fireball – An encouraging turnout of 21 boats made the second regatta of the Irish Fireball Regatta circuit, the Open Championship, at Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club writes Cormac Bradley. Dublin Bay had been bereft of any significant wind on Friday for the first day of the ICRA Championships, but the wind forecast for today was slightly better. However, driving from Dun Laoghaire to the opposite side of Dublin Bay, there was no real sign that we were in for a better day wind-wise.

This lack of wind prompted the Race Officer, Ian Sergeant to advise the fleet that he might contemplate keeping the races inside the harbour. He was true to his word, for even though we got three races in, the wind was light and very variable. Ian did a great job of responding to the vagaries of the wind, by moving and tweaking the course set up to keep things as fair as possible. Mother Nature didn't always recognise his efforts for while he put the weather mark in the right place, during the races the wind would shift – significantly so in the second race when the second beat of the windward-leeward course became a two sail fetch.
Despite the "flexibility" of the wind, many of the names at the top of the page will be instantly recognised by readers of these Fireball Class reports.
Kenny Rumball & Brian Byrne (15058) may have got off to a slow start with a fourth, but they made amends by winning the second and third races to sit atop the "log" with a five point cushion. It was the sort of day when staying out of trouble and knowing how to keep the boat moving were the keys to success – Kenny & Brian shown those skills in spades – though they, like others, must have had some luck as well.
Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella (15114) were slightly off the pace, by their standards, but showed progressive improvement by posting a 4, 3, 2 over the three races. A new boat beckons, but for the moment they are getting their current boat to go very nicely – admittedly with the sails of their new steed!
Team Clancy, brothers James and Conor (14807) started the day's proceedings with a very comfortable start to finish win. They worked the middle and right of the first beat and seemed to have that edge of speed to sail away from the chasing pack. They stayed on the same side of the course for the downwind leg.
When the wind goes light, the door opens to a number of additional combinations and there were lots of people who had at least one good race today. Michael & James Murphy (14908), a father and son combination scored a fourth in the difficult middle race. Alan Henry & Simon Revill (14645) also had their "moment in the spotlight" with a fifth place in the third race. Neil Colin and Margaret Casey led the last race at the leeward mark and were overtaken on the second beat, but still recorded a 4th place. This allowed them to occupy 5th place overnight.
However, the best performance outside the "usual suspects" was that of Niall McGrotty & Neil Cramer (14938) who scored a 3, 2, 7 to occupy 4th place overall overnight.
It doesn't happen very often, in fact it is a rare occurrence, but today was a relative shocker for perennial pace-setters Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061). A very uncharacteristic 5, 5, 12 sees them down in 6th place overall. The 12th place represents a "get out of gaol" opportunity because at a late stage of what became the last downwind leg, there was a prospect of a much larger number of their score sheet.
Neil Colin and Margaret Casey lead the Classic Fireball Division.

#Fireball - High performance helm Ned Goss has been rated the fastest dinghy sailor in the world, according to Sailing Anarchy.

The South Carolina-based Fireball racer was reportedly recorded by his Velocitek meter at hitting a peak speed of 36.5 knots off the coast of Charleston in a sea breeze typical for the area.

That incredible number, achieved in what Goss says was a virtually unmodified Mach 2, smashes the previous record of 32.4 knots set by Chris Rast by more than four knots.

But Goss believes he can go further, with mods to the vessel and optimum currents meaning "40 knots is just around the corner".

Sailing Anarchy has more on the story HERE.

