Shane Drumm was the winner of the rescheduled Dun Laoghaire Harbour Swim today.  The race took place along the East pier and finished beside the National YC pontoon. A large crowd gathered on the pier to hear live commentary and cheer on the swimmers. There was racing in both mens and womens division.

Swimmers approach the finish in today's Harbour swim at Dun Laoghaire

Ken Lawless sailing Supernova made the best of the autumnal sailing conditions to win the penultimate race of Cruisers three yesterday. The Dublin Bay Sailing Club race was sailed in light and misty conditions. Next Saturday is the final race of DBSC's 2010 Summer sailing season.

DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 18 SEPTEMBER 2010

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al), 2. Violet Flame (B.Murphy/L.Osbourne), 3. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Violet Flame (B.Murphy/L.Osbourne), 2. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 3. WOW (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. WOW (George Sisk), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Powder Monkey (C.Moore/M.Byrne), 2. Errislannan (Patrick Kirwan), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Errislannan (Patrick Kirwan), 3. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne)

CRUISERS 2 - , 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Smile (B O'Sulliva et al), 2. Free Spirit (John O'Reilly), 3. Bendemeer (Gerald Kinsella)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Jabiru (M & S Renwick), 2. Pamafe (Michael Costello), 3. Supernova (K.Lawless et al)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Supernova (K.Lawless et al), 2. Cries of Passion (Bryan Maguire), 3. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea)

CRUISERS 4 - 1. Ghrazel (Charles Pearson), 2. Rascal (K.Burke/S.Milner), 3. Maranda (Myles Kelly)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Hy5ive (D & S Gorman), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. Rollercoaster (Tom Murphy)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Hy5ive (D & S Gorman), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. Flyer (Niall Coleman)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glenshesk (L.Faulkner et al), 3. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Sapphire (Lorcan O'Sullivan), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Sapphire (Lorcan O'Sullivan), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Dart (Pierre Long)

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Kim (D Cassidy)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Kim (D Cassidy)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 2. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 3. Riff Raff (Paul Fagan)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Therapi (Alan McCarthy et al), 3. Gusto (C Heath)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Kookaburra (P & M Dee)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Lola (Frank Whelan), 2. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago), 3. Perfection (Jill Fleming)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Finnegans Wake (T.Rowlands et al), 2. Windshift (R O'Flynn et al), 3. Coumeenole (Bill Kavanagh)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer), 3. Calypso (Howard Knott)

In a major announcement for Dun Laoghaire sailing a top French fixture involving 50 single handed yachts will visit the east coast port next Summer. Dun Laoghaire will be the only stop over outside France for next year's  prestigious La Solitaire du Figaro race.

The race is regarded as one of the world's solo sailing great events and one of the toughest on the international sailing calendar. 

Although  having strong connections with Ireland this is the first time the 42 year old fixture will visit Ireland's largest sailing centre.

The fleet will moor in Dun Laoghaire harbour at the finish of the second leg and hosted by the National Yacht Club. They are expected to stay for a week.

This year the race visited Kinsale and in the past has also visited the Irish ports of Crosshaven, Howth and Dingle.

One month since the finish of the Solitaire du Figaro 2010, event organisers are already looking ahead, to 2011. The 42nd edition announces a new route: four legs, four French ports and one foreign stopover. The full details will be unveiled at the Paris Boat Show, on Friday December 3rd.

La Solitaire is going back to its roots. Perros-Guirec and Brittany from where the race will start on Sunday, 31st July 2011, are the most faithful of all host ports in the history of the race as Perros-Guirec has the record number of participations, this being the 16th time that the town will welcome the race. The last time was in 2005 and there is no doubt that Perros-Guirec will do its absolute best for this comeback.

The second French stopover in 2011 will be Caen, where the race will go back for the third time. The harbour and the village are ideally situated in the city centre and will surely gather thousands of visitors during the week long stay, with a full schedule of social events organised by the local municipality.

The third French rendez-vous is les Sables d'Olonne, which requires little introduction. In 2007, the port in the Vendée region celebrated the victory of Michel Desjoyeaux and since then the local authorities and the town live in very close ties to yachting, always ready to welcome sailors of all sorts, and namely from the Vendée Globe race... undoubtedly the people from Les Sables will show a very warm welcome to the skippers competing on the 42nd edition of La Solitaire next summer, as they have already done on six occasions on previous occasions as a host port for a race start or finish.

