Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#FIREBALL – The Irish Fireball frostbite season got underway in unseasonable blue skies and sunshine conditions on Sunday 6^th November, when 11 Fireballs in a 40+ fleet got the series underway writes our Fireball Correspondent.  Arriving at Dun Laoghaire harbour, conditions were not conducive to racing, the waters of the harbour and beyond being mirror-like. Race Officer Stuart Kinnear persevered with the idea that a race was possible and was rewarded when enough breeze came through to get a race of two laps of a triangle away.

Hugh Butler crewing for Graeme Grant on their way to winning the Fireball Class in last Sunday's DMYC Frostbite race in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Bob Hobby

As the new Class Chairman, Neil Colin, with crew Margaret Casey, adopted the same style that will be required onshore – leading from the front. They started about midway down the line and found themselves in the middle of the course as a consequence. On the right-hand side Louis Smyth and Cormac Bradley found stronger breeze but weren’t able to quite close on Colin/Casey and were additionally distracted by Louise McKenna and Hermine O’Keefe who had gone right as well and then went back to the middle.

Colin/Casey rounded first followed by McKenna/O’Keefe, Smyth/Bradley and the established combination of Kenneth Rumball & Dave Moran.  The downwind legs were quite genteel but competitive all the same. Smyth/Bradley got through McKenna/O’Keefe despite the close presence of Rumball/Moran.

2^nd beat and Colin/Casey went more middle than left while Smyth/Bradley again hit the right. This closed the gap but not quite enough to see a change of lead. However, it was enough to stay ahead of McKenna/O’Keefe at the weather mark but a split of downwind courses saw the girls get ahead until gybes onto the opposite tacks saw Smyth/Bradley get back into second. This close attention to what was going on behind them left Colin/Casey to extend their lead to the leeward mark and a safe win.

With a DMYC Frostbite mug up for grabs every Sunday of the series, Colin/Casey were able to relax with their hands on the 2011/12 edition.

The Frostbite is a popular series with a single race on a Sunday afternoon meaning that the day isn’t completely taken up. Husband and wife, Frank and Gemma Cassidy made their Frostbite debut, while Alastair Court and Gordon Syme, whom we haven’t seen all season, though their boat was in Sligo, also made their first appearance of the season. Mick Creighton blooded a new crew, while two other crews, Dave Coleman and Grattan Donnelly, teamed up to sail Blind Squirrel, 14713.

Welcome visitors were Luke Malcolm and Shane Diviney from Howth and Peter Armstrong and Matt Mayron, sailing under the burgee of Sligo Yacht Club.

Round 2 saw a complete contrast in the pre-race weather from the previous Sunday. At 11:30 it was blowing 25 knots, by 12:45 the wind was down to a Force 2. The race eventually was sailed in a F3 which moved around a bit but was mostly in the northern sector of the compass card. Graeme Grant and Hugh Butler led the fleet this week around five laps of another triangular course, doing enough to stay ahead of the bunch. They were chased by Noel Butler and Stephen Oram and Louis Smyth, sailing with Joe O’Reilly for Round 2. These two spent the race exchanging places while some of the others to feature at different stages were Alastair Court and Gordon Syme and Mick Creighton & Paul McDermott. The trio of Barry Hurley, Andy Boyle and Brian Flahive has shown the greatest consistency with two 5^th places! These three also count double-handed Fastnet races in their list of activities for the 2011 sailing season.

Thus, with two rounds down the overall standings are as follows;

Series 1 of the Frostbites runs through to the Sunday before Christmas (18^th Dec), with series 2 starting Sunday 8^th January 2012.