#fireball – The Irish Fireball fleet had a "soggy session" on the water last night, Tuesday 3rd June, with rain dominating the pre-race period and early part of the race and a fading breeze the feature of the race itself.
Despite the grey skies, there was a healthy presence of Fireballs on the start line – 7 boats. Again the weather data was at odds with what was on the water with a forecast of SW, a record of SSE from the harbour weather website and an actual wind on the water that started at 255˚ and then swung westwards.
A four lap windward leeward was set for the Fireballs who had first start. Initially the weather mark also had a spreader mark but that had gone AWOL by the second rounding. With an ebb tide that was nearly three hours old at the race start the question of which way to avoid the foul tide en route to the weather mark, tucked under the lee of the east pier, was the uppermost thought in the seven boats.
Six of the seven boats decided to go inshore initially, the exceptions being Louise McKenna & Joe O'Reilly (14691) who tacked at the committee boat end of the line and sailed westwards initially on port tack. The rest of the fleet were distributed along the line and headed inshore on starboard tack. Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly (14713) were at the pin which turned out to be the place not to be, Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) were at the committee boat end, which was the place to be and they led the fleet around the first weather mark. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) were the next boat down the line from Butler and they too looked in good shape as they rounded the weather mark in second place. Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007) looked to be in a bit of trouble but benefitted when Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854) had to "duck" McKenna on starboard tack. This caused them to drop to leeward of Smyth. McKenna's decision to go right paid off as she rounded the weather mark third followed closely by Smyth. Miller and Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire (14865) rounded behind Power.
A shift in the wind direction and better breeze meant that those who were on the left hand side of the run were in a better position to gain from the switch. Having said that, Colin & Casey who had gone low were still in good shape at the rounding of the leeward mark! With the limit mark of the starting line still in position, the embargo on crossing the start/finish line during the race meant that this was now an obstacle on the course. Those who went high and left were able to power reach down to the committee boat and bear off towards the leeward mark. Butler, McKenna, Smyth, Power, Miller and Chambers took this route – Colin was the exception going to the opposite end of the start/finish line obstruction.
On the second beat the start line was still "at large" and (at least) one boat passed between committee boat and pin. Butler and McKenna tacked to avoid it and Smyth went outside the pin. Having rounded behind McKenna at the leeward mark, Smyth overtook her en route to the 2nd weather mark to slot into 3rd place behind Butler and Colin. These three boats retained their positions down the 2nd off-wind leg, but at the leeward mark Colin tacked immediately while both Butler and Smyth took a hitch to the west (or RHS) of the beat. At this stage the wind was starting to ease and swing slightly further westwards – not enough to make it a fetch to the weather mark but enough to allow a modest easing of sheets which had the added benefit of allowing progress to be maintained over what was a slightly lumpy sea. Colin's immediate tack didn't pay off and Smyth was able to sail over the top of him, albeit from a position of probably sixty metres upwind. Smyth also closed significantly on Butler, but on the third rounding of the weather mark – sans spreader mark – Butler & Oram got distance again. Colin lost further places to McKenna & O'Reilly and Power & Barry and found himself in the company of Miller & Donnelly at the weather mark. Going down the off-wind leg, Butler and Smyth were "comfortable" but Power and McKenna were keeping very close quarters in the overall context of the race.
A shortened course was signalled at the 3rd leeward mark and again Smyth seemed to close the gap on the water to Butler but it must have been an optical illusion because Butler's winning margin time-wise was over 1½ minutes.
McKenna rounded the leeward mark ahead of Power and appeared to be applying the appropriate cover to her close rival, but as the pair approached the finish line, it became increasingly apparent that Power had sailed out from "underneath" McKenna in the quest to get to the finish line next. And so it proved for although she appeared to be to leeward of McKenna, Power had enough speed (and it appears distance) to tack below her rival, cross her and claim third place on the night.
DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 1, Tuesday 3rd June.
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb.
3 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC

Due to the fading breeze and a tide that was still ebbing, most of the Fireball fleet were towed home. Noel & Stephen's reward for winning by such a comfortable margin is that they got to sail most of the way home – at least to the harbour mouth!
In overall terms Noel Butler and Stephen Oram (5pts) are very comfortably ahead of the chasing pack, but only 3 points cover the next three boats – Cariosa Power and Marie Barry (13pts), Neil Colin and Margaret Casey (15pts) and Louis Smyth and Cormac Bradley (16pts).
In 10 days' time the Fireball fleet will convene in Clontarf for the Open Championships and Classic Fireball Regatta, 14/15th June with a six race programme. Fireballers resident in Ireland who read this report are encouraged to make a serious effort to get to this event which has been planned to coincide with other festivities in Clontarf over that weekend – the 1,000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf. Of course readers from further afield are also most welcome!

