The RS Ireland Super Series final act concluded the series last Saturday at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The short racing sprint series is the perfect training ground ahead of the summer sailing series. Racing was held for RS classes and for Waszps. Short 20-minute races with up to five races a day.

The last day was held with a strong South Westerly forecast that was due to decline to more agreeable winds. Race officer Kenny Rumball set the start/finish line at the Eastern side of the Harbour with a weather mark upwind near the breakwaters.

We managed to squeeze in a fantastic five races! Have a look at what we got up to in this video! 

Aeros, Waszps and Fevas featured on the day. What was of particular highlight was two young Feva Sailors who came from Howth to up their skills and sail against boats from the Dun Laoghaire Clubs. The young sailors are keen to build the fleet in Howth.

In a bid to help grow the fleet, RS Ireland currently has two limited offers available for Fevas in Ireland! These offers are limited and are a substantial saving over a new boat at 2023 prices!

The Irish National Sailing & Powerboats Schools Joe Gaffney & Finbarr were dominant in the Feva

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Noel Butler was the dominant leader of the Aeros, taking the win for the season. The Irish National Sailing & Powerboats Schools Joe Gaffney & Finbarr were dominant in the Feva while Tom Hogan took the Waszp Prize.

The results are available below

The last Sunday of the Frostbites, hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) and sponsored by Viking Marine at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, ended on a high with steady winds out of the north that allowed two races to be sailed without adjustment of the course, allowing two 3-lap Olympic courses to be set. The wind strength was up on forecasts on both XCWeather and Windy, getting as high as 16/17 knots in Race 1 but easing for Race 2.

This allowed a large course to be set on the N/S axis of the harbour with a mark in the middle of the harbour mouth, a gybe mark in the middle of the harbour and a leeward mark off the end of the Carlisle Pier and close to the East Pier. Indeed, some of the pedestrians on the East Pier were able to enjoy a close-up view of a Fireball trying to get off the wall, which at that stage was almost like a lee shore.

All three fleets, PY, ILCA 7s & 4s and ILCA 6s, had good fleets out for the first race, but the robust conditions of the early afternoon took its toll on the ILCA 6s in particular, with nearly a quarter of the fleet not staying out for the second race. The races were sailed in overcast conditions with a bit of drizzle that gave way to drier conditions, and late in the afternoon, the sun also appeared.

A late prompt from a competitor suggesting the start line was very pin biased caused the Race Officer to amend the pin position, and this paid off as all three fleets got away cleanly at the first time of asking. In the PY race Frank Miller (14915) persuaded the newest helm in the Irish Fireball fleet, Jack McNaughton, to go on the trapeze and they were rewarded with a big win on the water, romping home by 1:30 on father and son Frank & Hugh Cassidy (14934) with Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) a further twenty seconds adrift and Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167) another twenty seconds behind. Court & Syme’s early race was looking much better, but a hail of water at the first leeward mark from Cassidy and a subsequent capsize in dropping the kite didn’t help the Court cause. As usual, however, despite a delta of 2:40 on Noel Butler (Aero 6 3289) and 4:28 on Roy Van Maanen (Aero 6 3822) on the water, Miller & McNaughton were relegated to third on handicap. Behind Miller, the Aero 6 (3433) of Sarah Dwyer and the Aero 7 (3288) of Stephen Oram closed out the top five.

The ILCA 7s have seen an injection of enthusiasm in recent weeks and they had eight boats on the water for the third or fourth Sunday in a row. Racing in this fleet has been tight and as of the previous Sunday less that ten points covered positions 1 – 4 in Series 2.

Here the order saw Conor Byrne lead them home in Race 1, followed by Gary O’Hare, Sean Bowden, Gavan Murphy and Niall Cowman.

Conor Byrne (181204) leads Chris Arrowsmith (201829) with Niall Cowman (211857) and Gary O’Hare (201364) in close pursuit in the final race of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In the ILCA 6s, the master has been Sean Craig – those that know Sean will recognise the pun! He scored the first of two wins by a comfortable margin with the chasing pack led by Conor Clancy and followed by John O’Driscoll, Brendan Hughes and David Cahill.

Sean Craig (218154) and Darren Griffin (219867) in close company at the weather mark in Race 1, Sunday 26th March in the final race of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In the ILCA 4s Lucy Ives has made a late-season entry into the proceedings and has been rewarded with a win in each of the races in which she has featured. On Sunday, she took both races with Patrick Foley and Zeta Tempany finishing behind her in the same order, second and third, in both races.

