Thursday morning 9th June 2016 and thick fog and no wind, will we get racing in Dublin Bay this evening? Jack Roy must have been on his prayer mat as the afternoon cleared and a nice 14 knots appeared for DBSC racing.
There was much “shuffling” of pairings on the platform with Ken Dumpleton & guest crew Ken Ryan together on Kooigjog. Ross Doyle as guest helm with Frank Burgess on Snow White, John Whelan with Alan Balfe on Perfect Ten. Peter O’Callaghan guesting with Ralph on Tuugannini and Chris & Alan back together again on frequent flyer. Regretfully no crew available for A Mere Triffle. Volunteers required in a hospitable class.
With a strong ebb tide and fifteen fifteens on the line the fleet got away, well almost. Some tight bunching at the committee boat end and frequent flyer jumping the gun and having to go back over the line. The first beat to Battery with ffling Brian O’Neill & Mary Jane Mulligan) followed by fflogger (Alan Dooley & Joe Hickey) and Ignis Caput (Dave Mulvin & Ronan Beirne) heading out to sea and the rest of the fleet heading inshore. At Battery it was the seaward boats ahead followed by frenetic (Mick & Hugh Cahill) and Kooigjog.
Around the mark spinnakers up and out to Omega and a gybe on to Pier. At Pier there was some bunching with four boats rounding together which resulted in some “focused” discussion in the bar after and talk of protests.
A beat back to Bulloch and once around no spinnaker hoist for fflogger having lost her halyard and with Ignis Caput close behind ffling out to East mark where after the gybe Ignis Caput overhauled ffling to take the lead and on to Pier mark and to the line for the gun. ffling second with frenetic third and Kooigjog fourth.
With discards now in place Ignis Caput discards a first in the Thursday series.