#fireball – Here's a genuine offer to use a race-ready, competitive Fireball at an upcoming regatta on Dublin Bay. Applications are invited to sail a modern Wide Bow Winder Fireball, race ready and properly maintained in the upcoming Open and Classic Fireball Regatta at Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club over the weekend of 14/15th June 2014 - 2½ weeks away. This is a genuine opportunity to sample Fireball racing in a competitive boat which is insured for racing. Minimal conditions attached!

This is a bona-fide promotion of the Fireball Class due to the generous donation of the boat for the weekend by a high profile member of the Class.
The class is looking for;
a) A written submission setting out your dinghy sailing/racing experience.
b) Any evidence of Fireball sailing experience (not compulsory).
c) A combination of two people (helm and crew) who will sail the boat together, (No substitutions will be allowed.) on both days of the regatta – 6-race schedule.
d) Evidence of your interest in sailing/racing a Fireball.

You will be required to join the Fireball Class - €20 for both of you and pay the entry fee to the regatta.

Deadline for applications is 3pm, Tuesday 4th June 2014, so that a decision can be made after Tuesday night racing on the same evening. Applications should be directed to [email protected]

#fireball – Last night's dinghy racing in Scotsman's Bay was the first "genteel" session since the DBSC season opened on 29th April. The forecast was for 4-6 knots of Easterly at 19:00 (XCWeather) but on the water the wind was coming out of the South-East, though the strength was probably about right. Some evening sunshine added to the ambience of the evening.
The Fireball race itself was a combination of the board games Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders, except in the latter case we were playing blind!
The "Monopoly" reference describes the start to finish domination of the lead by Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) who simply sailed away from the rest of us, picking up a proverbial €200 at each rounding mark to stretch their lead further and winning by a margin of over two minutes. As the defending Tuesday night champions, they are showing every sign of retaining their title because for the present they are almost untouchable!
Another "monopoly" reference is that of the straight line speed of the all-lady combinations of Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire (14865) and even more significantly Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854) who simply sailed into the upper echelons of the pecking order of six boats.
The "blind snakes and ladders"? With a tide that was flooding for 2 hours by the race start of 19:00 and a light wind scenario, logic would appear to suggest that getting out of the tide would be the thing to do. Six boats thus took an early port tack hitch off the start line to head for shore, with the weather mark of the 3-lap triangular course off the rocks at the 40-foot. The furthest boat to sea was the aforementioned Chambers & McGuire, who one would have thought, were fighting a stronger element of tide as the fleet converged on the first weather mark on starboard tack. Not at all, they rounded in second place, even being lifted around the mark. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) rounded third followed by Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007), Power & Barry (14854) and Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691).
With Butler & Oram gone, the remaining five boats were set for their own race with not a great deal of distance separating 2nd from 6th. At the gybe mark Smyth & Bradley had a faster gybe to leave them upwind and overlapped with Chambers & McGuire, but Power & Barry were closer than they had been.
On the 2nd beat, first Chambers & McGuire, then Power & Barry simply sailed faster in a straight line than Smyth & Bradley who thus dropped to fifth and were fighting to keep McKenna & O'Keeffe at bay! Coin & Casey tacked out into the tide but managed to stay ahead to the 2nd weather mark. Seeing no ill effects from that tactic, Chambers & McGuire followed suit and opened up distance on Smyth & Bradley who had taken the inshore option. Meanwhile Power & Barry did their own thing to close on Colin & Casey and round third at the 2nd weather mark.
To compound the sense of blind snakes and ladders, going inshore on the downwind leg didn't appear to cost the two proponents of this tactic any distance – McKenna and Smyth still struggling to close on Power and Colin who rounded the 2nd leeward mark bow to transom.
On the third beat, McKenna went further out to sea than the others, but unlike the 2nd beat it didn't bring any rewards and by the top mark her opportunity to pass Smyth seemed to have gone. In the meantime, Power had overtaken Colin who was taking short hitches to sea – just to confuse the rest of us he would later claim – and Chambers closed the gap on Colin. At this stage, final weather mark, Butler & Oram were ⅔ of the first spinnaker reach ahead of the 2nd placed boat, Power & Barry, who were followed at a fairly safe distance (for them) by Colin & Casey and Chambers & McGuire. Smyth & Bradley closed the gap down the two reaches but spent the 2nd reach of the triangle looking over their shoulders at McKenna & O'Keeffe who were travelling faster.
The short hitch to the finish should have been academic but the different approaches taken to this 150m stretch meant that finishing margins came down to one or two boat-lengths (with the exception of the first placed boat – who were long gone!) and prompted some cover tacking in the final approach to the finish line!
DBSC Tuesday Nights, Series 1: May 27th (Race 5)
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC

