#sb20 – Seven SB20s took to the water last night on Dublin Bay for the fourth Thursday of Series 2, many fresh from an exhilarating nationals in RCYC last weekend, while others were obviously recharging their batteries after their exertions in Cronins... :-)

For a pleasant change on a Thursday this season, we saw some decent breeze on Dublin Bay which allowed the SBs to get up on their toes and start dancing... A steady force 5 from the West guaranteed plenty of thrills and spills were to come... Perfect SB20 weather! The OOD set a 10 degree pin-end bias and the fleet duly congregated down at the pin with 30 seconds to go. At the start, Should Be... (Michael, Dave, and Gavan) managed to get the pin but Venuesworld (Marty, Ger and Rory), Probably (Mark, Ian and Billy) and Alert Packaging (Justin, Darren et al) all managed to start with better pace slightly up from the pin and those three boats quickly established a lead group beating up towards Harbour mark.

At the weather (Harbour) mark, Probably led by a boatlength from Venuesworld with Should Be...another 1/2 boatlength back. Alert Packaging, Timber (Alan et al), Seriously Bonkers (Peter et al) and Smoke on the Water (Bob, John et al) were very close astern and primed for the fast reach to Omega where speeds in the teens were experienced by most boats. At the all-important first hoist, Probably went trawling for mackerel followed by Should Be... allowing Venuesworld, Alert Packaging and Timber to pass and to take a jump on the fleet... However, there were a few broaches down the first reach keeping manners on everyone. Disaster struck Venuesworld when they snapped their port kite sheet allowing both Alert Packaging and Should Be... to overtake them shortly after the gybe mark on the run (ok, SB20s don't run in a force 5, we just reach very quickly a bit closer to the leeward mark!) en route to Poldy mark. Alert Packaging held on to their lead followed by Should Be... with Venuesworld, Probably and Timber in the thick of it at the leeward (Poldy) mark.

Places remained largely unchanged for the next beat and run (ok, again, not really a run but just lots of very, very fast reaching back and forth really!) and another beat with Alert Packaging extending their lead and looking very comfortable in the process. However, at the final weather mark, a twist in Alert Packagings kite necessitating a couple of gybes allowed Should Be... to close to within three boat lengths and ensure an exciting finale...

At the last leeward mark, Alert Packaging tacked shortly after the mark and headed left while Should Be... continued on right getting separation and in the hope of breeze or a favourable shift to get closer to Alert Packaging. In the end, Should Be... got both (they donate heavily to charity apparently!) and when the boats converged closer to the finish line, Should Be... had Alert Packaging by a whisker and they would finish in that order. They were followed by Venuesworld in third, Timber in fourth, Probably (who had showed their mettle and recovered very well) in fifth, Seriously Bonkers in sixth and Smoke on the Water in seventh.

As it was the last Thursday of the month, that meant SB Social food and pints... this month the fleet got together in the RIYC for the BBQ/stir-fry/pizza and, of course, pints. Lots of pints. No doubt some of them are still going strong!

Class notices:
Next SB Sunday (first SB Sunday of Series 3) is Sunday 10th August. Put it in the diary and get out there!

SB Sunday no. 3 is being re-sailed on August 17th (effectively, this is the last Sunday of series 1 (that was lost due to strong winds) being re-sailed). This is with kind permission and co-operation of both DBSC (Chris Moore and Joanne Sheehan) and our many volunteers (Barry O'Neill, Fionnuala Loughrey, Cathy Booth and Barbara Conway) so please show your appreciation by attending in numbers!

Westerns in Galway are on 23/24 August followed by Midlands in Lough Ree on 27/28 September. Two amazing venues with lots of fun and top quality racing guaranteed. I would strongly recommend those of you less inclined to travel to make the extra effort and see what all the hype is about.

