#sb20 – The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) series two for the SB20s came to a nail-biting conclusion last Thursday on Dublin Bay.

With a force 5-6 southerly gusting force 8-9 forecast, the assumption by many was that there would be no racing. However, DBSC are made of stronger stuff than that and the fleets went out to race in some of the most exhilarating conditions experienced all season. With only the final race to sail, Should Be... (Michael, Ted and Gavan) led Venuesworld.com (Ger, Chris, Rory et al) by two points. With Should Be... discarding a third place, only a first place and daylight between the boats would do it for Venuesworld.com. For their part, Should Be... knew that a cancellation or a second place or better would seal the second series for them.

On the day, only five boats braved the conditions, including Alert Packaging (Justin, Dave and Darren), Bad (Enda, Jerry and Jimmy), Lupi d'Irlanda (Marco et al), Should Be... and Venuesworld. The OOD set a course with a good first beat from the start in the middle of the course up to Bay mark inshore beside the old Dun Laoghaire baths. Alert Packaging got off to a screamer, starting on port at the pin and port tacking the fleet on their way up the first beat. Venuesworld and Bad followed close on their heels trying to keep flat in the now strong breeze. Should Be... and Lupi d'Irlanda had stayed ashore too long in the expectation of a cancellation and were late starting, with Should Be... approximately 2 minutes late for the start and Lupi another few minutes further back. Should Be... were therefore reliant on Alert Packaging or Bad to do them a favour and finish ahead of Venuesworld as it was unlikely that they would catch up to second place if Venuesworld were to get the bullet...

Alert Packaging rounded first approximately 6-8 boatlengths ahead of Venuesworld with Bad another few boatlengths back. The first two reaches were quite tight and the boats two sail reached it to Poldy followed by another two sail reach to Zebra. Although the boats were only two sail reaching, some of the fastest speeds of the season were reached as the boats were still planing down the waves in the gusty conditions. As the lead boats went back on a beat up towards Battery mark by Sandycove harbour, Alert Packaging still held onto their lead from Venuesworld and Bad. As the boats headed towards Battery mark, Alert Packaging and Venuesworld headed towards shore in search of less tide while Bad tacked out left for more favourable breeze or a left hander shift to bring them back into it. Alert Packaging (cheered on by Should Be...) seemed to sail the leg to perfection and managed to get around Battery Mark with a comfortable 15 boatlength lead over Venuesworld. All that was required was a clean hoist and a comfortable pair of gennaker reaches and the series would belong to Should Be...

As Alert Packaging hoisted their kite, they managed to get the mother and father of all wraps in it that just wouldn't seem to come out. Venuesworld rounded behind but had a clean hoist and thundered down on Alert Packaging under full sail (by now, Should Be... were swearing Alert Packaging on!). In a desperate attempt to get their kite free, Alert Packaging skillfully threw in a pair of quick gybes, freeing their kite in the process. With Venuesworld now approximately 6 boatlengths behind and approaching fast, Alert Packaging suddenly caught a gust and they were off again, just in the nick of time. After rounding Omega and then Molly, Alert Packaging still held a slender lead from Venuesworld. Venuesworld refused to give up on the first place and the series and chased Alert Packaging all the way up the final beat to the finish but in the end, the boys on Alert Packaging managed to shade it from them, handing the second series to a very relieved Should Be... Bad came third and Should Be... followed them over the line in fourth. In celebration of their victory on the night, Alert Packaging hoisted their kite and went on a c. 20knts speed junkie burn across the bay.

After racing, 30 SB20 sailors and friends sat down to a very enjoyable sailing supper in the George. It was great to see Barry O'Neill, our resident OOD at the function along with so many other SBers, new and old. Attached are some photos of the evening enjoyed by all. The merriment went on until the small hours...

SB20 Class Notice:

The final two SB Sundays are this coming Sunday, 7th September and the following Sunday, 14th September. These are Sundays 2 and 3 of series three. Unfortunately, we lost Sunday 1 of series three due to inclement weather and it is not possible to re-sail that Sunday. In an attempt to make up the lost races and provide a better series, we will be running four slightly shorter races on the final two Sundays if the conditions allow. In other words, we will attempt to have four races on Sunday 7th September and four races on Sunday 14th September. Therefore, we will now (hopefully) have 8 races with two discards rather than 6 races and one discard in series three. Looking forward to seeing you all out on the water on the 7th.

