ILCA 4/Laser 4.7 World Youth competitors launched at Dun Laoghaire with 18-20 knot southwesterly winds, but the 30-knot gusts that blew through the Dublin Bay racecourses were the true test for the 229 boats taking part in the first day of the final series of racing.

With the qualifying series complete at the National Yacht Club and Royal St. George Yacht Club hosted event the sailors were divided into Gold and Silver fleets in both the boy's and girl's divisions.

229 sailors are competing from 31 different countries for the overall prize.

Another change at the top of the leader board in the Girl's fleet tonight was well earned after Emma Mattivi (ITA) scored an impressive 2, 1 today to move one point clear of Petra Marednic (CRO). Gaia Bolzonella (ITA) moved from 4th overnight top 3rd overall with a strong and consistent 1, 3 and as we look to tomorrow, its all to play for.

Tralee Bay's Eimer McMorrow Moriarty is top Irish Girl in (38th). Anna O'Connor (40th) is hot on her heels in the Girl's gold fleet.

In the boy's division Martins Atilla (LAT) moved from second to first with a solid performance to record a 1, 5. Alexandros Eleftheriadis (GRE) slipped back to second overall with a 7, 14 showing just how difficult it was to find the podium today. Massimiliano Antoniazzi (ITA) climbed several places with a 2, 4.

Rocco Wright representing Howth Yacht Club holds onto the position of top-performing Irish boy in 53rd. Archie Daly (58th) and James Dwyer (65th) make up the top three Irish boys.

Strong and gusty conditions are forecast for the penultimate day's racing tomorrow before the final day on Saturday.

The organisers say the Championships is one of the largest international sporting events taking place in Ireland this year. 

Boys results are here for and girls here

Racing continues from 10:30 am 

A second day of light and shifty moderate winds completed two more qualifying rounds at the Laser/ILCA 4.7 Youth World Championships at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

According to provisional results, the 149 boat boy's division is being led overnight by Spain's Joan Ravie followed by Alexandros Eleftheriadis of Greece with  Daniel Cardona Balsa (ESP) staying third.

The top Irish performer in the boys fleet is Howth Yacht Club Optimist ace Rocco Wright who took a seventh in race four to be 51st overall.

Ravie showed real class to take two first-place finishes to move to the of the leader board.

A lighter breeze of 8-10 kts started the day at 245 degrees and backed around through to 150 as the day progressed.

The girl's division is led by Croatia's Petra Marednic with Emma Mattiv (ITA) in second and Spain's Claudia Adán Lledó (CRO) is lying third. The top Irish girl is Anna O'Connor in 36th place in the 80-boat fleet.

The reigning ILCA 4 Girls European Champion and leader from the opening day, Annemijn Algra (NED) slipped to sixth.

229 boys and girls are competing from 31 different countries for the overall prize that is being hosted jointly by the harbour's National Yacht Club and Royal St. George Yacht Clubs. 

The organisers say it is one of the largest international sporting events taking place in Ireland this year. 

Both boys and girls divisions have completed a full schedule of four races on separate Dublin Bay race courses

Both divisions compete for another day in the qualifying series and a further three days in the finals series to eventually decide who will be crowned the 2021ILCA 4.7 World Champion.

Boys results are here for and girls here

Racing continues from 10:30 am with three final qualifying races

Park Turtle is a new startup that has set out to simplify boat parking for yacht clubs and marinas. Developed by two Dublin Bay Waszp dinghy sailors and engineers John Chambers and Charlie Cullen, Park Turtle provides a mobile phone scanning system that eliminates the use of pens, paper and excel to enable clubs to easily track boats and parking fees.

19-year-old Waszp sailor and Engineering with management student in Trinity College Dublin - Charlie Cullen, observed how frustrated sailing clubs became by the effort it took to manage boat parking and payments. The two sailors came together to solve this problem.

Now Dublin clubs at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Howth Yacht Club are trusting Park Turtle to provide the best solution in boat parking management.

