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Displaying items by tag: DBSC

Fifteen to 20-knot northwesterly winds and big seas on Dublin Bay presented some testing conditions for Saturday's AIB DBSC Summer Series racing. 

Cruisers Zero division racing was abandoned, and in a race between two boats in IRC One, Tim Goodbody's White Mischief beat J109 sistership, Jump the Gun, skippered by Michael Monaghan. 

Ed Melvin's Ceol na Mara got the advantage over Myles Kelly's Maranda in another two-boat race in the IRC Cruisers IRC Three division.

In the one designs, Jimmy Fischer's Billy Whizz won from Joe Smyth's Yikes in the Beneteau 211 (scratch racing). Third was Jacqueline McStay's Small Wonder.

In a six-boat Beneteau 31.7 race, Chris Johnston's Prospect from the National Yacht Club won from clubmate John Power's Levante. Third was Michael Bryson's Bluefin Two.

The National Yacht Club's David Gorman won from Neil Colin in a nine-boat Flying Fifteen turnout.

Published in DBSC

A 2,1 scored in Wednesday night's DBSC Water Wag races in Dun Laoghaire Harbour has put Royal St. George's Sean and Heather Craig in Puffin 14 points clear at the top of the Summer Series. 

Second overall is Guy Kilroy's Swift on 44 points, with John O'Driscoll's Moosmie third on 57.

The results for Wednesday's races are below:

Race 18 2 Aug 2023

1 Number 42 William Prentice
2 Number 52 Puffin Sean Craig 
3 Number 45 Mariposa Cathy Mac Aleavey

Race 19 2 Aug 2023

1 Number 52 Puffin Sean Craig 
2 Number 45 Mariposa Cathy Mac Aleave
3 Number 3 Pansy Vincent Delany

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Royal Irish's Tim Goodbody sailing the J109 White Mischief, won Thursday night's DBSC Cruisers IRC One race on Dublin Bay in a corrected time of 51 minutes and 41 seconds

The win puts the RIYC crew three points clear in Thursday's overall series, with just four races left to sail in the 2023 AIB Series.

Second last night in the eight-boat fleet and second overall is Goodbody's clubmate Colin Byrne in the XP33 Bon Exemple (0:52:53)

Third in the August 3rd race in a time of 0:53:17 was a third RIYC boat, the J109 National Champion John Maybury.

Full results in all classes below.

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Jimmy Fischer's Billy Whizz leads Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) Beneteau 211 class in the Scratch, Saturday Overall AIB Summer Series.

The Royal St. George Yacht Club entry holds a three-point lead despite a dismasting at this month's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

Fischer took second place yesterday afternoon with a new mast fitted for the four-boat race in strong westerly winds, which was won by Joe Smyth's Yikes of the Royal Irish. 

Overall, Smyth lies second on 19 points, with clubmate Pat Shannon on Beeswing lying third on 42 points. 

As Afloat reported previously, the race was the first successful Saturday fixture in July, with an unusually high number of weather cancellations.

Results for all DBSC classes are below

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Brendan Foley's 'Allig8r' from the Royal St. George Yacht Club, was the winner of Thursday night's AIB-sponsored Dublin Bay Sailing Club IRC Two race on Dublin Bay. 

Foley beat clubmate and overall series leader Lindsay Casey's J97, Windjammer. Third was Dave Gould's three-quarter tonner, Scenario Encore.

As Afloat reported previously, renamed 'Allig8r', the First Class 8 is under the new ownership of a Dublin Bay syndicate of six friends Paddy Ryan, Mark Hennessy, Peter Levins, Colm O'Buachalla, Conor Twomey and Foley. Regular Afloat readers will recall her as the black-hulled 2018 Cork Week champion, skippered by Rory Fekkes from Carrickfergus Sailing Club.

Casey continues to lead Cruisers 2 IRC Thursday overall but is now on the same 16 points as Foley. The recent ISORA coastal race winner, Leslie Parnell's First 34.7 Black Velvet, lies third on 30 points.

There was a good turnout in all classes for last night's race in medium-westerly winds.

Results from all DBSC classes are below.