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson), 2. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 3. Magic (D.Espey)

BENETEAU 31.7 ECHO - 1. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan)

CRUISERS 0 ECHO - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Gringo (Tony Fox), 2. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 3. Something Else (J.Hall et al)

CRUISERS 1 ECHO - 1. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Jigamaree (R Harris)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 2 ECHO - 1. Helter Skelter (A & A Jermyn), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Black Sheep (E Healy)

CRUISERS 3 - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

CRUISERS 3 ECHO - 1. Quest (J Skerritt), 2. Supernova (McStay/Timbs/Monaghan/Costello), 3. Cri-Cri (P Colton)

FIREBALL Race 1- 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FIREBALL Race 2- 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. Fflogger (Alan Dooley)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2- 1. The Gruffalo (K Poole/I Mathews), 2. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge), 3. TBA (David Mulvey)

GLEN - 1. Glenluce (D & R O'Connor), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1- 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2- 1. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 2. Dart (Pierre Long), 3. Squalls (Stephen Harrison)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe), 2. Icicle (C Murray), 3. Paramour (Larry Power et al)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. Viking (Brian Glynn et al), 3. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al)

SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Popje (Ted McCourt), 3. Springer (I Bowring)

SQUIB Race 2 - 1. Femme Fatale (V Delaney), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny & G Ferguson)

SQUIB Race 1 - 1. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Femme Fatale (V Delaney)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS ECHO - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Spirit (Colin O'Brien et al), 3. Warrior (D Shanahan)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al), 2. Warrior (D Shanahan), 3. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al)

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Avalon (R.Conan/J.Fox), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Levana (Jean Mitton), 2. Levante (M.Leahy/J.Power), 3. Magic (D.Espey)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Tsunami (Vincent Farrell), 2. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 3. Wow (George Sisk)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Indecision (Declan Hayes et al)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Joker 11 (John Maybury)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Albireo (D Simpson), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Antix (D Ryan)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Jester (Declan Curtin)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 2. As Good As It Gets (Ross Doyle), 3. Hi Fibre (Michael McCambridge)

GLEN - 1. Glencoe (Rose Mary Craig et al), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)

SB20 - 1. Alert Packaging (J Burke D Burke), 2. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey), 3. Bad - Kilcullen (J Dowling)

SHIPMAN - 1. Jo Slim (J.Clarke et al), 2. Macro One (Joseph Murray), 3. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. September Song (Barry Colleary)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. White Lotus (Paul Tully)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Persistence (C. Broadhead et al), 2. White Lotus (Paul Tully), 3. Xerxes (Dan O'Neill)