Ireland's biggest yacht club, the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour is using the new Park Turtle software for managing its forecourt software Photo: RSTGYC

"After developing and testing the new programme with the Royal St George Yacht Club and Howth Yacht Club, they have found that the club spends less time inspecting boats, chasing owners and have increased parking revenues", says Cullen.

The duo pair have been working hard winning Trinity College Dublin’s Dragons Den competition earlier this year, gaining them a place in Trinity College’s prestigious Tangent Lauchbox programme for start-ups.

"Sailing clubs can lose as much as 50% of parking fees, we help by providing a contactless tagging system to automate the frustrating and back-breaking work of inspecting boats, finding boat owners and collecting payments. Ensuring members pay before they park at your club, says Chambers.

More about Park Turtle and Charlie and John’s story on their website 

The Dublin Bay Laser fleet based in Dun Laoghaire Harbour are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Laser class with a novel one-day sprint regatta on July 25th.

The single-handed Laser remains one of the most popular one-design dinghies since it was officially unveiled at the New York Boat Show in 1971. Since then nearly 220,000 Lasers have been produced with ILCA class associations in 120 countries globally including Ireland.

The Dublin Bay Laser fleet is the largest in Ireland with over 100 boats sailed out of the RStGYC alone this season and many more launching from across the NYC, RIYC, DMYC, INSC clubs in addition to the Coal Harbour.

A limit of 100 boats can attend the Laser 50th celebrations on Dublin Bay

To mark the 50th anniversary, the RStGYC is hosting a special sprint regatta event, sponsored by Grant Thornton on Sunday, July 25th. The event is open to all Laser sailors across Dun Laoghaire both junior and adult and in all rigs.

With the first gun at 2 pm, there will be a minimum of five sprint races in quick succession for each fleet, with each race lasting between 20-30 minutes. Prizes will be awarded for the top three positions in each fleet with males and females ranked separately in 4.7s and Radials.

Racing will take place in Dublin Bay, which means that this will be a great practice event for local 4.7 sailors who are taking part in the ILCA 4.7 World Championship which is hosted in Dun Laoghaire between August 7-14.

50th anniversary Laser racing will take place on Dublin Bay

The Laser has been an Olympic class boat since 1996 and this year Ireland is being represented once again by Dun Laoghaire sailor Annalise Murphy in the Radial rig. This Dublin Bay event will coincide with the first Laser race in the Tokyo Olympics.

All activities will take place in accordance with government Covid-19 guidelines with briefing and other communications taking place virtually. A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club from 7 pm.

A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club

Early bird entry fee for the  Grant Thornton sponsored event is €20 with entry limited to 100 boats. Entry and further details are available on the Rstgyc website.

The abeyance in car parking enforcement at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay has come to an abrupt end with plenty of fines issued in the past week throughout the Harbour.

The Harbour's new owners at County Hall are up and running with a new 'parking services' contractor and they are already making quite an impact.

Some of those that managed to park with impunity for nearly a year or more after it became known that the old Harbour Company was no longer enforcing the parking regs have been caught this July as new enforcement began.

Parking fine tickets were observed on car windscreens outside some yacht clubs and also at the town marina. Some cars had multiple tickets.

Tickets were also on cars parked at the marina roundabout area, where a 20 minute grace period is permitted. However, some vehicles parked there were also on the footpath, which is a separate parking offence.

The resumption in fines leaves a nasty surprise for some when they come ashore at Ireland's biggest boating centre.

It has been said here before, but it's worth saying again – on Thursday evenings in normal times in summer, the Dublin Bay Sailing Club programme is so popular that the fleet out racing would be considered a splendid turnout for a major regatta at many other sailing centres.

And even though we're not in normal times, this week's breaking of the 140-plus boats racing barrier on Thursday evening was a remarkable achievement by any standards, and particularly so in a time of uncertainty and shoreside restrictions.

In keeping with the "weekly regatta" theme, in pre-pandemic time the Thursday après sailing spreading across Dun Laoghaire's four yacht clubs had such a unique buzz that it's not surprising that some people with multiple sporting and recreational interests packed their entire weekly sailing experience - and its social aspects - into that one very intense six-hour period on the Thursday evenings when the DBSC programme is almost totally underway.

