John O'Driscoll's Moosmie was the winner of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) single Water Wag dinghy race on Wednesday evening in trying conditions inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Following a postponement for 15 minutes, Race Officer Ian Mathews started the race setting a course of two rounds for the 25 starters.

Mathews shortened after one round and a second beat to finish at the weather mark.

William Prentice's Tortoise was second

Scroll down for results below

Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) presented its outgoing Honorary Secretary Chris Moore with a 3-D chart of Dublin Bay in the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire on Friday evening.

The presentation follows Moore's retirement as DBSC Honorary Secretary on Thursday, June 30th.

He served three terms as Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore, and Commodore, followed by a further three and a half years as Hon. Secretary.

Moore also previously served as Commodore of Bray Sailing Club and Commodore of the National Yacht Club and is regarded as a stalwart of the Dun Laoghaire sailing community.

He is the Irish Commissioner of the World Sailing Speed Record Council and authenticates all Irish record bids including high-profile Round Ireland speed attempts.

As Afloat previously reported, the busy role of Hon Sec at the country's biggest yacht racing club has been taken over by Rosemary Roy.

By way of a straw pole on their WhatsApp Group the Flying Fifteen fleet signed up to a three-race DBSC programme offered by designated Race Officer for the day, Barry O’Neil.

On arrival at the waterfront, the prospect of three races seemed to be a bit optimistic given the wind conditions and the forecast. XCWeather was only promising 4-6knots from a northerly direction moving eastwards as the afternoon wore on. Overhead, the clouds weren’t doing much to suggest there was breeze either. And yet, the Irish tricolour flying at the end of the East Pier suggested that there was something in the bay.

Over the radio, our Race Officer indicated that he was in mobile mode to accommodate MacLir doing the big boat race but latterly his problem was a wind from a Southeast/SSE direction that wouldn’t settle and later again there were problems when he sought to relay the weather mark. However, the best efforts of the committee boat and the mark-layers allowed a three-race programme to be completed, with a short final race being squeezed in before the afternoon was out.

It would be impossible to give a detailed account of three races from memory, so this piece will instead concentrate on some of the aspects of the day!

The “Performance of the Afternoon” Award has to go to Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774, Hera) who won the first and last races of the day. In the first race they were well placed throughout the race rounding the first weather mark of a windward-leeward course of two laps in 3rd place behind Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (4081, Enfant de Marie) and Conor O’Leary & Margaret Casey (4028, Ffuzzy). These positions stayed intact for the downwind leg, but on the second beat, first Fuzzy and then Hera got past Enfant de Marie and on the second downwind leg, Hera took the lead and the winning gun on the short hitch to the finish.

The “Most Astute Start of the Day” Award goes to Ian Mathews & Chris Doorly (4093, Mike Wazowski) who executed a perfect port-tacked, pin end start and were never headed thereafter. Mulligan & Bradley were closest to them on starboard tack and took the same inshore route approach to the beat. As with the first race, these two were never headed, but behind them the chasing pack was having a good competition. In the end Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (3938, Ffantastic Mr Fox) won through to 3rd place with Murphy & Mulvey coming home fourth. On this basis, three boats were tied on five points each (if it had been a day regatta) – Murphy & Mulvey (1,4), Mathews & Doorly (4, 1) and Mulligan & Bradley (3,2). While one boat had departed after Race 1, a number of others departed after Race 2, leaving a slightly depleted fleet for the third race, a single lap race to the inner weather mark (used previously by Squibs and Mermaids), with the promise of an upwind finish.

The “Symmetry of the day” Award goes to the aforementioned Peter Murphy and Tom Murphy, crewed by Carel (4057, Fflagella) who finished first and second in this race. Mathews & Doorly had departed the scene after their first place so the day’s overall honours should have been a call between Murphy P and Mulligan. However, the least effective start of the day in this race gave Mulligan some work to do and the fading breeze didn’t help his cause either. Murphy & Mulvey led a charge into the weather mark from the left-hand side of the course with Mulligan working the right-hand side in isolation. That basically sealed the outcome of the theoretical “winners of the day” chase.