In overall terms, Butler & Oram lead with a six point cushion over Power & Barry and Colin & Casey who are tied on 10 points each.
On the previous Saturday, three Fireballs contested the Royal Irish Yacht Club Regatta, with Smyth & Bradley taking the event with two race wins. Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe and Frank Miller & Ismail Inan shared the second and third places to tie on 5pts. However, Ismail would have enjoyed the Sunday of his weekend when he attended the Ireland – Turkey soccer game at Aviva - that result went his way!!

#fireball – Six Fireballs came under starter's orders for the Tuesday Night Series last night, under the burgee of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club writes Cormac Bradley. They encountered a different weather scenario than was predicted. The website providing weather details for Dun Laoghaire Harbour was suggesting that winds of 10 knots were the order of the evening with gusts up to 15.7, from a southerly direction (171˚), in a temperature of 13˚. XCWeather was offering a forecast at 19:00 of SSE 11 knots, with gusts of 17 knots and an air temperature of 14˚.
This correspondent was sitting shore-side again, courtesy of a broken mast from the previous Saturday, and from my perspective the temperature was nothing like the 13 - 14˚ that was being suggested. At the post-mortem in the DMYC afterwards, contestants said there was quite a bit of wind on the course together with a rather confused sea.
Making their 2014 debut were Dave Coleman and Glenn Fisher (14740) who made a late arrival at the start area where the Race Committee had set a 3-lap Windward- Leeward course, with a spreader mark at the top of the course and the weather mark located off the rocks at the 40-foot bathing spot. The other participants were the "usual suspects" – Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061), Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly (14713), Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691).
Dave & Glenn were too early for the start signal at the pin end of the line which left that position to the devices of Butler and Colin respectively. The balance of the fleet was distributed along the line and the fleet all headed out to sea to avail of the ebbing tide. In truth, the race was won in this initial phase of the "half-beat" between the start line and the weather mark, because when Noel & Stephen made the first tack to go inshore towards the weather mark they had a comfortable distance between themselves and the chasing pack.
The rounding sequence thereafter was Miller & O'Reilly, Colin & Casey, Louise & Hermine, Dave & Glenn and Cariosa & Marie. Initially the fleet stayed on the RHS of the run to the leeward mark before Butler & Oram gybed inshore and then gybed back again to leave them sailing a parallel course to their pursuers but on an inshore line. This double gybe tactic seemed to allow Miller & O'Reilly to close the gap in terms of straight line distance. McKenna actually took the most inshore route to the leeward mark.
From a place changing perspective there is little more to be reported on – the fleet followed a simple and similar approach to the beats – sail the leeward half of the beat inshore before taking a tack out to sea and tailor-making their approach to the windward mark.
However, a partial systems failure for Miller & O'Reilly – a slipping main halyard – rendered the profile of their main to a partially reefed main and allowed Colin & Casey to pass them on the final run to secure second position on the night.

