White Mischief and Windjammer completed IRC and ORC doubles as gusty 25-knot westerlies tested Dublin Bay Sailing Club’s cruiser fleets on Saturday.
With DBSC committee vessel Freebird out of commission, the cruiser starts were again run from the shore-based West Pier hut.
The fleets sailed a short upwind leg before bearing away onto a full-on spinnaker run. The manoeuvre placed an immediate premium on boat handling, with Thursday night's race winner, Bobby Kerr’s Riders on the Storm, producing an impressive hoist at the turning mark.
Oscillating shifts and bands of stronger pressure continued across the course. Finding one of those bands could produce a substantial change in downwind speed.
White Mischief Wins Cruiser One IRC
Richard and Tim Goodbody’s J109 White Mischief won Cruiser One IRC, correcting out ahead of sistership Brian and John Hall’s Something Else.
In a total J109 clean out, Ruth, sailed by the Shanahan family, and Riders on the Storm shared third place after recording identical corrected times.
Riders on the Storm’s clean spinnaker set helped the boat accelerate promptly onto the downwind leg, where handling mistakes could prove particularly expensive in the stronger gusts.
White Mischief also won under ORC scoring. Something Else remained second, with Riders on the Storm third.
Windjammer Completes Cruiser Two Double
Lindsay Casey’s J97 Windjammer produced a clear Cruiser Two IRC victory ahead of Jim McCann’s Mustang 30 Peridot.
Andrina O’Brien’s Black Sheep completed the IRC podium.
Windjammer also topped the Cruiser Two ORC result, with Peridot taking second. The double victory marked one of the strongest corrected-time performances of the afternoon.
Wynward Prevails in Cruiser Three ECHO
Weather Work – Wynward sails upwind during DBSC Cruiser Three racing on Dublin Bay. The Cruiser Three ECHO winner edged Pamafe in Saturday's fresh westerly conditions. File photo: Afloat.ie.
Wyn McCormack’s Wynward took Cruiser Three ECHO honours ahead of Gerry Costello’s Pamafe.
Only two boats finished, but the corrected-time margin was just one minute and 19 seconds.
The close result showed that even with reduced participation, small gains in manoeuvres and pressure selection continued to decide the class order.
Misfits Tops Cruiser Five A ECHO
Spray Flying – Misfits powers through the chop during DBSC Cruiser Five racing on Dublin Bay. Bill Quigley's crew claimed Cruiser Five A ECHO honours in Saturday's fresh westerly conditions. File photo: Afloat.ie.
Bill Quigley’s Misfits won Cruiser Five A ECHO after a competitive corrected-time contest.
Colin O’Brien’s Spirit finished second, with Tim Costello’s Just Jasmin third and Johnnie Phillips’ Playtime fourth.
Less than five minutes covered the four finishers on corrected time, making this one of the tighter divisions of the afternoon.
Playtime Takes Cruiser Five A ORC Honours
The Cruiser Five A order changed under ORC scoring, where Playtime took the win ahead of Just Jasmin.
The result illustrated how the two handicap systems assessed the boats differently in the fresh downwind conditions.
Misfits therefore won the ECHO contest, while Playtime headed the available ORC result.
Afternoon Delight Wins Cruiser Five B ECHO
Shane O’Neill’s Afternoon Delight claimed Cruiser Five B ECHO honours.
Rodney Martin’s Gemini finished second, just one minute and 22 seconds behind on corrected time.
They were the only two finishers in the division, with completing the course itself becoming an important part of the afternoon’s challenge.
Full ORC results here
One Design Racing in the DBSC Saturday Series
Fresh westerly winds of 18 to 23 knots produced another demanding afternoon of Dublin Bay Sailing Club one-design racing on Saturday, with gusts and shifting pressure rewarding consistent crews across the fleets.
The Flying Fifteens, SB20s and Beneteau 211s each completed two races, while the Ruffian 23 and 31.7 fleets sailed a single contest.
Fomo's Consistency Shines in Flying Fifteens
The Flying Fifteens shared the race wins, but David Gorman's Fomo emerged as the day's standout performer with podium finishes in both races.
John Lavery's fmff won the opening race ahead of Fomo, with Keith Poole's Mike Wazowski third. Chris Arrowsmith's Betty then claimed Race 2 from Alastair Court's ffinisterre, while Fomo again featured on the podium in third.
Although the victories were shared, Gorman's consistent scoring produced the strongest overall performance of the afternoon in the class.
Bandit Wins Ruffian 23 Honours
Leading the Way – Ann Kirwan's Bandit powers through the chop during DBSC Ruffian 23 racing on Dublin Bay. Bandit claimed class honours in Saturday's fresh westerly conditions. File photo: Afloat.ie.
Ann Kirwan's Bandit mastered the fresh breeze to win the Ruffian 23 race under race officer Jim Dolan.
Frank Bradley's Ripples finished second, Brendan Duffy's Scéal Eile was third and Eimear Ní Mhéalóid's Ruff Diamond placed fourth. Loco and Alias did not come to the starting area.
Levante Leads Tight 31.7 Battle
The 31.7 fleet produced one of the closest contests of the day.
John Power's Levante finished first ahead of Chris Johnston's Prospect, with Eoin O'Driscoll's Kernach just 30 seconds further back in third. Only one minute and 50 seconds separated the leading three boats after more than 90 minutes of racing.
Yikes Completes Beneteau 211 Clean Sweep
Team Yikes dominated the Beneteau 211 fleet with victories in both races under race officer Barry O'Neill.
The opening race saw Yikes finish ahead of Kieran Kingston's Vamoose, with Patrick Shannon's Beeswing third. The second race followed a similar pattern as Yikes again took the win, this time ahead of Beeswing, while Rowan Fogarty's Ventuno completed the top three.
The pair of race wins made Yikes the only unbeaten crew across the day's one-design racing.
Ted and Venuesworld Share SB20 Victories
The SB20 fleet split the honours over two races in the challenging conditions.
Gerrard Dempsey's Venuesworld won the opening race ahead of Michael O'Connor's Ted, with Colin Galavan's Carpe Diem third.
Ted responded in Race 2, beating Barry Glavin's SeaBiscuit, while Carpe Diem again finished third to record the fleet's most consistent scoreline despite not taking a race win.
Strong Breeze Rewards Consistency
Across the one-design fleets, the fresh westerly produced close racing throughout the afternoon.
While Yikes completed the day's only clean sweep with two Beneteau 211 victories, the Flying Fifteens and SB20s shared race wins between different boats. Fomo and Carpe Diem were rewarded for consistency, while Levante and Bandit claimed hard-earned victories in their single-race classes as another competitive afternoon of DBSC racing unfolded on Dublin Bay.
