rnli – A sailor with suspected spinal injuries on a dismasted yacht is receiving hospital treatment this afternoon after a rescue operation on Dublin Bay involving the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat and Irish Coast Guard helicopter.

The incident occurred shortly after 11am when the 33-foot yacht was taking part in a regular Sunday morning race on Dublin Bay. The mast snapped in the breezy conditions and hit the crew-member leading to concerns for a possible spinal injury.

The Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin was alerted and the RNLI lifeboat at Dun Laoghaire was requested to launch along with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Dublin Airport at 1108am. The disabled yacht was located midway between the West Pier and the South Bull Wall.

The operation was complicated by the collapsed rigging hanging over the side of the boat that prevented the crew from using the engine. Lifeboat crew were able to board the vessel to deliver first aid treatment and the winchman paramedic from the helicopter was transferred on board to assess the casualty.

To minimise movement and prevent a worsening of the suspected injury, it was decided that the yacht would be taken in tow by the lifeboat to shore where a waiting ambulance transferred the casualty to hospital for full assessment and treatment. The yacht was towed to a yacht club in Dun Laoghaire where the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard unit winched the casualty to the waiting ambulance.

#dbsc – Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) celebrated its 130th Anniversary last night (Saturday September 27th) with a dinner in the National Yacht Club. Held after the last race of the Club's 2014 season, it was very appropriately attended by a full house of 130 racing enthusiasts who honoured the incomparable contribution the club has made to the development of sailing from Dun Laoghaire during the past 130 years.

Originally founded in 1884 as a club to provide racing for boats too small to be properly facilitated by the big boat-oriented sailing programmes of the large established yacht clubs, DBSC quickly evolved into an interactive force for the greater good of all yacht racing in the Bay, co-ordinating all the racing in and out of Dun Laoghaire harbour, and influencing the development of yacht design through the commissioning of classes such as the Dublin Bay 25s of 1898, the Dublin Bay 21s of 1902, the Dublin Bay Mermaids of 1932, and the Dublin Bay 24s of 1938.

Then as yacht building first became a matter of series construction in wood, followed by mass assembly in glassfibre, DBSC's influence continued, as its official recognition of a new one design - once it had achieved sufficient boat numbers - became fundamental to the new design's growing acceptance and continuing success in racing in the bay.

Over the years, the club has also refined its provision of racing and handicapping for very diverse cruiser classes, such that in Dublin Bay, boats of a very markedly cruiser type, which would be most unlikely to be raced at all in other sailing centres, are regularly raced in the annual programme which also features out-and-out racing machines. The club's long-established Thursday evening cruiser-racing fixture in particular is a remarkable sporting-sociological happening, as nearly two thousand South Dubliners regularly go straight from their work for hotly-contested evening racing afloat which is then followed by sailing suppers at whichever of the four waterfront clubs their boat is affiliated to.

Standing aside from all this, Dublin Bay SC thrives because of its continuing existence as a totally separate club, albeit without a clubhouse. It has a membership of 1300, and registers 400 boats. There's an elected officer board supported by a large core group of voluntary sailing administrators who record, keep and analyse the results. Highly experienced voluntary officials man the two committee boats to organise races over courses which have been developed and refined over the years to maximize the quality of the sport, and they also man the cub's only premises – a race staff hut for shore finishes at the West Pier.

Current DBSC Commodore Pat Shannon – who races in one of Dublin Bay's growing newer OD classes, the First 211 – hosted this lively gathering in the NYC last night. It was emceed by noted Dun Laoghaire waterfront personality Brian Mathews, and a succession of speakers spoke briefly but passionately of what the club means to them and their sailing, and of the enormous voluntary effort which is central to the ethos of DBSC.