The second race, the starting procedures was blotted by one OCS, but the transgressor was identified and the appropriate flag flown – the boat didn’t return.

In the PY Fleet, Court and Syme made amends for their struggles by winning by a huge margin – they were the only boat to finish in under 30 minutes, 28:47. As a measure of their lead on the water, some random finish times are as follows; Butler, 32:33, Oram, 32:46, Dwyer, 34:38, Colin & Casey 30:01 and Miller 31:11. But on paper, they lost out to Butler by 47 seconds, but saved their time against Oram, Dwyer and Van Maanen.

In the ILCA 7s, Byrne and O’Hare repeated their feat of first and second from the first race, but behind them, the order was changed, with Murphy, Chris Arrowsmith and Niall Cowman closing out the top five.

In the ILCA 6s, Craig took another win, with the order behind him being Hughes, Hugh Delap, Clancy and O’Driscoll.

And that brought the curtain down on the 2022/23 Frostbites!

Noel Butler, Aero 6 with the PY Perpetual Trophy of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Sean Craig (ILCA Winner across 3 ILCA fleets) with Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour sponsor Ian O’Meara (R) Photo: Frank Miller

Neil Colin and Ian O’Meara enjoying a moment at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving Photo: Frank Miller

PRO Frostbites, Cormac Bradley addresses the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving with DMYC Commodore, Ian Cutliffe, in a relaxed mode in the background Photo: Frank Miller

Gordon Syme (L) and Alastair Court, Fireball 15167, with the Fireball Perpetual Trophy at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prize-giving Photo: Frank Miller

1st Lady in the ILCA 6s, Shirley Gilmour, with Ian O’Meara at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites prizegiving at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Zeta Tempany, Winner ILCA 4s overall of the the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites Photo: Frank Miller

Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6, 4th overall at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour and 1st Lady PY Fleet, with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Gavan Murphy – ILCA 7s winner of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Frank Miller

Roy Van Maanen, Aero 6, 3rd overall in PY Fleet of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Stephen Oram, Aero 7, 2nd overall in PY Fleet of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour with Ian O’Meara Photo: Frank Miller

Frostbites Series 2 Overall

PY Fleet
1st Noel Butler, Aero 6
2nd Stephen Oram, Aero 7
3rd Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6
4th Stuart Harris, Aero 6
5th Pierre & Remy Long, IDRA 14.
6th Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, Fireball.

ILCAs 7s
1st Conor Byrne
2nd Theo Lyttle
3rd Sean Bowden
4th Gavan Murphy
5th Chris Arrowsmith

ILCA 6s
1st Sean Craig
2nd Conor Clancy
3rd Darren Griffin
4th John O’Driscoll
5th David Cahill

ILCA 4s
1st Patrick Foley
2nd Zita Tempany
3rd Grace Gavin.

At the post-racing prize-giving in the DMYC clubhouse with Frostbite sponsor Ian O’Meara in attendance, the prizes for the combined Series were awarded with Ian doing the honours in tandem with Frostbites Director Neil Colin, who welcomed the competitors to the club.

Principal Race Officer, Cormac Bradley made a few observations on the racing, noting that since Christmas we had managed to race every Sunday, only losing three races, one to rising winds and two to insufficient wind. This contrasted with the pre-Christmas Series when only six races from a potential fourteen had been completed. He thanked those competitors who had discreetly assessed his beats at his invitation to make sure this leg of the course was fair. He also noted and thanked the volunteers who turned out week in, week out to allow racing to take place – mark-layers, rib crews, committee boat volunteers, the results team and the bar and catering staff who look after us after racing. DMYC Commodore, Ian Cutliffe, thanked all the competitors who raced the Series and also thanked the volunteers.

Viking Marine sponsored Frostbites results

Overall Series Results 2022/23
PY Fleet (37 entries)
1st Noel Butler, Aero 6, 31pts – Perpetual Trophy
2nd Stephen Oram, Aero 7, 90.5pts
3rd Roy Van Maanen, Aero 6, 112pts
4th Sarah Dwyer, Aero 6, 118pts
5th Stuart Harris, Aero 6, 131pts
6th Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, Fireball 15167, 144pts – Perpetual Trophy.

