On December 26th, Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's (MBSC) annual Christmas event was held on the tranquil waters of Cork Harbour.
On the early Sunday morning, sailors in competitive spirit showed up on time to make the early start of ten o'clock.
The bay gleamed in the winter sunshine as people began to arrive at the Sand Quay. Although the sunrise was a pretty sight, it revealed the harbour to be as still as a pond.
Alex Barry and Fred Cudmore were second in a pink RS400 Photo: Bob Bateman
Disregarding the light breeze, twelve boats lined up on the start line. Those boats were made up of a mixed fleet; Three 5o5's, an RS400, and the rest of the pack were made up of standard rigged Lasers.
Slight puffs of breeze began to show on the water just in time as the gun went off. This light wind theme continued for all three races.
Tight racing on the bay (Laser to windward is George Kingston, Laser in between Chris Bateman, blue 505 is Anthony Coole and Chris Granby) Photo: Bob Bateman
A very competitive fleet battled it out for their positions. John Downey and Sandy Rimmington's 5o5 dominated throughout the races, showing a turn of speed that put many Laser sailors in their place.
Laser sailor George Kingston (AUS210150) comes off the start line
The results were set after gently steering their boats around the courses all morning. Winning the Magner Cup was John/Sandy in their 5o5. The RS400 sailed by Alex Barry/Fred Cudmore followed up in second. In third place was Harry Pritchard sailing his Laser.
Brian Jones and Gary Frost in their 5o5 Photo: Bob Bateman
The racing was tight, on time, and the competition was intense. This is typical of Monkstown Bay and its club. Alan Fehily and his team did very well to finish the three races on time. Alan has never failed to get us in on time, and as promised, everyone was ashore by twelve o'clock.
Ronan Kenneally in Laser 192703 Photo: Bob Bateman
While the morning was a great success, it is only the start of Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's season. Coming up in two weeks is the beginning of the Laser Winter League, where Laser sailors from Cork and beyond will be treated to the best dinghy racing in Cork Harbour.
5o5 duo Sandy Rimmington (left) and John Downey Photo: Bob Bateman