See you on the water next Thursday,

Michael O'Connor

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 2. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan), 3. Thirty Something (Kavanagh\Gaffney\Jones)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 3. Raptor (D.Hewitt et al)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jedi (A Sarratt), 2. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 3. Just Jay (Oliver Sheehy)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Antix (D Ryan), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Jester (Declan Curtin)

CRUISERS 3 A Echo - 1. Hard on Port (F O'Driscoll), 2. Hamilton Bear (S Hyde), 3. Quest (B Cunningham/J Skerritt)

CRUISERS 3 A - 1. Quest (B Cunningham/J Skerritt), 2. Hamilton Bear (S Hyde), 3. Hard on Port (F O'Driscoll)

CRUISERS 3 B - 1. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 2. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 3. Maranda (Myles Kelly)

CRUISERS 3 B Echo - 1. Saki (Paget McCormack et al), 2. Maranda (Myles Kelly), 3. Eezee Tiger (O Prouvier)

DRAGON - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Whisper (C Hogan), 3. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 2. TBA (David Mulvey), 3. Mellifluence (T Leonard & B Mulligan)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme), 2. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

SB20 - 1. Should be... (Michael O'Connor), 2. Alert Packaging (J Burke D Burke), 3. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 3. Malindi (B.Smith/A.Gray)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. September Song (Barry Colleary), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago), 3. Chillax (Colin Galavan)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Sweet Martini (Bruce Carswell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan)

#dbsc – CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 3. Borraine (Ean Pugh)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Capilano (S Soran), 2. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 3. Yikes (J Conway)

Ensign - 1. INSC1 (K Rumball), 2. INSC2 (A Rumball), 3. RIYC 2 (Mark McGibney)

FIREBALL - 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. No Name (B McGuire)

GLEN - 1. Glenshesk (Walker\Faulkner\Henderson), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Glenmiller (P Cusack)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne)

PY CLASS - 1. R Kenneally (Laser), 2. D O'Connell (Laser), 3. Colin Galavan (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Carmen (B Duffy), 2. Ripples (Frank Bradley), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 3. Tais (Michael O'Connell)

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 2. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

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

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

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Raptor (D.Hewitt et al), 3. Rockabill V (Paul O'Higgins)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 2. Raptor (D.Hewitt et al), 3. Bon Exemple (C Byrne)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Kamikaze (P.Nash/B.McIntyre)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Black Sheep (E Healy)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Hard on Port (Flor O'Driscoll), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Hard on Port (Flor O'Driscoll), 2. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan), 3. Cartoon (McCormack/Brady/Lawless)

DRAGON Race 1- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Whisper (C Hogan), 3. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al)

DRAGON Race 2- 1. Dublin Bay (G Treacy), 2. Zu (M Minch/C Grimley/T Pearson), 3. Whisper (C Hogan)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Ash (Joseph Coughlan), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Betty (D & S Gorman), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Dart (Pierre Long)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

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

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 3. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser), 3. W Zyszczynsk (Laser Vago)

PY CLASS Race 1- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser), 3. W Zyszczynsk (Laser Vago)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 2. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

SHIPMAN - 1. Viking (Brian Glynn et al), 2. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 3. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Popje (Ted McCourt), 3. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 3. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Warrior (D Shanahan), 2. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 3. The Great Escape (P & D Rigney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

#flyingfifteen – Once again the Flying Fifteens were all greeted by a bank of fog when they arrived in Dun Laoghaire writes our special correspondent. It didn't look like we would get out sailing especially as the 250 Optimists had just been brought ashore after several hours on the water. The PRO made a great decision and postponed racing for an hour, this does not happen very often in Dublin Bay, long may it last! The fog moved back out to sea and we got racing in Seapoint Bay. There were fourteen boats out and the Flying Fifteen race was won by Justin Maguire & Frank Burgess in Snowwhite with Ben Mulligan & Chris Doorly teaming up in Mellifluence a very close second.

The winds was generally light, force 3 or less, from E/SE with a strong tide going out, it seemed logical to go right out of the tide but just before the start the wind filled in over the course so last minute decisions had to be made. The majority of boats headed in towards the shore on the right but Maguire and Mulligan kept going out to see in the wind, Maguire tacked about half way up, Mulligan kindly allowing him to cross on port as he wanted to go further out. Maguire crossed all the boats but when Mulligan came across the pressure dropped slightly and Murphy and Donleavy crossed, Mulligan tacked for the mark as the other two crossed him again but they overstood the mark allowing Mulligan to stay second behind Maguire with Donleavy, Murphy and the Meaghers all close behind.