ILCA 7s (11 entries)
1st Gavan Murphy, 212521, 78pts
2nd Conor Byrne, 181204, 81pts
3rd Theo Lyttle, 211129, 90pts.

ILCA 6s (39 entries)
1st Sean Craig, 218154, 30pts – Perpetual Trophy
2nd Conor Clancy, 213048, 58pts
3rd Darren Griffin, 219867, 65pts
4th John O’Driscoll, 210361, 106pts
5th David Cahill, 186302, 116pts
7th Shirley Gilmour, 143pts.

ILCA 4s (8 entries)
1st Zita Tempany, 211122, 37pts
2nd Patrick Foley, 211274, 39pts
3rd Grace Gavin, 213526, 50pts.

Fireballs only (12 entries)
1st Frank Miller & Ed Butler, Neil Cramer, 14915, 48pts
2nd Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, 15167, 53pts
3rd Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe, 15016, 65pts.

Aeros only (8 entries)
1st Noel Butler, (6) 3289, 26pts
2nd Roy Van Maanen, (6) 3822, 60pts
3rd Stephen Oram, (7) 3288, 66pts.

In addition to perpetual trophies for the PY Class, the ILCAs and the Fireballs, vouchers for the first three in each of PY, ILCA 7s, 6s and 4s were presented by Viking Marine as well as prizes to Shirley Gilmore and Sarah Dwyer for being the first Lady in the ILCA 6s and the PY Fleets, respectively.

On receipt of his perpetual trophy, Sean Craig spoke on behalf of all the ILCA fleets to commend DMYC and the volunteers for what he considered an exceptionally good series, particularly since Christmas. He noted that the day’s racing would not have looked out of place at a more serious championship. He suggested that a racing fleet of 39 ILCA 6s would currently be hard to beat anywhere.

Noel Butler addresses the Viking Marine DMYC prize-giving with Ian Cutliffe (Commodore DMYC) and Neil Colin (Frostbites Director) for company Photo: Frank Miller

Noel Butler echoed Sean’s sentiments and noted that this was his 28th or 29th Frostbites without missing a year and agreed that the racing in 2023, in particular, had been very good.

The team were out bright and early to set up for the Super Series last Saturday morning at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, with the course laid based on a westerly wind; however, with 15 minutes to the first start, there was one essential factor that had not made an appearance - the wind! The AP Flag went up, and racing was postponed to see what conditions would do; given the forecast was to build all day, all were hopeful.

As dark clouds rolled in, so did the breeze in a southwesterly direction, so up went the flags, and before long, we were racing. By race 2, the wind was pretty consistent with some larger gusts and flat water, resulting in the odd capsize but overall nice conditions. Unfortunately, the race team only got off three races due to the time delay initially.

The RS Feva fleet was also a welcome addition to the Super Series at Dun Laoghaire Harbour

There was a strong turnout from the RS Aero fleet, with the addition of three more boats joining in this weekend. The RS Feva fleet was also a welcome addition, joining for the first time this year with three INSS boats participating and a special mention to the Feva crew who travelled from Howth. Sprint racing is an optimal way to gain racing experience, especially when little training occurs this time of year.

INSS Junior Club members Joe Gaffney and Finn Byrne made the most of the building breeze and came home 1st in all three races in the RS Feva class. Speaking about the racing after the event, Joe was particularly happy to be back on the water “We had a great morning’s racing”. Eva and Norah also were racing for the first time this year, and together they’re all looking forward to the busy RS Feva racing calendar this year.

Results from the series so far can be found here.

New entries are very welcome and we’re looking forward to getting back on the water for the final instalment on Saturday the 25th of March.

Despite the gloomy day on Saturday, RS Aeros, 400s, Waszps and even two RS Neos took to Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the RS Super Series, which is organised by Irish National Sailing Club and sponsored by MarineServices.ie the distributors for RS boats in Ireland.

Southeasterly winds with gusts into the late teens made for shifty conditions in the confines of Dun Laoghaire Harbour with a weather mark set just under the old HSS Ferry terminal. The usual race officer Kenny Rumball was out of action recovering from neck surgery, so the mantle was passed to Ronan Mooney to provide the organisation for the day.

