The recent spell of wet weather may have put a damper on your painting and anti-fouling plans, but the forecast is looking brighter for this Sunday.

And if you’re looking to stock up on the essentials to ready your boat for the new season, Viking Marine in Dun Laoghaire is also open this and every Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm with a wide range of paint and antifoul, cleaning and maintenance products and more besides. Visit VikingMarine.ie to browse the selection.

The Race Management Team from DMYC and the weather combined to get another two races completed in the Viking Marine-sponsored Series 2 Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday. Winds were in the range 7 – 15 knots from the South-East and Race Officer Ian Cutliffe set the fleet a three-lap Olympic course to get proceedings underway. With the wind in this direction, he was able to set a beat across the longest dimension of the harbour and set the weather mark off the bandstand on the East Pier. The gybe mark was inside the end of the East Pier and the leeward mark was in the elbow of the western breakwater and the West Pier.

A delayed departure by the Marine Institute’s brand-new research vessel, “RV Tom Crean” necessitated the flying of a postponement flag and some of the PY fleet mistook the dropping of this flag for the Warning signal, meaning that they had a one-minute jump on the balance of the fleet who knew their timings.

The DMYC Race Management Team set up a course for the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

This led to an unusual sight, a Finn mixing it with the Fireballs at the windward mark at the first rounding and a very different leader in the Fireball fleet on the water. Colin Breen (14683) must have really enjoyed the first race because he only relinquished the lead on the water halfway down the first reach of the second triangle. In the pre-race period, ILCA 6-er Sean Craig said it was a very good beat as he hadn’t worked out which side was going to pay.

The 21-boat PY fleet seemed to concur as they spread themselves across the width of the course. Apart from Breen and the Finn, the usual suspects were to be found at the front of this fleet, Messrs Butler, Oram, van Maanen in the Aeros and Colin & Casey, Power & Barry and McKenna & O’Keeffe in the Fireballs.

By the third windward mark, Breen was still leading on the water but the two lady crews were closing in on him, Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854) with a slicker spinnaker hoist overtook Breen who then had to watch Louise McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe (15016) close on him as well.
Power & Barry took the win on the water in 34:32 and the leading Aeros were Stephen Oram (7) in 38:21 and Noel Butler (6) in 39:40. However, on corrected time Oram took the win in 36:01 with Butler and Power/Barry tied at 36:16. Two other boats had finishing times within the 36th minute, McKenna & O’Keeffe at 36:43 and Roy van Maanen at 36:53.

ILCAs7 and 4s start a race at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Ian Cutliffe

Seven ILCAs enjoyed reasonably close racing on the water and were led home by Theo Lyttle, with Niall Cowman and Sean Bowden occupying the podium places. The ILCA 4s, sharing the start line with the 7s saw a 1-2-3 of Kate Flood, Patrick Foley and Grace Gavin.

The ILCA 6s however, were subject to a General Recall for their start before their 26-boat fleet got away. Despite having got out to the race area early, Sean Craig hadn’t seemed to work the beat out to his satisfaction, as at the windward mark for the first time he was down in 5th or 6th place. His situation improved as the race went on and he came home in third, behind Darren Griffin and Pascal Boret, but ahead of Conor Clancy and Peter Williams.

For Race 2, a two-lap windward/leeward mark was set with an offset mark at the windward mark and a leeward gate. It seems this simple course configuration bamboozled quite a few people – people who should know better and others who simply played follow my leader. One ILCA passed within touching distance of the spreader mark on both occasions……. on the wrong side. Ditto, a high placed Aero!! Later, I learned that boats were leaving the gate marks to port!

Fireballs and RS Aeros downwind at the at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

In the PY fleet, normal order was restored on the water with Fireballs and Aeros to the fore. While the Fireballs were able to do well on the water, the computation of numbers left them behind the Aeros. However, the theoretical racing was very tight with six boats finishing within a minute – between 20:04 and 20:46 on corrected time; Butler (Aero), Damien Dion (Aero), Sarah Dwyer (Aero), Stephen Oram (Aero), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (FB 14775) and Stuart Harris (Aero). Louise McKenna led home a trio of lady helms – Louise (9th), Cariosa Power (10th) and Ciara Mulvey (GP 14 11111) with Peter Murphy (11th).