Normally on Saturdays, it's a different state of affairs. For though there is racing available for most DBSC classes of cruiser-racers, one-design keelboats, and dinghies, modern attitudes and values mean that "quality time with the family" is central to many people's lives on Saturday.

Home winner. Peter Carroll's B211 Yikes! Of the Royal Irish YC is winner of the 2021 B211 Championship – hosted by the RIYC. Photo: Afloat.ie

At least that's what they say is their reason for being unavailable. But those gaining the top of a hill in Wicklow or Kerry might find themselves meeting up with someone they know to be a Thursday night foredeck ace on Dublin Bay, someone who is clearly convinced that a lifestyle of balanced interests and activities is the best way to mental and physical health.

BAY FULL OF SAILS

Yet last Saturday off Dun Laoghaire, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that somehow the Thursday sailfest and the Saturday duty tour had all been run together, for despite a certain amount of fog and as much southeast wind as anyone could want, it was evident the bay was unusually full of sails. In fact, the spookiness of fog wasn't entirely inappropriate, as the Ghost of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta was haunting the bay.

If 2021's programme had gone according to pre-pandemic plan, we'd be in the heart of the VDLR 2021 right now. But as it's a regatta in the great Dun Laoghaire tradition of being divided equally between a seagoing sporting interest and an energetic shoreside socialising focus, even with some restrictions eased there was no way the VDLR could be staged in any meaningful way, and it was rightly cancelled in a timely manner.

Ted, the East Coast SB20 Champion for 2021, showing how it's done – crew weight at optimum position amidships, and all lines neatly tidied away. Photo: Afloat.ie

Yet ever since socially-distanced racing events became permissible in July 2020 as the first COVID-19 wave declined, an enormous amount of experience has been built up in running compliant racing afloat, in tandem with carefully socially-distanced open-air socializing ashore, with crew bubbles becoming all-important.

For some crews admittedly, this was all just too much hassle, and while the more extreme didn't bother with racing at all in 2020, others went racing but then went straight home immediately afterwards, and some have continued that approach this year.

THE MYSTERIOUS DLCC

However, manageable patterns were emerging, and that intriguing body, the Dun Laoghaire Combined Clubs chaired by Barry MacNeaney, did a spot of lateral thinking and combined it with notable diplomacy and persuasion. They came up with the idea that if the four clubs could each be persuaded to take on the hosting of at least two of the major One Design Championships which are such a feature of a normal VDLR, then an ordinary weekend could be turned into a manageable sailing extravaganza. For although the bay would be crowded with sail as DBSC's cruiser-racers would be having a routine outing on Saturday afternoon, in so doing, they'd be over-lapping with seven One-Design Classes continuing their multi-race championship programmes.

Barry MacNeaney of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Clubs. Photo: Michael Chester

To put the whole ambitious project into action, the powers-that-be knew they would be putting even greater reliance on the many experienced on-water administrative volunteers who keep the Dun Laoghaire sailing scene going, but there's nothing like putting up an "impossible challenge" to get people to give of their best.

SEVEN ONE-DESIGN CHAMPIONSHIPS

In such circumstances, the racing area in Dublin Bay can sometimes seem quite restricted, and certainly, there were cases where more boats than was healthy were arriving at some marks together. But generally, a spirit of goodwill prevailed in recognition that it was all a very gallant attempt to provide as much regatta atmosphere as was possible, and as a result, the following events were all involved:

• Beneteau First 31.7 National Championships
• Beneteau First 21.7 National Championships
• Dragon East Coast Championships
• RS Aero National Championships
• Ruffian National Championships
• SB20 East Coast Championship
• Shipman 28 National Championship
• DBSC Saturday Series
• ISORA Offshore Race

To that list, we could reasonably add a "J/109 Saturday Special", as almost all of DBSC Class 1 was made up of that now-vintage J Boats classic which has proven so suitable for Irish needs, and though unlike the other One Designs they'd only their one routine Saturday race, it was a cracker and the Goodbody family added another win with White Mischief.