The Aeros and Neos got four races in. As Noel Butler commented, ‘Despite the cold conditions, the team led by Ronan provided very enjoyable racing. A gusty unpredictable course meant everyone suffered a capsize. Many thanks to the Irish National Sailing Club for a tasty sandwich, hot drink and enjoyable chat afterwards in their clubhouse on the West Pier”

Noel was also very keen to point out the usefulness of this style of racing for training, “The sprint style racing is perfect o improve on your starts and racing ahead of the summer season. In 2.5 hours on the water, we had multiple starts and intense racing; this is far better than any formal training currently available”

 

Kenny Rumball was not far away and was particularly enthused to see two members of the Irish National Sailing Club making the big jump from the regular social sails to participating in their first race in the RS NEO. As the sailors commented, “it certainly was different to what were used too but we loved every minute and cannot wait for the next day which is in a month’s time”

This progression is what it is all about! These sailors started off in the Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School learning to sail in the RS Zest and RS Quest before joining the club where they could practise their skills. With encouragement from everybody, including the seasoned Aero sailors, they are hungry for more and have entered into Howth Yacht Club’s Round the Island race on the 11th March!

The NEO is the perfect boat for this transition. It combines a durable polyethylene hull with the modern carbon rig borrowed from the RS Aero, this bridging the gap between the learning boats and racing.

The next race is scheduled for the 18th of February. Word has it that Kenny has some special deals on RS stock.

Race officer Kenny Rumball was jealous last Saturday morning as he laid the anchor of the committee boat in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the final races of the Super Series that had been run through the Autumn. Why was he jealous? There was lovely crisp, clean North Easterly wind coming in over the East Pier! Perfect sailing conditions for the harbour and with the wind slightly higher than forecast, the ideal conditions for Waszp foiling… Bliss!

After dispatching one of the committee boat crew to the East Pier for hot chocolates to keep the mark layers and committee boat crew warm, the hardy RS Aero, Feva and Waszp sailors arrived on scene eager to start racing and get ashore for homemade mince pies in the clubhouse after sailing!

With the wind being from the North East, meaning there were not huge wind shifts, the sailors enjoyed some cracking sailing. Most of the Aero fleet were sailing on the smaller 6 rig which has proven to be hugely popular for the entire fleet across all genders and weight ranges. Thomas Chaix the head coach from the National Yacht Club took to the water in an Aero 7. Judging by the grin on his face, he was thrilled with the performance of the boat. He quickly got a handle on the boat, taking line honours in a few of the races.

With five races sailed, sailors quickly returned ashore for prizegiving in the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School and Irish National Sailing Club’s home on the West Pier. Mince pies, and gourmet sandwiches from Kenny’s Café in conjunction with the Wooden Spoon fed the appetites of the hungry sailors.

Noel Butler took the overall win in the Aeros

Frank O’Rourke took the overall in the Waszp Class

Joe & Finn from the Irish National Sailing Club took the win in the RS Fevas

RS and Waszp INSS Super Series results

There will be a small break for Christmas but look out for more Super Series racing in 2023!

Saturday morning’s Irish National Sailing Club's Super Series attracted four RS Aeros (three 6s and a 7) and had five tight two-lap windward-leeward races writes Noel Butler.

Conditions were gusty and shifty, with everything from 10-20 kts in a very mild, almost warm southerly. Race Officer Kenny Rumball and his team of Heather Wright and INSS staff did a great job of putting the weather mark right on the median wind direction and running the races off sharply, minimising any waiting, even starting the Aeros while the other fleets were still racing.

The Super Series is unique to other racing offered in the bay as, unlike in the winter DMYC frostbites and DBSC summer series, the Aeros have their own start, as races are short and run as a sprint style this is a perfect opportunity for training for the larger national and regional events.

This Saturday saw the addition of three Fevas from the Irish National Sailing Schools Feva development squad, as the super series has the ability to run form both inside and outside the harbour depending on conditions it allows for an extremely safe environment for the young sailors, Coach Roann Mooney joined in a rib as a safety boat while also providing some coaching between races. The Short sprint style racing is such an amazing opportunity to gain vital experience in racing and developing skills first hand in a safe, fun and friendly environment while also providing a competitive element.

After plenty of thrills and spills, we adjourned back to the INSS terrace café for a hot drink and delicious gourmet sandwiches/wraps and some de-brief and gentle slagging, comparing capsizes and such!