If it were a “day regatta”, the results might read as follows, all races to count;

1. Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey – 1, 4, 1 = 6pts
2. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley – 3, 2, 5 = 10pts
3. Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews – 6, 3, 4 = 13pts
4. Ian Mathews & Chris Doorly – 4, 1, DNC = 15pts
5. Tom Murphy & Carel – 9, 11, 2 = 20pts.

In overall terms, DBSC has the series recorded as follows,

1. David Gorman & Michael Huang, 4099, 14pts
2. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley, 4081, 23pts
3. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey, 4028, 24pts.

Overall leader Tim and Richard Goodbody's J109 White Mischief from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the winner of the Cruisers One IRC Race eight in DBSC's AIB Summer Series on Saturday.

The Saturday DBSC racing marked a return to club racing after a four-week gap for the Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht club's regattas.

Light airs predominated on both the cruiser and one design courses.

Goodbody beat Colin Byrne's Xp33 Bob Exemple, also from the Royal Irish, with Thomas Shanahan's J109 Ruth from the National Yacht Club third in the six-boat fleet.

In a two-boat Cruisers Zero division, Patrick Burke's First 40 Prima Forte beat Paddy McSwiney's X-35 D-Tox in a one-and-a-half-hour race. 

There was Sigma 33 success for Royal St. George's Richard Lovegrove sailing Rupert who beat Ian Bowring's Sigma 33 Springer in a two-hour race. Third was James McCann's Mustang 30 Peridot.

See full DBSC individual and overall results in all classes below. Three live Dublin Bay webcams featuring some DBSC race course areas are here

Sixteen Flying Fifteens took to the water for the first July Thursday race of DBSC and needed a second attempt at starting to get the race underway. Race Officer John McNeilly set a simple “triangle – sausage course” using Bulloch, Island and Pier, with the “sausage” being between Pier and Island. There was then a short upwind leg from Pier to the finish. Despite John’s warning of the consequences of an ebbing tide a General Recall was signalled for the first start and thereafter the fleet got underway under a “U” Flag. It is only on review of the results for this report that I see that one boat fell foul of the “U” flag.

The wind was not in accordance with the forecast I use, coming from a SE direction, hence the use of Bulloch as the windward mark. With an ebbing tide all evening, the question was, “Where was the better wind”, which wasn’t in huge supply in the first place. The first beat had crews sitting on the windward deck but that was about as good as it got. At the pin end of the start that got away, we had two boats attempting a port-tack start. One was more successful than the other, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) clearing the entire fleet off the line. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (4081) didn’t quite achieve that and had to wend their way through the starboard tack boats to get clear air. Others at the pin end, coming from the committee boat end included Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara (3896) and Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey (3955). These two would dominate the front end of the fleet for the whole night with Adrian & Joe McNamara leading the race around every mark bar the last one, when Ken & Joe took over that mantle.
Having worked their way to the inshore side of the course Colin and Mulligan found that others who had started off inshore were in slightly better shape. In this latter bunch we would find Gerry Ryan & crew (4045) Niall & Susan Coleman (4008), Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (3938) and Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774). At the rounding of Bulloch the order was Cooper, Dumpleton, Ryan, Colin & Mulligan with Meagher, Coleman, Alistair Court & Conor O’Leary (3753) and Murphy & Mulvey breathing down Mulligan’s neck.