#dbsc – The last Tuesday night race of the 2014 season of Dublin Bay Sailing Club was a frenetic affair with a small course, a very lumpy sea, a curious breeze and lots of inter-class traffic writes Cormac Bradley. At 08:00 yesterday morning the seascape in Dublin Bay was such that I didn't think we would be racing. However, as the day wore on the wind moderated and the sky began to turn blue again. However, we still went out on heavy setting!
XCWeather was suggesting that we could expect 10 knots gusting 17, but it was neither of these – more a case of somewhere in the middle, but with full trapezing upwind. Wind direction was a bit difficult to determine on the water such was the rate at which the compass was fluctuating.
Five boats were present – Stephen Oram, helmed by Phil Lawton (15061), Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly (14713) and Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691).
Miller & O'Reilly got intimate with the pin on what was a curious start line so that cost them an early 360˚ turn. That would be the first of the night! Again the fleet spit 60:40 with Lawton & Colin taking the inshore track up the (very) short beat. Again, with an incoming tide, one would have thought that this was the way to go, but at the first weather mark, Smyth & Bradley were first, followed by the two boats that had gone inshore, McKenna & Miller.
All five boats sailed around with each trying to work the waves on the downwind leg of the 4-lap Windward-Leeward course. But there was no real "oomph" or, to quote our coaching friend from the UK, Adam Bowers, "Woompeta" in the surfing. It may have been that the distance between the waves was too short. The leeward mark was just off the east pier again and sea conditions there were that bit lumpier – possibly influenced by the onshore waves bouncing back off the pier wall.
Smyth rounded first, a short distance ahead of Lawton, with Colin in third. Smyth went inshore up the beat, Lawton went offshore. The other three varies their approaches. This time Smyth stayed ahead of Lawton but the approach to the weather mark was too tight and with the tide washing them onto the mark, Smyth & Bradley took a waltz with the mark – another 360˚ penalty taken, Lawton lost and Colin closed in! The trick with the downwind leg was to sail the majority of the leg on starboard, gybe and put in a late hitch to the mark. This allowed Smyth to get ahead of Colin by the leeward mark. Lawton never relinquished the lead thereafter but behind him the fortunes of the fleet ebbed and flowed. Smyth and Colin sailed a parallel course offshore at the start of the third beat with Colin to leeward – a consequence of independent and simultaneous tacking rather than a covering manoeuvre. But when they tacked back onto port to go up the beat, Smyth had pulled out.
By the third weather mark, McKenna & O'Keeffe were threatening Smyth & Bradley's 2nd place on the water and these two sailed down the downwind leg barely half a boat-length apart. Behind them both Colin and Miller had closed so that with the exception of Lawton & Oram, who had a few more boat-lengths to spare, everyone was watching everyone else. For the 2nd downwind leg in a row, Smyth & Bradley were able to get enough breathing space from their immediate pursuer to round the leeward mark clear, but McKenna was very close. They split tacks with Smyth going inshore again. They met again in the proximity of the committee were a hail of "Starboard" from Smyth & Bradley put McKenna & O'Keeffe about. Miller & Colin had in the meantime gone offshore and this time Miller & O'Reilly were charging up the port layline to threaten Smyth's 2nd place. Another hail of "Starboard" was made but Smyth was able to clear Miller with half a boat length to spare. These two went down the last offwind leg three to four boat-lengths apart with Miller slightly inside Smyth. Behind them, Colin, who was having a strangely inconsistent "yoyo" night had fallen back into fifth place. Smyth & Bradley rounded the last leeward mark without too serious a physical threat from Miller. However, a Laser now entered the fray in the hitch to the upwind finish. Pinching excessively to try and stop Smyth's Fireball going over the top of him, he effectively stalled Smyth and then put in a tack onto starboard. A quickly executed tack called by Bradley avoided entanglement, but Miller suddenly loomed larger than had been the case. Fortunately the Laser was also going for the finish and when he tacked back to cross the line on port Smyth was able to do the same and shut the door on Miller who though he was still a "few paces away" was a lot closer than had been the case at the leeward mark.
McKenna took 4th and Colin 5th. The race had lasted just over 30 minutes but it had been frenetic!

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3; Round 5
1 Phil Lawton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb.
3 Frank Miller & Joe O'Reilly 14713 DMYC
4 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC
5 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC

The overall Series 3 results are as follows;
DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3 Overall.
1 Noel Butler/Phil Lawton/Mick Creighton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC 4pts
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb. 11pts
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 14pts
4 Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire 14865 DMYC 19pts
5 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC 21pts
Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 21pts

This concludes eighteen (18) weeks of Tuesday night racing. The Noel Butler/Stephen Oram combination has again confirmed their status as Masters of Scotsmans Bay for they have lost very few races over the eighteen weeks. From a wind perspective we have the full suite of conditions from light wind sessions inside the harbour to avoid foul tides to one or two slightly hairy races.

From a Class perspective we would like to thank all those volunteers who give of their time so that the rest of us can go racing – Race Officers, Committee Boat personnel, Rib drivers and crews and the secretariat of DBSC who collate all the results and post them to the website.

