The 2024/25 DMYC Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine, got underway yesterday in Dun Laoghaire Harbour in overcast but favourable conditions with 13° air temperatures and a light wind from 175° that stayed constant all afternoon , or at least as constant as any wind does.
As of Friday morning the DMYC website site showed an entry of 63 boats for the Series and we had 49 boats on the water – PY (18), ILCA 7s (11), ICLA 6s (19) and a solitary ILCA 4. While there had been a light wind forecast from mid-week, the prognosis on arrival at the DMYC did not look that favourable. The masts of boats completing the Turkey Shoot, showing above the wall of the West Pier were not moving particularly fast and none of the flags within the harbour precinct has any life in them. Still, as it was Day 1, the effort had to be made.
Miller & Cramer (14915) and Alastair Court and Gordon Syme (15167) contesting first place in Race 1, 3rd November at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Photo Ian Cutliffe
On arrival in the main harbour there was evidence of breeze, of the order of 7 – 9 knots from a southerly direction - 175°. A three-lap Olympic course was set for the opening race of the series with the committee boat anchored in the vicinity of INSS' green raft, the weather mark set in line with the bandstand on the East Pier, the gybe mark just off the end of the East Pier and the leeward mark tucked in behind the committee boat. However, with hindsight, the committee boat should have been further upwind as the outer end of the start line precluded a port-tack approach to the start – there wasn't enough water between the pin-end and the wall! First lesson of the new season!
Sean Craig leading the ILCA6 fleet around the course at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Photo Ian Cutliffe
The first start, for the PY fleet saw a high-profile competitor called as OCS and the boat in question responded immediately to being called over. Thereafter the PY fleet spread themselves across the width of the course for the upwind leg – a satisfying spectacle for a race officer. The subsequent starts for the ILCAs were clean.
The triangle element of the Olympic course allowed spinnakers to be flown on both off-wind legs and it looked as though they were having good reaches. Irish Class officials, Neil Cramer (Chairman) and Frank Miller (Secretary), in 14915 led the fleet around the course for the first race to finish in a time of 34:46, seventeen seconds short of three minutes ahead of the first Aero, Stephen Oram (Aero 7) who crossed the line in 37:29. Three more Aeros, Noel Butler (6), Paul Phelan (7) and Sarah Dwyer (6) all finished within 40 minutes and together with Oram finished ahead of Miller & Cramer on corrected time.
In the ILCA7s the regulars of recent years were joined by a new name, Matteo Valentini with an Italian registered sail number. He obviously enjoyed the light conditions by recording a fifth place in Race 1, behind the regulars of Conor Byrne, Hugh Delap, Niall Cowman and John Marmelstein in that order.
In the ILCA6s Sean Craig stamped his authority with a comfortable first win, followed by Shirley Gilmore, who staged a great recovery to finish second, with Darren Griffin, Conor Clancy and another new name Gareth Giles, filling places three to five.
While the wind had eased a little during the second half of the first race it came back again and that prompted the Race Officer to set another Olympic course but with four laps. A competitor observation from Race 1 prompted a slight change to the position of the gybe mark, but that aside, the course configuration remained as was!
In the PY start, the same OCS from the first race was perilously close to repeating their transgression but managed to avoid the same fate. Again, within a short distance the fleet had spread across the width of the course. And again, the spinnaker classes were able to enjoy good three-sail reaches. However, among the Fireballs, there was a very different running order with first race winners Miller & Cramer relegated to a couple of positions down the fleet. The Fireballs to feature at the head of the fleet were Nicole Hemeryck & Michael Keegan (14676) who led for a significant portion of this race only to lose first place on the water in the final few metres of the last downwind leg of the race to the "pink ladies", Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keefe (15016), who beat the former pair on the water by all of four seconds.
Seven minutes on the water covered the finishing times of the first five boats on handicap, Pierre & Paul Long in the IDRA14 coming home eight seconds shy of seven minutes behind the Fireball. However, that was sufficient to give the Longs second place, 37 seconds behind Dwyer on corrected time, with Butler and Phelan (Aeros) getting third and fourth on corrected time. Two minutes and one second separated the Aero of Dwyer in 1st on handicap and the Fireball of McKenna & O'Keeffe in the Fireball in 5th.
In the ILCA7s, Cowman dropped out of the first five from race 1 to be replaced by Gary O'Hare who took third behind Byrne and Valentini with Delap and Marmelstein in his wake.
Craig took the second race in the ILCA6s followed home by Griffin, Clancy, Gilmore and Mary Chambers.
Special mention should also be made of Nathan Harris, the sole ILCA4 who sailed both races. Nathan needs some additional ILCA4s to have a race, but failing that a plan will be made for him to match his enthusiasm.
Frostbite Mugs were presented afterwards in the DMYC, with recipients being Stephen Oram and Sarah Dwyer (PY Class), Sean Craig (ILCA 1, Race 1) and Matteo Valentini (ILCA7, race 2). Other Mug winners not there were Conor Byrne and Darren Griffin, who each have a second opportunity to collect their Mugs……..next Sunday.
On getting home last evening, after racing, I picked up an E-mail from Valerie Kinnear via David O'Brien of Afloat. Valerie sent best wishes for the 2024/25 Frostbite competitors and organisers and in the body of her E-mail made reference to her first involvement with the event back in 1991 when she took over from Avril Harris, who is a former Commodore of DMYC.
Stephen Oram Viking Marine DMYCFrostbite Mug winner, PY Fleet Race 1, with Race Officer Cormac Bradley Photo: Frank Miller
Matteo Valentini - Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite Mug winner, Race 2 ILCA7 Photo: Frank Miller
Sean Craig - Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite Mug winner, Race 1, ILCA6 Photo: Frank Miller
Sarah Dwyer- Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite Mug winner, Race 2, PY Fleet Photo: Frank Miller