It was all very close going downwind but Mulligan did a good rounding at the leeward mark as Donleavy was ready to pounce, but his spinnaker halyard got stuck and that was that! Maguire had a good lead, as all boats generally headed towards the pier it seemed a soldier's race. Maguire kept going in and eventually joined the stacking of other squibs and dinghies above the layline, Mulligan tacked early and had a clear lane up to the weather mark, there was now only one boat length in it. Downwind it was close with Maguire watching to see if Mulligan would attack, nothing significant happened as Mulligan waited for the leeward mark, there he just got his nose between Maguire and the mark but Maguire held on and survived a tacking duel up to the finish line to deservedly win but it was close! Meanwhile at the leeward mark the Meagher's got past Gerry Donleavy & Alan Green to take third place.
Well done to the PRO Brian O'Hara and his team for getting a race in on a difficult day.

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll), 2. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan), 3. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll), 2. Magic (D.Espey), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 3. Fox in Sox (A Jones)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Fox in Sox (A Jones)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Black Sheep (E Healy)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Cartoon (McCormack/Brady/Lawless)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 2. Saki (McCormack/Ryan/Ryan), 3. Quest (J Skerritt)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 2. Mellifluence (T Leonard & B Mulligan), 3. FFantastic (N Meagher & N Matthews)

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

MERMAID - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 3. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 3. Whiterock (Henry Robinson)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB - 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Glassilaun (D O'Neill), 3. Tais (Michael O'Connell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 2. Just Jasmin (Philip Smith), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 3. Warrior (D Shanahan)

#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. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Dear Prudence (B Lyons & J Given), 2. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 3. Jalapeno (P Barrington et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Jalapeno (P Barrington et al), 3. Dear Prudence (B Lyons & J Given)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Antix (D Ryan), 2. Borraine (Ean Pugh), 3. Black Sheep (E Healy)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Jester (Declan Curtin)

CRUISERS 3 A Echo - 1. Cartoon (McCormack/Brady/Lawless), 2. Hamilton Bear (S Hyde), 3. Quest (B Cunningham/J Skerritt)

CRUISERS 3 A - 1. Quest (B Cunningham/J Skerritt), 2. Cartoon (McCormack/Brady/Lawless), 3. Hamilton Bear (S Hyde)

CRUISERS 3 B Echo - 1. Taiscealai (B Richardson), 2. Yikes (J Conway), 3. Saki (Paget McCormack et al)

CRUISERS 3 B - 1. Taiscealai (B Richardson), 2. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 3. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 2. TBA (David Mulvey), 3. Kooigjug (K Dumpleton)

GLEN - 1. Glenariff (Adrian Lee), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Shannagh (S.Gill/P.MacDiarmada), 2. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 3. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme)

SB20 - 1. Should be... (Michael O'Connor), 2. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey), 3. Lia (David Barry)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. Poppy (Peter Wallis et al), 3. Bluefin (B.Finucane et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. Springer (I Bowring)

SQUIB - 1. Glassilaun (D O'Neill), 2. Periguin (N Colcough), 3. Chillax (Colin Galavan)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Warrior (D Shanahan), 2. More Mischief (Eamonn Doyle), 3. Jama (J Moyney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Warrior (D Shanahan), 2. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 3. White Lotus (Paul Tully)

#fireball – After two gentle Tuesday night Fireball sessions in a row on Dublin Bay, the wind gods upped the ante for last night's DBSC racing writes Cormac Bradley. Viewing the Optimist Europeans on Dublin Bay (entry of 254 boats) during the day from the office window and comparing the forecast for the evening there seemed to be some confusion as to what we would be getting with my favoured website suggesting southerlies of 11 – 15 knots. Rigging up in the Coal harbour didn't help the wind assessment either as neither the flags in the harbour complex nor the wind in the rigging were consistent!

Having made our choice of rig setting, we went out to a lively Scotsman's Bay. Those trapeze wires, which had been redundant for the past two Tuesdays, were going to be worked tonight!

Wind direction - 160˚, ebbing tide, full-on trapeze conditions! Five Fireballs bid for a position on the short start line, all congregated at the committee boat end. Messrs Butler & Oram (15061) were shepherding the flock, keeping an eye on Smyth & Bradley (15007) and Colin & Casey (14755). The "all-lady" teams of McKenna & O'Keeffe (14691) and Chambers & McGuire (14865) were close to the action as well. All five boats flew of the start line on starboard tack sailing parallel to the shore for a 4-lap triangular course. All five boats used the right hand-side of the course but Butler & Oram led the charge to the weather mark followed by Colin and Smyth who were keeping close company with each other. Getting snagged on the boom in the penultimate tack to the weather mark didn't help Smyth's cause but having the "avoirdupois" of Bradley on board avoided a costly capsize!