Dieppe will host the finish and close of La Solitaire du Figaro 2011 race. The Haute-Normandie region town expects to see the finish on a around August 24th. The town first hosted the race in 2009, regarded as a great success and one that the organisers wish to repeat by returning of for the finish.  Locals in Dieppe will welcome the fleet over the final miles and will put on a whole host of celebrations through to Sunday 28th of August for the traditional final parade sail.

Just one stop over outside of France is planned and this is to be held in Ireland.  La Solitaire will go to Dún Laoghaire for the first time, just ten minutes from the bustling town centre of Dublin at the finish of the second leg. The second stage promises to be a nice discovery for the Figaro sailors who will appreciate the charming Bay of Dublin and National Yacht Club's members warm welcome.

Perros-Guirec, Caen, Dún Laoghaire, Les Sables d'Olonne and Dieppe: five cities for a 42nd edition marked by many novelties. Sailing across the Channel, the Atlantic ocean, the Irish sea and the Celtic sea, the Solitaire du Figaro 2011 guarantees to be one of the season's greatest sports events.

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

Latest news for La Solitaire du Figaro here

Ireland's largest port will open up to the public next Saturday (18 September) when the Dublin Port Company is to host a free family-friendly Open Day.

Free coach tours will be operating around the port all day, offering visitors a glimpse of how Ireland's largest and busiest Port operates.

In addition for the first time there will also be free tours of the port area by sea throughout the day for adults and children (height restriction of 3'9" or 114cm applies) which will offer all our visitors the opportunity to see the port from the perspective of Captains of ferries and ocean liners as they arrive at Dublin Port.

Speaking at the launch of the Dublin Port Open Day, Mr. Eamonn O'Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said: "The Open Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to engage with the local community and encourage them to come and experience the workings of Ireland's largest port at first hand. Visitors to our Open Day are always amazed to witness the scale and diversity of the work undertaken at the port on a daily basis.

When Dublin Port hosted an Open Day two years ago over 2,000 came for the free fun-filled day but also discovered just how relevant it is to their daily lives. We look forward to welcoming many more visitors again this year."

For further information on the port www.dublinport.ie

Alterations to future sailing series plus a change to how races are scored will be considered at November's ISORA agm. The 2010 season has been a watershed year for the body after the National YC rekindled interest in Irish sea racing, boosting numbers from single figures to a fleet of 30. Now ISORA commodore, Peter Ryan, intends to capitalise on the new interest by circulating issues for discussion to take place at the AGM at the National YC on the 6th November at 14.00. Already on the table, according to Ryan, is  a proposal to change the scoring system to the High Point System as used by the Royal Alfred YC, a system which rewards the winners of the bigger races.

Race 10 – Pwllheli to Howth – James Eadie Sailing Race 11th September 2010. From an entry list of 31 boats, 13 boats came to the line in Pwllheli for the last race in the 2010 ISORA Offshore series writes Peter Ryan. It was the James Eadie Trophy race. While in the past this race was one of the most popular, the bad weather on Thursday night and Friday put off many boats from delivering to Pwllheli. Those boats that braved the weather were reward with another great race. The race was started by Richard Tudor of Pwllheli sailing Club.

Due to the extraordinary strong spring tides it was decided to omit Bardsey Sound from the course and to take Bardsey Island to starboard. From there the course was direct to Howth – 75 miles. The start was at 09.00.

The forecast for the race was for south-west winds 10-15 knots to veer west then continue and increase north west. The forecast was correct at the start with a beat to Bardsey and the wind increasing to 20 knots. The strong tides produced some spectacular overfalls at Bardsey Island. First around Bardsey was "Tsunami", Vincent Farrell followed closely by "Raging Bull", Matt Davis and "Team Windmill", Andrew Sarratt. The overfalls appeared to take toll on the fleet with the remainder of the fleet having difficulty in rounding Bardsey. This caused a split in the fleet with the first three boats taking advantage of the last of the north going tide.

The course to Howth first seemed like a simple reach but this changed regularly and often with the wind oscillating and fluctuating continuously. The front-runners appeared to escape the holes that formed and held the bulk of the fleet back. What started as a reach ended in a beat into Howth into a 20 knot north westerly.

