#dbsc – Sea conditions and strong easterly winds on Dublin Bay have cancelled this morning's final race of the DBSC Chicken Series.

The overall prizegiving will be held in the National Yacht Club this mornng at 11am.

#dbsc – Race 5 of the Dublin Bay Spring Series, would it happen for the Irish National Sailing Club (INSC) crews asked Instructor/Skipper Kenneth Rumball yesterday

Certainly driving down, the coast road to Dun Laoghaire, it was questionable, Dublin Bay was a glassy millpond.

None the less, we rigged up and drifted/sailed out into a waiting fleet in the bay. Freebird had gone off upwind to lay a weather mark as we patiently waited for the breeze to fill in.

Fill in it did and the starting sequence got underway. INSC1 hung around the committee boat while INSC2 & INSC3 were down the pin end. After some confusion caused entirely by the skippers, all boats got underway with all boats late for the start. INSC1s skipper had to be reminded the rest of his fleet had started! Whoops, thinking too much.

The first beat was patchy with INSC1 taking an initial route up the middle of the course while INSC2 chose a one tack wonder out to the right of the course! INSC3 took a route more up the left of the course! It turns out INSC2 had the best route, getting into the building Easterly breeze, INSC1 moved from the middle to the right of the course. At the top mark, it was INSC1 & INSC2 neck in neck at the top mark ahead of the fleet who were now getting into the breeze. INSC3 was struggling up the beat but powering past the rest of the fleet from start 3. INSC1 took a route down the right of the run while INSC2 went down the left of the run. No major gains or losses for either boat.

However at the bottom mark, the J109 Ruth did INSC1 a massive favour by sailing on top of INSC2. This enabled INSC1 to gain back their advantage. A close tacking duel between the two boats up the rest of the right of the beat was hard work for all crews.

The finish was to be at the top of this beat, we all finished in a great building breeze with the sun just coming out. If DBSC arranged the weather, it could be related to a Carlsberg advertisement. INSC1 was second across the line to the J109 Ruth with INSC2 6th across the line, with Orna and the A35 Another Adventure getting in their way.

#dbsc – A good breeze last week gave an exciting sail to Dalkey island last Sunday with an eventful finish for some including a 1720 and a J109.

This Sunday's race is looking lighter with a left-over easterly sloppy sea-state and perhaps chilly conditions.

Handicaps & Starts for next Sunday's Spring Chicken Series are below as Excel files. There are ho changes in starts.

#dbsc –Dun Laoghaire's Irish National Sailing (INSC) are off to a flying start in boats in the DBSC Spring Chicken Series that got underway yesterday on Dublin Bay.  Here's the INSC's Kenneth Rumball on the day's adventures in the Cruiser and sportsboat series sponsored by Viking Marine.

After last week's postponement, three INSC 1720s ventured out into a building westerly breeze with a lumpy sea and dark wintery drizzle for the start of yesterday's DBSC Spring Series.

Hats, gloves and full waterproofs were the order of the day. After a short postponement, our 1720s got away in the third start. Kenneth Rumball, Noel Butler and Andrew Boyle were the three skippers of the boats. Noel and Kenneth started at the pin end with a strong pin bias while Andy was a little bit further down the line. We tackled the long port leg leaving most of the boats in our start in our wake and catching some of the start 2 boats by the first mark.

Even though the breeze was building and there was talk of rigging the fractional kite as opposed to the masthead, INSC 1 (Kenny) went for the big kite and gybed away after the windward mark into the stronger tide. INSC 2 (Noel) opted for the fractional kite and stuck to the right of the run. INSC 3 (Andy) had also gone for the masthead and was tearing down the middle of the run. By the leeward mark, INSC 1 rounded just behind the RStGYC 1720 Luna Sea with INSC 3 and then INSC 2.

INSC 2 and INSC 3 enjoyed a fantastic battle throughout the race with INSC 2 only getting ahead due to a suspect spinnaker hoist!

The three INSC boats continued to work through the pack and by the last downwind, INSC 1 was just behind Luna Sea. With some great teamwork from the crew, we gybed on Luna Sea on the line, pipping them to a line honours finish in the first race of the DBSC Spring Series.

A great start for INSC 1 and great racing for all INSC 1720s in our race training program!

#dbsc – After last weekend's baptism of fire in gusty conditions in the first race of the Viking Marine sponsored DBSC Turkey Shoot series new handicaps have been issued by the race organiser for Sunday's second race.

Over 70 boats have entered the series.

Four starts are planned and line ups are downloadable below as an excel sheet.

Meanwhile the prizegiving for DBSC's Summer series takes place on November 16th at the Royal St. George Yacht Club. Over 90 trophies will be presented. Full 2012 DBSC prizewinners are listed here.