DBSC Tuesday Night Series: Series 1, 20th May 2014
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC
3 Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly 14713 DMYC

At the start of the DBSC season an amendment to the Sailing Instructions was issued that stated that boats could not pass through the start/finish line during the race. From my shore-side observance, this rule amendment didn't appear to have effect last night..........which makes the declared results on the website all the more interesting.

In overall terms, after four Tuesdays, Messrs Butler & Oram enjoy a four-point lead over Neil Colin & Margaret Casey who, in turn, are a point ahead of Cariosa Power & Marie Barry.

#dbsc – CRUISERS 2 - 1. Borraine (Ean Pugh), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 2. Grasshopper II (K & J Glynn), 3. Maranda (M Kelly)

Ensign - 1. RIYC 1 (Tim Goodbody), 2. RIYC 2 (Mark McGibney)

FIREBALL - 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Elevation (N.Colin/M.Casey), 3. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

GLEN - 1. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 2. Glenmiller (P Cusack), 3. Glenshane (P Hogan)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 2. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne), 3. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop)

PY CLASS - 1. R Kenneally (Laser), 2. Colin Galavan (Laser), 3. Gary O'Hare (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Cresendo (L Balfe), 2. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 3. Ruff Diamond (D.Byrne et al)

#fireball – Barry McCartin and Conor Kinsella (RStGYC) became the new Ulster Fireball champions in a thrilling final day of racing at Ballyholme YC. The first regional Fireball event of the season saw fourteen entries and some really great sailing conditions at an extremely friendly club noted for it's support of dinghy and small boat racing. The winning team scored three first places on day two of the event to catapult into victory overall. On Saturday night after the first three races of the six race series Noel Butler and Stephen Oram (DMYC) had a narrow lead over Kenny Rumball and Scott Flanagan. McCartin/Kinsella languished down the score card after suffering a snapped kicker and a broken main halyard. Overnight assistance from Kenny Rumball saw their boat back into tip-top shape.

Day one saw fantastic if challenging conditions with strong winds and even stronger gusts combined with a disturbed sea state making smooth upwind progress tricky. To add to the test there were big shifts and even the odd flat patch in the offshore breeze. The compensation came in the offwind legs. Race officer Robin Gray set superb sharp reaching angles resulting in some very fast and some very exciting sailing. On day one Butler/Oram and Rumball/Flanagan showed exceptional boat-speed pulling away from the rest of the fleet for what often looked like a private duel of speed and tactics.A bit further back Conor Clancy and Jim Devlin scored two thirds and a sixth, McCartin/Kinsella posted a 4, 3, DNF while Niall McGrotty and Neil Cramer were a very steady 5,4,5. Further back there was close racing throughout the fleet. Frank Miller/Grattan Donnelly battled with Jon Evans/Aidan Caulfield and Michael Ennis/Marie Barry on almost even points troughout the event. Positions mid-fleet shifted like snakes and ladders, often due to unforced errors and the occasional swim.

The intention to go for four races on day one was stymied by a significant wind shift during race two and a bit of a delay resetting the course in a breeze which took time to settle into a steady direction. That delay combined with some signs of tiredness and some swimming meant the fleet headed for shore after race three. That tiredness led to a bit less support at the bar than is normal at Fireball events but a super meal at the club had the fleet eating together and risking the odd pint. A few heroes were seen in a local nightclub much later but many had an early night resting body and soul.

Sunday looked breezy from ashore but by the time the course was set conditions though still lively were distinctly steadier and the water a lot flatter. At this point any reasonable gambler would have put their money on Butler/Oram or Rumball/Flanagan.

