#DBSC – Four Fireballs took to the race course on the second Tuesday of the DBSC Summer series tonight. Just as the Frostbites didn't live up to their name this past winter, nor could it be said that the summer season racing was summery tonight. Rain, grey, low cloud, brisk water temperatures and a squally wind from ENE with a swell running straight through the harbour mouth made for challenging conditions.
The pace was frenetic with five laps of a windward-leeward on the menu for those who braved the conditions, Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061), Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly (14713), Louise McKenna & Hermine O' Keefe (14691) and Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007).
Left side of the beat paid the first time with Messrs Miller & Smyth rounding the weather in tandem with Smyth on the inside. Butler was chasing hard and rounded almost immediately after them. A sleigh ride downwind with a late gybe thrown in and all three were in very close company at the first leeward mark.......maybe a tad too close.
Subsequent beats were split with Smyth favouring a right hand-side selection each time to the others who went left to varying degrees and each subsequent rounding of the weather mark saw Smyth there or thereabouts with the other two waiting to pounce.
Some of the downwind legs were being sailed by the lee – not a comfortable position given the wind conditions.
As to be expected, Butler/Oram led around the last weather mark by a boat length or two followed by Smyth/Bradley. These two went right. Miller/Donnelly went left and this gave the first two a nominal gap over the others at the finish.
DUBLIN PORT Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 1 MAY 2012
FIREBALL - 1. Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 2. Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 3. Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly 4. Louis McKenna & Hermine O'Keefe.
IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton)
PY CLASS - 1. Hugh Sheehy (OK Dinghy), 2. Colin Galavan (Laser), 3. C Arrowsmith (Laser)