#dbsc – Noted quarter tonner Supernova, currently for sale, has won Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) top award for handicap cruiser racing having won seven individual trophies in the 2012 DBSC season. The full DBSC prizewinners list for 2012 is below. Over ninety trophies will be awarded at one of Irish sailing's biggest nights of the year when DBSC's prizegiving takes place on the 16th November 2012 at the Royal St.George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Among the awards to be made is one for a notable contribution to sailing and this year it will be made to Annalise Murphy for her Olympic performance in Weymouth.

In a note to members in DBSC's annual report outgoing Commodore Tony Fox makes a number of points about the Dublin Bay 2012 wind patterns, so critical in the enjoyment of our sailing, which were disconcerting in the extreme. On four successive Thursdays in May, racing had to be cancelled for lack of wind. On another two, the same happened because there was too much of it. There were another two Thursdays when racing was possible for the Blue fleet only. Boats racing on Tuesdays did note escape scot-free either. On four Tuesdays racing had to be cancelled, fog or thick, impenetrable mist being responsible on two occasions.

Yet looking back on 2012 we can remember there e were many days of splendid, exhilarating racing that made one forget the frustrations of early summer. As sailors we take the weather as it comes – sailing is all about adapting to wind and tide and it has never been otherwise. In 2007, "the worst summer on record" we were told, no less than eleven days racing had to be cancelled. What makes 2012 stand out is the fact that most of the cancellations happened on successive Thursdays, on the most popular racing day of the week. Oddly, there were no cancellations of Saturday races.

#dbsc – While tomorrow's Dun Laoghaire lift out of boats at the National and the Royal St. George Yacht Clubs brings the main sailing season to an end Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) will be lifting-in its new Committee boat just in time for November's Viking Marine 'Turkey Shoot' series.

The new 33' flagship 'Freebird of Dublin' has been purchased with the club's own resources to serve both dinghy and keelboat fleets as a starting vessel.

Freebird has just been fitted with a new deckhouse by Noonan boats in Co. Wicklow. The jet driven catamaran is the second such craft for DBSC and replaces an older mononull.

There has been a buoyant take up for the Winter series from those still smarting at the loss of so much summer sailing. The 2012 season got off to a slow start when the first six DBSC Thursday races were lost due to an absence of wind.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 29 SEPTEMBER 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke)

CRUISERS 0 Echo- 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

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

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Dick Dastardly (B.Cusack et al), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Kamikaze (P.Nash/B.McIntyre), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Carrabeg (D.Martin/R.Deasy), 2. Saki (Paget McCormack et al), 3. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 2. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 3. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Deranged (C.Doorly), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge)

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

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

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

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB - 1. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans), 2. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 3. Windshift (R O'Flynn et al)

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 22 SEPTEMBER 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy)

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

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al), 2. Ruth (L Shanahan), 3. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 2. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 2. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 3. Jawesome 11 (M Dyke & B Darcy)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Carrabeg (D.Martin/R.Deasy), 2. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Supernova (Shannon, Lawless, McCormack), 2. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

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

FIREBALL - 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. Elevation (N.Colin/M.Casey), 3. NN (Glen Fisher)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. The Big Bow Wow (N.Meagher/N.Matthews)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. The Big Bow Wow (N.Meagher/N.Matthews), 2. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glengesh (G Sands & B O'Connor)

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

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

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 2. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 2. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. E & R Ryan (RS400), 2. Hugh Sheehy (OK Dinghy), 3. Desmond McCarthy (Laser 1)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath), 2. Whiterock (Henry Robinson), 3. Invader (Gerard Glynn)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Where's Woolly (Conor O'Leary)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Lucy O (Aonghus O hEocha), 2. Fortitudine (D & A Clarke), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 15 SEPTEMBER 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Levante (B.Leyden/M.Leahy)

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

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

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 3. Jawesome 11 (M Dyke & B Darcy)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 11 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Quest (Jonathan Skerritt), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (Jonathan Skerritt), 2. Supernova (Shannon, Lawless, McCormack), 3. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Deranged (C.Doorly), 2. Perfect Ten (A Balfe), 3. Snow White (Frank Burgess)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole), 2. Deranged (C.Doorly), 3. Kooigjug (K Dumpleton)

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

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Chaos (Julie Ascoop), 2. Sapphire (Lorcan O'Sullivan), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Chaos (Julie Ascoop)

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Lively Lady (G O'Neill & M Hanney), 3. Kim (D Cassidy)

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

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. Des Fortune (Finn), 2. Amanda Ralph (Laser Radial)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ripples (Frank Bradley), 2. Diane ll (Andrew Claffey), 3. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al)

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

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 3. Springer (I.Bowring)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 3. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup), 2. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 3. Perfection (Jill Fleming)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Coumeenole (Bill Kavanagh), 2. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)