The long spinnaker leg to Pier saw the fleet spread across the course and initially those who went off to sea fared better, but further down the leg, having transitioned from inshore to offshore, Mulligan looked to have gained places, until breeze came in from the inshore side to see, Meagher, Court, Murphy (P) and Coleman squeeze him wide of the mark. Ahead of this group were Cooper, Dumpleton and Colin.
Mulligan stayed “out of step” from the rest of the fleet and worked the inshore side of the second beat to Island. At times it looked very good, but it didn’t last long enough and with the ebbing tide taking him up to the mark, an easing of sheets marked the final approach to Island. With the fading breeze, the leg to Pier seemed even longer than the first time and the spread of the fleet was even more significant. Cooper and Dumpleton initially took as slightly offshore route which got progressively more offshore as the leg proceeded. At on stage they looked as though they were making a beeline for Clontarf. Between them and Mulligan on the inshore side of the run could be found – Colin, Coleman, Meagher, Murphy (P) with Court marginally further inshore. From this initial position there was a lot of changes with Colin and Coleman gybing to come inshore. Court went offshore and then came back, while Murphy (P) stayed out longer before he too came back inside. Meanwhile Cooper and Dumpleton were still ploughing an offshore furrow. All this in fading breeze.

Colin’s gybe brought him much closer to Mulligan and Coleman followed suit, with both sitting inshore of Mulligan. Slightly later Murphy was in the same position. Mulligan got one or two zephyrs that the others didn’t get and sailed away from them. By this stage we were in the final run in to Pier. Dumpleton had taken Cooper’s place at the head of the fleet and these two arrived at Pier before two Ruffians and two Shipmans that would impact on the rounding of Pier for Mulligan, Coleman, Colin, Murphy (P) and Court. The latter four boats found themselves inside a red-hulled Ruffian who seemed determine to give away the least amount of room possible. Mulligan sailed around the outside of both Ruffians, red-hulled and white-hulled, and a Shipman and holding onto spinnaker till the last possible moment squeezed through a gap that opened up behind the first Shipman. This was enough to get him away from Pier on port tack, in clear air. A subsequent tack to occupy the weather slot relative to Coleman on the starboard tack to the finish, allowed Mulligan to steal third place – an unlikely result give the way the race had gone earlier.

Dumpleton and Copper led the fleet home, in that order and behind Mulligan the finishers, in sequence, were Coleman, Murphy (P), Court and Colin.

Flying Fifteens DBSC, Thursday 7th July.
1. Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey 3995
2. Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara 3896
3. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley 4081
4. Niall & Susan Coleman 4008
5. Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey 3774

Flying Fifteens DBSC Overall.
1. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (24)
2. Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (45)
3. Keith Poole & Others (49.5)
4. David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (59.5)
5. Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey (60)

In Hayling Island starting today (Friday), the UK Flying Fifteen fleet has their Nationals and there is Irish representation in the form of John Lavery & Alan Green (4083), David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (4068) and I assume (but am not certain) Shane McCarthy (4085). The latter has just won the Irish GP14 Nationals as a run-up to the GP14 Worlds, scheduled for August in Skerries. We wish them all fair winds.

Lindsay Casey's Royal St. George J97 Windjammer was the winner of last night's (Thursday, 7 July) light air eight boat AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Series in the Cruisers Two IRC division.

Southeast winds were light for race 11 of the series leading many competitors to count a 'Did Not Finish' DNF score as the wind died almost completely on the bay later into the evening.

Second in IRC Two was Conor Ronan's Corby 25 Ruthless with third place going to James McCann's Mustang.

In the big boat IRC Zero class, Jonathan Nicholson's Puma 42, El Pocko, beat Paul O'Higgins' JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI. Third was Patrick Burke's First 40 Prima Forte.

There were no finishers recorded in the eight-boat IRC One class.

In the DBSC one design fleets, Ger Dempsey's Venuesworld from the Royal Irish won from Charlotte O'Kelly's National Yacht Club Sneaky B. Third was Patrick McGrath's Smoke on the Water. The class has scrubbed its national championships scheduled for next week's Cork Week due to a 'number of late cancellations, some Covid related'.

See full DBSC individual and overall results in all classes below. 

Three live Dublin Bay webcams featuring some DBSC race course areas are here

Water Wag dinghy racing in tonight's DBSC Wednesday League at Dun Laoghaire Harbour has been cancelled due to strong winds.

Westerly winds are forecast to gust to 25 mph.