Particular praise was reserved for long-serving DBSC Honorary Secretary Donal O'Sullivan, and for active sailing enthusiast and longterm race officer Hal Bleakley, who retired from very many years of RO duties on Saturday after officiating at his last race. One of the club's most distinguished sailors, Tim Goodbody, who in addition to local, national and international sailing success, has also been one of the leading developers of the most effective courses on the bay, received a special award as the person who most completely typifies the Dublin Bay SC spirit. And former Race Officer Colin McMullen – who also led the club in development of computer use in organizing yacht races – brought the house down with a Gilbert & Sullivan-inspired song about the lot of the race officer afloat and ashore.

Guest speaker W M Nixon of Afloat.ie concluded the evening by pointing out that not only is DBSC probably unique in sailing worldwide, but it is a remarkable example to other sailing centres. He continued that if it had been necessary to meet the work demands and challenges of this very special totally voluntary organization from scratch in order to meet the needs of the rapidly growing numbers sailing in Dun Laoghaire during recent decades, then it would have required an expensive feasibility study funded by the Sports Council in Ireland and the EU in Brussels, followed by lengthy consultation with research units in prestigious establishments such as the Harvard Business School. The result would inevitably have been a very expensive professionally-manned secretariat in an equally expensive suite of offices. But instead, Dublin Bay sailors were in the happy position of having a highly professional race service provided entirely by skilled volunteers of the highest calibre, and the spirit of the club is a wonder to behold.

Read WM Nixon's Blog on DBSC here

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Jedi (A Sarratt), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Jedi (A Sarratt), 2. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 3. Ruth (L Shanahan)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 2. Quest (J Skerritt), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

DRAGON Race 1- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Phantom (D.Williams), 3. Whisper (C Hogan)

DRAGON Race 2- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin), 3. Phantom (D.Williams)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 3. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

GLEN - 1. Glenshane (P Hogan), 2. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 3. Glenariff (Adrian Lee)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

PY CLASS Race 1- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser)

PY CLASS Race 2- 1. David Dwyer (Laser), 2. Richard Tate (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 2. Paramour (Larry Power et al), 3. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Invader (Gerard Glynn), 3. Euphanzel lll (M Muldoon)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 3. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire)

SQUIB - 1. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Glassilaun (D O'Neill), 3. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 3. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 3. Gringo (Tony Fox)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Antix (D Ryan)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Utopia (J Healy)

CRUISERS 3 Echo - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Saki (McCormack/Ryan/Ryan), 3. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

DRAGON Race 1- 1. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 2. Phantom (D.Williams), 3. Whisper (C Hogan)

DRAGON Race 2- 1. Whisper (C Hogan), 2. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al), 3. Zu (M Minch/C Grimley/T Pearson)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Ash (Joseph Coughlan)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Fflogger (Alan Dooley), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Ash (Joseph Coughlan)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan), 3. Glencree (J.Bligh/H.Roche)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Squalls (Stephen Harrison), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

MERMAID Race 1- 1. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 2. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

MERMAID Race 2- 1. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 2. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 3. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. Curraglas (John Masterson), 3. Viking (Brian Glynn et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 3. Springer (I Bowring)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson), 3. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Nirvana (Bernard Neeson), 2. Afternoon Delight (Michael Bennett et al), 3. Sweet Martini (Bruce Carswell)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 3. Warrior (D Shanahan)

#sb20 – 11 SB20s battled it out for honours in the final Sunday Series on Dublin Bay in a shifty force 3 easterly breeze yesterday.

After 4 races in series 3, Manamana (Graham, Ronan and Katie) were tied with Should Be... (Michael, Dave and Kieran) on four points after both boats carded 1,1,2,2 score lines last weekend. However, with four more races scheduled and a second discard due to kick in, there was plenty of opportunity for the chasing pack to make up lost ground. In true SB class style, this series was going to go down to the wire...

