#dbsc – Strong westerly winds gusting to 40 knots put paid to both the DBSC Spring Chicken handicap keelboat series and the DMYC dinghy frostbites on Dublin bay today.
The cruiser event was abandoned just before its first gun this morning. It is the second week running that strong winds have forced cancellation. The plan now, say organisers, is to run an extra race on March 22nd with no race on the 15th due to St. Patrick's weekend.

#laser – As 40 Laser dinghies enter the last few weeks of typically close racing in the perennial DMYC Frostbite series, dinghy sailors are looking forward to the warmer months, especially after some subtle but significant changes by Dublin Bay Sailing Club writes our Dublin Bay Laser fleet correspondent.

DBSC has been engaged in lengthy discussions with all dinghy classes and there are a few key format tweaks, including two new classes in the shape of the Laser (previously in PY) and the RS 200/400. The idea for Lasers is to focus everybody on Tuesday evenings for club racing, thereby freeing up weekends for other sailing (eg, Laser regattas or other DBSC classes) or indeed for family obligations. Some other DBSC dinghy classes, however, stick with the tried and trusted Saturday plus Tuesday format. Horses for courses and Hats Off to DBSC for a flexible approach.

Download poster below for more details of the new initiative.

But one thing's for sure ; the simple Laser formula is as popular as ever. A perfectly competitive boat is just €2k and the associated costs are very low. The healthy exercise from hiking and working a Laser is catching the Fitness wave too and makes the single-hander a popular lifestyle choice for sailors who also cycle, run or whatever. In anything over 5 knots it's the ultimate full body workout ! In the last 18 months we're also seeing young graduates from the vibrant DL scene for the smaller 4.7 and Radial rigs. How great it is to see them transition into the local racing scene. Many of these younger sailors - like us older types (!) - are inspired by the international exploits of the Waterfront's own Annalise Murphy and Finn Lynch, who can be seen out training on the Bay, using exactly the same equipment as the rest of us.

So....Get that Laser out of the garden, or don't put it away after the Frostbites ! Join us on Dublin Bay for glorious Tuesday night racing and other events highlighted in the attachment. We want to see all ages and ability levels. We'll even lay on some coaching and we'll definitely meet up for a drink after racing each Tuesday.

#dbsc – Although Kinsale's natural harbour may have provided the necessary protection for the penultimate round of the south coast town's Frostbite series yesterday, there was no such shelter from the winds on the east coast with both of Sunday's Dublin Bay sailing fixures cancelled. DBSC's cruiser Spring Chicken organisers were forced to cancel in the morning and the DMYC dinghy frostbite series followed suit yesterday afternoon as gusts hit 40–knots off Dun Laoghaire harbour.

#dbscspringchicken – After three races sailed and three to go, the Hanse 341 Coumeenole leads the Rathfarnham Ford sponsored DBSC Spring Chicken series on Dublin Bay.

The modified ECHO series handicap regatta series has attracted over 40 sailing cruisers and sportsboats for the Dublin Bay 2015 warm–up event.

Attached below are results from last Sunday along with Starts & Handicap information for next Sunday.

#dbsc – Greeted with a foggy Dublin Bay yesterday morning and a gentle breeze due to a huge high pressure sitting over Ireland, team INSS were one of the first boats to head out to the DBSC Spring Chicken race course in a lovely 10-12 knots of breeze writes Kenneth Rumball. Our crew were keen to get to grips with the intricacies of handling the mast head spinnaker on our race prepared 1720 prior to the start of racing, giving us the best possible opportunity to win the day's race.

A great race course was set with a start line just off the harbour mouth and a 'Z' style course incorporating a laid weather mark, yellow mark as gybe mark, another laid gybe mark and then the pin end of the line as the leeward which we had to round to starboard. The 1720 fleet as always started in the third start with a biased committee boat end. Team INSS gave a lesson on how to control the fleet on a committee boat start and won the highly competitive start.

Up the first beat Merlin pulled ahead due to her dominant speed with Third Time Lucky also having a speed edge. Lady A from the RIYC rounded in third place with Team INSS rounding in fourth. A fumbled hoist saw Team INSS catching a few mackerel n anticipation for lunch, however the tem didn't lose too much and was soon catching the rest of the fleet.

On approach to the yellow mark there were many discussion on whether or not the 1720s could hold their kite on the tight reach, the small Sonata 'Asterix' had showed the fleet it can be done. All the 1720s apart from Merlin took the risk and tried to hold the kites which was to be a mistake. Merlin used the advantage and increased their lead as the remainder of the fleet struggled to douse kites on the fetch.

Team INSS also benefitted from some slick spinnaker work and was up to second place by the second gybe mark.