Dun Laoghaire yacht racing official Rosemary Roy has been appointed as Honorary Secretary of Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC), Ireland's biggest yacht racing club, following the retirement of the outgoing Chris Moore. 

Moore retired as DBSC Honorary Secretary on Thursday, June 30th.

He served three terms as Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore, and Commodore, followed by a further three and a half years as Hon. Secretary.

Moore also previously served as Commodore of Bray Sailing Club and Commodore of the National Yacht Club and is regarded as a stalwart of the Dun Laoghaire sailing community.

He is the Irish Commissioner of the World Sailing Speed Record Council and authenticates all Irish record bids including high-profile Round Ireland speed attempts.

Chris Moore Photo: Afloat

In paying tribute, Club Commodore Ann Kirwan said, "I have worked closely with Chris since I joined the DBSC committee in December 2012 when Chris was elected as Vice Commodore. Chris' wealth of knowledge and experience has been invaluable to us at DBSC".

"Chris always manages to achieve a good balance between embracing progress and innovation while not losing sight of Dublin Bay Sailing Club traditions, which are an important part of our 138-year history, " she said.

"It was during Chris' tenure as Commodore that the Green Fleet was introduced, and it now forms a key part of our Saturday Racing Programme", Kirwan said.

In addition to steering the DBSC ship during his time as Commodore, Chris could be seen working in the bilges of MacLir and Freebird, as well as doing demanding physical work on the Marks and the Hut. He will continue to be involved in these elements of DBSC operations. 

"We wish Chris the best of luck with his future involvement with DBSC, hopefully with a less onerous workload," Kirwan said.

Rosemary Roy is the new Honorary Secretary of DBSC, joining the committee at its AGM in December 2021.

A key member of the DBSC Race Management Team for many years, she is the regular Timer on DBSC Red Fleet on Thursdays.

As well as her Race Management duties with DBSC, Roy is in much demand for running events outside Dublin and is part of next week's Cork Week Race Management team.

Rosemary Roy and her late husband Jack Roy were named Afloat Sailors of the Month in March 2020 for their combined contribution to sailing in Ireland and abroad.

"We know that Rosemary will do a great job as Honorary Secretary, and we look forward to working with her in that role", the DBSC Commodore added.

Read the full DBSC statement here

An 11-boat turnout for race ten of Cruisers One (IRC) saw the Royal Irish's XP33 Bon Exemple skippered by Colin Byrne take the gun in the AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Thursday night Series. 

A 15-knot or less westerly breeze saw a strong DBSC fleet turnout for the first July cruiser races on the Bay.

Overall, after ten races sailed Andrew Craig leads in Chimaera by four points from J109 sistership White Mischief (Tim Goodbody)

Third overall is Bon Exemple.

See full DBSC individual and overall results in all classes below. 

Three live Dublin Bay webcams featuring some DBSC race course areas are here

Up to 17 races have now been sailed in the 2022 AIB DBSC Dinghy series on Dublin Bay.

Last night's racing for PY, RS Aero, Fireball, Radial, Laser Standard and IDRA 14 took place in strong and gusty south easterly winds racing took place inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Race Officer was Barbara Conway on the DBSC Committee boat Freebird.

In the five-boat IDRA 14 fleet, Frank Hamilton's Dunmoanin' leads on 13 points leads by a point from Pierre Long's Dart overall. Last night only two IDRA 14s raced in race 15 with John Fitzgerald's Doody winning from Long. 

In the nine boat Fireball class, despite discarding a 'DNC' last night Neil Colin's Elevation continues to lead overall on 14 points. Clubmate, and last night's race winner, Frank Miller, stays second and Pink Fire skippered by Royal St. George's Louise McKenna is third. 

In the Radial class, another win in last night's race 17 for the single-handers keeps Wicklow's Michael Norman in the lead on 19 points from Hugh Cahill on 28 and Alison Pigot on 30 points.

See full DBSC individual and overall results in all classes below. 

Three live Dublin Bay webcams featuring some DBSC race course areas are here