Race 1 got off to a clean start from a pin end biased line. Odin (James, Ted and Keith) bravely tried to port tack the fleet but Rubadubdub (Nick, Conor and Rob) were bossing the pin and forced them to tack over onto starboard. Odin managed to squeeze them off and led half the fleet, including Should Be... out to the left while the other half of the fleet, including Manamana, headed out to the right. As the boats progressed up the beat, the wind started shifting to the left and the boats on the left side of the course led into the weather mark. Should Be... led around followed a few boatlengths behind by a closely knit bunch including Odin, Alert Packaging (Justin, Bob and Anonymous) and Rubadubdub. Series joint leader Manamana were unlucky in that they were caught on the wrong side of the shift up the beat and rounded deep in the pack with plenty of work to do.

The boats soaked down the run and at the leeward gate both Should Be... and Alert Packaging opted for the right hand gate. Odin broke off from the leaders and headed out to the right hand side of the course but was quickly followed by both Should Be... and Alert Packaging. Also in close pursuit was Venuesworld.com (Ger, Chris and Rory) and Manamana who had made a great recovery and were charging up the fleet. With the wind shifting around through 20 degrees, the boats gained and lost on each other as they battled up the second beat and at the weather mark it was Should Be... by the narrowest of margins from Alert Packaging. After an incident at the wing mark, Alert Packaging had to do a 360 degree penalty turn which allowed Odin to get back into second place and they would hold that position to the finish. At the finish it was Should Be... in first followed by Odin in second, Alert Packaging in third, Venuesworld in fourth and Manamana in fifth.

Race 2 saw a reversal of fortunes for the early series leaders when Manamana got off to a great start and led the fleet to the first weather mark while Should Be... found themselves buried behind a wall of sails with a lot of work to do to catch up. Again, the left side of the beat seemed to pay and at the weather mark, Venuesworld held a narrow lead over Bad (Jerry, Jimmy et al), Manamana, Alert Packaging, Odin and Rubadubdub ahead of Should Be... in seventh.

As the boats made their way around the course, Manamana skilfully held on to their lead but there were plenty of place changes behind them with Should Be... sneaking up to second by the leeward mark. At the next weather mark, Manamana bravely gybed off shortly after rounding the weather mark leaving Alert Packaging and Should Be... a few boatlengths behind to continue on to the right down the run. The move paid off handsomely with Manamana pulling out a sizeable lead over their nearest challengers. In the end it was Manamana by a comfortable margin from Alert Packaging in second, Should Be... in third, Venuesworld in fourth, Odin in fifth and Rubadubdub in sixth. At this stage, it was all tied at the top for the series lead with Manamana and Should Be... each counting seven points with Should Be with a marginally better discard.

Race 3 saw an individual recall at the start with Probably (Ian, Mark and Billy) recalled while the rest of the fleet made their way towards the weather mark in a wind that was gradually beginning to die. Venuesworld once again showed the fleet a clean pair of heels and led at the weather mark from Alert Packaging with Bad in third followed closely by Should Be..., and Odin. Down the run, Venuesworld extended their lead to a clear margin but Alert Packaging were chasing hard, shadowing their every move. There were plenty of place changes up the next beat as the competitors struggled with the oscillating breeze.

By the top of the second beat, Should Be... had snuck into second place behind Venuesworld with Odin in third, Alert Packaging in fourth and Manamana making another storming charge up into fifth place and chasing hard. Despite some very close quarters manoeuvres and near misses, the places remained that way until the finish with Venuesworld in first, Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third and Odin in fourth a single second ahead of Manamana!

So, with one race to go in series 3, Manamana needed to win the race in order to win the series. Nothing else would do but a win would guarantee them the series. For their part, Should Be... just needed to make sure Manamana didn't win, relying on their slightly better discard to get them over the line.

