A gentle 10 to 11-knot westerly and a flood tide combined to produce another enjoyable evening of AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing with a strong turnourt across the classes on Thursday. Paul O'Higgins' JPK 10.30 Rockabill VI marked its return to racing with victory in Cruiser 0 IRC after an early-season rig problem, while close finishes featured across both the cruiser handicap fleets and the southern one-design courses.
Cruiser 0 IRC: Rockabill VI Marks Winning Return
Paul O'Higgins' Rockabill VI made a winning return to AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing, taking Cruiser 0 IRC honours by 24 seconds from Chris Power Smith's Aurelia. John Treanor's ValenTina completed the podium, a further two minutes 25 seconds behind, as Rockabill VI returned to DBSC action ahead of next week's Calves Week regatta in West Cork following an early-season rig problem.
Cruiser 1 IRC: White Mischief Wins Tight Contest
Richard and Tim Goodbody's J109 White Mischief claimed Cruiser 1 IRC honours after one of the closest finishes of the evening, finishing just 10 seconds ahead of Brian Hall's Something Else on corrected time. The Shanahan family's Ruth took third, one minute 40 seconds behind the winner.
Cruiser 2 IRC: Allig8R Returns to Winning Form
Brendan Foley's First 8 Allig8R claimed Cruiser 2 IRC honours, finishing 36 seconds ahead of Lindsay J. Casey's Windjammer. Fergus O'Sullivan's Moonshine completed the podium, just 17 seconds behind second place.
Cruiser 3 ECHO: Saki Claims Thursday Honours
Michael Ryan's Saki won Cruiser 3 ECHO by 30 seconds from Kevin Glynn's Grasshopper 2. Gerry Costello's Pamafe took third, while defending winner Papytoo was among the non-starters.
Cruiser 5A ECHO: Brizo Makes Winning Return
Derek Ryan's Brizo returned to the top of Cruiser 5A ECHO, finishing one minute 47 seconds ahead of Bill Quigley's Misfits. Charles Broadhead's Persistance completed the top three.
Cruiser 5B ECHO: Afternoon Delight Delivers
Shane O'Neill's Afternoon Delight claimed Cruiser 5B ECHO honours, finishing 38 seconds ahead of Bruce Carswell's Sweet Martini. Gavin Denn's Setanta was just 13 seconds further back in third, while defending class winner Gung-Ho did not start.
ORC Completes the Picture
The parallel ORC results largely reinforced the IRC standings across Thursday night's cruiser racing. In Cruiser 0, Rockabill VI completed an IRC/ORC double, finishing ahead of Aurelia and ValenTina.
Cruiser 1 also produced the same winner under both systems, with White Mischief leading home Something Else and Joker II on ORC corrected time.
In Cruiser 2, Allig8R completed a clean sweep by topping both the IRC and ORC standings. Windjammer again claimed second, while Peridot held third.
The only significant change came in Cruiser 5A. While Just Jasmin won the IRC contest, Playtime reversed the result under ORC to take the class, with Just Jasmin second and Dehliverence third.
The ORC analysis confirmed the consistency of the front-runners, with Rockabill VI, White Mischief and Allig8R all completing IRC/ORC doubles, while Playtime's victory in Cruiser 5A was the evening's only change of winner between the two handicap systems.
ORC results here
Southern One-Design Fleets Take Centre Stage
With the flood tide continuing to test tactics on the southern courses, the one-design fleets produced another evening of close racing, with honours shared across the Beneteau 31.7s, Beneteau 211s, Flying Fifteens, Glens, J/80s, Ruffian 23s, SB20s, Shipmans and Sportsboats.
Beneteau 31.7: Bluefin Two Returns to the Top
Michael Bryson's Bluefin Two claimed Beneteau 31.7 honours, finishing one minute 29 seconds ahead of John Power's Levante. Chris Johnston's Prospect completed the podium 38 seconds later, while only 40 seconds separated second, third and fourth.
Beneteau 211: Beeswing Back on Top
Patrick Shannon's Beeswing returned to winning form ahead of Yikes, with Brian Kelly's Mon Rêve completing the podium.
Fleet Strength – Sean Craig's Farfalla leads a 16-boat Flying Fifteen fleet on Dublin Bay with the Baily Lighthouse providing the backdrop during Thursday evening's AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing. Photo: Afloat
Flying Fifteens: Farfalla Extends Winning Run
Sean Craig's Farfalla continued its excellent season with another Flying Fifteen victory, leading home a strong 16-boat fleet. Neil Colin's FFuzzy was second and Philip Lawton's Puffling third.
Glens: Pterodactyl Soars to Victory
David McCaffrey's Pterodactyl claimed Glen class honours ahead of Keith Malcolm's Glenroan, with Myles Fleeton's Glencoe taking third.
J/80s: Red Cloud Continues Winning Form
Owen Laverty's Red Cloud continued its impressive season, finishing ahead of Declan Curtin's Jester, with Martin Ryan's Jambiya third.
Ruffian 23: Bandit Takes the Spoils
Ann Kirwan's Bandit led the Ruffian 23 fleet home ahead of Brendan Duffy's Scéal Eile, with Frank Bradley's Ripples completing the podium.
SB20s: Carpe Diem Regains Top Spot
Colin Galavan steered Carpe Diem to victory ahead of Michael O'Connor's Ted, while Gerrard Dempsey's venuesworld.com finished third.
Shipmans: Viking Reclaims Top Spot
Fergus Mason's Viking returned to winning ways, finishing 42 seconds ahead of Gerard Glynn's Invader. David Freeman's Twocan was just 13 seconds further back in third.
Sportsboats: Red Cloud Wins by a Second
The closest finish of the one-design racing came in the Sportsboat fleet, where Owen Laverty's Red Cloud edged Declan Curtin's Jester by just one second on corrected time. Martin Ryan's Jambiya completed the podium, one minute 14 seconds behind the winner, as Red Cloud completed a clean sweep of both the J/80 and Sportsboat classes.
