Light south-westerly winds of 7–10 knots provided the backdrop for DBSC's AIB sponsored Saturday racing on Dublin Bay on June 20th. Race Officer Barry McNeaney oversaw racing across the cruiser fleets, with competitors contesting a 4.65-nautical-mile course in generally steady conditions.
Cruiser Zero racing was cancelled, but the remaining fleets completed their scheduled programme.
Something Else Leads Cruiser 1
Brian Hall's J/109 Something Else continued its strong form in Cruiser 1, taking IRC honours ahead of Bobby Kerr's Riders on the Storm and Chris Moore's Powder Monkey.
The same boat also topped the ORC standings, with Riders on the Storm again second. Powder Monkey completed the ORC podium as the J/109s dominated the corrected-time results.
Peridot Takes Cruiser 2
Cruiser 2 produced one of the day's closest contests. Jim McCann's Mustang 30 Peridot emerged on top of both the IRC and ORC standings, leading home Philip Lovegrove's Sigma 33 Rupert and Lindsay Casey's J97 Windjammer.
The margin between the leading boats remained tight throughout the afternoon, with Rupert and Windjammer never far from the pace.
Papytoo Wins Cruiser 3 ECHO
Frank Guilfoyle's Papytoo took Cruiser 3 ECHO honours ahead of Gerry Costello's Pamafe, while Edward Melvin's Ceol Na Mara secured third place.
Only four boats completed the race, but the leading pair remained closely matched throughout the course.
Persistence Continues Form in Cruiser 5A
Charles Broadhead's Persistence claimed Cruiser 5A ECHO victory ahead of Colin O'Brien's Spirit and Bill Quigley's Misfits.
The class produced one of the larger turnouts among the cruiser fleets, with competitors spread across the fleet after more than 75 minutes of racing.
Afternoon Delight Tops Cruiser 5B
Shane O'Neill's Afternoon Delight headed Cruiser 5B ECHO, finishing ahead of Bruce Carswell's Sweet Martini and Howard Knott's Calypso.
The three boats established a clear advantage over the remainder of the fleet in the light conditions.
Shearwater Wins New ORC Cruiser 5 Division
Saturday's racing also marked the introduction of Cruiser 5 into the DBSC ORC programme.
Eamonn Doyle's Shearwater became the inaugural winner of the new division, finishing ahead of Peter Richardson's Dehliverence and Valda Boardman's Just Jasmin.
The addition of Cruiser 5 extends ORC scoring deeper into the Dublin Bay cruiser fleet as interest in the rating system continues to grow.
One-Design Fleets
FMFF and Fomo Share Flying Fifteen Honours
The Flying Fifteens completed two races and again produced some of the closest racing on the bay.
John Lavery's FMFF won the opening contest from David Gorman's Fomo and Neil Colin's FFuzzy. The second race saw Fomo reverse the result, taking victory from FMFF, while Peter Murphy's Hera secured third place.
Ted Completes SB20 Double
Michael O'Connor's Ted delivered the standout performance in the SB20 fleet with two race wins from two starts.
The opening race saw Ted finish ahead of Gerrard Dempsey's venuesworld.com and Colin Galavan's Carpe Diem. In race two, Carpe Diem moved into second place while Barry Glavin's SeaBiscuit completed the podium.
Bandit Leads Ruffian 23 Fleet
Ann Kirwan's Bandit secured victory in the Ruffian 23 class ahead of Frank Bradley's Ripples and Brendan Duffy's Scéal Eile.
The six-boat fleet remains one of Dublin Bay's most active keelboat classes, with the leading trio again featuring prominently.
Levante Edges Beneteau 31.7 Thriller
One of the closest finishes of the afternoon came in the Beneteau 31.7 class.
John Power's Levante took victory by just 15 seconds from Chris Johnston's Prospect, while Michael Bryson's Bluefin Two was only 11 seconds further back in third. The top three boats were separated by only 26 seconds on corrected time.
Yikes Takes Beneteau 211 Honours
The Beneteau 211 class was won by Yikes, sailed by Team Yikes, ahead of Patrick Shannon's Beeswing.
Only two boats completed the race, with several competitors recorded as non-starters or retirements.
WhyWhyWhy? Wins Dragon Class
H. Kelly and J. Conway's WhyWhyWhy? claimed the Dragon class victory.
A number of non-starters reduced the fleet, leaving WhyWhyWhy? as the sole finisher.
George V Prevails in Sportsboats
Ian Simington's George V took Sportsboat honours from Kevin Byrne's StarJay, while George Misstear's Jambon completed the podium places.
The leading trio finished within three minutes of one another on corrected time.
Poppy Tops Shipman 28 Fleet
Alain Deladiennee's Poppy secured victory in the Shipman 28 class ahead of Gerard Glynn's Invader.
Only two boats completed the race, but both crews faced a lengthy test in the light south-westerly breeze.
