Despite a horrible forecast of wind which caused Howth’s Round the Island Race to be cancelled (on the Saturday) and huge seas in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, the DMYC dinghy Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine took place on Sunday afternoon even though the “big boats’ Spring Chicken Series” was cancelled in the morning.

This correspondent had the day off, so the Race Officer duty was taken on by the host club’s Commodore, Ian Cutliffe, who gave the fleet an Olympic course of three laps for the first race and a four-lap triangular course for the second race. The wind was out of the East and is recorded as being 7 – 10 knots for Race 1 and 7 – 12 knots for Race 2. Yet again, there was a modest turnout of boats, with the PY fleet mustering 15 boats, the ILCA 7s 8 boats and the ILCA 6s 12 boats.

The solitary Fireball of Frank Miller & Neil Cramer being pursued by 4 Aeros, (from right to left) - Sarah Dwyer (3433), Damien Dion (3431), Roy van Maanen (3822) and Noel Butler (3289) Photo: Ian Cutliffe

My information is that a Fireball helm, recently returned from the southern hemisphere caused some fun and games for the first start of the PY fleet. He and his crew then compounded a wonderful day on the water by not picking up on the change of course for the second race, resulting in a RET score for Race 2. Given that his crew had traversed the Liffey, north to south, for the day, it may not have been the day’s best racing, but a day on the water, even in March, still beats a day at home.

From a race reporting perspective, I can offer nothing but from a race result perspective I can report that Noel Butler’s relentless progress to a clean sweep of the PY titles remains on track despite losing a handicap win to the RS200 of Jamie and Katie Tingle in Race 2. He is now able to discard a second and two firsts from his score and still have a huge comfort zone relative to second place overall, Sarah Dwyer with Roy van Maanen only two points behind Dywer. This means that Aeros occupy the top three places overall in Series 2

In Race 1 in PY the handicap positions were Butler, Dwyer, Brian Sweeney (Finn), Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (Fireball) and the Tingles. Court & Syme were first home in a time of 26:18 and Butler would finish 3:16 down on that. Brian Sweeney in the Finn had a good first race finishing, on time, behind four Fireballs but leapfrogging them all to finish second on corrected time. After the mathematics, Butler’s 3:26 deficit on Court was converted to a 00:44 advantage with Sweeney getting second with a two-second margin on Court.

In Race 2, Court again won on the water, with Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (Fireball) getting the course wrong. The Tingles however, finished only 00:58 down on the Fireball and this allowed them to claim the handicap win and join an exclusive club of boats other than Aeros to take a race win on handicap in the 2023/24 Frostbites. Behind them on corrected time the sequence was Butler, van Maanen, Damien Dion (Aero) and Court & Syme.

In the ILCA 6s the overall competition in Series 2 is much tighter with just three points separating Conor Clancy (22pts) and Darren Griffin (25pts). Griffin’s overall position was enhanced with two race wins on the day with Clancy outside the top five in Race 1 and having a 5th in Race 2, however, both these race results are being discarded. There was a great deal of symmetry in the ILCA 6s results with the first four in both races being the same – Griffin, Shirley Gilmore, Brendan Hughes and Michael Norman. In Race 1 David Williams closed out the top five and that spot went to Conor Clancy in the second race.

Aidan Geraghty was the ILCA7, Race 1 winner at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire

In the ILCA 7s there is an even tighter situation with only two points separating series leader Gavan Murphy (34) from Conor Byrne (36) and Gary O’Hare (36). Conor Byrne took the day’s honours by winning both races while Murphy scored a 4,2 and O’Hare was a no-show. John Marmelstein was runner up in the day’s honours with a 2,3, with Murphy (6) third overall on the day. Conor O’Leary also enjoyed an individual race podium place and finished 4th in the day’s proceedings (3,5) with John O’Driscoll getting a 5,4 to close out the top five.

Cariosa Power collects Frostbite Mugs for herself and Marie Barry - PY Race 2

Detailed results from all the Frostbite sailing can be found below 

Participants are reminded that we only have two Sundays left in Series 2 and we will be racing on St Patrick’s Day, next Sunday 17th March.

The Frostbite Prize-giving will take place after the racing on Sunday 24th March 2024.