Race 4 saw another hotly contested start and first away was Venuesworld with Alert Packaging once again in hot pursuit. Manamana experienced some traffic at the start and quickly tacked off to the right side of the course joining Odin out right. Should Be... we're anxious to get over and cover Manamana but were blocked from tacking by Probably on their weather hip and near astern. After a number of boatlengths, Should Be... managed to tack over to cover but Manamana now had some decent separation out on the right hand side of the course. It would now all depend on the wind shifts for these two boats while around them the rest of the fleet were getting on with trying to win the race. As the boats approached the starboard lay line, Manamana, to leeward of Should Be... tacked onto starboard first. This time, the wind gods smiled on Should Be... and a left hand shift meant that they were able to cross 3-4 boatlengths ahead of Manamana and tack ahead and to weather doing maximum damage with their wind shadow.

Up ahead, Alert Packaging rounded the weather mark in first followed closely by Venuesworld in second, Probably in third, Odin in fourth and Rubadubdub in fifth. Should Be rounded in sixth just ahead of Seriously Bonkers (Peter, Michael et al) with Manamana further back still. The wind was gradually dying further and the boats struggled down the run. At the leeward mark, Alert Packaging still held the lead from Venuesworld with Odin in third place ahead of Rubadubdub in fourth. Despite their best intentions to keep Manamana at the back of the fleet, both Should Be... and Manamana made gains down the run and Should Be... rounded in fifth inside Manamana at the leeward mark.

The race leaders chose the right side of the final beat while astern the series leaders had a tacking duel with Should Be... frantically trying to keep ahead of Manamana. Their tacking duel inadvertently took these two boats out to the left side of the course to the port tack lay line. Up ahead, the wind died further out on the right side of the course and Manamana and Should Be... came storming in from the left giving the leaders a fright. Venuesworld and Should Be... managed to sneak ahead of early pace setter Alert Packaging at the end of the beat. At the finish it was Venuesworld in first just ahead of Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third, Manamana in fourth and Odin in fifth. Overall, Should Be... pipped Manamana for the series by two points.

Finally, as we have reached the end of the DBSC season, it is important to express our deep gratitude to all the volunteers that have helped to make the season such a successful one. In particular, Barry O'Neill has been our (almost) ever-present OOD and his organisation, professionalism and commitment have been the cornerstone to the great racing that we have enjoyed all season long. Con Murphy kindly took over the reigns in Barry's rare absence and did a superb job in very difficult conditions earlier in the season. Barry has been ably assisted on Sundays by an equally committed and great team on the committee boat including Fionnuala Loughrey, Cathy Booth, Barbara Conway, Michael Keogh, Ger Bythell, Dave Barry, Bob Allen, Jim C, Owen Laverty, Owen McNally, Steve Beresford, Jerry Dowling and other guests that have made the racing possible and so enjoyable. Many thanks to you all for your very valued contribution. Last, but by no means least, an honourable mention must go to Joanne Sheehan from DBSC and her excellent team of James Tate, Herbie Fowler, Ciaran Nolan, Conor Lynch, Maurice Johnson, James Traynor. They never let us down and were most obliging and helpful throughout the entire season. We are most grateful to them for their help this year and sincerely appreciate their efforts on our behalf.

Look forward to seeing you all in Lough Ree at the end of this month (27/28 September) for the midlands – Michael O'Connor

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 ECHO - 1. Magic (D.Espey), 2. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Prospect (Chris Johnston), 2. Magic (D.Espey), 3. Prima Nocte (Patrick Burke et al)

CRUISERS 0 ECHO - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 ECHO - 1. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan), 2. Jump The Gun (M.Monaghan/J.Kelly), 3. Jedi (A Sarratt)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 2. Boomerang (Paul Kirwan), 3. Bon Exemple (C Byrne)

CRUISERS 2 ECHO - 1. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 3. Borraine (Ean Pugh)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson), 2. Jawesome 111 (M Dyke & B Darcy), 3. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power)

CRUISERS 3 ECHO - 1. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Pamafe (M Costello)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 2. Cri-Cri (P Colton), 3. Asterix (Boushel/Meredith/Counihan)