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 2. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Solidarity (Whelan/McCabe/Cary/Cramer), 2. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 3. Capilano (S Soran)

Ensign - 1. INSC2 (A Rumball), 2. RIYC 2 (Mark McGibney), 3. RIYC 1 (Tim Goodbody)

FIREBALL - 1. No Name (S Oram), 2. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 3. Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

GLEN - 1. Glenshane (P Hogan), 2. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dart (Pierre Long), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Sapphire (Lorcan O'Sullivan)

PY CLASS - 1. R Kenneally (Laser), 2. Colin Galavan (Laser), 3. Richard Tate (Laser)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Carmen (B Duffy), 2. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 3. Cresendo (L Balfe)

#DBSC - BENETEAU 31.7 Echo: 1 Legally Blonde (C Drohan/P Egan) ; 2 Thirty Something (Kavanagh\Gaffney\Jones) ; 3 Levante (M Leahy/J Power)

BENETEAU 31.7: 1 Levante (M Leahy/J Power); 2 Legally Blonde (C Drohan/P Egan); 3 Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll)

CRUISERS 0 Echo: 1 Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 0: 1 Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo: 1. Raptor (D Hewitt et al); 2 Jigamaree (R Harris); 3 Jalapeno (P Barrington et al)

CRUISERS 1: 1 Raptor (D Hewitt et al); 2 Jalapeno (P Barrington et al); 3 Jigamaree (R Harris)

CRUISERS 2 Echo: 1 Red Rhum (J Nicholson/C Nicholson); 2 Jawesome 111 (M Dyke/B Darcy); 3 Bendemeer (L Casey/D Power)

CRUISERS 2: 1 Red Rhum (J Nicholson/C Nicholson); 2 Jawesome 111 (M Dyke/B Darcy); 3 Graduate (D O'Keeffe)

CRUISERS 3 Echo: 1 Hard on Port (Flor O'Driscoll); 2 Quest (J Skerritt); 3 Cri-Cri (P Colton)

CRUISERS 3: 1 Quest (J Skerritt); 2 Hard on Port (Flor O'Driscoll); 3 Cri-Cri (P Colton)

FIREBALL Race 1: 1 Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth); 2 Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FIREBALL Race 2: 1 Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth); 2 Blind Squirrel (Frank Miller)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 1: 1 Flyer (Niall Coleman); 2 The Last Resort (John O'Sullivan); 3 Kooigjug (K Dumpleton)

FLYING FIFTEEN Race 2: 1. Kooigjug (K Dumpleton); 2 Gulfstream (A Cooper); 3 Snow White (Frank Burgess)

GLEN: 1 Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey); 2 Glenluce (D & R O'Connor); 3 Glendun (B Denham et al)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 1: 1 Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton); 2 Squalls (Stephen Harrison); 3 Dart (Pierre Long)

IDRA 14 FOOT Race 2: 1 Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton); 2 Squalls (Stephen Harrison); 3 Dart (Pierre Long)

MERMAID Race 1: 1 Jill (P Smith/P Mangan); 2 Aideen (B Martin/D Brennan)

MERMAID Race 2: 1 Jill (P Smith/P Mangan); 2 Aideen (B Martin/D Brennan); 3 Tijuana (David Stedmond)

RUFFIAN 23: 1 Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell); 2 Ripples (Frank Bradley); 3 Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown)

SIGMA 33: 1 Gwili Two (D Clarke/P Maguire); 2 Springer (I Bowring); 3 Popje (Ted McCourt)

SQUIB Race 1: 1 Perfection (Jill Fleming); 2 Little Demon (Sheila Power); 3 Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

SQUIB Race 2: 1 Perfection (Jill Fleming); 2 Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans); 3 Tears in Heaven (M Halpenny/G Ferguson)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo: 1 Xerxes (Dan O'Neill); 2 Sweet Martini (Bruce Carswell); 3 Persistence (C Broadhead et al)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS: 1 Persistence (C Broadhead et al); 2 Xerxes (Dan O'Neill); 3 Act Two (Michael O'Leary et al)

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M Branigan)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 2. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 3. Bluefin Two (M & B Bryson)

CRUISERS 0 Echo - 1. Lively Lady (Derek Martin), 2. Wow (George Sisk), 3. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton)