Glenn Fisher (L) with DMYC Viking Marine Frostbites organiser Neil Colin 

After a week that saw snowfall over large parts of Dublin and further afield on Friday, Sunday was, by comparison, a pleasant spring day with sunshine and a gentler breeze than the previous Sunday. The forecast had been a mixed bag during the latter part of the week, but by midnight Saturday (Met Eireann forecast) and Sunday morning, a genteel 6-7 knots from the south was predicted for the Viking Marine Dun Laoghaire DMYC dinghy Frostbites.

Mother Nature did better than that with winds that started around the 14-knot mark and slowly dropped to about 6.5/7knots by the end of racing. Additionally, it initially came from a direction of 120° before moving further south to 130° for the second race, prompting a change of the weather mark.

Given the conditions and forecast, the pre-race speculation onshore was about the number of races we might get in. At the clubhouse the wind was very fickle and we speculated that only one race might be sailed. However, given that three Sundays (in a row) and six races had already been lost, the idea that we might get in an extra race was also on the agenda. It was decided we would wait and see what was on offer before making a definite decision. Getting to the race area, we had a pleasant surprise, good winds from a S-Easterly direction – three races might be possible!

With that in mind the first two races of the day were 2-lap Windward-Leewards with the weather mark about 100m on the sea-side of the bandstand on the East Pier. A leeward gate was set up about 100m outside the end of the western breakwater which gave the fleet the whole East-West axis of the harbour for their race area.

All three fleets, each modest in size - PY 12 boats, ILCA 7s 9 boats and ILCA 6s 13 boats - got away cleanly for Races 1 and 2 with the favoured approach to the beat being a long starboard tack off the line before working across to the starboard layline on port tack. It was gratifying to see tight roundings of the weather mark in all three fleets – six Fireballs rounded in very close company and proceeded to sail a very tight downwind leg to the leeward gate.

While the Fireballs enjoyed success on the water, the Aeros would take the honours in terms of corrected time. They occupied three of the top five places, 1,2, and five, while the IDRA of Pierre and Remy Long finished 3rd and the Finn of Brian Sweeney took fourth. Fireballs occupied the places 6 – 11 in the twelve-boat fleet, led home by Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167) In the second race the corrected time spoils were shared by the same five boats but in a different order – Butler, van Maanen, Dwyer, Sweeney and the Longs, with the Fireballs led home by Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (14915), occupying 6th – 9th places.

The ILCA 7s and ILCA 6s also enjoyed close racing on the two-lap race and with Theo Lyttle absent, Gavan Murphy had a purple patch day scoring 1,1,2 to take the day’s honours in the 7s. That “trick” was repeated in the ILCA 6s where Conor Clancy ran up a similar score of 2,1,1.

ILCA 7s in close company at the spreader mark of the Windward-Leeward course - From right to left, Chris Arrowsmith (201829), Gavan Murphy (212521), John Marmelstein (219147), Niall Cowman (211857) and Aidan Geraghty (201375)

While there was some movement in the breeze as monitored by the RO, the fleet would advise that the upper end of the beat was quite shifty. It became apparent for the second race that the weather mark would have to move and it went further inshore in accordance with a 10° shift measured at the committee boat. That put it in line with the bandstand, but also meant that the dolphins for the Hyspeed ferry were a slight factor on the starboard side of the beat. Fortunately, going upwind this wasn’t a major issue, but downwind those who stayed on that side of the course scored.

Race 2 was another short two-lap Windward-Leeward course and again, the fleets seemed to enjoy close racing. While the upwind approach to the race remained the same, increasing numbers were sailing down the inshore side of the run. This prompted more consideration about what to set for the third race which had been notified to the fleet at the end of Race 1 – move the committee boat or move the weather mark again. The former would take up valuable time gained from having two short duration races, the latter would mean bringing the weather mark to the west of the dolphins which would also affect the quality of the beat.

ILCA 6s are led down the downwind leg of the first race by Sean Craig (218154), with Hugh Delap (211171), Darren Griffin (218967), Shirley Gilmore (216238), Mary Chambers (202051) and Conor Clancy (213048) in pursuit

The wind appeared to go back left, which prompted the RO to stick with what he had, and the fleets were given a three-lap Olympic course to close out the afternoon. The wind strength stayed up for the majority of this final race and the spinnakered boats certainly appeared to enjoy some good three-sail reaches. Among the Fireballs, there was very close racing and continuous place-changing at the front end of the fleet.

