First DBSC Races
Tuesday: 30th April
Thursday: 25th April
Saturday: 27th April

Last DBSC Races
Tuesday: 27th August
Thursday: 29th August
Saturday: 28th September

#dbsc – After the success of the Irish National Sailing Club's racing programme in conjunction with the Royal Irish Yacht Club for the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot, INSC took the decision to grow the programme and build on it for the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Spring Series 2013 writes instructor Kenneth Rumball.
Lots of old faces returned for the Spring Series and with those less skilled with the spinnaker, we ran a training day one week prior to the start of the series. For this training day we had two boats learning the ins and outs of mastering the mast-head spinnakers on the 1720s. Kenneth Rumball and Brian Flahive were the two coaches on the day showing our sailors the best way to handle these spinnakers on the faster boats.
Unfortunately, the first morning of racing had to be cancelled. A wise decision given the forecast for the day of a building breeze, a bit of a let-down for our clients. However, we occupied the morning in the National Yacht Club discussing our plans for the coming weeks over a few cups of coffee.
The following week couldn't have come quick enough; with a lighter forecast and some lighter weather we enjoyed a fantastic first race. The wet and cold didn't put anybody off, and our three skippers for the series, Kenneth Rumball, Noel Butler and Andrew Boyle were all eager to show our crews around the race-track. Noel and Kenneth started at the pin end with a strong pin bias while Andy was a little bit further down the line. We tackled the long port leg leaving most of the boats in our start in our wake and catching some of the start 2 boats by the first mark. With a building breeze, the prudent thing would have been for the boats to move from a mast-head spinnaker to a fractional kite however it was a case of 'go big or go home' and the big kites found their way to the top of the rig! This gave us all a great last blast downwind with INSC 1 pippng the 1720 Luna Sea on the line to take line honours.
Week 3 and Race 2, big waves and big breeze from the east. The race was always going to be rough with a falling tide and gusts of 30 knots form the east gave us a big wind against tide sea state across the course. With the weather mark being the Muglins Islands themselves the conditions at the weather mark were interesting to say the least. INSC1 went in close to the shoreline of Sandycove and Dalkey to keep out of the tide and also get into the flatter water allowing for improved boat speed. INSC 2 & 3 took a more offshore route, getting the worst of the big seas! For every cloud there is a silver lining, what you slog through up wind, once you come around the top mark and pop the kite, nothing beats a 1720 downwind in the big breeze. Our 1720s were seen comfortably screaming past A35s and J109s revelling in the conditions.
Race 3 was an altogether lighter affair. INSC2 picked out some dark rain clouds on the left of the course and kept heading that way. INSC1 and INSC3 took a course more up the middle of the track. The left paid, allowing INSC2 to comfortably get around the mark at the top of the fleet. A 'Z' course caused all manners of fun and games with INSC1 decided to ambitiously go for a windward hoist on a tight reach leg, needlessly to say this manoeuvre went somewhat interestingly. A great race with INSC 2 claiming line honours!
The final race of the Spring Series being Race4 was in doubt due to a refreshing lack of wind. We drifted/sailed out to the race course and enjoyed a fantastic race. INSC1 & INSC2 were neck and neck around the weather mark not giving each other an inch! However at the bottom mark, the J109 Ruth did INSC1 a massive favour by sailing on top of INSC2. This enabled INSC1 to gain back their advantage. A close tacking duel between the two boats up the rest of the right of the beat was hard work for all crews. INSC1 came out on top only being pipped to line honours by the J109 Ruth.
Little did we know this was to be the last race of an exciting and adventurous series. All crews gained invaluable experience and are looking ahead to the busy summer season.
The Irish National Sailing Club is up and running with all it's Adult Sail Training Programmes and we are looking to the DBSC Tuesday night's series as the next Race Training programme. We will be in this case focusing on clients taking the helm and learning how to drive our boats to victory.

#dbsc – The National Yacht Club J109 cruiser racer Ruth lifted the Viking Marine sponsored DBSC Spring Chicken trophy on Sunday after a four race series that saw the final leg of the popular all–in series cancelled due to north westerly gales on Dublin Bay.

John Maybury's consistent performer Joker 2 lead the fleet in to the halfway stage of the series. The Royal Irish contender was five points clear of sistership Ruth after two races but the Liam Shanahan entry from the NYC edged it in the end taking honours ahead of the Grand Soleil 40 Orna after four races and one discard.

Third was the Archembault A35 Another Adventure. Full results downloadable below as an MS Word file.

#dbsc – Sea conditions and strong easterly winds on Dublin Bay have cancelled this morning's final race of the DBSC Chicken Series.

The overall prizegiving will be held in the National Yacht Club this mornng at 11am.

#dbsc – Race 5 of the Dublin Bay Spring Series, would it happen for the Irish National Sailing Club (INSC) crews asked Instructor/Skipper Kenneth Rumball yesterday

Certainly driving down, the coast road to Dun Laoghaire, it was questionable, Dublin Bay was a glassy millpond.

None the less, we rigged up and drifted/sailed out into a waiting fleet in the bay. Freebird had gone off upwind to lay a weather mark as we patiently waited for the breeze to fill in.

Fill in it did and the starting sequence got underway. INSC1 hung around the committee boat while INSC2 & INSC3 were down the pin end. After some confusion caused entirely by the skippers, all boats got underway with all boats late for the start. INSC1s skipper had to be reminded the rest of his fleet had started! Whoops, thinking too much.

