#dbsclaser – Last night saw another strong turnout in the low teens for the DBSC Laser fleet, which now has 23 paid up and entered for the series.

Conditions were again gusty and shifty in an unstable south westerly. Race Officer Vincent Delany initially ventured out towards Scotsman's Bay but a nasty squall up towards 30–knots brought a sensible change of heart and the fleet scrambled back into the harbour for two exciting W/L races.

Boat handling was at a premium with radical shifts and pressure changes. Dan O'Beirne holds the "yellow jersey" outright now after two nice firsts, with Patrick Cahill 2nd in race 1 and new arrival Luke Murphy runner-up in race 2. In each case Dan was pushed hard. Further back was very tight too and a few of the 13 starters found the going tough in this early season outing, retiring for early refreshments.

Sailing wrapped up around 830pm in warm sunshine. We hope to have photos of next Tuesday's action.

DBSC Results here.

#fireballdbsc – For the second Tuesday Fireball race in a row the wind refused to play fair but DBSC triumphed despite the adverse conditions writes Frank Miller. The forecast had been looking dodgy but when Fireballers arrived at their respective clubs conditions looked good. The force 4-6 SW was nowhere to be seen, the evening was relatively balmy with medium conditions and the odd spikey gust. By the time boats launched however a squall had gone through and there seemed to be more where that came from out west. Sure enough on the way out of the harbour at about 18.45 the wind cranked up and boats surged down towards the committee boat in Scotsman's Bay.

Later research shows DLH weather recorded 33 knots at that point. Boats were reaching around the start area, more or less under control, but there was no doubting it was very windy. At this stage the race committee upped sticks and sailors were ordered back inside the harbour. There a windward-leeward course was quickly set and racing got underway. Four Fireballs hung around for the racing while others decided to return to the slip. There followed two races in tricky conditions - the main challenge being some very big shifts rather than the actual wind strength which while lively was manageable. Special mention must go to Tim Crowe a relative novice to sailing who found himself competing in his first race in interesting conditions, sailing with Frank Miller. The main competition on the night was between Noel Butler/Stephen Oram and the Clancy Brothers. Race one saw Butler/Oram pull ahead when the Clancys had a near capsize in one of the huge shifts.

A twisted hoist however saw the Clancys pull through on the downwind leg but Butler/Oram clawed their way back on the next windward leg and they stayed ahead to take the gun. Miler/Crowe managed to beat Louise McKenna and Hermine O'Keeffe when the latter had trouble with a kite drop. Race 2 saw three Fireballs start as the ladies retired following a capsize but with black clouds building to the west Miller/Crowe also decided to head for home while the going was good. Of the two remaining Butler/Oram pulled away from the Clancys and led to the finish. For the second week in a row hats off to DBSC for getting two races away in challenging conditions when it would have been so easy to throw in the towel. The reward for the fleet was great racing and for DBSC it is growing credibility for excellent race management in tricky conditions.

Results HERE

#dbsc – CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 2. Jambiya (Ryan & Lattimore)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 2. Grasshopper II (K & J Glynn), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

Ensign - 1. INSS (K Rumball), 2. INSS 2 (G Williams), 3. INSS 2 ()

FIREBALL - 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al)

Laser - 1. Dan O'Beirne (RSGYC), 2. Rob Cahill (RSGYC), 3. Luke Murphy (RSGYC)

Laser - 1. Dan O'Beirne (RSGYC), 2. Luke Murphy (RSGYC), 3. Colin Galavan (RIYC)

MERMAID - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

MERMAID - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

PY CLASS - 1. Tom Murphy (K1), 2. W Zyszczynsk (Laser Vago), 3. Conor Duffy (RS400)

PY CLASS - 1. Tom Murphy (K1)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Cresendo (L Balfe), 2. Different Drummer (D Tonge), 3. Ruff Diamond (D.Byrne et al)

#glen – Ki Duong, who sails on board Glenshane of the DBSC Glen keelboat class, is a keen video maker. He has produced his second Glen video featuring the first DBSC race of the season on April 23rd. Only three Glens attended although the conditions were perfect for racing. Ki was on board the winner, Glendun and this gave him ample opportunity to shoot footage of the boat he normally sails.
There is also a wonderful cameo appearance by a Moth which sort of steals the show. Tech savvy Ki is saving up for a Go Pro camera and a drone and if he ever gets them, look out Hollywood.'