Yet again on corrected time, the Aeros occupied the top steps of the podium – Butler and Dwyer, with Sweeney getting into third before two Fireballs, Miller & Cramer and Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14998/775) took fourth and fifth, Miller breaking away from Colin after the leeward mark being the vehicle by which he went from second to first in the “on the water” race.

The ILCAs also enjoyed some good racing, but the ILCA 6s got a bit spread out as the race progressed.

Despite the three-race agenda, the fleets were all finished by 16:15.

Viking Marine Frostbites 2023/24 – Sunday 3rd March

Viking Marine Frostbites 2023/24 – Sunday 3rd March

Frostbite Mugs were awarded on the day to Dave Coleman in the ILCA 6s and to Neil Colin & Margaret Casey in the Fireball. There was a full roster of Mugs available for the day’s racing, but the rule is that you don’t get if you’re not there, and you only get two chances to collect.

Neil Colin (L) and Margaret Casey (R) received their Frostbite Mugs from Viking Marine DMYC Dun Laoghaire Frostbites RO Cormac Bradley Photo: Frank Miller

DMYC Dun Laoghaire Frostbites ILCA 6 Mug Winner - Dave Coleman

Frostbiters are reminded that there are only three Sundays of Frostbite racing left, and we will be racing on St Patrick’s Day.

Tight Fireball action at the weather mark - Owen Sinnott & Grattan Donnelly (14865) lead a cluster of Fireballs at the weather mark with (right to left) Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (14990), Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167) and Pat McGoldrick & Paul ter Horst (14790) in pursuit.

The turnout was low for what was a pleasant Sunday, but those who made the commitment got in three races with reasonable turnarounds between the races.

There was one General Recall on the day, a lady leading the ILCA 6s over the line early in Race 3. On the restart, there was a single OCS….who didn’t return. He took his medicine in a gentle manner!

After an adverse weather-enforced hiatus of three Sundays without sailing, a reduced Frostbite fleet took to the waters of Dun Laoghaire Harbour to resume activity in the Viking Marine-sponsored Frostbites hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. While the forecast from the middle of the week on XCWeather and as broadcast by Met Eireann – 15 – 17 knots, gusting 2 – 24 knots Westerly wasn’t the most conducive, the fact that we hadn’t sailed for three Sundays persuaded the Race Officer, in consultation with other key members of the regatta team, to leave a “Go/No Go” decision as late as possible.

The DBSC Spring Chicken Fleet apparently had blustery, gusty conditions for their Sunday morning session, but a quick drive past along the harbour road suggested that conditions weren’t maybe as severe as the forecast was proposing. The flags on the Royal St George weren’t being flogged, nor were the flags at the marina, and what I thought was a Melges 15 was comfortable as it sailed away from the shore into the body of the harbour.

Noel Butler chasing the two Fireballs (white/blue spinnaker 14676) and FB 14790

At the DMYC, there was still some reticence about the viability of sailing, but the overall sentiment was that we needed to try, and so we went afloat on the basis that we would get one race in and review the situation on the water. There was an exceptionally high tide at 12:26, which meant there would be nominal protection from the harbour wall in the westerly that was blowing. However, initially, the 15-17 that had been forecast was down to a high of 15 knots with gusts that went a bit higher. In the pre-race period, gusts of 19 and 20 knots were recorded, but conversely, we also had wind readings of 8 – 9 knots. The sun was out and the westerly meant that a long beat could be set across the longer E-W axis of the harbour. An extra RIB was on the water……….just in case.

It seemed the Frostbite fleet may not have had the same intent as the organisers to go racing as we had a modest fleet of 32 boats for the first race with the ILCA 7s and the 6s each boasting 11 boats while the PY fleet had 10 boats on the water. Of course, there was an onshore distraction in that there was a 6 Nations game on at the Aviva Stadium with Ireland hosting Italy which may have cost us attendees at the game or armchair watchers at home.

Either way the three fleets enjoyed two 3-lap Olympic races that allowed those who were on the water to catch most of the 2nd half of the rugby in real-time. The wind strength varied from 9 – 15 knots with some robust gusts coming through but these disappeared as the afternoon wore on.