At the weather mark the pecking order was Butler, Colin, Smyth, McKenna and Chambers. Butler went for spinnaker and screamed off. The next two were more cautious, but Smyth launched spinnaker halfway down the slightly short reach. He still didn't get to the gybe mark before Colin and when they each flew bag down the second reach which was more comfortable, Colin stayed ahead.

On the second beat, Smyth & Bradley went inshore in contrast to Colin and Casey, Butler & Oram being already gone! This allowed the former pair to close on the latter but down the sausage, Colin & Casey pulled out some distance though they would still be watching over their shoulder. McKenna & O'Keeffe also came back into the picture closing to within a few boat-lengths of Smyth at the second leeward mark. Again, Colin and Smyth adopted different approaches to the third beat, Smyth closed but couldn't overhaul the 2nd placed boat. The gybe mark had been relocated further out to sea giving a longer and tighter reach. Colin & Casey's spinnaker hoist got fouled allowing Smyth & Bradley to pass them out and sail into second place at the gybe mark. The second reach was now much tighter and while Butler & Oram and Smyth & Bradley flew bag, neither were able to make the mark, forcing early drops and a two-sail close out of the second reach. These two were of course flying the bag from very different positions on the leg! Colin & Casey had eschewed the spinnaker for the second reach and flew two-sailed down the second reach to round the leeward mark on Smyth's transom. Up the fourth beat Smyth & Bradley were able to open up a short distance on Colin & Casey but this would not be sufficient to provide any comfort for the heavier combination on the final downwind leg of the sausage. Initially they sailed together on starboard tack, heading offshore – playing chicken – Who would gybe back first. Colin was first to twitch his tiller prompting Smyth to do the same and they watched each other all the way down the leg.

At the rounding of the last leeward mark they were very close but the presence of a Mermaid, a Laser and a single-handed K1 complicated Colin's rounding and left him a boat-length to leeward of Smyth and a boat-length and a half behind. The two Fireballs quickly escaped the company of the other boats, but Smyth was in the preferred position – to windward and ahead. This gave him the freedom to dictate his final approach to the finish while still keeping an eye on the opposition.

A magic night – fast reaches, waves and a great race on the water, in keeping with the Harry Potter themed heading to this article!!

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 2, Day 5, 15th July 2014
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb.
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC
4 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC
5 Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire 14865 DMYC

This combination of results has created an interesting three-way tie in the overall standings for Series 2.

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 2, Five races sailed, no discard.
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC 11pts
1 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 11pts
1 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 11pts
4 Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly & Francis Rowan 14713 DMYC 14pts
5 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb. 16pts

The Irish Fireball scene relocates this weekend to Wexford and the hospitality and race management of the Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club for our Munster Championships. While the core of the fleet are expected to attend, if there are any readers of this column who are looking to put the bits and pieces together for a weekend of racing at the venue but who haven't got all these bits and pieces, please contact us to see how we can help.

Wexford will provide the last chance for practice before four Irish boats head off to the Shetlands for the European Championships. Shetlands Chairman John Manson has put a huge effort into the organisation of this event and promises the traditional Shetland welcome to all those who are making the journey..............including boats from the Czech Republic.

¢dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen), 2. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan), 3. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Capilano (S Soran), 2. Chouskikou (R Sheehan/R Hickey), 3. Papytoo (M Walsh/F Guilfoyle)

FIREBALL - 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 3. Elevation (N.Colin/M.Casey)

GLEN - 1. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan), 3. Glendun (B.Denham et al)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

PY CLASS - 1. R Kenneally (Laser), 2. P Smith & P Mangan (Mermaid), 3. B.Martin & D Brennan (Mermaid)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Cresendo (L Balfe), 2. Ruff Diamond (D.Byrne et al), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

#fireball – Tuesday night order was restored for the Fireballs racing under the burgee of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club when Noel Butler, "fresh" from a 16th place overall in the Round Ireland Race and Stephen Oram, recently returned from holiday, won the Tuesday night race in Scotsman's Bay by a 3 min 30 sec margin writes Cormac Bradley.