#DBSC - CRUISERS 1: 1 Something Else (J Hall et al); 2 Bon Exemple (C Byrne); 3 Gringo (Tony Fox)

CRUISERS 1 Echo: 1 Something Else (J Hall et al); 2 Bon Exemple (C Byrne); 3 Gringo (Tony Fox)

Combined Classes Echo: 1 Something Else (J Hall et al); 2 Lynx (Kenneth Rumball); 3 Bon Exemple (C Byrne)

Combined Classes: 1 Something Else (J Hall et al); 2 Bon Exemple (C Byrne); 3 Gringo (Tony Fox)

#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

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Levana (Jean Mitton), 3. Crazy Horse (F Heath & I Schuster)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Aurelia (Chris Power Smith), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Aurelia (Chris Power Smith)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Ruth (L Shanahan), 2. Jalapeno (P Barrington et al), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Ruth (L Shanahan), 2. Jalapeno (P Barrington et al), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Jester (Declan Curtin), 2. Antix (D Ryan), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Jester (Declan Curtin), 2. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 3. Jambiya (Ryan & Lattimore)

CRUISERS 3 A Echo - 1. Hard on Port (F O'Driscoll), 2. Quest (B Cunningham), 3. Cries of Passion (B Maguire)

CRUISERS 3 A - 1. Quest (B Cunningham), 2. Hard on Port (F O'Driscoll), 3. Cries of Passion (B Maguire)

CRUISERS 3 B - 1. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 2. Cacciatore (M Ni Cheallachain), 3. Taiscealai (B Richardson)

CRUISERS 3 B Echo - 1. Jiminy Cricket (M Tyndall), 2. Small Wonder (H Kelly), 3. Saki (Paget McCormack et al)

Combined Classes Echo - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Jester (Declan Curtin)

Combined Classes - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Jester (Declan Curtin)

DRAGON - 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Phantom (D.Williams), 3. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Ignis Caput (David Mulvey), 2. Betty (D & S Gorman), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

GLEN - 1. Glenmiller (P Cusack), 2. Glenmarissa (F.Elmes), 3. Glendun (B.Denham et al)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Shannagh (S.Gill/P.MacDiarmada), 2. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme), 3. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown)

SB20 - 1. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey), 2. Sin Bin (Michael O'Connor)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Euphanzel lll (M Muldoon), 3. Gusto (Heath, Miles, Crisp, Duggan)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Popje (Ted McCourt)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Sidewinder (R&R Westrup), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. More Mischief (Eamonn Doyle), 2. White Lotus (Paul Tully), 3. Just Jasmin (Philip Smith)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. White Lotus (Paul Tully), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

#dbscfireball – Six Fireballs rocked up for the first DBSC Tuesday race last night and were treated to two snappy W–L races in the harbour writes Frank Miller. Earlier the signs were not looking good, the day was very gusty and wind guru at one point was predicting 38 knot gusts for the evening.

There were deep black clouds to the west but conditions in the harbour were almost balmy with the odd challenging gust. The race committee decided to go ahead and set two windward leeward races in the harbour, an excellent call in the circumstances as it got the Tuesday series off with a bang. The wind was flicking more and more southerly which caused a slightly delayed start but when the fleet got away there was a significant pin bias.

The Clancys took their chances on a port start approach from amongst cruisers and pulled away sweetly and quickly chased by the pack with Butler/Tedz closest on their heels. The leeward spreader pin caught at least on boat out as Miller/Butler had to return for a proper rounding in a thicket of lasers.

The run rewarded those who went a bit high and gybed back at a fast angle rather than the straight rhumb line though gusts changed ideal angled frequently. On the water this correspondent thought the Clancys got the gun just ahead of Butler/Tedz but the official results don't reflect their presence, perhaps a bit of tidying up to be done on paperwork.

For race 2 the W mark was moved further left giving a cleaner beat though once again left seemed to pay as it was feeding in some welcom gusts. This time there was no doubt that Butler/Tedz were in control pretty well from start to finish followed by the Clancy brothers. The downwind finish was a novelty which worked well. Hats off to DBSC for the innovation of allowing for 2 races on a Tuesday which despite some reservations in the fleet certainly paid off last night. Roll on next Tuesday and we look forward to a fuller complement and more red dots on the water.

DBSC results HERE

#dbsclaser – The first DBSC Tuesday Laser dinghy race drew a really encouraging turnout of 15 boats, 14 of which were Full rigs (more Radials expected post exams). Race Officer Ian Matthews wisely kept the fleet inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour with a squally offshore breeze. The fleet enjoyed two super W/L races with extremely close competition throughout. In Race 1 Conor Byrne showed exactly why he's a fairly recent National Champion by getting the first shift and sailing away to a comfortable victory. Race 2 was dominated by young gun Dan O'Beirne who added the bullet to his 2nd in race 1, emerging as boat of the night v's Byrne's 1 and 3, the latter a great recovery from an individual recall. The Cahill brothers Cian and Patrick showed well too and a few of the older guys had their moments. Results here. Online entry to join in a very exciting season is here 

#dbsc – CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Wynward (W McCormack), 2. Grasshopper II (K & J Glynn), 3. Pamafe (M Costello)

Ensign - 1. INSS (K Rumball), 2. INSS 2 (G Williams), 3. INSS 2 ()

FIREBALL Race 1- 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 3. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FIREBALL Race 2- 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller), 3. No Name (B McGuire)

Laser Race 1- 1. Conor Byrne (RSGYC), 2. Dan O'Beirne (RSGYC), 3. Sean Craig (RSGYC)

Laser Race 2- 1. Dan O'Beirne (RSGYC), 2. Rob Cahill (RSGYC), 3. Conor Byrne (RSGYC)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe)

Click for last night's DBSC Laser report

Click for last night's DBSC Fireball report