Apart from the racing, this really was excellent training on par with the afternoon session in Howth the Friday before the Easterns. In my view, this sort of racing is the quickest way up the learning curve for anyone keen to make progress. For anyone who wants to get some intense Aero racing in a safe and friendly environment, the next race day is on Saturday, December 3rd, first start 10am.

The growing Irish RS Aero fleet closed out its summer season with a blustery Eastern Championships in Howth Yacht Club on the Hallowe’en Weekend. Thrills, spills and tactical racing were the order of the day, while shifting winds and strong tides gave the competitors something extra to think about while trying to keep the boat upright.

Top UK Aero sailor Peter Barton from Lymington (where the surname ‘Barton’ is sailing royalty) led a pre-event coaching day on Friday. It’s a testament to the International Aero community how generous the leading sailors are in sharing their tips for success. And the takeaway from this was there is no substitute for time in the boat – it was a shared experience and not at all a hard sell for the RS Aero.

Racing was postponed on Saturday due to torrential rain and blustery winds. Sunday provided champagne conditions to complete four races. Racing was held in the Sound close to Ireland’s Eye, where it was important to be aware of the tidal flow.

Local sailor Paul McMahon may have been out of his usual role at the front of the Puppeteer 22 fleet, but he showed some good late season Aero RS form, taking three wins from four races. Despite that, racing was actually very close. The overall result was still up for grabs on the last beat of the last race, with Peter Barton getting caught out of the tide and on the wrong end of a wind shift, allowing Paul to take the final race and title.

Daragh Sheridan of HYC coming in under an “interesting” sky to take third overall

Irish Champion Daragh Sheridan finished in third, one point behind Peter, with a seriously consistent score-line never outside the top three, while visiting Dublin Bay and Strangford Lough sailors Noel Butler and Hammy Baker rounded out the top five.

First Master from Greystones in his ILCA 6 rig was Roy Van Maanen, with new Aero owner Abby Kinsella taking first Youth and Female. Thanks from the Irish Aero RS Class to all involved in running the event, INSS for providing spares, support and prizes, Rooster Sailing providing plenty of goodies and Howth Yacht Club for providing top class hospitality.

HYC Vice Commodore Neil Murphy with Paul McMahon, Aero RS Eastern Champion 2022

The 22nd of October was the first date in the 3 Saturday morning Super Series run by the Irish National Sailing Club.

MarineServices.ie as the RS agents are the event sponsors. The series, unlike other racing in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, offers unique sprint-style racing that sailors would not be accustomed to in their usual fleet events.

The series brings together Waszps, RS Aeros, RS 200s/400s and RS Fevas in a short windward leeward course, with two laps for the Waszps, RS 200s/400s and Aeros and one for the RS Fevas. Thus giving the ability to get in as many races as possible and giving sailors a new challenge.

The Irish National Sailing Club’s Super Series brings together Waszps, RS Aeros, RS 200s/400s and RS Fevas in a short windward leeward course

The morning started with race officer Kenny Rumball attempting to lay the racecourse out of the harbour; however, strong southerly gusts forced the decision to move the course inside the harbour in the hopes for more shelter.

The first race proved particularly challenging, with strong winds from the South/Southwest coming off the land. It soon proved too much for the RS Feva sailors who were sailing in the event as part of the previously reported Irish National Sailing and Powerboat schools initiative to stem the gap between training courses and racing.

The event started in the morning with 3 RS Aeros, 3 Waszps and 3 RS Fevas, with 1 more RS Aero and 2 Waszp joining after the first race. Shortly after the first race, the weather had different plans dying off, bringing light conditions and proving a real challenge for the Waszps who struggled to get enough speed required to foil. Thankfully as the wind continued to back, it increased again to a lovely 15kts.

The Waszp fleet was enjoying the fast foiling conditions

Roy Van Mannen and Noel Butler swapped 1st, and 2nd place finishes in the Aero Fleet. Sarah Byrne was in 3rd, with Daragh Mc Donagh sailing with the bigger 9 rig in 4th.

The Waszp fleet was enjoying the fast foiling conditions, Max Goodbody was very fast, but the persistent Marty O’Leary was always hot on his heels!

