#flyingfifteen – Sixteen Flying Fifteens again came out in much calmer conditions than last week as the frostbite series continued on Sunday. In very tricky conditions with the wind struggling to get above 7–knots PRO Ian Mathews managed to get the two scheduled races in. The first race was shortened and won by Niall & Nicky Meagher in Ffantastic Mr Fox in fine style and they also had an third in the second race which was won by Dave Gorman & Dave Cahill who still lead the series with two final races next week.
Race 1: the wind, the little there was, was from the w-sw and the tide was flooding, three boats managed to be over the line and went back. The fleet split both ways and those on the right seemed to have a bit more wind. In the last third Gorman appeared to have the fleet covered on the approach to the weather mark. Green, sailing with Keith Poole today, tacked early and seemed to get his own private wind to lift him up to the mark in first place as Gorman, Dooley and Colman were becalmed. Down the run the wind really died off. The fleet bunched up with the wind from behind, for a while it looked like Geraldine and Mick along with Gorman would sneak through the middle but it was those at the back and who went left that made the gains. The PRO shortened the race and finished at the gate. The Meagher's, who had been in the front group managed to stay in the lead and take the gun, but David & Valerie Mulvin along with Gerry Ryan in Deranged powered their way around the other boats to finish second and third, with Alan Dooley in fourth, Gorman fifth and Green sixth.
Race 2 got going after a short wait for the breeze to settle. Gorman along with Poole & Green were in the second row on the start and tacked off to the right, a couple of shifts later they were first and second and they were to stay that way till the end. At the pin end and to the left there was a lot less wind and it was not the place to go. Again there were a number of boats over the line and they didn't all go back this time. The wind was a bit steadier for this race, Mulvin and Balfe followed in third and fourth place at the weather mark. After a poor first beat the Meagher's were catching up on each leg, on the last run they passed Balfe and on the final beat managed to overtake the Mulvin's to take third place and remain second overall ahead of Niall Colman & Mick Quinn.