Cameron Good's Little Fella from Kinsale has now added the 2021 East Coast Dragon Championship to her 2021 South Coast title. Photo: Afloat.ie

But with the added appeal of the "Championship" designation and the addition of a programme of several races, four classes – the First 31.7s, the International Dragons with what was named as their East Coast Championship, the SB20s and the RS Aeros – were able to attract travel regulation-compliant entries from elsewhere in Ireland.

VISITORS DO WELL

And in three cases, their journey was well rewarded, with John Minnis's beautifully-presented Final Call (RUYC) taking the First 31.7s (hosted by the National YC) with a clean sweep, while another northerner, Hammy Baker, was tops in the Royal St George YC-hosted RS Aeros, and the Dragons (also hosted by The George) went to Cameron Good of Kinsale with Little Fella, with which he also won the South Coast Championship at Glandore last month.

However, the host fleets managed to take the titles in the Beneteau 21s (hosted by the RIYC and won by their own Peter Carroll with Yikes!) and in the Ruffian 23s, sailing from the National YC and won by DBSC Commodore Ann Kirwan with Bandit, while the DMYC-hosted Shipman 28s were won by John Masterson's Curaglas (NYC).

There was a further element of in-harbour cross-club interaction in the SB20s, now well buoyed up by the prospect of the 2022 Worlds being in Dun Laoghaire, with last weekend's Easterns hosted by the RIYC being won by the RStGYC crew of Michael O'Connor, Davy Taylor and John O'Driscoll.

Despite Saturday afternoon's sometimes difficult weather, the jig-saw puzzle of a pandemic-compliant regatta was put together afloat in Dublin Bay. In fact, being afloat and racing hard was what it was all about, which is distinctly at variance with the classic Kingstown regattas of yore, when a relatively small number of yachts going racing sometimes seemed to be simply the excuse for an across-the-board social gathering ashore, which developed to such an extent that the sailing occasionally appeared almost incidental.

WHEN TURNING MARKS WERE IN THE HARBOUR

Thus it was up to the race officers of that era to devise a course which had a turning mark boat in the harbour – as brilliantly illustrated by Richard Brydges Beechey in 1871 – if the noisily gossiping socialites on the club veranda were going to take the slightest notice of on-water activity. And regardless of the size of the boat, the finish had to be right at the club, even if it involved the finishing racers weaving their way through an anchored fleet of large cruising craft and steam yachts.

The Royal St George YC regatta course of 1871 included a turning mark – in this case one of the large racing cutters – within the harbour for the entertainment of spectators. From the painting by Richard Brydges Beechey, courtesy RStGYC.

The Dublin Bay 25 Fodhla winning a Kingstown Regatta in 1900 after threading her way to the finish through an intriguing anchored selection of large Victorian yachts.

This was manageable with smaller boats such as the Dublin Bay 25s, but with larger vessels such as John Mulholland's all-conquering schooner Egeria in the late 1860s and through the 1870s, it could be problematic, and on one long-remembered occasion, Egeria came roaring in the lead through the harbour mouth, and found her course to the finish at the Royal Irish apparently completely blocked by anchored craft.

But Mulholland told his skipper to go for it, so they put down the enormous tiller to head towards the clubhouse, and somehow found a route through the anchored fleet while the crew took in the many and enormous sails at record speed, and the big boat carried her way so well she arrived at the line with only her mainsail and jib still set, but continuing well in the lead. Egeria had just enough steerage way left to cross the line amidst much cheering, following which the spectators returned to their strawberries and cream and champagne and scandal-mongering.

John Mulholland's schooner, the "wonderful Egeria", was built in 1865, and a couple of years later, she became the talk of the town after threading her way through a very crowded harbour to win the Royal Irish regatta when the finish was right in at the clubhouse.

When considered against that colourful drama, our current circumstances - with all the sport far at sea, and the outdoor prize-giving ceremonies with their restricted numbers apparently taking place outside the clubhouse boiler-room doors – we are certainly reminded of how totally this pandemic has invaded our lives. But nevertheless, the secret power of the DLCC and DBSC manifested themselves with brilliance last weekend, a brilliance which may well have been part of the inspiration in getting such a splendid turnout on Thursday night.