Race officer Robin Gray was true to his word and started race one on time catching out a couple of boats who launched late and almost catching out McCartin/Kinsella who made the start with just seconds to spare. The pair stayed level with leaders up the course and on the reaches and broke away with a useful gust as they rounded into the run, consolidated by gybing onto starboard and into more pressure two thirds the way down. They held this lead to take the bullet.

Ulster Fireball champions – Barry McCartin (left) and Conor Kinsella (RStGYC). Photo: Frank Miller

In race five McCartin/Kinsella went right on the first beat to lead at the windward mark. They held on with Rumball/Flanagan snapping at their heels and broke away with a gybe set into more pressure which gave them the distance to hold Rumball/Flanagan off for the win. In the final race the pair had a bad start and arrived at the windward mark in about 6th but used the gusts on the reaches to close into third behind Butler/Oram and Rumball/Flanagan. They stayed close on the beat to the two boats ahead and played the shifts, managing to get left of the leaders and ahead on shifts and then concentrated on holding off Butler/Oram. That pair suffered a snapped spinnaker sheet on one reach but managed a fast repair and sailed on with a shorter sheet.
McCartin/Kinsella's victory in the final race put them on an even score of ten points with Butler/Oram and Rumball/Flanagan but the three wins gave them the edge for overall victory in what was a thrilling event. The silver fleet prize was won by Mary Chambers and Brenda Maguire who displayed solid sailing in often tricky conditions. The event marked a great start to the Fireball summer season, with a bigger turnout anticipated at the Fireball Open event in Clontarf on June 14th/15th.

Results available below to download

#fireball – With last Saturday lost to heavy weather, making two Saturdays lost in three weeks and an unseasonal Tuesday evening session last week, the weather for last night's DBSC Tuesday Series was much more in keeping with the time of year. While we had showers during the day, the sun came out in the afternoon and the race was held in sunny conditions with a backdrop of grey skies in the far distance across the Irish Sea.
This correspondent had a "binoculared" view of the race which saw only four Fireballs come under starter's orders. A fifth boat emerged to join the race and post the race I found out that a sixth boat would have been out if it wasn't for the owner finding that his boat had been damaged.

Noel & Stephen (15061), Cariosa & Marie (14854), Louise & Hermine (14691) and Louis & Joe O'Reilly (15007) started the race in winds that seemed to be slightly lesser than was forecast. XCWeather was suggesting WNW 9 knots with gusts to 16 knots, the current weather for Dun Laoghaire Harbour at 18:00 was WNW 12 knots with a gust of 20 knots.

A Windward-Leeward course of two laps with a spreader mark at the Windward mark was set. Butler/Oram, McKenna/O'Keeffe and slightly late, Smyth/O'Reilly started at the committee boat end of the line with Power/Barry about halfway down the line. All started on starboard tack but soon took a hitch to the right hand side. Smyth's late approach to the start line saw him crossed by Power/Barry as they went to the right as well. McKenna/O'Keeffe went furthest right. None of the crews were in full trapezing mode but the lighter lady crews were getting more time on trapeze than Joe and Stephen.
At the first weather mark the rounding order was Noel & Stephen (15061), Louise & Hermine (14691), Cariosa & Marie (14854) and Louis & Joe (15007). With a flood tide that was almost two hours old, the fleet went to the right-hand side of the run. Initially Cariosa & Marie sailed a lower course and this allowed them to close on the front two. These two plus Louis & Joe went furthest right, with Noel & Stephen initially going left. However, the latter pair then gybed back to work the RHS. Louise & Hermine followed suit, but the net effect of the multiple gybes is that the fleet became more compact with Smyth closing significantly on McKenna.
At the first leeward mark the order was Butler/Oram, Power/Barry, Smyth/O'Reilly and McKenna/O'Keeffe, with the latter having a problem dropping their spinnaker. This problem persisted to the extent that their race was lost, eventually having to capsize the boat onto a rib to drop the spinnaker.