CRUISERS 0 - 1. Wow (George Sisk), 2. Loose Change (P Redden & M Mitton), 3. Lively Lady (Derek Martin)

CRUISERS 1 Echo - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Axiom (M.O'Neill)

CRUISERS 1 - 1. Bon Exemple (C Byrne), 2. Gringo (Tony Fox), 3. Jigamaree (R Harris)

CRUISERS 2 Echo - 1. Antix (D Ryan), 2. Black Sheep (E Healy), 3. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Black Sheep (E Healy), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 3 A - 1. Hamilton Bear (S Hyde), 2. Hard on Port (F O'Driscoll), 3. Quest (B Cunningham/J Skerritt)

CRUISERS 3 A Echo - 1. Solidarity (Whelan/McCabe/Cary/Cramer)

CRUISERS 3 B Echo - 1. Escapade (U O'Dwyer), 2. Syzrgy (R Fogarty), 3. Capilano (Seamus Soran)

CRUISERS 3 B - 1. Gung Ho (G & S O'Shea), 2. Asterix (Counihan/Meredith/Bushell), 3. Chouskikou (R Sheehan & R Hickey)

FLYING FIFTEEN - 1. Thingamabob (T Galvin), 2. Frequent Flyer (C Doorley/A Green), 3. Perfect Ten (A Balfe)

GLEN - 1. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan), 3. Glendun (B.Denham et al)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Bandit (Kirwan/Cullen/Brown), 2. Diane ll (A Claffey/C Helme), 3. Ruffles (Michael Cutliffe)

SB20 - 1. Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey), 2. Should be... (Michael O'Connor), 3. Timber (A McNabb & L Burke)

SHIPMAN - 1. Gusto (C Heath/G Miles), 2. The Den (A. Costello/G.Millar), 3. Malindi (B.Smith/A.Gray)

SIGMA 33 - 1. Rupert (R & P Lovegrove), 2. Gwili Two (D.Clarke/P.Maguire), 3. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody)

SQUIB - 1. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans), 2. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 3. Why Not (Derek & Jean Jago)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS Echo - 1. Sweet Martini (Bruce Carswell), 2. Nirvana (Bernard Neeson), 3. Lucy O (Aonghus O hEocha)

WHITE SAIL CRUISERS - 1. Vespucci (S & K O'Regan), 2. Calypso (Howard Knott), 3. Nauti-Gal (J & J Crawford)

