Thursday evening (August 6th) belonged to the tide rather than the breeze as the AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club cruiser fleets battled increasingly difficult conditions.
Light and highly variable winds of less than five knots, combined with a strengthening ebb tide, made for one of the most challenging evenings of the season on the Bay. While the west course held a light westerly and the east course an easterly breeze, many of the cruiser fleets were caught in the convergence zone between the two systems, leading to a high number of official DNF results.
In Cruiser 0, Tim Kane's WOW won under IRC, while El Pocko took ORC honours. Aurelia was scored DNF, with the remaining boats recorded as DNC.
Cruiser 1 proved equally attritional. Fintan Cairns Mills 31 Raptor won all three IRC, ORC and ECHOvrating divisions ahead of John and Brian Hall's J109 Something Else, while the remaining boats were recorded as DNF or DNC under the official results.
The light airs had an even greater impact on the remaining cruiser divisions. Cruiser 2, Cruiser 3, Cruiser 5A and Cruiser 5B all returned official results comprising DNF and DNC scores only, with no finishers recorded.
One-Design Fleets Complete Programme Despite Fading Breeze
While the ebb tide and dying breeze proved too much for much of the cruiser fleet, the one-design classes, sailing shorter courses on the south side of the bay, largely completed their scheduled racing.
Beneteau 211: Yikes Continues Winning Form
Peter Carroll's Yikes extended its recent run of success with another victory in the Beneteau 211 fleet. Beeswing finished second ahead of Isolde, while the remainder of the fleet followed at varying intervals in the light conditions.
Dragon: Vela Tops Compact Fleet
John O'Connor's Vela led the Dragon fleet home ahead of WhyWhyWhy?, with Akatombo completing the podium in a four-boat race after several non-starters.
Flying Fifteen: Farfalla Returns to the Top
Sean Craig's Farfalla emerged victorious in the Flying Fifteen fleet, which again attracted the largest turnout of the evening. Ken Dumpleton's Rodriguez finished second and Alan Green's Mavh FFive third, although the light breeze also resulted in a number of DNF scores further down the fleet.
Glens: Glenluce Takes the Honours
Ailbe Millerick guided Glenluce to victory ahead of Glencoe and Glencree, while Glenroan was scored DNF and three boats were recorded DNC.
J/80: Jester Leads Home Fleet
Declan Curtin's Jester won the J/80 class from Joyride, with Javelin taking third. Unlike the cruiser divisions, the fleet completed its race despite the difficult conditions.
Ruffian 23: Scéal Eile Scores Victory
Brendan Duffy's Scéal Eile claimed the Ruffian 23 honours ahead of Alias and Bandit, although the fleet also recorded a retirement and a non-starter.
SB20: Ted Takes the Gun
Michael O'Connor steered Ted to victory from Carpe Diem, with Bád/Kilcullen completing the top three. The race featured a mixture of OCS and DNF scores, reflecting how challenging the light-air conditions proved even on the shorter course.
Shipman: Viking Wins Close Contest
Fergus Mason's Viking edged Twocan by just over a minute on corrected time, with Poppy only 18 seconds further back in third after one of the closest finishes of the evening.
ORC results here