The wind direction flicked marginally either side of due west from the committee boat’s perspective for the majority of the afternoon before shifting leftwards for the second half of the second race. Still, most competitors seemed to enjoy the day on the water and there were only a handful of boats that went ashore after the first race.

The ILCA 7s may not have the biggest entry in the Frostbites, but they consistently turn out a high percentage of their numbers. They had eleven of a possible thirteen boats on the water and enjoyed tight racing in both races. The “rabbit” of Series 1, Theo Lyttle was in a group of 6 boats that were in tight company for the duration of the first race. Included in this group were Gary O’Hare, Gavan Murphy and John O’Driscoll. However, the winner of Race 1 for the 7s, was Conor Byrne who at an early stage in the race was much further back in the fleet. Indeed, if memory serves, he was second last with a sail issue as he approached the leeward mark for the first time. Theo Lyttle finished second, with Murphy, O’Hare and John O’Driscoll filling positions 3 to 5.

In Race 2 Conor Byrne repeated the trick of winning without going to the back of the fleet first. Lyttle went ashore and the finishing order behind Byrne was Gary O’Hare, John Marmelstein, Gavan Murphy and Sean Flanagan.

In overall terms, Lyttle leads Series 2 on 7pts, with O’Hare on 10pts and Marmelstein on 11pts.

The ILCA 6s also enjoyed a close company race at the head of their fleet of eleven boats. Race wins were shared between Daniel O’Connor (R1) and Conor Clancy (R2).  While Darren Griffin took second in both races, Clancy’s win in Race two combined with a third in Race 1 means he takes the day’s honours. Hugh Delap scored a 4,5 in the two races, while Shirley Gilmore went the other way round with a 5,4. Clancy, Griffin, Delap and Gilmore were the only ones to feature in the top five in both races with the other top five spot going to Owen Laverty, third in Race 2.

ILCA 6s at the weather mark. Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In overall terms, Darren Griffin leads on 8pts, Conor Clancy is second on 10pts, Owen Laverty is third on 16pts, with Delap, Gilmore and Hugh Cahill occupying the next three places on 17, 19 and 28pts, respectively.

On the water, the race for the PY fleet had a new joiner with the RS 200 of Jamie and Katie Tingle. Rounding the first weather mark in Race 1, initially, I thought the pink downwind sail was the Fireball spinnaker of Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe (15016), but on closer inspection, it was the gennaker of the RS 200 of the Tingles, who proceeded to maintain their lead around the triangle of the Olympic course. They were followed by the blue spinnaker of Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15156), the blue and white spinner of Michael Keegan and in new downwind livery, the red and whiter spinnaker of McKenna & O’Keeffe. However, the Aeros were also well up with Noel Butler leading a quartet of boats around the course – Sarah Dwyer, Stephen Oran and Paul Phelan. On the downwind leg of the sausage, the different modes of sailing, an asymmetric rig versus a symmetric rig, meant that the Fireball could sail a more direct route to the leeward mark, and this allowed the Fireball to take the lead on the water. It was a lead that was relinquished!

The Fireball led the way home with an elapsed time of 27:56. A minute and a half later, Butler crossed the finish line, and a further 2:09 on the clock saw finishes by the RS200, Tingle and Tingle (+0:06) and the Aeros of Paul Phelan (+0:59), Stephen Oram (+1:27) and Sarah Dwyer (+2:09).

Noel Butler (Aero 3289) leads Jamie & Katie Tingle (RS200 1297) and Michael Keegan & helm (FB 14676) around the weather mark. Photo: Ian Cutliffe

On corrected time, (almost) needless to say, Butler’s Aero 6 took the win by 1:36 over the Tingle’s RS200 with two second separating Dwyer and Phelan in that order. Oram got fifth, 26 seconds down on Phelan but 18 seconds ahead of the Fireball.

In Race 2, there was a similar story,  the Fireball of Court & Syme led the fleet home on the water by a margin of 1:07 on the Tingle’s RS200 and 1:56 on the leading Aero, Butler’s 6. 2:37 on the water allowed another two Aeros to get home, Oram’s 7 and Dwyer’s 6 in that order. But on corrected time the inevitable happened, Butler, third across the finish line was elevated to first with the Tingles holding on to second on corrected time, 0:42 down on the Aero. Court & Syme swapped places with Butler, finishing third on corrected time with Oram and Dwyer behind the Fireball by 5 seconds and 19 seconds, respectively.