#fireball – The penultimate Tuesday night Fireball dinghy race of the DBSC Series of races for Fireballs produced an entertaining and competitive night of racing that saw the final result in question until the last lap writes Cormac Bradley.
Although my favoured website forecaster had been predicting light winds of the order of less than 10 knots, just as the afternoon progressed into evening some more breeze came through to give us a lively sail out to the race area. Five boats answered the starter's call for a 3-lap triangular course with the wind coming from a bearing of 340˚. A windward mark was set off the East Pier of the harbour, the gybe mark was set inshore, and with a flooding tide, logic would have suggested that going offshore to gain the tidal effect, out from underneath the wind-shadow of the pier wall would be the way to go.........and 60% of the fleet thought that way. Wrong!!
Mick Creighton & Stephen Oram (15061), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) and Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007) all went offshore after some last second manoeuvring to avoid being over the line at the start. This left the "inshore track" completely open to the two all-lady crews of Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854) and Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire (14865). While the "60- per-centers" were keeping a close watch on each other the two inshore boats sailed a more relaxed first beat to round the weather mark in 1st and 2nd respectively. The other three boats had by now tacked back onto starboard and reading from inshore to offshore the sequence was Creighton, Colin and Smyth. The first two were below the mark with Colin in the controlling position, effectively blocking Creighton's tack onto the port layline to round the mark – a repeat of a similar tactic the previous week when the shoe was on the other foot. Creighton eventually gybed out of his predicament to round the weather mark by a longer route behind Power, Chambers, Colin, and Smyth, but an oversized blanket would have covered the last three boats.
Smyth's spinnaker hoist came "unstuck" with a fouled spinnaker halyard (internally) relegating him quickly to fifth place. Releasing the rig tension allowed that situation to be recovered, but would the spinnaker come down? All five boats gybed safely and the fleet condensed as they went down the second reach of the triangle. Creighton and Smyth locked horns halfway down the leg with a bit of barking at each other, but there was no contact and in any case both were keeping an eye on Colin as well. Power rounded the leeward mark in the lead but Chambers had a drop problem which saw her drift slightly to lee. Colin too had a difficult spinnaker drop but managed to stay ahead of both Creighton and Smyth. Initially all the boats headed offshore until Smyth took an early hitch inshore as much to get out of everyone else's "dirty wind". After all, the tactic had worked for the girls earlier. This tactic did bring some benefits as it allowed him to close on Creighton and Colin and overtake Chambers.
At the second weather mark the order was Power, Creighton, Colin, Smyth & Chambers. Down the run and Smyth got ahead of Colin and closely marginally on Creighton, but Power still had the lead. Cariosa & Marie were revelling in the conditions and proving very hard to catch. A tighter rounding by Smyth of the second leeward mark left him further inshore than Creighton and when the wind shifted shorewards, it left both Power and Smyth in "the pound seats". The beat had become a long one-tack, slightly relaxed two sailer and with Creighton to leeward of him, Smyth was able to sail into second place. But there was one more throw of the dice!
With the wind going shorewards, it would mean that the first reach of the second triangle would be tighter, so it was with some surprise that we saw a red sail coming out of the leading boat. Surely not! Smyth & Bradley had already decided to two sail the leg and behind them Creighton & Oram were doing the same. Realising the error of their ways the red sail was recovered but not in time to save their lead and see two places lost to Smyth and Creighton. The gap between Smyth/Bradley and Creighton/Oram was, at this stage down to maybe 5-6 boat lengths. Could the former negotiate the last gybe and stay ahead on the spinnaker leg? Yes! The gybe was safely negotiated and while the two boats stayed in close contact, there was no sense that the pursuers were closing in on their quarry.
A tidy drop at the leeward mark saw Smyth safely round the last leeward mark for the two-sailer to the finish. Creighton & Oram were inside them but this wasn't enough of an advantage to mount a final attack on the leaders. Colin got through the long-time race leaders to record third place on the night.
Thus, for the majority of the five entries, spinnaker decisions and handling influenced their evening's pursuits, with Marie and Cariosa paying the heaviest price.

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3, Race 4, 19th Aug.
1 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb.
2 Mick Creighton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC
3 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC

DBSC Tuesday Nights: Series 3, Overall (with one discard).
1 Mick Creighton & Stephen Oram 15061 NYC 3pts
2 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 9pts
2 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harb. 9pts
4 Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire 14865 DMYC 12pts
5 Cariosa Power & Marie Barry 14854 NYC 14pts

Thus with one race to sail, Butler & Oram are yet again secure in 1st place overall, but there should be an interesting race between Colin & Casey and Smyth & Bradley for the bridesmaid slot!
The Nationals at Lough Ree Yacht Club outside Athlone are just less than a month away and provisional arrangements with our hosts for the regatta are being discussed as this goes to print. The venue has been chosen for ease of access and the hospitality that we were afforded there last year when we went in September. Racing takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with an early afternoon "kick-off" proposed to accommodate those who want to travel on the Friday morning. A challenge has gone out to our "northern brethren" to have a presence at the regatta. Camping is available again so the idea is to try and emphasise the social potential as well as the racing.

#dbsc – BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Fiddly Bits (Timmins/Quigley/Murray/Breen)

CRUISERS 2 - 1. Borraine (Ean Pugh), 2. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 3. Red Rhum (J Nicholson & C Nicholson)

CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Papytoo (M Walsh/F Guilfoyle), 2. Wynward (W McCormack), 3. Isolde (B Mulqueen & J Martin)

Ensign - 1. INSC1 (K Rumball), 2. INSC2 (A Rumball), 3. RIYC 2 (Mark McGibney)

FIREBALL - 1. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth), 2. No Name (S Oram), 3. Elevation (N.Colin/M.Casey)