The other three boats took an initial hitch to the RHS of the beat then sailed a long starboard tack to the weather mark. There was evidence of more trapezing but it was neither full-on nor continuous. The tide effect had a big factor in the second run. The course was set pretty much in the middle of Scotsman's bay, probably slightly closer to the harbour. After rounding the weather and spreader marks, the three boats went right in the sequence Butler/Oram, Power/Barry and Smyth/O'Reilly, the latter having lost distance to the girls thanks to a significant header halfway up the beat. Butler & Oram were probably within touching distance of the rocks at the "40-foot" before they gybed back onto port to get to the leeward mark. The other two didn't go quite that far with Smyth & O'Reilly gybing onto port first. However, it seemed that going very hard right put the boats into a different, stronger wind pattern because I could see Stephen full-out on trapeze as they sailed the "great circle route" to the leeward mark and arrive their first. Smyth & O'Reilly were the next boat in sequence and seemed to have opened a gap on the girls. They went right initially, waited for Cariosa & Marie to round and tack, tacked to cover them to the finish. However, this standard tactic seemed to fail as the girls sailed faster to the finish to record 2nd place, leaving Smyth and O'Reilly third.

DBSC Tuesday Nights, Series 1 (13.05.14)
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC
3 Louis Smyth & Joe O'Reilly 15007 Coal Harbour

#fireball – My early afternoon check on the forecast conditions for Tuesday evening racing in Dublin Bay on the XC Weather website suggested that at 19:00 and 22:00 the winds would be 14 and 16 knots gusting to 20 and 24 knots respectively – (14/20 at 19:00 and 16/24 at 22:00) – and so it proved writes Cormac Bradley. The forecast direction was Southerly but rigging up in the harbour, the sense was that the gusts were coming from a wide range of directions, certainly judging by the flags inside the harbour complex.
The sail out to Scotsman's Bay confirmed the gusty nature of the wind particularly in the lee of the east wall of the harbour though in Scotsman's Bay itself while it was still gusty, they seemed to be a bit less venomous.
Our first practice lap of the course prompted a capsize after a spinnaker drop at the leeward mark – good to get that out of the way!
Five Fireballs launched for the race but only three answered the starting signal. With the ebbing tide only an hour old, Smyth & Bradley (15007) took the decision to start on port to work the right-hand side of the beat. The other two Fireballs, Butler & Oram (15061) and Colin & Casey (14775) went hard left. The former tactic won out to leave Smyth& Bradley leading at the first mark, followed by Butler & Oram. The first spinnaker reach was manageable for the majority of its length but the leaders dropped early relative to the gybe mark. Butler & Oram kept theirs all the way but then overshot the gybe mark waiting for the opportune time to gybe. This left them sailing outside Smyth & Bradley on a parallel course to the leeward mark and while they closed on the leaders they weren't able to dislodge them from the lead. However, on the second beat they did take over to lead the sausage leg of the three lap course.
At the second leeward mark, Butler & Oram went swimming after their spinnaker drop and this allowed Smyth & Bradley to assume the lead again. Rounding the third weather mark, the leaders decided not to fly bag as the wind had got up again and a slight change of direction made it a tighter leg than the first time. Initially Butler & Oram followed suit, but they put the bag up over the second half of the leg before having to do an Aussie drop to reach the gybe mark.....and even then it was slightly hairy. The second reach was a bit more comfortable with the wind direction change and the swell that had developed made this a very fast leg. Smyth & Bradley held their pursuers off until the leeward mark and after Butler and Oram tacked at the leeward mark they covered their opposition. However, an inability to stay upwind and clear caused Smyth & Bradley to tack a bit earlier for the finish line. This left Butler & Oram as the windward boat and, travelling faster, they overtook the leaders to win by two boat-lengths at the finish line.

DBSC Tuesday Nights, Series 1; Tuesday 6th May Overall Pts
1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 3rd 7
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 2nd 6
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 1st 5