Reference must be made of two Fireballs who capsized within metres of the finish line in good positions overall. One of these had broken a main halyard, gone ashore to repair it, and returned for the second race. The other capsize was caused by the bane of trapeze crews on a tack – getting the hook off before tacking. Both capsizes were of the slow-motion variety!!

In overall terms, a quartet of Aeros occupy the first four places: Butler (4), Oram (16), Dwyer (16), and van Maanen (22), before the Tingles break the run (24). Thereafter the sequence is the Longs, Pierre (Father) and sons Paul & Remy (IDRA) (27) and the Fireball of Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (31) with three more fireballs following behind them – McKenna & O’Keeffe, Court & Syme and Paul ter Horst & crews/helms.

Dun Laoghaire's Viking Marine-sponsored DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Series has been cancelled for a third week in a row due to strong winds on Dublin Bay.

"Winds were forecast at 17/18 knots but gusting to 32 knots from a SSW direction", Race Officer Cormac Bradley told Afloat.

The Flying Fifteen winter training crews did not test the waters either, but ten Oppies were out in the harbour. It looked manageable until the wind started whistling through the rigging.

The DBSC Spring Chicken Series for mixed cruisers raced outside the harbour on Sunday morning.

DMYC Racing continues next Sunday afternoon. See live Dublin Bay webcam here.

Meanwhile, in Australia, DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Series regular Sean Craig leads the ILCA 6 Masters World Championship, Australia, as Afloat reports here. 

Dun Laoghaire's Viking Marine-sponsored DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Series has been cancelled for a second week due to strong winds on Dublin Bay.

"The Dublin Bay Buoy was showing 31 knots gusting 39 when we called it, and the forecast was high teens gusting in the thirties from S/SSW - not a great direction for steady winds", Race Officer Cormac Bradley told Afloat.

Separately, a small fleet of Laser 4.7s and six rigs who ventured out into the harbour this morning were hard-pressed in their heavy weather training session.

DMYC Racing continues next Sunday afternoon. See live Dublin Bay webcam here.

As this correspondent had the day off from Race Officer duties, ably replaced by Brendan Duffy (Ruffian 23s), this report is based on “word of mouth” accounts garnered from people who were on the water.

As per the forecast, the fleet enjoyed robust North-Westerlies varying in strength from 10 – 17 knots, allowing two three-lap Olympic courses to be sailed. Brendan advised that the breeze moved around for the first race and he felt obliged to re-set the weather mark for the second race, only to bring it back to where he had set it for the first race. In addition to the brisk winds, the air temperature was low, of the order of 3/4°, and there were a number of capsizes.

All three starts got away cleanly in both races, which, given the conditions, was a bonus.

The series-long challenge between the Fireballs and the Aeros manifested itself again – I know I keep referencing this, but in recent days we have compared Aeros’ performances against other classes in winter sailing events in the UK, and they don’t seem to enjoy the same dominance as they do in Dun Laoghaire.

Aeros and a Finn at the weather mark at the Viking Marine DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Series in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In the first PY race, three Fireballs had better elapsed times than the leading Aeros; Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14998) came home in 26:47, Louise McKenna & Neil Cramer (15016) came home in 27:14, and Colm Breen & Paul Ter Horst (14790) were the third Fireball at 27:15. Noel Butler (28:42) led home a quartet of Aeros with the sequence behind him being Roy van Maanen (29:58), Damien Dion (30:40) and Sarah Dwyer (30:40). But on corrected time, the overall sequence was Butler (25:58), van Maanen (27:07), Dion (27:45), Dwyer (27:56) before Colin in 5th with a corrected time of 28:08. McKenna & Breen who had finished 27 seconds and 28 seconds behind Colin on the water were relegated to 9th and 10th on corrected time in the 15-boat fleet. Had he been present, Damien Dion would have got a Frostbite Mug for his endeavours.