Despite their best efforts TEAM INSS could not manage to hold off Lady A even though at the finish there was barely two seconds between the hooters as the two 1720s cross the line.

Back ashore in the INSS centre we had a busy day with a full First Aid course for dinghy instructors as well as an ISA Dinghy Instructor Pre-Entry Assessment run by ISA Regional Development Officer Ciaran Murphy where all 7 candidates passed.

The afternoon saw our dinghy sailors out sailing in the DMYC Frostbites.

#springchicken – We're back into 2015 already and Team INSS kicked off their 2015 racing with the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Spring Series sponsored by Rathfarnham Ford. It was a cold windy start to the season with ice having to be scraped off the deck of our 1720 before we could safely rig for sailing.

Towing out, there was a cold breeze in form the West, Fintan Cairns and his team laid a triangular course with a start line just off the harbour mouth and a windward mark near Sandymount strand with the outfall mark being the gybe. Team INSS had a completely new team out of which one person had only competed with the team in the series before. Due to the stormy weather we have had over the past month, a training day was not able to happen prior to the event so our crew were totally fresh out of the blocks so to speak.

A heavily biased pin end saw all the 1720s in the third start converged with all getting off the line with no bumps or bashes. From here the pecking order quickly established itself with 'Third Time Lucky' and 'Merlin' both hailing from the George, duelling for the lead. Team INSC settled into third with 'Lady A' the fourth 1720 and the two other 1720s from the Irish in fifth and sixth.

There were no major changes across the race track but the gusty conditions did catch a few boats out including a 1720 going into a full capsize.

A great start to 2015 on the bay with the new Team INSS looking forward to a fantastic season ahead!

#dbsc – Results from last Sunday's first race of the Rathfarnham Ford sponsored DBSC Spring Chicken series on Dublin Bay together with starts and handicaps for next Sunday are downloadable below.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's first event of 2015 begins on Sunday morning with the first of its 'Spring Chicken' Series, a series of six races to be held on Sunday mornings from 1st February to 10th March.

Handicaps and start times are downloadable below. 

The weather forecast for the first race for the handicap cruiser fleet looks set to blow the cobwebs away. According to the latest Dun Laoghaire marina forecast it will be another day of sunshine and snow showers, most of the showers in the Irish Sea. High cloud may thicken later as fronts associated with a small area of low pressure to the west of Ireland passes south-east toward Biscay. Visibility will be good away from showers, but reduced to moderate or poor during precipitation. Sea state will be moderate near the Marina, but widely rough in the Irish Sea. Winds will be  NW 25-30kt NNW 33-45kt!

The entry fee for the series is €60.00 – including temporary membership of DBSC and National YC.

Entries are accepted at the sole discretion of the Race Committee. An entry form and Notice of Race are both downloadable as Word documents on Afloat's earlier Spring Chicken post HERE

#dbsc – At five minutes past one, the INSS Sailors competing in the DMYC Frostbites as part of the INSS Race Training Programme, were rigging their boats on the Coal Harbour Slipway, raring to go in a big breeze writes Kenneth Rumball. However it was not to be, the DMYC Frostbites race committee took the understandable decision that strong winds and swell from the Northerly wind in the harbour made attempting racing too difficult.

The trainees were disappointed, according to our race coach Alexander Rumball who was accompanying them in his RS400. So it was decided, Magnos and Laser IIs were put away in favour of Laser Picos with reefed sails. One of the Irish National Sailing Club members launched his Laser, accompanied by an INSS instructor in a school radial. With Alexander's RS400 included, there were the makings of a fleet large enough to get some racing done.

A triangle was set with the weather mark near the top of the West Pier, which according to the sailor's reports was a challenge to get around cleanly in the swell. On the start line we were joined by three more RS400's, a couple of Lasers and a Solo dinghy. The INSS support RIB acted as committee boat and two races were held. Unfortunately we aren't able to publish results as the Race Officer for the day doubled as safety boat driver and was called on to give a hand to a Laser which had dropped its rig during a capsize. While the rig was successfully put back up, the safety boat didn't quite make it back to be a committee boat in time to record the finishers.

No one seemed to mind though, everyone was just glad to be out on the water and enjoying the challenge the conditions posed. Our racing programme trainees were delighted with the chance to practice in stronger winds, and we were equally as happy to be able to provide the course, flags and a few horns so that the Dun Laoghaire dinghy sailors who braved the weather could join in too.

#dbsc – Following on from DBSC's successful pre–Christmas Turkey Shoot Cruiser series, Dublin Bay organisers have unveiled the '2015 Spring Chicken', running from 1st February to 8th March. It's a series of six races that does not impact on St. Patrick's weekend holidays. A Notice of Race and Entry Form are attached below. Rathfarnham Ford are series sponsors.