The Aero fleet was primarily sporting the new 6 rig that was developed to bridge the gap between the Aero 5 and the Aero 7. A major selling factor of the Aero is how easy it is to swap in between rig sizes. Sailors who may usually have opted for the slightly larger 7 rig in lighter summer air now have the opportunity to downsize just by a meter for the stronger winter winds. This allows Aero sailors of different sizes, genders, ages and fitness all to race competitively together and have the flexibility to change between rigs within a matter of minutes.

A fantastic day and we look forward to the next two races on Saturday, 12th November, and Saturday, 3rd December. We are happy to accept more entries for the remaining dates.

Ballyholme Yacht Club will be the venue over the weekend of 19th till 21st August for an RS championship event which organiser Bob Espey hopes will attract around 60 competitors.

The event will be held in the waters of Belfast Lough and consists of two different championships; the two day six race RS Aero, RS Feva and RS 2000 Northern Championship 2022 on the Saturday and Sunday and the three day nine race RS 400 and RS 200 National Championship which starts on Friday 19th August.

This will the first time the RS2000 class will have an individual start.

Entrants are encouraged to take advantage of the Early Bird entry fees if booked before 15th August, and the first 30 entries will get a free one-off event T shirt. And among the prizes will be the daily Mug of the Day award, a frequent fun feature of BYC competition and a new idea, the best Social Media post of the event.

The Race Officer for the two-day event, sponsored by Simply Telecom and supported by Ridgeway, will be Aidan Pounder, and for the RS200/400 event, Sheela Lewis.

More information is here 

What happens if you race an RSAero 5 against an Aero 6 and an Aero 7 in big wind? That’s exactly the question that was on the minds of the competitors in the RS Aero fleet at the recent DMYC regatta at Dun Laoghaire.

The Aero fleet in Ireland uses the PY handicap system so that all ages, genders, sizes, shapes and abilities can race together regardless of the weather.

On a very windy day - upwind the theory would be that the smaller 5 sail would have the advantage of being less powerful and downwind the 7’s extra power would be better, with the 6 coming in the middle. As it happened four sailors Roy Van Maanen and Damien Dion as the lightweights in 5 rigs, Brendan Foley as a middleweight in a 6 rig and Stephen Oram as a more athletic sailor in a 7 rig put the theory to test.

In wind conditions with a base in the high teens and gusting to 30+ knots in the squalls it was remarkable to see that on the Olympic-style triangle/sausage course that the three rig types changed places multiple times upwind and downwind. The smaller 5 sail of Van Maanen rounded the weather mark first as he was best able to de-power but then downwind the 6 and 7 passed him only to lose again upwind.

The breeze that was not only gusty was very shifty leading to multiple capsizes from all competitors. In the end, it was the 6 rig of Brendan Foley that prevailed over the two races just beating the 5 rig of Van Maanen on count-back, with the 7 rig of Stephen Oram in 3rd. In truth the 5, 6 or 7 rig could have won demonstrating how the choice of rigs plus the PY format allows sailors of different sizes, genders, ages and fitness all to race competitively together.

RS Aeros DMYC Regatta

1. Brendan Foley Aero 6, 1321 (3)
2. Roy van Maanen Aero 5, 3822 (3)
3. Stephen Oram Aero 7, 3288 (6)
4. Damien Dion Aero 5, 3431 (8)

The 5 and 7 Aero rigs have been around for some time while the 6 is newly arrived. The 5 is similar to ILCA 5 or Laser 4.7, the 6 to the ILCA 6 or Laser Radial and the 7 comparable to the ILCA 7 or Laser full rig. The RS Aero fleet surveyed its global membership and the request for a 6 was so strong they went and made one. It is expected that the vast majority of Aero sailors in Ireland will race the 6 or 7 rigs with the 5 for young and light sailors and the massive 9 rig yet to appear at an event in Ireland and unlikely to gain traction here. In the future when the class has enough 6 or 7 rigs, one design as well as PY handicap racing will be offered.

The Aeros will race the PY format for the upcoming National Regatta, the Royal Irish Regatta and the Royal St George Regatta, allowing the class to further explore racing multiple rig sizes together over a variety of conditions.

While the Dun Laoghaire fleet battle it out, Aero sailors Daragh Sheridan (7 rig) of Howth, Roy Van Maanen of Greystones/Dun Laoghaire (5 rig) and Noel Butler (7 rig) of Dun Laoghaire will be at Columbia River Gorge, Oregon in the US for the RS Aero World Championships. All are capable of top 10 finishes or better - we wish them well.