Due to a work commitment, this correspondent was not out on the water, so I can't offer you an account of the first lap of the three lap triangular course. By the time I got into my observation position, onshore, with binoculars, Messrs Butler and Oram had a comfortable lead as they sailed up to the second weather mark. Later, in the DMYC clubhouse I established that their position was due to a pin end start that benefitted for the wind going left, giving them a substantial lift and allowing them to break free from the five boat fleet. Again, conditions were light with a wind that started in the NE and a flooding tide that had two hours to run. By the time I got to watch proceedings, the wind had gone northwards and crews were sitting to leeward on the upwind legs.

At the second weather mark, Butler (15061) led with the rounding order thereafter, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691), Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854) and Frank Miller & Francis Rowan (14713). At the weather mark the distances between the boats were such that none of them would have been anxiously looking over their shoulders, but they couldn't afford to ignore what was going on behind them..........with the exception of Butler & Oram.

These two headed inshore on starboard tack whereas the next three boats went offshore on port tack. Miller replicated Butler's approach. McKenna & O'Keeffe were the first ones to bail out of the offshore approach and this left them the furthest out on the right hand side of the downwind sausage. There was better breeze on this side (or just less where Colin/Casey were) because McKenna/O'Keeffe sailed round Colin & Casey to reach the leeward mark in 2nd place with a 20 sec advantage over Colin & Casey who also found their rearward horizon shortened by Power & Barry who had also crept up on them.
The approach to the final beat was to take a hitch to sea – the right hand side of the course – tack and sail across the course on starboard tack and wait for the header on the left hand side that prompted another tack to approach the last weather mark on port. This was executed to varying degrees by all five boats with Power & Barry seeming to close again on Colin & Casey.
The first reach of the 2nd triangle was tight, so much so that Colin & Casey didn't fly spinnaker and didn't seem to suffer distance-wise as a consequence. This leg was pretty straightforward. The second reach produced a very wide diversity of execution plans. Butler gybed and headed upwind in a direction that took him away from the shortest distance to the leeward mark. He would eventually end up to windward and to the east of the committee boat, necessitating a second gybe to approach the leeward mark on a tight reach on starboard. Still, he had the comfort of a big lead! McKenna, Colin and Power all gybed at the gybe mark and sailed low toward the shoreline – with McKenna covering/shepherding Colin so that she stayed between him and the leeward mark. This of course opened the door for Power to do her own thing but she was unable to upset the order. Miller, meantime was even more radical than Butler, seeming to take a line on port tack that would have delivered him to the position of the weather mark had it still been in position. As with Butler, he too ended up putting in another gybe to approach the leeward mark on starboard, but his game was long over by that stage. Butler's margin of victory was very comfortable and McKenna ended up being a minute ahead of Colin. Seven minutes spanned first to last in what was a seasonal race – evening sunshine under blue skies with a gentle breeze. Grey clouds were incoming from the west, but the showers that had populated the day stayed away for the race and one could believe that it was an Irish July!

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 2, Round 4.
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC

With the Round Ireland, holidays, line duty and work commitments, the overall situation for Series 2 has an interesting look to it, and the three combinations that have been least upset in their Tuesday routine lead the series in overall terms.

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 2, 4 sailed, no discard.
1 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 7
2 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 8
3 Frank Miller & Francis Rowan 14713 DMYC 9
4 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC 10
5 Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire 14865 DMYC 13

This past Saturday saw the conclusion of the four one-day regattas of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs with the Royal St George Yacht Club hosting their event which attracted close to 200 entries from Cruisers 1 all the way down to the dinghy classes. Five Fireballs contested the event on a dinghy course that was closer to the mouth of the River Liffey than Dun Laoghaire. In very difficult conditions that prompted a lot of "snakes and ladders" racing, Louis Smyth and Cormac Bradley "threw a six" at the right time to take the two race wins and a hat-trick of DL Club Regatta wins – Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club. Louise McKenna and Hermine O'Keeffe won the National Yacht Club Regatta. Two of the regattas were decided by virtue of the winners of the second race and Conor Clancy lost two of those.
The weekend of 19/20th July sees the fleet re-visiting an old venue – Wexford Harbour Boat & Tennis Club. With ten days to go there is a "decent commitment" to boats for the event, but we would like to see even more boats make the trip. From Dublin the venue is about 1.5hours drive, (driveable on Saturday morning) there is free camping and camper-vanning at the club and they are very excited at our return. Discounted entry is available until 17:00 this Friday (11th July). We know that the south coast will be represented, we know that the west will be represented, there will be the usual Dublin contingent, but we would love to have some northern commitment and while the midlands might think it is a long haul, the more boats we have the better the event.