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DBSC AIB Summer Series racing on Dubin Bay was cancelled today (July 22) due to a lack of wind. 

It has been a disappointing July for Saturday Series racers so far in the capital's waters, with July 1st cancelled by a strong northwesterly; July 8 starred due to the biennial Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta; July 15 cancelled again by strong westerlies and today's racing scrubbed by no wind. Hopefully, next week's last Saturday in July (29th) will see a change of fortune. 

Happily, last Thursday night provided suitable winds for a strong DBSC turnout, as Afloat reported here.

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Tim and Richard Goodbody's J109 White Mischief was the winner of a fine turnout of ten boats in Dublin Bay Sailing Club's IRC One Thursday night AIB Summer Series.

Light southerly winds with occasional bursts of fresh energy from numerous rain clouds over Dublin Bay permitted a full programme of races for the club. 

Finishing one minute behind White Mischief on corrected time in the strong fleet was Fintan Cairns's Mills 31 Raptor. Third was Colin Byrne's XP33 Bon Exemple.

As the top DBSC performer in IRC One at this month's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, Goodbody's top form continues as last night's result puts the Royal Irish Yacht Club boat top of the overall Thursday series. 

Full results in all DBSC classes are below.

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Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) Saturday racing was cancelled today due to a high wind forecast.

Despite the flat sea state, westerly winds were gusting to over 35 mph at Dun Laoghaire

Published in DBSC

Olympian Annalise Murphy and her crew were the winners of a breezy Water Wag race at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this evening.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club race officer Tadhg Donnelly set a three-round windward/leeward course for the Water Wags in a westerly 14-22 knot breeze.

Due to the squally conditions, the Wags all carried one reef. 

The race officer abandoned the first race after the first lap when the majority of boats rounded the leeward to starboard instead of to port.

The race was restarted 20 minutes later, and all bar 2 of the 20 boats had a clear start.

There was an individual recall, but the two OCS boats failed to return.

Wag Class Captain David Williams, sailing Dipper no. 48, capsized at the windward mark on the final round. (See photo sequence of the righting of Dipper below by Brendan Briscoe)

Water Wag Class Captain David Williams, sailing Dipper no. 48, capsized at the windward mark

Water Wag Class Captain David Williams, sailing Dipper no. 48, capsized at the windward mark

Water Wag Class Captain David Williams, sailing Dipper no. 48, capsized at the windward mark

Water Wag Class Captain David Williams, sailing Dipper no. 48, capsized at the windward mark

Results: 
1. No. 41 Mollie, Annalise Murphy 
2. No. 38 Swift, Guy & Jackie Kilroy
3. No. 52 Puffin, Seán & Heather Craig

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The strong northwesterly winds that caused the cancellation of both the 2.4mR and the 29er National Championships at Dun Laoghaire this morning have also led to the scrubbing of racing in all classes of this afternoon's Dublin Bay Sailing Club programme. 

Published in DBSC
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Dublin Bay 21s

An exciting new project to breathe life into six defunct 120-year-old Irish yachts that happen to be the oldest intact one-design keelboat class in the world has captured the imagination of sailors at Ireland's biggest sailing centre. The birthplace of the original Dublin Bay 21 class is getting ready to welcome home the six restored craft after 40 years thanks to an ambitious boat building project was completed on the Shannon Estuary that saved them from completely rotting away.

Dublin Bay 21 FAQs

The Dublin Bay 21 is a vintage one-design wooden yacht designed for sailing in Dublin Bay.

Seven were built between 1903 and 1906.

As of 2020, the yachts are 117 years old.

Alfred Mylne designed the seven yachts.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) commissioned the boat to encourage inexpensive one-design racing to recognise the success of the Water Wag one-design dinghy of 1887 and the Colleen keelboat class of 1897.

Estelle built by Hollwey, 1903; Garavogue built by Kelly, 1903; Innisfallen built by Hollwey, 1903.; Maureen built by Hollwey, 1903.; Oola built by Kelly, 1905; Naneen built by Clancy, 1905.

Overall length- 32'-6', Beam- 7'-6", Keel lead- 2 tons Sail area - 600sq.ft

The first race took place on 19 June 1903 in Dublin Bay.

