#SAILING NEWS – Stormy weather continues to frustrate early season sailing schedules. Wind and waves that produced spectacular trawler photos off Howth last week abated sufficiently to get Saturday morning's first ISORA race away and on Dublin Bay the second race of the Saturday afternoon series took place in excellent surfing conditions.

The strong winds have returned this morning though leaving anyone planning a trip across the Irish sea, be they coastal rowers, tall ships or dinghy experts, with a reminder about how rough things can get. From San Francisco, a survivor of the yachting tragedy there has spoken out about the need for tethering.

Yesterday afternoon the first race of the revised SB3 season on Dublin Bay was scrubbed and in other small craft news the Fireball class held its annual training clinic. Royal Cork Optimists are heading for Waterford in a strong position. A Portrush man is heading to Spain to defend his kayaking title and in rowing news Monika Dukarska came out on top after a battle with Afloat's Rower of the Year Holly Nixon.

And is adventure sailing a new tack for declining dinghy numbers?

All this and lots more on Afloat's home page this morning!

#DBSC – Stunning conditions on Dublin Bay produced wins for Jonathan Skerrit's Quest over bay champion Supernova (Ken Lawless) in today's Cruisers III class racing. Easterly winds and big waves combined to give great racing in the second Saturday of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) season even though there were some gaps in the line up with 18–boats heading outside the bay to contest the first ISORA offshore race of the season to Wicklow.

John Hall's Something Else came home first in Cruisers 1 ahead of Colin Byrne's X-34 Xtravangance. In Cruisers 2 the Corby 25 Smile from the National Yacht Club (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan) beat Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power).

In the one design classes Michael McCambridge's Hy fibre was the winner of the first Flying Fifteen race but club mate Keith Poole in Gruffalo was the winner of the second race. Derek Mitchell's Ruff Nuff  beat Ann Kirwan saiing Ruff N Ready. Third was Diane ll (Andrew Claffey). Full results for Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 28 APRIL 2012 below:

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 28 APRIL 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 3. Prospect (Chris Johnston)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 3. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty)

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

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly), 3. Gringo (Tony Fox)

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

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Kamikaze (P.Nash/B.McIntyre)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Smile (O'Connell/Healy/O'Sullivan), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 2. Pamafe (Michael Costello), 3. Supernova (Shannon, Lawless, McCormack)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (Jonathan Skerritt), 2. Supernova (Shannon, Lawless, McCormack), 3. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell)

Combined Class 3 - 1. Quest (Jonathan Skerritt), 2. Supernova (Shannon, Lawless, McCormack), 3. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell)

Combined Class 3 Echo - 1. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Pamafe (Michael Costello)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 2. Snow White (Frank Burgess), 3. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole), 2. Frequent Flyer (D Mulvin), 3. Deranged (C.Doorly)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 2. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 3. Diane ll (Andrew Claffey)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Whiterock (Henry Robinson), 3. Therapi (Alan McCarthy et al)

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

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Nimble (Brian O'Hare)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Calypso (Howard Knott), 2. Spirit (Colin O'Brien et al), 3. The Great Escape (P & D Rigney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Calypso (Howard Knott), 2. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 3. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

#DBSC – Maybe it was the photographs of the fishing trawler pulling out of Howth in the north easterly gale that led Dublin Bay skippers to believe tonight's first race of the DBSC season might be scrubbed or perhaps April is still too early in the sailing season for a full mid-week turnout?  Whatever the reason some early bird entries capitalised on the exciting 18-knot NNW breeze and lumpy seas for the first Thursday night race. One of those was Commodore Tony Fox, skipper of class one yacht Gringo (pictured above), who won on both IRC and ECho handicap. On IRC Gringo beat DBSC champion Colin Byrne's X-34 Xtravagance. Third in class one IRC was John Maybury's Joker II.

In the one design classes Justin Burke's Alert packaging won the SB3s beating class captain Doug Smith's Sacrebleu. Niall Coleman sailing Flyer was the winner of the Flying fifteen class.

The full results for the DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 26 APRIL 2012 are below:

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Avalon (R.Conan/J.Fox), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey)

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

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Joker 11 (John Maybury), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 3. Joker 11 (John Maybury)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Free Spirit (John O'Reilly), 2. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 3. Free Spirit (John O'Reilly)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 2. Quest (Jonathan Skerritt), 3. Gossip (D Meredith)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Hyflyer (J Barnard), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell)

CRUISERS 3B Echo - 1. Small Wonder (H Kelly), 2. Yikes (J Conway)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Deranged (C.Doorly)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (Andrew Claffey), 2. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 3. Shannagh (S.Gill/P.MacDiarmada)

SB3s - 1. Alert Packaging (Justin Burke), 2. Sacrebleu (D Smith)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Curraglas (John Masterson), 3. Invader (Gerard Glynn)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Pippa lV (G.Kinsman/E.McMahon/M.O'Brien)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Edenpark (Liam Farmer), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Calypso (Howard Knott), 2. Edenpark (Liam Farmer)

#DUBLIN BAY – Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Racing yachts have been asked by race organisers to give a marine data buoy stationed in Scotsman's Bay (Latitude: 53 17.51 N Longitude 006 07.00) a wide berth even though it may be on some DBSC race courses this season.

