Alan Green and Caroline Hanniffy produced a runaway victory in Thursday evening’s Flying Fifteen DBSC Summer Series race on Dublin Bay, converting an early tactical call into a commanding win over the 16-boat fleet.
Another evening of light winds presented Race Officer John McNeilly with a familiar challenge, with conditions of six to eight knots from 110-120 degrees. The Flying Fifteens were eventually sent around an Island-Bay-Island-Bay-Finish course.
Green and Hanniffy (4026) had reconnoitred the outer reaches of the bay before the start, and that homework paid off immediately.
After securing the pin end, they headed offshore before tacking onto port and sailing up the lay-line towards Island. The move gave them a substantial advantage that they maintained for the rest of the race.
Behind the runaway leaders, Sean Craig and Hugh McNally (3697), Chris Arrowsmith and Conor O’Leary (3920) and Neil Colin and Margaret Casey (4028) were among those making the strongest early progress.
With a strong flooding tide running, negotiating Island proved particularly important. Craig, Arrowsmith and Colin emerged in strong positions for the first downwind leg to Bay, while several rivals lost ground.
Green remained well offshore on the run and continued to extend at the front, while Craig adopted a similarly offshore approach. Much of the chasing fleet stayed closer to the shore.
The long beat from Bay back to Island brought another reshuffle as crews sought relief and better pressure close inshore. David Mulvin and Ronan Beirne (4068) were among the principal beneficiaries, recovering from a difficult opening section to move through the fleet.
By the second rounding at Island, Craig and Arrowsmith remained at the head of the pursuit, while Mulvin and Beirne, Keith Poole and Tom Galvin (4093), Caomhan McKernan and Maurice Collins (3688) and others had improved their positions.
There was little change among the leaders on the second downwind leg, leaving Green and Hanniffy to complete an emphatic victory ahead of Craig and McNally, with Arrowsmith and O’Leary third.
Mulvin and Beirne recovered to take fourth, while Poole and Galvin completed the top five.
McKernan and Collins recorded seventh, while Joe Coughlan and Andrew Marshall (3913) continued their recent run of results with eighth.
DBSC Summer Series 2026 – Flying Fifteens
Thursday 13 August
- Alan Green & Caroline Hanniffy
- Sean Craig & Hugh McNally
- Chris Arrowsmith & Conor O’Leary
- David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne
- Keith Poole & Tom Galvin
Overall
- Sean Craig & Stephen Boyle — 10pts
- Neil Colin & Margaret Casey — 40pts
- Alan Green & Caroline Hanniffy — 41pts
- Niall Coleman & Cormac Bradley — 60pts
- Keith Poole & Tom Galvin — 60pts
