The opening race of the post-Christmas Series 2 of the Viking Marine-sponsored, Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club hosted dinghy Frostbites got off to a quiet start on Sunday 1st January 2023. Quiet; a) because of a much-reduced fleet size and b) because the wind, which was genteel to start, got lighter as the afternoon got later, resulting in a shortening of the second race.
A game of two halves – because for only the second time since Race 1 of Series 1, the Aeros dropped a race win on handicap and the beneficiaries – Neil Colin and Margaret Casey in Fireball 14775 - the only boat to take a handicap race win from the Aeros, their second such win in the 2022/23 Series.
Twenty-eight boats saw in the New Year on the water by taking part in the opening race of Series 2. The Fireballs had the biggest fleet with 9 boats on the water, 75% of their total entry to the event. They were followed by the ILCA 6s with 8 boats, Aeros with 5 boats, and the ILCA 7s and ILCA 4s each having 3 boats.
Fireballs at the head of the fleet, Race 1. Left to right – Colm Breen & Rory Power Breen(just in picture), Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167), Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe (15016), Glen Fisher & Michael Keegan (14676), Paul & Morris ter Horst (14790), Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (14915), with Noel Butler in the Frame (Aero 3289) Photo: Ian Cutliffe
Olympic courses were set for both races with the wind forecast to come from SSW and by Saturday night’s forecast due to be in the region of 10 – 12 knots with gusts in the high teens. In reality the wind fluctuated around due West and strength-wise started at 10 knots but reduced as the afternoon wore on.
A windward mark was laid just north of the marina entrance with a gybe mark in the vicinity of the dolphins for the Hi-Speed ferry and a leeward mark in the vicinity of the weather station on the upper level of the East Pier.
For the period leading up to the start for the PY Fleet, the weather mark was in a good “aggregate” position, but in the count-down it swung rightwards and the RO feared that there would be a soldier’s course to the first mark. That didn’t happen though as the fleet spread itself across the width of the course. Colin & Casey went to the RHS of the beat in deference to their class competitors who were all on their port side. At the top mark they found themselves in third place in a tight group of 5/6 Fireballs with Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167), Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (14915), Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe (15016), Glen Fisher & Michael Keegan (14676) and Paul & Morris ter Horst (14790). A tight three-sail reach kept this group substantially intact to the gybe mark and after rounding that the luffing matches started. But not for the “yellow-spinnakered” Colin& Casey who sailed a lower course and broke away from the “luffers”. It was a lead that they would retain for a large part of the three-lap course but at the third weather mark they were caught out by a wind shift to let Miller take the lead and finished 5 seconds down on Miller at the line.
Race 2 winners Neil Colin & Margaret Casey round the gybe mark in Race 1 Photo: Ian Cutliffe
Between Miller & Cramer at 29:52 elapsed time and Colm Breen & Rory Power Breen at 31:20 elapsed time, seven Fireballs – Miller, Colin, McKenna, Court, ter Horst, Fisher and Breen – finished before Noe Butler (Aero 6) led home an Aero 1-2-3 inside a 1:56 time window. Yet on corrected time, four Aeros took the spoils of the handicap correction – Butler at 29:10 corrected time, followed by Roy van Maanen, Stuart Harris and Sarah Dwyer at 30:18 corrected time versus Miller at 31:22 corrected time.
In the second race the course was set at five laps of the same course and at this stage the wind was starting to fade. Again, the Fireballs would lead the fleet around and again Colin & Casey were at the head of the bunch. They were chased by Miller and Court respectively. The luffing matches that had been a feature earlier in the afternoon were no longer evident as a more sedate pace was taken around the course. With the wind dropping below 5 knots a decision was taken to fly an “F” flag at the leeward mark to get the fleet a second respectable race in. Colin & Casey came home in 45:42 with a 9:10 advantage over Butler in the leading Aero. This was enough, in the conditions, to give Colin a 2:09 advantage over the single-hander and register a second race win in the Frostbites – only the second time that the Aeros haven’t claimed the top step of the handicap podium. A second Fireball, Court & Syme, closed out the podium for race 2.
ILCA 6s in close company – Sean Craig (218154) leads around this mark, followed by John O’Driscoll (210361) and Conor Clancy (213048) Photo: Ian Cutliffe
In the ILCA 7s the finishing order for both races saw the honours go the way of Conor Byrne, Chris Arrowsmith and Aidan Geraghty, while in the ILCA 6s, the top three were the same but Sean Craig took the first race, Conor Clancy the second and John O’Driscoll finished third in both.
In the ILCA 4s the finishing order was the same for both races – Patrick Foley, Zeta Tempany and Sam Legge.
Viking Marine DMYC Dinghy Frostbite results for January 1 2023
Post racing the prize-giving for Series 1 took place in the DMYC Clubhouse;
Viking Marine DMYC Dinghy Frostbite Prize-giving photos by Frank Miller
Conor Clancy, ILCA 6s, 3rd Place Series 1 in the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites
Roy Van Maanen, PY 2nd Place, Series 1, Aero 6
Zeta Tempany, Frostbite Mug Winner. Day 1 Series 2 – ILCA 4s
Chris Arrowsmith, Frostbite Mug Winner. Day 1, Series 2 – ILCA 7s
John O’Driscoll, Frostbite Mug Winner. Day 1, Series 2 – ILCA 6s
Note: DMYC are pleased to say that with an entry list of over 100 Dinghies for our popular Sunday afternoon winter sailing series, which runs from now to the end of March, they can still accept entries from any dinghy sailors who may not have been available for the pre-Christmas series, and who wish to join in now and avail of the great racing on offer. Discounted entries can be arranged with the race office on Sunday mornings, or by email to [email protected].