In the second PY race there was a win on the water for Breen & ter Horst (26:35) with Colin at 26:56. The first Aero was Stephen Oram (29:16) with Butler (29:55) and van Maanen (30:38) following behind. On corrected time it was a much tighter affair with the sequence being Butler (27:04), Oram (27:32), van Maanen (27:43), Breen (27:55) and Colin (28:17). Breen & ter Horst’s sterling performance won them the Frostbite Mug for the second PY race.

In overall terms with three races sailed, Aeros occupy the first four places with the sequence being Butler, van Maanen, Oram, Dwyer with Colin & Casey fifth in the Fireball.

The ILCA 6s had a 16-boat fleet and saw Sean Craig make his debut in Series 2 and take the overall honours for the day with a 2,1 placing in the two races. Darren Griffen won the first race and took third in the second, while Conor Clancy and Owen Laverty each scored seven points on the day, Clancy claiming third and fourth and Laverty fifth and second, the latter race winning him a Frostbite Mug. Darren Griffen, had he been present, would have taken the Mug for Race 1.

Fireballs, Aeros, a Finn and a RS battle their way to the weather mark at the Viking Marine DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Series in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

In overall terms, Griffen and Clancy are tied at the top of the table with 10 points each, with Hugh Delap in third (13), Shirley Gilmore fourth (19) and Craig fifth (21).

Another good turnout of ten boats in the ILCA 7s saw Theo Lyttle take both races, with Gary O’Hare monopolising second place. Third place in Race 1 went to Niall Cowman, while John Marmelstein took third place in Race 2. Marmelstein might have had a Frostbite Mug for his first race performance (4th) but wasn’t at the prize-giving, and Roy McKay got the Mug for the second race. In overall terms the order is Lyttle (5), O’Hare (8) and Marmelstein (10).

With the days getting longer, the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Viking Marine Sponsored Dinghy Frostbites Series resumes on Sunday, 7th, January, with 12 Sundays of racing in Series 2 until the end of March.

Entries are open for any enthusiastic dinghy sailors in the Leinster area to join, either the ILCA Full or 6’s or the PY Class here

The challenge in the PY class is to take a race from the dominant RS Aero group.

"At approximately €10 per Sunday, and less for the single-handers and Juniors, the racing offers great value for the New Year, says DMYC series organiser Neil Colin.

Based on a weather forecast of westerly winds gusting to over 40 knots, DMYC has cancelled this afternoon's Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbite racing at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

It is the second cancellation of racing for the 50-boat fleet since the series began on November 6th.

Racing was also cancelled on November 19th due to strong westerlies.

Racing continues next Sunday.

Having enjoyed the biggest fleet of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites on the last Sunday of November with 50+ entries, the first Sunday of December registered the smallest fleet of the series thus far with only forty boats on the water. The lion’s share of the fleet was in the PY category with eighteen boats while the ILCA7s had a close to maximum nine boats. The principal absentees came from the ILCA6s, who mustered only thirteen boats.

At a small prize-giving in the DMYC, populated by the Fireballs, Aeros and a few ILCA participants, a very popular winner of a Frostbite Mug was in attendance. Everyone who is in anyway familiar with the ILCAs will be aware that they have a very well-established system of age category racing and the Mug Winner for the ILCA6s came from the (currently) very exclusive category of Great Grandmaster in Ireland. I may not be thanked for drawing attention to this achievement, but it was “whispered in my ear” that it should be acknowledged.

Mary Chambers has served an appropriate apprenticeship in the ILCAs having previously campaigned a Fireball for an extended period. Thus, she was acclaimed by all present as the make up of the audience in the DMYC came from people who would be familiar with Mary’s dinghy exploits.

And the Mug was won on merit, with Mary leading the fleet around the first weather mark of a 5-lap Olympic configuration course. For the balance of the race, she remained in the top five boats mixing it with the overall leaders of the series, Conor Clancy (1), Shirley Gilmore (2), Darren Griffin (3) and Judy O’Beirne (4). She crossed the finish line in second place, only bettered by Conor Clancy. Congratulations, Mary!

ILCA6s
Race 9 results: 1. Conor Clancy, 2. Mary Chambers, 3. Darren Griffin, 4. Shirley Gilmore, 5. Judy O’Beirne.
Overall: Clancy (11), Gilmore (17), Griffin (28), O’Beirne (29), Justin Geoghegan (31).

