Tomorrow is the penultimate race of the DBSC season, a season in which the 350-boat club tackled the long standing problem of crew shortages. Together with Dun Laoghaire's waterfront yacht clubs, DBSC introduced an 'Ensign Class' to extend the possibility of bay racing to a greater of people.

Up to 1,500 sailors race each Thursday and Saturday during the Summer but typically cruiser classes, which represent the bulk of the fleet, always run short of crew. A typical 30 foot boat can require a crew pool of 15 or more.

People with no experience are now being taken afloat in a cosseted fashion by the club and introduced to the rudiments of sailing.

The idea has proved so successful the National Yacht Club now operates a waiting list for its club 1720 sports boats, the Ensign class of choice.

The hope is that racing skippers, who rarely want complete novices onboard but who are nevertheless short of crew, will be encouraged to pick from those graduating from the Ensigns.

DBSC's Hon-Sec Donal O'Sullivan says the pilot project looks set to continue into the winter for the popular Turkey Shoot Series.

Colin Byrne's X-34 Xtravagance was the winner of a reduced Class one in breezy conditions on Dublin Bay yesterday. Racing in strong southerly winds - that Met Eireann says is the tail of Hurricance Katia - provided an exhilarating penultimate Saturday race in the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Season. It was disappointing therefore thatas winds tipped 30 knots many of the 17 classes had to be cancelled.  The Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 10 SEPTEMBER 2011 are:

CRUISERS 1 Echo- 1. Adrenalin (Joe McDonald), 2. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 3. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 2. Adrenalin (Joe McDonald), 3. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly)

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

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

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Whiterock (Henry Robinson), 3. Macro One (Joseph Murray)

An exotic weekend in Dun Laoghaire with the start of an Olympic class keelboat event plus the arrival of a Volvo 70 into the harbour but Irish weather meant all did not go to plan. Click our links for a round up of the weekend's sailing events from around the country: Mansfield Wins 1720 Euros in Baltimore, Squall Puts Paid to First Race of Star Europeans in Dun Laoghaire, West Kirby Teams Top ISAF Worlds in Schull, Johnston's Beneteau 31.7 is Good Prospect, Killyleagh Pair Scoop Flying Fifteen East Coast Cup, Lively Lady Sails to Victory in Fickle ISORA Race to Rockabill, SB3 Team Sanya Welcome Scuppered by Strong Winds. We'll have more reports later this morning from the J24 Easterns in Howth, the National 18 season in Cork and J80 Match racing.

Chris Johnston sailed his Beneteau 31.7 Prospect sailed to success in yesterday's Dublin Bay Sailing Club Race beating Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy) and Gerry Jones's Thirty Something.

DBSC Results for 3 SEPTEMBER 2011

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo - 1. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy), 2. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner), 3. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy), 3. Thirty Something (Gerry Jones et al)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Contango (Barry Cunningham), 2. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al), 3. Powder Monkey (C.Moore/M.Byrne)

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

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke), 2. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 2. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle), 2. Pamafe (Michael Costello), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1 - 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Mellifluence (Tom Leonard), 3. The Big Bow Wow (N.Meagher/N.Matthews)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2 - 1. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 2. Mellifluence (Tom Leonard), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

GLEN - 1. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 2. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 3. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1 - 1. Dart (Pierre Long)

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

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

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

PY CLASS Race 1 - 1. P Keane (Laser 1), 2. R Tate (Laser), 3. Desmond McCarthy (Laser 1)

PY CLASS Race 2 - 1. P Keane (Laser 1), 2. Desmond McCarthy (Laser 1), 3. R Tate (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 2. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB Race 1 - 1. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne), 2. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 3. Kookaburra (P & M Dee)

SQUIB Race 2 - 1. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 2. Femme Fatale (Joe O'Byrne), 3. Tais (Michael O'Connell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Zephyr (R Cahill-O'Brien), 2. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer), 2. Zephyr (R Cahill-O'Brien), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

All the weekend sailing news is wrapped up in a number of posts on Afloat.ie this morning:  Schull Welcomes World Team Racers,  Espey Wins Lasers, Local Sailor Takes Radials at Lough Derg Nationals,  Howth Juniors Win 19-Boat Greystones Feva Event, Royal Cork Celebrates 2011 with 'At Home' Regatta,  Supernova to the Fore in DBSC Cruiser Challenge Event,  McCartin and Kinsella are New Irish Fireball Champions, Kenefick Steers Chimp to Overall Win at Half Ton Classic Cup, Cork Week Changes Dates for 2012.

Sign up for our newletter coming later this morning!

It looked like Supernova (Ken Lawless) would continue her success on Dublin Bay with weekend wins in a blustery DBSC end of season fixture for the Cruisers III class until a broken boom in the penultimate race gave the event to arch rivals Hard on Port.

In what at first glance looks like a repeat of the results from July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta there are familiar name at the top of the leaderboard after the weekend's Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser Challenge contested by 70 boats from 7 classes.

So far overall results have yet to be published and only provisional results are appearing online.

As in July, the J24 Hard on Port (Flor O'Driscoll) was second to Supernova in the 16-boat Cruisers III IRC fleet, the biggest fleet of the combined classes event until the final race of the series when disaster struck for the Dubois Starflash desgin.

Wow tackles the breeze at the Cruiser Challenge. Photo: Gareth Craig. more on the Afloat Gallery here.

In the six boat Cruisers Zero fleet, Howth visitor Crazy Horse (Norbert Reilly) counting two firsts won by a margin of 5 points from Tiamat. Third was the new J111 Wow skippered by George Sisk.

