Southerly winds of eight to 14 knots, veering between south and south-west, greeted DBSC’s AIB cruiser fleets for Thursday night’s third race (May 7th) of the season on Dublin Bay, sailed against a falling tide in largely flat-water conditions.
In IRC Cruiser 0, John Treanor’s NMD 43 Cristina took victory on corrected time ahead of Sean Lemass’s First 40 Prima Forte, with Anthony Fox’s A35 Gringo completing the podium places. Chris Power Smith’s J122 Aurelia was fourth, narrowly ahead of Tim Kane’s Extreme 37 WOW.
The win is an indication of building form for Treanor who, with Aurelia, wil be part of Saturday's 21-boat fleet in the first cross channel ISORA race of the year.
IRC Cruiser 1 produced another close contest with Brian Hall’s J109 Something Else securing the win from Richard and Tim Goodbody’s sistership White Mischief. Fintan Cairns’s Mills 31 Raptor was third, followed by Barry Cunningham’s Chimaera and the Shanahan family’s Ruth. David O’Brien’s D-Tox placed sixth in the competitive fleet.
In IRC Cruiser 2, Brendan Foley’s First 8 Allig8R corrected out on top ahead of Fergus O’Sullivan’s Moonshine and Ian Bowring’s Springer. Lindsay J. Casey’s Windjammer took fourth, with Andrina O’Brien’s Black Sheep and Jim McCann’s Peridot close behind.
Cruisers 3 Echo saw Michael Cooney’s Yami take the honours from Frank Guilfoyle’s Papytoo, while Eric Leonard’s Maranda secured third place. Kevin Glynn’s Grasshopper 2 and Wyn McCormack’s Wynward rounded out the top five.
In NS VPRS Cruiser 4-5A, Johnnie Phillips’s Playtime won from Charles Broadhead’s Persistance, with Peter Richardson’s Dehliverence third. Eamonn Doyle’s Shearwater and Valda Boardman’s Just Jasmin followed in fourth and fifth respectively.
Cruiser 4-5B honours went to David Clarke’s Fortitudine ahead of Gráinne O’Shea’s Gung-Ho, while Rodney Martin’s Gemini was recorded DNF.
ORC Results Deliver Tight Finishes
Under ORC, Prima Forte topped Cruiser 0 after correcting to 54:56, finishing ahead of Gringo and Aurelia. WOW placed fourth.
ORC Cruiser 1 delivered one of the tightest finishes of the evening with White Mischief taking victory from Raptor by just 36 seconds on corrected time. Jump The Gun was third ahead of Joker II and Riders On The Storm.
In ORC Cruiser 2, Allig8R again emerged on top after correcting to 46:15, ahead of the Sigma 33s Moonshine and Springer.
Full ORC results here
One-Design Fleets Battle Fading Breeze
The fresh southerly winds of 14–16 knots on the inner bay course was not as lively for DBSC’s one-design and sportsboat fleets on Scotsman's Bay race track, with race officer John McNally overseeing the programme in a faltering breezedropping to four to six knots at times.
Bay Markers – The J80 fleet races beneath the Baily Lighthouse during DBSC Thursday night racing on Dublin Bay as southerly winds tested crews in Race 3 of the AIB 2026 series. Photo: Afloat.ie/WM Nixon
In the Beneteau 211 class, Patrick Shannon’s Beeswing took the Race 3 win ahead of Capilano and Vincent Mulvey’s Plan B.
The Beneteau 31.7 fleet saw Michael Blaney’s After You Too lead home Brian Geraghty’s Camira and Michael Bryson’s Bluefin Two.
The Dragon class was won by Denis Bergin’s Sir Ossis of the River, with Phantom second and John O’Connor’s Vela third.
Ken Dumpleton’s Rodriguez topped the Flying Fifteen fleet from Sean Craig’s Farfalla and Chris Arrowsmith’s Betty, while Austin Kenny’s Ram Jam won the J80 class ahead of Declan Curtin’s Jester and Martin Ryan’s Jambiya.
In Ruffian 23, Ann Kirwan’s Bandit secured victory from Brendan Duffy’s Scéal Eile and Frank Bradley’s Ripples. Michael O’Connor’s Ted led the SB20 fleet home ahead of Bád/Kilcullen and the Bolger family’s David Bolger.
The Shipman class saw William Maher’s Joslim take the honours from Alain Deladiennee’s Poppy and Fergus Mason’s Viking.
Sportsboat racing produced one of the closest finishes of the evening, with Ram Jam again coming out on top after corrected time calculations. David Ryan’s Lady A was second by just three seconds, while Jester completed the podium places.
