out on to Seapoint bay for the day's racing , to be totally becalmed at one stage.
Then at about 2.20 a radio message came up from Scotsman bay that the forecasted wind from the south was on its way .
Race 1. Our esteemed DBSC OOD Jonathan O'Rourke, set Course X3, a windward / Leeward Course and a clean start at first attempt and off the 17 FF's went up the beat. Burgess/Maguire FF 3747 were pushed out to sea and the still flooding tide by Mulvin/ Beirne FF 4028 , while the majority of the fleet went in shore to get out of the tide. But due to a lifting wind and good pressure Burgess/ Maguire FF 3747 got round the windward mark in first place.
Burgess/ Maguire FF3747 lead for 3 rounds but like all good sailors did not read the course card and were coming to the finishing line, downwind, and saw no blue flag . Course X3 has 4 rounds. So a really tactically race ensued, with Mathews/ Poole FF 3864, commencing a tacking duel (as Poole indicated afterwards, to see if they could break Burgess). And lone behold they did and down the run Mathews/ Poole FF 3864 overtook Burgess/ Maguire FF 3747 and got the gun . A real race for 2nd then ensued between Galvin / Galvin FF 3757 and Burgess/Maguire FF 3747, which the latter won by a nose.
Race 2 Quickly followed , Course T2, was set by the OOD Mr J O'Rourke. This being an Olympic Course we later learnt. Off the fine fleet of Flying Fifteen went up the beat in 12/15 knots of breeze. As the tide had turned Burgess/Maguire FF 3747 did not mind been pushed again out to sea by FF 3970 Mulligan/ Green and again rounded the weather mark in first place , and hoisted the spinnaker very efficiently and set a course for Howth and the gybe mark. They were quickly followed by the rest of the fleet , but could not find the gybe mark.
Out to sea we all went, it was a beautiful sight to see the FF fleet in full flight with spinnakers flying and no where to go . So Burgess made a prat of himself and for all of Dublin Bay to hear, radioed the "FreeBird". and requested "where was the Gybe Mark "
To be informed that, "It was an Olympic Course and read your fleet card" . As the fleet were now racing towards about 30 cruisers , the race was abandoned.
Our OOD Jonathan O'Rourke later informed us , there was no Gybe mark set and he truly thought he had set W2, a windward / Leeward Course. ( He should have gone to SpecSavers). He forgot to put on his glasses. We can all make mistakes.
Race 3  followed within a few minutes and all was forgiven , as we had an excellent race in a shifting southerly breeze , lead all the way by Burgess/ Maguire FF 3747, who to the delighted of our excellent OOD Mr J O'Rourke and his fantastic support race team, gave the leading boat FF 3747 Burgess/Maguire the gun and a rapturous applause which was returned with gusto .
The real race was down the fleet where , FF 3757, Galvin/Galvin, FF 3970, Mulligan/Green fought it out for 2nd and 3 rd place.
As Burgess/Maguire FF 3747 had a 2nd and 1st and FF 3684 Mathews/Poole had unfortunate gear failure, Burgess/Maguire FF 3747 were delighted after some excellent race management and great competition from a super fleet of Mitsubishi sponsored Flying Fifteen's, won the day.

DBSC results here.

#flyinfifteen – With a steady 10–knot wind from SE that never faltered, it was a night to be on Dublin Bay, with 17 Flying Fifteens crossing the Thursday night DBSC start line.
Race Officer Jack Roy told all fleets to watch the ebb tide pushing the fleet across the start line, and his warning worked as the fleet got away cleanly, well spread along a square line for a fast beat down the coast to Bulloch.
Tom Galvin & Peter McConnell (3757) having gone out, rounded first, with David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (4028) right behind, followed by David & Sarah Gorman (3920) and Niall Coleman & Mick Quinn (4008) following closely.
A close two-sail reach ensued, in which Mulvin took the lead at top of long run back to Pier. Galvin regained the lead downwind, and held on up the second beat.
The race finished with a short reach out to Molly, back to Pier and then to an upwind finish. Places changed all the time in the close racing, with Galvin & McConnell holding on to win, with Niall Coleman & Mick Quinn second, having just passed the Gormans, who finished third ahead of David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne. John O'Sullivan & Ken Ryan held off a strong finishing pack to take 5th.

Next weekend the Flying fifteen heads north for the East Coast Championship at Whitehead in County Antrim. A fleet of over 25 boats are expected.Download notice of race below.

DBSC results here

#flyingfifteen – Thursday 30th April on a sunny and chilly evening with c 9 knots from the east and a flood tide, 16 Fifteens crossed the starting line for the DBSC Thursday evening series, with Jack Roy PRO and his efficient team on 'Freebird'.

With some boats being a little too eager, there were one or two over the line at the start. The fleet  tacked to East Mark, with 3920 (David & Sarah Gorman) just ahead of 4028 (David Mulvin and RonanBeirne) with the latter taking the lead at the mark.

Back to Bay Mark off the wind followed by close tacking to the shore to the Bulloch rocks to avoid the flood tide on the course to Island Mark.

Off-wind, 4028 consolidated the lead as the fleet then progressed to Molloy Mark. Back out for a short beat to East Mark and on to Omega and Harbour Mark on a run in very light airs, with all boatts avoiding the various other classes on different courses.

On this long slow run 3920 took a course towards the pier narrowing the gap and 4008 (Niall Coleman & Mick Quinn) likewise to gain a few places. 4028 got the gun with 3920 second and 4008 third.

DBSC results here