Belgian fishing trawlers continue to use the convenience of Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Irish east coast to land their Irish Sea catches since Brexit.

The latest arrivals follow four big Belgian vessels using the port in May, more than doubling the sporadic arrival of such visits into Dun Laoghaire last year.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s strategic location as an EU port in the middle of the Irish Sea may have been overlooked by commercial fishing fleets for years but since Brexit, it appears Belgian fishermen have been quick to see the advantage of the Dublin Bay port. 

(Aobve and below) A Belgium beam trawler at Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proving a convenient and well-serviced location for the Belgian fishing trawler fleet that totals 25 in number.

As Afloat reported previously, the trawlers, that catch Whitefish on Cardigan Bay off the Welsh coast, used to land in Liverpool but current Brexit arrangements are causing difficulties leading to the requirement for deepwater alternatives.

The six-metre draft of the trawlers is just too deep for other east coast ports (other than Dublin) so Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proving a convenient and well-serviced location.

The Carlisle Pier provides easy access for trucks to take the catch to market. And it's not the only port the Belgians are accessing, they are also landing fish in Cork, according to local sources.

Another fine fleet of vintage Water Wag dinghies raced in light winds inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour as part of the class's regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club Wednesday night series.

27 turned out for racing eclipsing the fleets own Bloomsday high of 26 boats for last Wednesday's race.

Race Officer Harry Gallagher only managed one race in the fickle breeze. The wind died and only nine of them finished the race.

Race Officer Harry Gallagher finishes one of nine Water Wags that completed the in harbour course

Meanwhile, the National Yacht Club has welcomed a beautiful new Water Wag, Shindilla to the East Pier Club.

Shindilla was commissioned by Neil and Pam Collen and takes its name and sail number from the original Shindilla that Neil’s grandfather Ninian Falkiner commissioned in 1932 and sailed and later his mother Effie sailed for many years.

Last Wednesday it was sailed for the first time by Alistair Kissane and Annalise Murphy. Shindilla finished a close second in the 26 boat Bloomsday fleet in the first race and then went on to win the second race.

Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy (left) toasts the arrival of new Water Wag Shindilla to the National Yacht Club Photo: NYC

Although Ireland's biggest regatta was cancelled next month due to the ongoing uncertainty over Covid, some positive news for Dublin Bay sailing is that eight of the 11 regional and national championships that were to run as part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta will be going ahead as scheduled in July.

Barry MacNeaney, the Chairperson of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Yacht Clubs (DLCC), reports that in the "usual spirit of cooperation between all the Dun Laoghaire Clubs", the championships will be proceeding with two hosted by each of the waterfront clubs.

Barry MacNeaney, the Chairperson of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Yacht Clubs (pictured right) says the waterfront clubs at Dun Laoghaire will proceed with eight separate sailing championships that have been salvaged from July's cancelled Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

"Whilst understanding and agreeing 100% with the decision to cancel the Dun Laoghaire Volvo regatta it did mean that up to the DLCC held a meeting within days of the decision and it was agreed to contact the Class Captains, Club sailing Secretaries and the Club sailing managers to see could anything be salvaged from the cancellation", MacNeaney told Afloat.

It is understood agreement was reached following numerous zoom meetings and phone calls.

The Championships now running from Dun Laoghaire Harbour are: 

RStGYC

Dragons 2nd -4th July
R.S. Aero 2nd-4th July

DMYC

Shipmans 9th-10th July
Fireballs 23-25th July

RIYC

SB20 2nd-4th July

B21.1 2nd-4th July

National Yacht Club

Beneteau 31.7 2nd -4th July

Ruffians 2nd-4th July

26 Water Wag dinghies turned out last night for two Bloomsday races inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly ran two races for the fleet that included an on the water tribute to the late DBSC Race official Carmel Winkelmann, who died last Saturday.

DBSC Water Wag Results for Wednesday, June 16th

Race 1: 1. Hilda, 2. Shindilla, 3. Mariposa

Race 2: 1. Shindilla, 2. Swift, 3. Mariposa