The first into Howth was "Tsunami", crossing the line at 23:19 followed closely by "Raging Bull" at 23:27 and "Team Windmill" at 23:54. "Lula Belle", Liam Coyne and "Dinah" Barry Hurley were separated by only 2 seconds on the line at 00:51. Four boats crossed the finish around 01:40 while the last boat "Sarnia", Michael Creeedon, crossed the line at 08.35. John Doran of Howth Yacht Club stood the long watch and recorded the boats finishing.

"Raging Bull" took 1st in Class 1 and Overall while "Tsunami" took 2nd in Class 1 and Overall and "Team Windmill" took 3rd Class 1 and Overall. "Just Enough" took 1st Class 2 with "Dinah" taking 2nd Class 2 and "Lula Belle" taking 3rd Class 2.

The Overall ISORA Champion of 2010 is Matt Davis and "Raging Bull" from Skerries Sailing Club. "Just Enough", Stephen Tudor from Pwllheli Sailing Club took 2nd place while "Tsunami", Vincent Farrell from the National Yacht Club took 3rd. The prize giving dinner will be in the National Yacht Club on the 6th November.

J/24 National Championships – Day 1 After indifferent form in previous regional championships, Mickey McCaldin of Lough Erne YC did not arrive in Howth as the favourite to retain the Irish title he won last year but after the first five races of the eight race series, he and his experienced crew on 'Murder Picture' have made it clear that they intend to hold on to the trophy.

His championship defence couldn't have started any better, with three successive bullets. The fourth race was something of a disaster for them finishing 14th but 5th in the final race of the first day sees them two points clear of their major rival for the honours, Flor O'Driscoll (RSt.GYC) on 'Hard on Port' who notched up three third places and a win the final race to stay very much in touch with the defending champion.

Local hopes centre on 'Jibberish' (O'Kelly & Co) and they did not disappoint. Having only taken delivery of the boat two days ago after repairs to serious damage suffered months ago in a T-bone collision, they might be excused for not performing, as they got re-0acquainted with their boat. A results card that included two second places and the most impressive race win of the day – the margin of victory was very impressive – puts the Howth crew in third place overall going into the second day.

Tying on points but ranked as 4th is J/24 Class President Robin Eagleson of Lough Erne YC on 'Luder Too' who also showed great consistency with three second places and might have ended the day even higher up the leader-board if it wasn't for a disastrous last race when the tides played havoc with the distinctively red boat at the windward mark.

Two other northern boats – JP McCaldin's 'Jamais Encore' (Dalgety Bay SC) and 'Sayonara' (D.O'Donovan, LEYC) – fill the next two places overall.

The five windward-leeward races were sailed in varying (although generally fresh) conditions, with headsail changes the order of the day, while the last race threw up gusts of 30 knots plus at the 17-boat fleet. The series concludes on Sunday 12th with three races scheduled by PRO David Lovegrove and his team on 'Free Enterprise'.

J/24 National Championship – overall places after 5 races:

Mickey McCaldin – LEYC – 8 points
Flor O'Driscoll – RStGYC – 10 points
Fergus O'Kelly & Co. – HYC – 14 points
Robin Eagleson – LEYC – 14 points
J.P. McCaldin (DBSC) – 20 points
D.O'Donovan – LEYC – 20 points

 

Photo Gallery by Gareth Craig HERE

DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 11 SEPTEMBER 2010

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo - 1. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Violet Flame (B.Murphy/L.Osbourne)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. WOW (George Sisk), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. WOW (George Sisk), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Contango (Barry Cunningham), 3. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al)

CRUISERS 1 Echo- 1. Jura (Barry McCabe), 2. Powder Monkey (C.Moore/M.Byrne), 3. Gringo (Tony Fox)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Bendemeer (Gerald Kinsella), 2. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke), 2. Bendemeer (Gerald Kinsella), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle), 2. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey), 3. Jammie Dodger (J.H & D.O'Neill)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Supernova (K.Lawless et al), 2. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle), 3. Two Step (Ross Doyle)

CRUISERS 4 - 1. Ghrazel (Charles Pearson), 2. Rascal (K.Burke/S.Milner), 3. Maranda (Myles Kelly)

FIREBALL - 1. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller), 2. Weather (E.Butler/O.Laverty), 3. Goodness Gracious (Louise McKenna)

FIREBALL - 1. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller), 2. Weather (E.Butler/O.Laverty)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Rollercoaster (Tom Murphy), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