Mary Chambers leads the ILCA6s down the first reach of the first triangle with Shirley Gilmore leading the charge behind her at the DMYC Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

The ILCA7s had a turnout of nine boats which is only one off their biggest turnout thus far. In this fleet, Theo Lyttle has assumed the role of the rabbit most Sundays with the greyhounds being made up of Gavan Murphy and Gary O’Hare. This past Sunday, they were joined by John O’Driscoll who was rewarded with second place on the water and the day’s Frostbite Mug. Having won the majority of the races thus far, Theo enjoys a 4pt advantage over second-placed Gavan Murphy, with Gary O’Hare in third, five points adrift of Murphy.

Gary O’Hare (ILCA7) rounds the weather mark at the DMYC Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

John O'Driscoll (ILCA7) receives his DMYC Frostbite Mugs for Race 9 of the Series from Neil Colin

ILCA7s
Race 9 results: 1. Theo Lyttle, 2. John O’Driscoll, 3. Gary O’Hare.
Overall: Lyttle (7), Murphy (11), O’Hare (16).

PY fleet

The PY fleet was the biggest of the day and while the start line had been fixed in length for the ILCA6s, the PY were the actual beneficiaries, though for the first time this year, they were subject to a General Recall and eventually got away on a black flag after another aborted start. The General Recall relegated them to the back of the starting sequence after the Aeros and Fireballs hid the pin end from the Race Officer. Four boats fell foul of the black flag start, two Fireballs, an Aero and a Finn. And it wasn’t a marginal call, they crossed the line almost immediately after the one-minute signal was sounded. The RS200 of Katie Tingle was well up the running order at the first weather mark, but her race seemed to go a little pear-shaped shortly thereafter. The Fireballs of Neil Colin & Margaret Casey and Alastair Court & Gordon Syme diced each other for the early part of the race with Colin & Casey leading the way round the first triangle only to lose out to Court & Syme up the second beat, before recovering on the downwind leg of the sausage. Colin & Casey, having regained the lead on this leg then increased their lead to win comfortably on the water.

Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (FB/Red spinnaker) lead Colin Breen & Paul Ter Horst (14790/blue spinnaker), and Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854/Red Spinnaker [hoisting]) around the weather mark, chased by Aeros, the IDRA 14 and more Fireballsat the DMYC Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

The Fireball finished in 58:50 and of the first five on handicap, Roy van Maanen (Aero 6) was the last home in 68:02, nine minutes and twelve seconds behind. On corrected time van Maanen beat Colin by 14 seconds, but Pierre Long and son Remy, in the IDRA 14 and Noel Butler in the Aero 6 both beat van Maanen into third place on time, with Colin fourth and Katie Tingle in the RS 200 fifth, tied on corrected time with the Fireball at 61:48. Colin’s margin on the water was comfortable, relative to his fellow Fireballs and the balance of the PY fleet so it must be a bit frustrating to have been relegated to fifth on corrected time.

PY Fleet
Race 9 results: 1. Pierre & Remy Long (IDRA 14), 2. Noel Butler (Aero 6), 3. Roy van Maanen (Aero 6), 4. Katie & Jamie Tingle (RS200) & Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (Fireball).
Overall: Butler (9), Long & Long (16), Sarah Dwyer (Aero/20), Tingle & Tingle 27.5), Court & Syme (Fireball/29).

With the wind forecast all week showing a very modest 5 – 6 knots for the day and temperatures down to 4/5°, the plan was to sail a single long race that could be shortened if necessary, rather than risk people getting excessively cold waiting for a second race.

For the majority of the afternoon, while the sun was out, the temperature recorded in the committee boat was 7°, but as soon as the sun disappeared behind cloud, it dropped almost immediately to 6° and got even cooler as grey cloud came in and it started to drizzle. No-one seemed to have a problem with dropping the fifth lap of the race, in order to return to their respective clubs.

Although Sunday morning's third race of the AIB-sponsored DBSC Turkey Shoot racing for cruiser-racers went ahead off Dun Laoghaire Harbour, this afternoon's Viking Marine-sponsored DMYC dinghy Frostbite Series at the same venue has been cancelled due to westerly winds in the high teens gusting to high twenties/low thirties.

Racing continues in both events next weekend.