DRAGON Race 1 - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 3. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin)

DRAGON Race 2 - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Diva (R.Johnson/R.Goodbody), 3. Sir Ossis of the River (D Bergin)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1 - 1. Betty (D & S Gorman), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. Out of the Blue (F.Mitchell/G Grier)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. Out of the Blue (F.Mitchell/G Grier), 2. Betty (D & S Gorman), 3. Perfect Ten (A Balfe)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1 - 1. Chaos (Pam McKay), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2 - 1. Chaos (Pam McKay), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

MERMAID Race 1 - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan), 3. Tijuana (David Stedmond)

MERMAID Race 2 - 1. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan), 2. Aideen (B.Martin/D.Brennan)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ripples (Frank Bradley), 2. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 3. Cresendo (L Balfe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Poppy (Peter Wallis et al), 3. Whiterock (Henry Robinson)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 3. Moonshine (R.Moloney)

SQUIB Race 1 - 1. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup), 2. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

SQUIB Race 2 - 1. Sidewinder (R.Bowen/R Westrup), 2. Tais (Michael O'Connell), 3. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Just Jasmin (Philip Smith)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Warrior (D Shanahan), 2. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

#D-Zero – First there was the RS Aero to visit Ireland and now there's the D-Zero. It's another single-handed dinghy markque making its debut on Dublin Bay later this month when two of the Devoti made singlehander dinghies are launched on Irish waters and made available for demonstration sails.

The D-Zero is based on the Punk dinghy, the unique concept designed by Dan Holman. The D-Zero is a single handed performance dinghy, fully fitted by Harken, with a two piece carbon mast and an 8.1m2 sail, raised by a halyard, and a carbon boom. The hull is 4.2m long overall with a beam of 1.42m.

The Punk has already enjoyed considerable success on the UK dinghy racing circuit. Helmed by Dan himself, on PY 1050, the Punk has made a memorable impression at some of the UK's best known handicap events. Aimed at helms from beginner to expert, the D-Zero can be car topped or carried on industry standard compatible road trailers.

The Irish visit is being organised by DBSC dinghy sailors.

Eight SB20s were treated to glorious sunshine and great racing on Dublin Bay yesterday in a shifty force 2-3 north-easterly.

In a departure from the regular format of three WL races per day, the organisers had decided to run four races for the last two Sundays of series three. By doing so, the fleet would hopefully be able to make up two of the three races lost due to a cancellation earlier in the season and have an eight race, two discard series to finish off the season.

Race 1 saw an individual recall with Venuesworld (Ger, Chris and Rory et al) and Should Be... (Michael, Dave and Gavan) over the line early and having to go back and restart. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet raced up the first beat with Manamana (Graham, Ronan et al) and Alert Packaging (Justin, Bob et al) leading the charge out to the left side of the course while Seriously Bonkers (Peter, Michael et al) and Smoke on the Water (Bob et al) led the charge out to the right side of the course. As the boats converged at the weather mark, Alert Packaging and Manamana had managed to eke out a small lead and they were followed closely by Should Be..., Venuesworld and Smoke on the Water.

In the light breeze, the boats were in soak mode which meant greater opportunity to cause havoc with your wind shadow on the boats ahead and the fleet stayed closely bunched together down the run with several place changes occurring. At the leeward gate, the fleet favoured the port hand leeward mark and Manamana rounded first followed by Should Be... and Venuesworld. The fleet played the shifts up the second beat and down the second run and Should Be... managed to close the gap on leaders Manamana to just a couple of boatlengths at the second leeward mark. With only a short beat to go to the finish, Should Be... attempted to engage Manamana in a tacking duel up the last beat. Should Be... tacked onto starboard a couple of boatlengths after rounding the leeward gate and they were quickly covered by Manamana, only for Should Be... to tack back onto port a few boatlengths later. Manamana crossed and tacked back onto port in a very close cover however Should Be... flicked back onto starboard immediately as Manamana were completing their tack. Cleverly refusing to be drawn in, Manamana continued on port and picked up speed before tacking back onto starboard into a loose cover on Should Be... the boats were now both on starboard tack in a sprint to the finish with Should Be... to leeward but closer to the favoured pin end. At the finish, Manamana held on to win by 1/2 boatlength and both crews collapsed into their boats in an emotional heap! Venuesworld finished in third ahead of Smoke on the Water who had a storming race to finish in 4th ahead of Seriously Bonkers in a very creditable 5th place.