GLEN - 1. Glenshesk (L.Faulkner et al), 2. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 3. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 2. Oonagh (J&M Griffith), 3. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

PY CLASS Race 1- 1. Brendan McConville (Wayfarer), 2. Stuart McBride (Laser Vago)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 3. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al)

SHIPMAN - 1. Euphanzel lll (Louis McSherry et al), 2. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 3. Curraglas (John Masterson)

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

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Lola (Frank Whelan)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne), 2. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 3. Perfection (Jill Fleming)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Finnegans Wake (T.Rowlands et al), 2. Windshift (R O'Flynn et al), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. Windshift (R O'Flynn et al)

The Royal Ulster YC crew of Gareth Flannigan/Brian Spence/Jeremy Tomlinson were the emphatic winners of the Investwise SB3 National Championship at Howth with a remarkable 17.5 points margin over runner-up 'Yeti' (Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle/Alan Green) of the Royal St.George YC, with early pacemaker 'Sharkbait' (Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Ric Morris) of HYC a further two points adrift.

The northerners simply got better and better as the series unfolded. After a tentative start with an 8th and a 6th on day one, they strung together an impressive record of three bullets and three seconds, clearly revelling in the strong wind conditions over the weekend.

They arrived in Howth as the pre-event favourites on the back of top class performances at the four regional championships and did not disappoint. Overnight leaders going into the last day, they only had to steer clear of trouble and keep an eye on Craig and Duncan to be sure of overall victory.

Winning the penultimate race (just ahead of Craig and with Duncan back in 17th) effectively sealed the title but the last race threw up the highly unusual result in one-design racing of a tie for line honours with 'Bullet' (Trevor D'Arcy and crew from Carrickfergus), with Duncan salvaging a third after several average results.

Discarding an 8th was a clear indication of the Royal Ulster crew's dominance of the event and the pre-event predictions as to who would be the podium finishers was highly accurate. In addition to the top three, there were four other northern crews and four Dun Laoghaire boats in the top ten.

Duncan was the leading local boat in 3rd overall, although two other Howth crews 'Flying Saucers' (Emma McDonald) and 'Lia' (Dave Barry) filled 11th and 12th places respectively.

David Quinn of sponsors Investwise, who competed himself and finished mid-fleet, was delighted with the event which, with 49 entries, ranks as one of the biggest one-design class championships in the country. Organisation of the championship was headed up by Suzanne Carroll and her committee.

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY GARETH CRAIG HERE

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY BRIAN CARLIN HERE

Investwise SB3 National Championship – overall result:

1. McCreadys Gill Team (Flannigan/Spence/Tomlinson) RUYC 15.5 pts
2. Yeti (Craig/Boyle/Green) RStGYC 33 pts
3. Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran/Morris) 35 pts
4. Flutter (Algeo/Knatchbull/Haughton) RStGYC 47 pts
5. Bad (Hyde/Dowling/Dowling) RIYC 53 pts
6. Toucan 3 (Vaughan & crew) RNIYC 57 pts

In the second day of racing at the SB3 Ireland National Championships the McCready Gill Racing team of Gareth Flannigan, Brian Spence and Jeremy Thomalison took control of the overall lead. The Ballyholme team scored a 2,1,2 in squally conditions to move 8 points clear going into the final days racing.

Leaders from day one Ben Duncan, Brian Moran and Ric Morris had a more testing day with some interesting action at the start of race 4 and 5 leaving them playing catch up. Scoring 6,11,7 they slip back to second tied with Sean Craig (5,3,10). Winner of todays final race Andrew Algio, Garry Houghton and Richard Knatchbull added a 13th and a 6th to a win in the final race to move up to 4th. Ross Vaughan, Rory Fitzpatrick and Ryan Seartons 11, 1, 33 was enough to move them up to 5th.

Squally conditions on Day two of the SB3 Nationals. Photo: Gareth Craig. More photos HERE.

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. SB3 NATIONALS (O'ALL) 04/09/2010 SB3: 1, McCreadys Gill Team Gareth Flannigan RUYC (13.00); 2, Sharkbait Ben Duncan HYC (21.00); 3, Yeti Sean Craig RStGYC (21.00); 4, Flutter Andrew Algeo RStGYC (34.00); 5, Toucan 3 Ross Vaughan RNIYC (38.00)

Day Two photos by Gareth Craig HERE.