After the howling gales of the previous weekend, the opening Sunday of the Viking Marine-sponsored Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club was an absolute pleasure, with sunshine and genteel northerly winds that peaked at 13–14 knots.
And the Frostbite fleet responded with 55 boats on the water, comprising 22 ILCA 6s, a 22-boat PY class and a combined fleet of 11 ILCA 7s and 4s. The Aero and Fireball classes both had very good turnouts, with a GP14 and a Feva joining the fray.
On their way out to the race area, the committee boat and supporting RIBs gathered for a minute’s silence in memory of former colleague and Frostbite stalwart Rodney, who passed away earlier this year. In addition to being a key part of the race committee team, Rodney took particular care of the flags and routinely took them home to be washed and ironed during the Frostbites.
Given the wind direction, the first two races of the day were three-lap Olympic courses, and all three starts in each race got away cleanly. There was a deliberate bias on the pin, but it seems it was a bit more generous than intended – as noted in a WhatsApp report from the winning Fireball on the day. It seems it was rather obvious that the pin was the place to be, facilitating an immediate tack onto port to navigate the left and middle of the beat. Subsequent roundings of the leeward mark offered the fleet more choice as to how to manage the beat, leading to a better distribution across the course.
The leading Fireball dominated the racing on the water but could not defend that position on corrected time, and Aeros occupied all the podium places in the three races of the day.
The strong RS Aero showing also comes in the week of confirmation that the RS Aero European Championship is coming to Dun Laoghaire in 2027, providing a timely connection between the local winter series and next year’s international event.
The final race was a two-lap windward/leeward course to take advantage of the remaining light, time and wind conditions, and to “bank” an extra race against cancellations later in the series. The reaction on the water and in the clubhouse afterwards was very supportive of the decision.
So, an excellent start to the Frostbites, with three races completed in sunshine that only disappeared when the sun dropped behind clouds at the end of the afternoon.
Race Winners – Sunday 1 November 2026
| Class | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PY (22 boats) | Thomas Chaix (Aero) | Noel Butler (Aero) | Noel Butler / Roy van Mannen (Aero; Frostbite Mug) |
| ILCA 7 (7 boats) | Conor Byrne | Matteo Valentini | Luke Murphy |
| ILCA 6 (22 boats) | Jacob Browne | Patrick Fegan | Sean Craig |
| ILCA 4 (4 boats) | Cian Farrell | James Crawford | Arthur Fegan |
As of Thursday afternoon, entries to the Frostbites stood at 97 boats, with just under half that number made up of ILCA 6s. The Fireball class has also seen a boost to its numbers, with 12 boats entered, and ILCA 7s have also seen additional entries. ILCA 4 numbers have nearly doubled since last weekend.
