For the third Thursday in a row, DBSC Race Officer John McNeilly had good winds for course setting on the latest Flying Fifteen Thursday night of Dublin Bay Sailing Club. And, assuming reward is the right word, he was rewarded with a turnout of twenty (20) Flying Fifteens and ten Sportsboats. Those who launched early found wind outside the harbour, but this soon dropped off, to as low as two knots, but then it built again before changing direction.
Having initially recorded a wind direction of 270° it soon changed to 240°, prompting a change of weather mark. With the breeze seemingly settling in this direction, John advised the fleet that he wasn't able to relocate due to an anchor issue and declared that he would stay where he was and use Pier as the weather mark for the evening. An ebbing tide suggested that clear starts would be the order of the evening and so it proved. He did however, express the view that the first leg to Pier might have an element of a "fetch to it" rather than a proper beat, but in reality, it did turn out to be a good beat. Unusually, the first two starts, SB20s and Sportboats & Dragons were given a course from the MW suite of courses, whereas the Flying Fifteens were given an M course:- Pier – Poldy – Battery – Poldy - Battery – Molly. In the latter stages of the race this meant that at Molly, Ruffians were coming into the mark from the harbour side of the mark, while Sportsboats and Flying Fifteens were approaching the mark in the opposite direction. It prompted loud calls on the water if only to alert one fleet to the presence of another.
Despite the thought that the first leg might be more of a fetch, as per RO, which might have suggested that the committee boat was the place to start, an assessment of the start line led to us starting at the pin end, in company with Shane McCarthy & Hugh McNally (4116), Niall & Susan Coleman (4008), possibly Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) and David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (4068) and heading inshore. Going in the opposite direction were Alan Green & Caroline Herlihy (4026), Phil Lawton & Neil O'Hagan (3803), Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey (3955), Brian O'Hare (4043) and Tom & Peter Murphy (3774). Of the inshore group, McCarthy was the first to peel away onto port tack, with some of the others following suit. Mulvin was anxiously waiting for Galvin to go and when he went, Mulvin followed. McCarthy stayed ahead of both groups with Galvin his nearest pursuer initially. At this stage the leading Fifteens were catching up with the preceding fleet and Galvin decided to pass astern of a starboard-tacked Dragon before contemplating a tack onto the starboard layline of the weather mark. This plan was executed only for Galvin to find that he wouldn't be able to make the mark. Another tack and the need to find a gap in the stream of starboard-tacked Fifteens coming into the mark saw Galvin & Bradley lose 5 boats at the mark rounding.
This left the rounding order as McCarthy, Green, Mulvin, Dumpleton, Thomas Chaix & Hugh Meagher (3938) and Lawton. As the fleet made its way to Poldy, Galvin found himself having to hold off O'Hare who was following his stern and to his inside Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (3697) passed him. John O'Sullivan & Patrick Kiersey (3762) were also in the frame. The Colemans, too made significant progress downwind. Poldy was left to starboard and by slowing marginally and taking a wide berth into the mark, Galvin was able to work his way into the windward slot relative to the earlier rounding boats, who were initially making a beeline for the shore. A quick check of the bearing from Poldy to Battery indicated that Battery was upwind of the course we were sailing by about 20°, so Galvin & Bradley decided there was merit in tacking early rather than simply following everyone else inshore. This decision turned out to be very rewarding as a series of headers and lifts (on alternating tacks) allowed Galvin & Bradley to sail a higher course to Battery. Of course, the fact that the breeze was also up didn't do them any harm either. The reward came in the form of rounding Battery in second place with McCarthy & McNally doing another "let's show them how its done" exercise on the fleet. Chaix and Lawton rounded in very close company with Galvin having distance on both of them. Of course, the proximity of the two chasing boats meant they had to focus on each other leaving Galvin in relative peace.
The second spinnaker leg to Poldy was a bit tricky, manifesting itself initially as a slightly uncomfortable 3-sail reach before broadening out to a more comfortable one. Galvin was able to get away from the two boats chasing him and behind them there was some close company sailing to be had. The leg back to Battery was sailed in the same vein as the first, not a headlong chase into the shore, but rather a working of the middle and right, taking headers and lifts as they came. McCarthy was comfortably ahead and Galvin was buoyed by the fact that Lawton and Chaix were still in close company sailing a race within a race. The leg from Battery to Molly was a two-sail reach which everyone adhered to. On his approach to Molly, Galvin had to decide how to negotiate a Ruffian coming into the mark from his port side and a series of Sportboats coming in from his starboard side with everyone required to leave Molly to port.
There was just enough distance between the Fifteen and the Sportsboats for Galvin to slow marginally and let the Ruffian round the mark first. As they fell off slightly to leeward, Galvin was able to squeeze into the windward slot and sail through the Ruffian's weather. The chasing pair shouted their presence to the Sportboats and managed to negotiate safe passage, but then found themselves competing for clear wind. That allowed Galvin to pursue a port tack course away from the Ruffian before tacking to stay between Chaix and Lawton and the finish. A further tack to maintain that position allowed Galvin & Bradley to decide that the committee boat end was the place to go for and while the chasers closed the gap to Galvin, there was clear water between second place and third/fourth.
The finishing order was as follows:- McCarthy, Galvin, Lawton, Chaix, Murphy (P), Green, Coleman, Mulvin, O'Hare and Dumpleton.
Overall, Lawton (19) still leads the series by thirteen points from Dumpleton (32) who has four points on Galvin* (36), a point ahead of P Murphy (37) with a gap of nine points to Alastair Court & Conor O'Leary (46).
*Following a successful appeal on the DNF from the previous Thursday!