Race 2 also saw an individual recall with Rubadubdub (Nick, Caroline et al) the unlucky culprit this time. Unfortunately for them, they were stuck in the middle of a fleet charging to windward with no way to get back quickly other than to let their sails flap and let the fleet sail by around them before making their way back to restart. Odin (James, Ted et al) made a great start at the committee boat while the rest of the fleet were spread out down along a relatively square line. The majority of the fleet drag raced out to the left side of the course with Venuesworld, Manamana and Should Be... leading the charge out left. Venuesworld were the first to tack back towards the right followed shortly afterwards by Manamana and Should Be... A left hand shift coming up towards the weather mark gave Should Be... a lead over Manamana and Venuesworld. Again, the fleet stayed tightly bunched down the run and up the following beat but there were less place changes amongst the leaders this time around and it finished Should Be... in first followed by Manamana in second, Venuesworld in third, Alert Packaging in fourth and Odin in fifth.

Race 3 saw the (whole!) fleet get away at the first time of asking in a lighter breeze. This time, many of the boats attempted to play the shifts up the beat as the wind was shifting regularly through 20 degrees. Alert Packaging, Manamana and Venuesworld had favoured the left side of the course while others including Should Be... went up the middle-right side of the course. When the boats converged at the top of the beat, it was very even and Alert Packaging crossed the fleet on port tack including Should Be... by no more than 12 inches! At the weather mark, Alert Packaging rounded in first followed close behind by Odin, Should Be..., Manamana and then Venuesworld. Alert Packaging gybed off early into a rich vein of pressure and held their lead down the run followed closely out left by Odin and Manamana while Venuesworld and Should Be... continued out right down the run.

As the boats came towards the leeward gate, the wind shifted towards the right, favouring Venuesworld and Should Be... who were coming in hotter than the boats that had gone left down the run. Venuesworld was the biggest mover and had made great gains down the run, getting up from fifth at the weather mark into a very close second a couple of feet behind Alert Packaging as the boats approached the leeward gate. There was plenty of action at the leeward gate as Venuesworld attempted to get a late overlap inside Alert Packaging but Justin Burke on Alert Packaging has been around too long to let that happen and expertly shut the door on Venuesworld. Venuesworld, having taken evasive manoeuvres to avoid Alert Packaging, rounded inside but slower than Should Be... who was able to sail around the outside of Venuesworld and up into second place. Up the second beat, Venuesworld, Should Be... and Alert Packaging all tacked off onto the lifted starboard tack. When the expected header came, Should Be... were a little further left than their closest competitors and they were able to tack and cross Alert Packaging to take the lead. Should Be... held onto that lead all the way to the finish. Behind them, Manamana recovered after the run to round the second weather mark in third place, sandwiched between Odin and Alert Packaging. Manamana managed to squeeze their way ahead of Odin down the run picking a very nice line to gybe in to the leeward mark and finished second while Alert Packaging also managed to get by Odin to finish third, one ahead of Odin in fourth with Venuesworld rounding off the top five, having surrendered their previous gains.