The first beat was patchy with INSC1 taking an initial route up the middle of the course while INSC2 chose a one tack wonder out to the right of the course! INSC3 took a route more up the left of the course! It turns out INSC2 had the best route, getting into the building Easterly breeze, INSC1 moved from the middle to the right of the course. At the top mark, it was INSC1 & INSC2 neck in neck at the top mark ahead of the fleet who were now getting into the breeze. INSC3 was struggling up the beat but powering past the rest of the fleet from start 3. INSC1 took a route down the right of the run while INSC2 went down the left of the run. No major gains or losses for either boat.

However at the bottom mark, the J109 Ruth did INSC1 a massive favour by sailing on top of INSC2. This enabled INSC1 to gain back their advantage. A close tacking duel between the two boats up the rest of the right of the beat was hard work for all crews.

The finish was to be at the top of this beat, we all finished in a great building breeze with the sun just coming out. If DBSC arranged the weather, it could be related to a Carlsberg advertisement. INSC1 was second across the line to the J109 Ruth with INSC2 6th across the line, with Orna and the A35 Another Adventure getting in their way.

#dbsc – A good breeze last week gave an exciting sail to Dalkey island last Sunday with an eventful finish for some including a 1720 and a J109.

This Sunday's race is looking lighter with a left-over easterly sloppy sea-state and perhaps chilly conditions.

Handicaps & Starts for next Sunday's Spring Chicken Series are below as Excel files. There are ho changes in starts.

#dbsc –Dun Laoghaire's Irish National Sailing (INSC) are off to a flying start in boats in the DBSC Spring Chicken Series that got underway yesterday on Dublin Bay.  Here's the INSC's Kenneth Rumball on the day's adventures in the Cruiser and sportsboat series sponsored by Viking Marine.

After last week's postponement, three INSC 1720s ventured out into a building westerly breeze with a lumpy sea and dark wintery drizzle for the start of yesterday's DBSC Spring Series.

Hats, gloves and full waterproofs were the order of the day. After a short postponement, our 1720s got away in the third start. Kenneth Rumball, Noel Butler and Andrew Boyle were the three skippers of the boats. Noel and Kenneth started at the pin end with a strong pin bias while Andy was a little bit further down the line. We tackled the long port leg leaving most of the boats in our start in our wake and catching some of the start 2 boats by the first mark.

Even though the breeze was building and there was talk of rigging the fractional kite as opposed to the masthead, INSC 1 (Kenny) went for the big kite and gybed away after the windward mark into the stronger tide. INSC 2 (Noel) opted for the fractional kite and stuck to the right of the run. INSC 3 (Andy) had also gone for the masthead and was tearing down the middle of the run. By the leeward mark, INSC 1 rounded just behind the RStGYC 1720 Luna Sea with INSC 3 and then INSC 2.

INSC 2 and INSC 3 enjoyed a fantastic battle throughout the race with INSC 2 only getting ahead due to a suspect spinnaker hoist!

The three INSC boats continued to work through the pack and by the last downwind, INSC 1 was just behind Luna Sea. With some great teamwork from the crew, we gybed on Luna Sea on the line, pipping them to a line honours finish in the first race of the DBSC Spring Series.

A great start for INSC 1 and great racing for all INSC 1720s in our race training program!

#dbsc – After last weekend's baptism of fire in gusty conditions in the first race of the Viking Marine sponsored DBSC Turkey Shoot series new handicaps have been issued by the race organiser for Sunday's second race.

Over 70 boats have entered the series.

Four starts are planned and line ups are downloadable below as an excel sheet.

Meanwhile the prizegiving for DBSC's Summer series takes place on November 16th at the Royal St. George Yacht Club. Over 90 trophies will be presented. Full 2012 DBSC prizewinners are listed here.

#dbsc – Noted quarter tonner Supernova, currently for sale, has won Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) top award for handicap cruiser racing having won seven individual trophies in the 2012 DBSC season. The full DBSC prizewinners list for 2012 is below. Over ninety trophies will be awarded at one of Irish sailing's biggest nights of the year when DBSC's prizegiving takes place on the 16th November 2012 at the Royal St.George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Among the awards to be made is one for a notable contribution to sailing and this year it will be made to Annalise Murphy for her Olympic performance in Weymouth.

In a note to members in DBSC's annual report outgoing Commodore Tony Fox makes a number of points about the Dublin Bay 2012 wind patterns, so critical in the enjoyment of our sailing, which were disconcerting in the extreme. On four successive Thursdays in May, racing had to be cancelled for lack of wind. On another two, the same happened because there was too much of it. There were another two Thursdays when racing was possible for the Blue fleet only. Boats racing on Tuesdays did note escape scot-free either. On four Tuesdays racing had to be cancelled, fog or thick, impenetrable mist being responsible on two occasions.

Yet looking back on 2012 we can remember there e were many days of splendid, exhilarating racing that made one forget the frustrations of early summer. As sailors we take the weather as it comes – sailing is all about adapting to wind and tide and it has never been otherwise. In 2007, "the worst summer on record" we were told, no less than eleven days racing had to be cancelled. What makes 2012 stand out is the fact that most of the cancellations happened on successive Thursdays, on the most popular racing day of the week. Oddly, there were no cancellations of Saturday races.

#dbsc – While tomorrow's Dun Laoghaire lift out of boats at the National and the Royal St. George Yacht Clubs brings the main sailing season to an end Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) will be lifting-in its new Committee boat just in time for November's Viking Marine 'Turkey Shoot' series.

The new 33' flagship 'Freebird of Dublin' has been purchased with the club's own resources to serve both dinghy and keelboat fleets as a starting vessel.

Freebird has just been fitted with a new deckhouse by Noonan boats in Co. Wicklow. The jet driven catamaran is the second such craft for DBSC and replaces an older mononull.

There has been a buoyant take up for the Winter series from those still smarting at the loss of so much summer sailing. The 2012 season got off to a slow start when the first six DBSC Thursday races were lost due to an absence of wind.