The buoy carries a lot of expensive research equipment and It's on the periphery of the Red fleet's Thursday courses and also the dinghy Tuesday evening courses.

A combined fleet of 300 boats race under the DBSC burgee on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sundays making the yachts the biggest leisure users of bay waters.

Competing boats might possibly meet the yellow buoy if on a port-hand tack when sailing a beat from 40 ft. mark to Bay Mark and vice versa.

#DBSC – Paddy McSwiney's Extreme Reality was the first Beneteau 31.7 home tonight in the first of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) Tuesday evening racing. In Cruisers III Kevin Glynn's Hanse Grasshopper continued its winning form from Saturday with a win tonight over Pamafe (Michael Costello).

Winds were south easterly and btween 8 to 10 knots.

On the dinghy course a good turnout of up to ten Fireballs was won by Frank Miller's Blind Squirrel. A ten boat PY turnout was populated with Lasers but won by an RS400 (E & R Ryan). Full results below:

DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 24 APRIL 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Borraine (Ean Pugh), 2. Cor Baby (Keith Kiernan et al)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Grasshopper 2 (K & J Glynn), 2. Pamafe (Michael Costello), 3. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey)

CRUISERS 3B - 1. Maranda (Myles Kelly), 2. Aslana (J Martin & B Mulkeen), 3. Yikes (J Conway)

FIREBALL - 1. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller), 2. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 3. nn (S Oram)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan), 3. Glencorel (B.Waldock/K.Malcolm)

PY CLASS - 1. E & R Ryan (RS400), 2. P Keane (Laser 1), 3. D Cahill (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (Andrew Claffey), 2. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

#DBSC – Kevin Glynn's Hanse 301 Grashopper made the most of breezy north-westerly conditions to win the first race of the 2012 Dublin Bay Sailing Club season this afternoon in the Club's biggest class, the 43-boat combined Class Three. Second was the Superseal 26 Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea) and third was the First 28 Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey).

In the Beneteau 31.7 class Chris Johnston' s Prospect resumed her Dublin Bay campaign in her normal top slot. The Johnston entry beat Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson) on scratch. Third was Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan). In 2011 Prospect from the National Yacht Club won the Feanor trophy for the most successful one design performance in Thursday racing.

Full results below:

Paddy Maguire's Gwilli Two leads Tim Goodbody's White Mischief dowwind in the Sigma 33 race

Derek Martin's Lively Lady was second on ECHO in Cruisers Zero

DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 21 APRIL 2012

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Fiddly Bits (Kevin Byrne et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan)

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

CRUISERS 1 Echo- 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 3. Gringo (Tony Fox)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Xtravagance (Colin Byrne), 3. Jalapeno (Dermod Baker et al)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Peridot (Jim McCann et al), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Antix (D Ryan)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Peridot (Jim McCann et al)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Grasshopper 2 (K & J Glynn), 2. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 3. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey)

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

CRUISERS 3B Echo - 1. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 2. Maranda (Myles Kelly), 3. Wynward (W McCormack)

Combined Classes 3- 1. Grasshopper 2 (K & J Glynn), 2. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 3. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey)

DRAGON - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 3. Susele (Michael Halpenny)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole), 2. Rollercoaster (Tom Murphy), 3. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (Keith Poole), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Ash (Joseph Coughlan)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Glencorel (B.Waldock/K.Malcolm)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff N Ready (Ann Kirwan et al), 2. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 3. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Curraglas (John Masterson), 3. Whiterock (Henry Robinson)

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

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 3. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson)

SQUIB - 1. Nimble (Brian O'Hare), 2. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. The Great Escape (P & D Rigney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. Arwen (Philip O'Dwyer)

The DBSC Committee Vessel Mac Lir returns to base

The Start and finish dates of the DBSC 2012 season

First DBSC Races 2012

Tuesday: 24th April

Thursday 26th April

Saturday 21st April

Last DBSC Races 2012

Tuesday: 28th August

Thursday: 30th August

Saturday 29th Sept.

#DUBLIN BAY SAILING CLUB – There are a number of key changes to the 2012 Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) racing programme this year that reflect the times we live in but recession isn't going to hold back this club. After all DBSC has survived two World Wars, the War of Independence, the Civll War and the Great Depression to boot!

Ten to 15-knot north westerly winds are expected for tomorrow's first race. 360 boats will be competing in 19 classes with over 3,000 sailors for the first gun at 2pm. Dublin Port Company is on board again as Club sponsor for the season.

There has been a merger of cruiser classes three and four and classes zero and one will start together this season. And in a further contraction of cruiser class activity the country's biggest yacht club has decided not to run its annual cruiser challenge for 2012 at least.

And in a further departure from the norm the club has introduced a coastal race this July, something it has not done for many years.

These changes might indicate a drop off in interest but on the contrary the club's honorary secretary Donal O'Sullivan reports no drop in numbers for the first race of the 2012 DBSC season tomorrow.