Race 4 started with another clear start with the fleet spread out along the line. The majority of the fleet once again favoured the left hand side of the course up the beat with Venuesworld, Manamana and Should Be... leading the fleet out to the left side of the course. Venuesworld was the first of that bunch to head back towards the middle with Manamana and Should Be... continuing on to close to the port tack layline. Alert Packaging, having been forced to tack onto port shortly after the start, made a great recovery up the first beat and came right back into the thick of things as the boat approached the weather mark. Alert Packaging crossed Manamana and tacked to weather of Manamana just before Should Be... could duck them. However a slow tack on Alert Packaging allowed both Should Be... and Manamana to get bow out and squeeze Alert Packaging out before the mark. Manamana expertly went into point mode and squeezed Should Be... out before the windward mark. Rounding in first was Manamana, followed by Should Be... in second, Alert Packaging in third, Venuesworld in fourth and Odin in fifth at a very tightly bunched fleet at the weather mark (see photo attached). Down the run, Venuesworld were the first to gybe onto port followed by Manamana and Alert Packaging. Should Be... stayed on a bit longer and gybed outside and to the right of the other boats on the way down the run.

At the leeward gate, Should Be... had snuck into the lead from Manamana and rounded the right hand gate as Manamana took the left gate a couple of boathlengths later. Alert Packaging and Venuesworld followed Should Be... around the right hand gate with others including Seriously Bonkers and Rubadubdub choosing the left hand gate. Shortly after rounding the leeward gate, the wind gradually began to veer from the previous high heading on starboard tack of 20 degrees up to 50 degrees, leaving those boats that had rounded the right hand gate in a spot of (ahem) trouble. Manamana regained the lead and extended on the fleet while the rest of the boats were embroiled in a dog fight behind. The boats that had taken the left hand gate made large gains while the boats that had chosen the right hand gate continued on and prayed for a left shift. The left shift (taking the wind back to a heading of 30 degrees - still a big 10 degree lift relative the days previously high heading) arrived just in time close to the end of the beat allowing those boats out left to stay in the running. At the weather mark, Manamana led by 8 boatlengths from Rubadubdub in second overlapped to weather by Should Be... in third. A kite snag on Rubadubdub at the weather mark allowed Should Be... and Seriously Bonkers to sneak past them down the run and it finished Manamana in first, Should Be... in second, Seriously Bonkers in third, Rubadubdub in fourth and Alert Packaging in fifth.

Class Notices:

Next weekend (14th September 2014) sees the final SB Sunday of the season with four more races to look forward to. I would strongly encourage you all to get out there and make it a send off to remember.

We are short one pair of hands for the committee boat next Sunday and would be grateful for a volunteer. If anyone needs any encouragement all I will say is that this weekends team are all in work this morning sporting a healthy tanned glow after the sunshine yesterday and the initial forecast is for more of the same next weekend. If you are able to help out, please get in contact with me directly.

I look forward to seeing you all next weekend for SB Sunday No. 10 and four more great races – Michael O'Connor

#dbsc –The MGM boats sponsored DBSC Cruiser Challenge was held in some of the best condititons of the entire summer sailing season. Cruiser classes Zero, one, two and three were joined by Sigma 33s, Beneteau 31.7s and White Sail fleets to produce a stunning season finale at the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire yesterday.  There were eight protests heard. Full results class by class are downloadable below as word docs. (subject to protest).

#dbsc – DRAGON - 1. Phantom (D.Williams), 2. Zinzan (Daniel O'Connor et al), 3. Zu (M Minch/C Grimley/T Pearson)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Flyer (Niall Coleman), 3. FFantastic (N Meagher & N Matthews)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. FFantastic (N Meagher & N Matthews), 3. The Last Resort (John O'Sullivan)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 3. Glenroan (T O'Sullivan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Spray (C & O Corrigan)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Spray (C & O Corrigan), 3. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown), 2. Paramour (Larry Power et al), 3. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe)

SHIPMAN - 1. Curraglas (John Masterson), 2. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 3. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles)

SQUIB Race 1- 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 3. Pintail (M Muldoon)

SQUIB Race 2- 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Buzz Lite (G.O'Connor), 3. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)