#RS – A strong gusty breeze scared off more than a few of the usual competitors from the DMYC Frostbite Series on Sunday the 8th of March, and a reduced fleet were left wondering as two o'clock approached whether or not racing was going to happen. The race committee decided to postpone by fifteen minutes to see whether or not the wind was going to drop as forecast, they were proven correct, and set the usual trapezoidal course inside the harbour in an ideal ten to fifteen knots, and due to the postponement, made it slightly shorter than usual, signalling four laps. The start was an interesting affair, with all the RS400s and O'Leary and Willliamson's 200 deciding to fight over the favoured boat end. All their efforts came to nothing however, as a general recall was signalled because the wrong flags were used to start the race!
The restart came off cleaner, with Rumball and Brazel getting a clear start slightly to windward of Cleary, with O'Leary and Williamson having to make a quick tack into clear air.
All boats found the shifty, gusty conditions a struggle and it was Rumball and Brazel's 400 that made it to the windward mark in first position, followed by Cleary and O'Leary being the first 200.
The top reach was a very gusty place, with not too many braving a kite after the first lap, when the breeze decided to come up. The lead was hard fought until the second reach, where Cleary's choice to chance a kite proved costly, as they where dragged to leeward by the 400's large asymmetric and they lost ground to Rumball, who decided not to take the risk. The order of the fleet stayed pretty much static from there on in, with Rumball and Brazel taking line honours, and O'Leary and Williamson being the first RS200 home. All in all it was another ideal day to be racing in Dun Laoghaire, with the sun even choosing to make an appearance a few times!
Thanks to Kevin Brazel for this weeks report and Sean Clery for the video.