Instead the changes this season are much needed tweaks to a durable race programme that has 90 perpetual trophies as well as 509 pieces of glassware up for grabs for what is the club's 119th season.

Handicap Classes

Nineteen classes will be racing tomorrow representing a mix of cruiser, one design and dinghy fleets.

Colin Byrne, the winner of one of the top awards in 2011 becomes the class captain of Cruisers 1, now an 18 boat fleet that counts among its numbers at least one new arrival this season. Ruth, a J109 yacht from the National Yacht Club will be skippered by Liam Shanahan and it is one of five 109s racing in DBSC class one.

Byrne who skippers the X-34 Xtravagance won the Waterhouse Shield and also sailed to overall IRC handicap racing victory on Saturdays and Thursdays in 2011. Byrne also took the overall Thursday Echo trophy (although the Royal Irish entry failed to make a clean sweep by two points in Saturday Echo).

Last year's Irish Cruiser Racer annual conference in Dun Laoghaire tried to tackle long festering issues such handicapping and perhaps there is nowhere more pertinent than in Dublin Bay Sailing Club where some class changes are long overdue.

For example, is it equitable for modern designs such as J109s or A35s to be racing with older Sigma 38s or X-332s? A realignment of handicap bands across all fleets could bring about better racing and, as ICRA Commodore Barry Rose conceded last November, such reform is long overdue.

Handicapping is something that ICRA should be empowered to tackle rather than tinker with. 'It's time to flush this out and get it sorted', Rose has promised.

In a DBSC context, with the country's largest handicap fleets there is little doubt that more handicap tweaks remains to be done but in a Cruisers III context at least the solution to the quandry for 2012 has been to split the 43-boat fleet in to alpha and beta divisions for the first time.

Last year's Bay champion Supernova is back in action tomorrow racing in the new class III alpha division

The view of the Committee is that it will produce better racing because Cruisers 3, to which Cruiser 4 were joined last year has a very wide handicap band.

It is a big task where yachts ranging in length from 23–foot to 29–foot are competing together and with handicap bands stretching from .760 to .820.

The beta division is made up of the old class IV boats and Beneteau 211s plus some others who have been to join.

Combined and separate results will be provided. This will be true also of Cruiser 0 and Cruisers 1, who will start together, both on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Ensign class

Last season 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 number of people, many of whom are novices.

Up to 1,500 sailors race each Thursday and Saturday during the Summer but typically cruiser classes which represent the bulk of the fleets always run short of a 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 Ensign class.

ISAF Youth Worlds

There was some concern earlier that the ISAF Youth Worlds, which will be held in Dublin Bay in July, would seriously impact on DBSC racing. The event will certainly have an effect on dinghies, which will have to vacate the club forecourts for the best part of a fortnight. Keelboats, not so much or hardly it all.

Many of the DBSC committee boat personnel will be tied up with the ISAF event but the club intends to start races from the Hut and they plan to run a coastal/ distance race in the Sth Burford direction, something we have not done for some years. The SB3s will be racing on away events at this time and will not be affected.

Though boat entry numbers have been down a bit since they peaked in 2009, all indications for this year are that DBSC's unique attractions – regular, consistently well-managed racing in a splendid sailing area within easy reach of members' home or workplace - will continue to exercise their perennial appeal. This is after all the 119th DBSC season!

The cover of the new yearbook features Supernova

Other DBSC posts

DBSC 2011 Prizewinners list

Dublin Bay Sailing Club News and Results

#DBSC – The club's only Jezequel 116 marque, Cri-Cri skippered by Paul Colton who last November picked up the trophy for 'the best new boat on the DBSC racing scene' at the annual DBSC prizegiving has also won the 2012 Spring Chicken Series.

Cri Cri shared the overall after four races sailed on modified ECHO and although she was overtaken in race five she was back at the top of the 40 boat fleet in time for yesterday's prizegiving at the National Yacht Club.

Just one and a half points behind was White Knight with Legally Blonde third.

Full fleet results for the 40-boat Viking Marine Spring Chicken results are available for download below.

#DBSC – The Sadler 34 Lady Rowena (David Bolger) leads Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) Spring Chicken Series by a single point into next Sunday's final race.

Because handicaps are revised each week any one of the top ten boats can still win the series with only 15–points difference separating first and tenth place. The full overall results are available to download below.

Second overall on 42–points is the Beneteau 31.7, Legally Blonde (Cathal Drohan) and third Declan Hayes's J109 Indecision from the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Over 43–boats are competing in the Viking Marine sponsored pre–season warm up in advance of April's DBSC summer season that starts in seven weeks time on Saturday, April 21st.

The normally well attended annual Spring Chicken final prizegiving (of Easter eggs among other items) will be held at the National Yacht club immediately after racing next Sunday.

Meanwhile Howth Yacht Club is inviting DBSC sailors across the bay for the Key Capital Spring Warmer Series that precedes the Dublin Bay summer series.

Howth are organising two races a day over three Saturday's in April. The fleets will be split over two windard–leeward race courses.

Howth are promoting the event as a great practice series for the Howth based ICRA Nationals the following month.

The €100 entry fee includes berthing/hard standing for the three weeks.