They may be the oldest intact class of racing keelboat yacht in the world. Sailing together in a fleet, they are one of the loveliest sights to be seen on any sailing waters in the world, according to many Dublin Bay aficionados.

In 1964, some of the owners thought that the boats were outdated, and needed a new breath of fresh air. After extensive discussions between all the owners, the gaff rig and timber mast was abandoned in favour of a more fashionable Bermudan rig with an aluminium mast. Unfortunately, this rig put previously unseen loads on the hulls, resulting in some permanent damage.

The fleet was taken out of the water in 1986 after Hurricane Charlie ruined active Dublin Bay 21 fleet racing in August of that year. Two 21s sank in the storm, suffering the same fate as their sister ship Estelle four years earlier. The class then became defunct. In 1988, master shipwright Jack Tyrrell of Arklow inspected the fleet and considered the state of the hulls as vulnerable, describing them as 'still restorable even if some would need a virtual rebuild'. The fleet then lay rotting in a farmyard in Arklow until 2019 and the pioneering project of Dun Laoghaire sailors Fionan De Barra and Hal Sisk who decided to bring them back to their former glory.

Hurricane Charlie finally ruined active Dublin Bay 21 fleet racing in August 1986. Two 21s sank in the storm, suffering the same fate as a sister ship four years earlier; Estelle sank twice, once on her moorings and once in a near-tragic downwind capsize. Despite their collective salvage from the sea bed, the class decided the ancient boats should not be allowed suffer anymore. To avoid further deterioration and risk to the rare craft all seven 21s were put into storage in 1989 under the direction of the naval architect Jack Tyrrell at his yard in Arklow.

While two of the fleet, Garavogue and Geraldine sailed to their current home, the other five, in various states of disrepair, were carried the 50-odd miles to Arklow by road.

To revive the legendary Dublin Bay 21 class, the famous Mylne design of 1902-03. Hal Sisk and Fionan de Barra are developing ideas to retain the class's spirit while making the boats more appropriate to today's needs in Dun Laoghaire harbour, with its many other rival sailing attractions. The Dublin Bay 21-foot class's fate represents far more than the loss of a single class; it is bad news for the Bay's yachting heritage at large. Although Dún Laoghaire turned a blind eye to the plight of the oldest intact one-design keelboat fleet in the world for 30 years or more they are now fully restored.

The Dublin Bay 21 Restoration team includes Steve Morris, James Madigan, Hal Sisk, Fionan de Barra, Fintan Ryan and Dan Mill.

Retaining the pure Mylne-designed hull was essential, but the project has new laminated cold-moulded hulls which are being built inverted but will, when finished and upright, be fitted on the original ballast keels, thereby maintaining the boat’s continuity of existence, the presence of the true spirit of the ship.

It will be a gunter-rigged sloop. It was decided a simpler yet clearly vintage rig was needed for the time-constrained sailors of the 21st Century. So, far from bringing the original and almost-mythical gaff cutter rig with jackyard topsail back to life above a traditionally-constructed hull, the project is content to have an attractive gunter-rigged sloop – “American gaff” some would call it.

The first DB 21 to get the treatment was Naneen, originally built in 1905 by Clancy of Dun Laoghaire for T. Cosby Burrowes, a serial boat owner from Cavan.

On Dublin Bay. Dublin Bay Sailing Club granted a racing start for 2020 Tuesday evening racing starting in 2020, but it was deferred due to COVID-19.
Initially, two Dublin Bay 21s will race then three as the boat building project based in Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary completes the six-boat project.
The restored boats will be welcomed back to the Bay in a special DBSC gun salute from committee boat Mac Lir at the start of the season.
In a recollection for Afloat, well known Dun Laoghaire one-design sailor Roger Bannon said: "They were complete bitches of boats to sail, over-canvassed and fundamentally badly balanced. Their construction and design was also seriously flawed which meant that they constantly leaked and required endless expensive maintenance. They suffered from unbelievable lee helm which led to regular swamping's and indeed several sinkings.

©Afloat 2020