GLEN - 1. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 2. Glendun (B.Denham et al), 3. Glenshesk (Walker\Faulkner\Henderson)

IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Slipstream (Julie Ascoop), 2. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 3. Dart (Pierre Long)

PY CLASS - 1. Colin Galavan (Laser), 2. David Dwyer (Laser), 3. P Smith & P Mangan (Mermaid)

RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy), 2. Cresendo (L Balfe), 3. Different Drummer (D Tonge)

SQUIB - 1. Perfection (Jill Fleming), 2. Anemos (Pete & Ann Evans)

#sb20 – The SB20 fleet were treated to an exhilarating, white-knuckle ride on Dublin bay on Sunday afternoon in conditions gusting over thirty knots writes Michael O'Connor.

OOD Barry O'Neill and his team of Fionnuala Loughrey, Cathy Booth and Barbara Conway kept a watchful eye on the wind and pressure readings all morning and after careful consideration, the call was made to go racing. The committee boat team made their way up towards Seapoint for a more sheltered race area and set a windward leeward course with a standard leeward mark rather than a leeward gate.

The boats got away at the first time of asking with Venuesworld (Ger, Chris et al) taking the favoured pin with Should Be... (Michael, Owen, Peter and Dave) just to weather of them and SacreBleu (Ben et al) further to weather still. The boats raced out towards the left hand side of the course with Venuesworld and Should Be... going all the way to the layline and SacreBleu tacking 10 boat lengths to leeward of the layline. Should Be... managed to squeeze out a narrow lead over their rivals at the weather mark and as the boats rounded onto the run, the kites went up without hesitation (!). As the boats blasted down the run at speeds easily into the high teens, the three leaders gybed before a monster gust came through knocking both Should Be... and Venuesworld over on their ear while SacreBleu showed everyone how it should be done and skilfully kept the boat under the mast and screaming towards the leeward mark, skipping past their rivals. At the leeward mark, SacreBleu had taken the lead from Venuesworld with Should Be in a close third. With the wind now beginning to howl, the OOD signalled a shortened course and SacreBleu took a well deserved gun from Should Be..., who had managed to squeeze past Venuesworld, in second and Venuesworld in third ahead of Bad in fourth.

In the absence of the forecast easing of the wind strength, there was a question over whether or not to continue but after some deliberation the decision was made to run a second race. In race 2, Bad attempted a port tack start but just couldn't make it past Venuesworld and tacked just to leeward of them as the fleet made their way out left again. Should Be... tacked out to the right side of the course and made some gains on the fleet after a sluggish start. At the weather mark, Venuesworld led by a boat length from Should Be... with Bad and SacreBleu a few boatlengths further back. Once again, the boats decided to throw up the kites and be damned... A few short minutes later the boats were approaching the leeward mark and Venuesworld still held a short lead from Should Be... with SacreBleu and Bad in a tussle for third. Up the second beat, Should Be... managed to work their way ahead of Venuesworld and SacreBleu won their tussle with Bad for third. Down the last sleigh ride, Venuesworld expertly gybed off early into a rich vein of breeze and when the boats converged at the leeward mark, they had overtaken Should Be... once more. The short beat to finish didn't provide any further overtaking opportunities and the top three in race two were Venuesworld from Should Be... with SacreBleu in third.

The OOD decided that the fleet had had enough fun for one day and called the very happy but exhausted sailors ashore, many commenting on how it was the best thrill ride of the season and hoping for more of the same next weekend at the Westerns in Galway.

SB20 Class notices:

Next weekend (23rd & 24th) we have the Westerns in Galway and we are hoping for a great turnout. Galway never, ever disappoints and it is sure to be a cracking event. Here's hoping for big wind and big waves to go with the mighty craic!

Unfortunately, it will not be possible to make up last Sundays lost SB Sunday (no. 8) with a replacement day. However, the intention is to run 4 shorter races each day on SB Sundays 9 and 10 so that series three will constitute 8 races instead of 9 and a second discard will be able to be applied (I believe) making for a closer, more enjoyable series.

Look forward to seeing you all next Thursday for the penultimate Thursday race of 2014!