Dark clouds brought heavy rain but also great sailing conditions for Saturday's Dublin Bay Sailing Club race. The Cruiser classes were racing for Cruiser challenge honours leaving the one designs to the regular bay race.  Results below:

 FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Deranged (C.Doorly), 2. Mellifluence (Tom Leonard), 3. Kooigjug (K Dumpleton)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. Kooigjug (K Dumpleton)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glenshesk (L.Faulkner et al), 3. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche)

MERMAID - 1. Kim (D Cassidy), 2. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 2. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)

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

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 2. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans), 3. Perfection (Jill Fleming)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Little Bird (N Barnwell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo- 1. Emir Herr (Liam Shanahan), 2. The Great Escape (P & D Rigney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Calypso (Howard Knott), 2. Emir Herr (Liam Shanahan), 3. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer)

The deluge that hit Dun Laoghaire yesterday afternoon did not dampen the spirits of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club fleet who emerged from the harbour for a brisk Thursday evening race. Austin Whelan's First Class 8, Upd8 made the most of the southerly conditions in Cruisers Three to record a win on IRC. Second was Cri-Cri, the club's only Jezequel 116, and third the Sonata, Asterix. The win comes on the eve of the DBSC's annual Cruiser Challenge series that begins this evening and includes the Cruisers III East Coast Championships so DBSC organisers are hoping yesterday's heavy downpours are a thing of the past. The full DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club results for 25 AUGUST 2011

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Flying Machine (Conor O'Gallagher), 2. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy), 3. Levana (Jean Mitton)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Levana (Jean Mitton), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Flying Machine (Conor O'Gallagher)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tiamat (Denis Hewitt & al), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Tiamat (Denis Hewitt & al), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jura (Barry McCabe), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 3. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Witzend 11 (Peter Conlon), 2. Jawesome 11 (V.Kennedy/M.Dyke)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Carrabeg (D.Martin/R.Deasy), 2. Upd8 (Whelan/McCabe/Carey), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Upd8 (Whelan/McCabe/Carey), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell)

DRAGON - 1. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al), 2. Susele (Michael Halpenny)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Deranged (C.Doorly), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

GLEN - 1. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Glenmarissa (F.Elmes/W.Higgins)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Nuits St Georges (Alan Kirwan), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe), 3. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al)

SB3s - 1. Sin Bin (Barry O'Neill), 2. Flutter (Andrew Algeo), 3. Bom Chickawahwah (John O'Driscoll)

SHIPMAN - 1. Whiterock (Henry Robinson), 2. Gusto (C Heath), 3. Macro One (Joseph Murray)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. Leeuwin (H&C Leonard & B Kerr)

SQUIB - 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Little Bird (N Barnwell), 3. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Zephyr (R Cahill-O'Brien), 2. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Zephyr (R Cahill-O'Brien), 3. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan)

July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Boat of the week, Supernova, will be in action again this weekend in the Cruisers III East Coast championships. The annual fixture is being raced as part of tomorrow's DBSC Cruiser Challenge sponsored by MGM boats, Dún Laoghaire.

Entries for  the Challenge stand at 70 to date and remain open for the three day event run by Dublin Bay Sailing Club.

The DBSC Cruiser Challenge is open to Cruisers 0, 1, 2 and 3, Sigma 33s and 31.7s, who will also compete for their national championships during the event.

VDLR Champion Supernova is in action again on Dublin Bay tomorrow

Pat Shannon, vice-commodore of DBSC, says that as well as boats from the main Dún Laoghaire waterfront clubs, DBSC has invited boats from Howth, England and the Isle of Man to compete. "Last year we had 80 boats and we expect something similar. We're running it over the UK bank holiday so we might get those boats," says Pat. DBSC also welcomes Cruisers 3 to the event, who are taking part for the first time. (The Cruiser Challenge will also incorporate this year's Cruisers 3 East Coast Championships.)

This year the National Yacht Club is the host club for the event. Hal Bleakley is the race officer on committee boat, MacLir, and Henry Leonard is race officer on Spirit Of The Irish. NYC sailing manager Olivier Prouvier will coordinate activities on the water.

The organisers also plan plenty of fun after racing, with live music and barbecues in the NYC and a party for the 31.7 nationals in the National Yacht Club on Saturday night.

The main organisers are DBSC commodore Tony Fox, vice-commodore Pat Shannon, rear-commodore Chris Moore and honorary secretary Donal O'Sullivan, assisted by a team of around 28 volunteers. "We're always very grateful to the volunteers, they're the greatest resource we have," says Pat. "We have all the equipment, the greatest resource is the people who help out."

Pat adds that there are great prizes this year – half model yachts, made by Marine Model Makers of Wicklow. "They are very special, so it's worth entering," he says.

The entry fee for each boat is €105 with a reduced fee of €80 for entries received before 12th August.

Ross O'Leary marked his return to Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) racing last night with a light air win in the PY/Laser class. The Dun Laoghaire based yacht broker has missed part of the dinghy season due to an ankle injury. Second home was Gary O'Hare. Full results for both DBSC Dinghy and Cruiser fleets are below:

DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 23 AUGUST 2011

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson), 2. Free Spirit (John O'Reilly)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 2. Upd8 (Whelan/McCabe/Carey)

Ensign - 1. NYC 2 (Helen Cooney)

FIREBALL - 1. Goodness Gracious (Louise McKenna), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller), 3. No Name (B McGuire)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

MERMAID - 1. Tiller Girl (J.O'Rourke), 2. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)

PY CLASS - 1. Ross O'Leary (Laser), 2. Gary O'Hare (Laser), 3. P Keane (Laser 1)