The ILCA 7s and 4s transgressed significantly with respect to the spreader mark so there are lots of NCSs on this fleet’s scorecard, but in terms of finishing positions the 1-2-3 for the full rig was Sean Bowden, Robbie Walker and Roy McKay, while none of the ILCA 4s sailed the correct course.

Part of the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite fleet in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

The ILCA 6s were much better behaved in the second race, both in terms of starting and mark-rounding. They enjoyed some tight racing at the head of the fleet and there were enough wise heads at the front to take them around the spreader mark. This adherence was diluted further down the pecking order. Conor Clancy improved on his score from Race 1 by jumping two places to second, while Sean Craig finished third again. Ahead of Clancy was Brian Carroll, while behind Craig was Hugh Delap and Peter Williams. The tightness of racing between Clancy and Craig is further reflected by the fact that Clancy now leads Craig by a single point in overall terms, the tightest margin across the four fleets.

Fireballs are having a hot time of it at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbite series in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. At the first outing on November 6th, competitors faced challenging conditions with extreme gusts in the high twenties coming from unexpected directions, often 30 degrees off the average. This resulted in some capsizes, mostly to windward, in the fresh and chilly conditions.

Neil Colin and Margaret Casey prevailed in race one, closely followed home by Alistair Court and Gordon Syme. Just behind was Frank Miller sailing with crew Dave Coleman whom Miller shanghaied on the slipway. It was Coleman’s first test on trapeze of his new knee and happily, the pair stayed upright around the course so that knee may be tested again. A capsize saw Louise McKenna and Marjo Moonen relegated to fourth in that race. The chasing pack of the nine-boat fleet saw good close racing right down the line.

Franco Cassidy has been out sailing with his young son Hugh, the latter’s first time in a Fireball and on trapeze and the pair are rapidly improving every race.

The SID Fireball was out in the safe hands of Pat McGoldrick with Jos Dornschneider-Elkink, who edged in ahead of Cariosa Power and Marie Barry.

Nick Miller has bought Miller’s previous Fireball Blind Squirrel, and with Cearbhall Daly has raised his game. Glen Fisher is guest helming with Michael Keegan in the latter’s boat and enjoying good competition in the middle of the fleet. Race two on the 6th saw several head for shore as the breeze picked up a notch but in fact the wind eased a little while racing was underway. This race saw Court and Syme prevail over McKenna & Moonen with Miller & Coleman again 3rd. Fisher & Keegan were 4th & McGoldrick & Dornschneider-Elkink 5th with Nick Miller & Daly 6th.

Court/Syme lead Colin/Casey in a Fireball duel at the Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Pat Kiersey

The following Sunday the forecast was pretty terrible and many expected racing to be cancelled, but in fact conditions in Dun Laoghaire Harbour were quite sailable. While it was windy and sometimes very windy, the wind was far more stable than the previous Sunday. Race officer Cormac Bradley wisely went for one long multiple round race with 6 triangles. Happily, for the Fireballs in winds in the high twenties, the gybe mark was set low and spinnakers could be carried on the reaching legs. Frank Miller and Ed Butler took full advantage and blazed their way around the course leading by a good margin from McKenna & Hermine O’Keeffe, the Cassidys and Fisher & Keegan.

The following Sunday 13th November another terrible forecast turned out to be all too accurate and racing was cancelled without any complaints from competitors! But the Sunday just gone, November 27th, saw the best racing so far of the series.

Eleven Fireballs rocked up for the start line, necessarily a short line set close to the harbour mouth at the West Pier. Race seven of the series was a Windward-Leeward affair in medium winds from the south and southeast. Race officer Cormac Bradley set the windward mark well down the corner of the East pier, making maximum use of the harbour and giving competitors plenty to think about in terms of strategy up the beat. While the better wind was on the left side of the course, shifting and bending wind off the shore provided plenty of opportunity for those going at least some of the way right also. Too far right could lead to disaster and mucky broken wind but equally, too far left could leave competitors out on a limb.

Miller sailing with Fireball chairman Neil Cramer ultimately prevailed in race one, but it was hot and heavy all the way around the course and places changed several times with Court & Syme and McKenna & O’Keeffe leading at different points in the race. The run was especially tricky as decent gusts propelled the chasing boats towards the leaders. Colin & Casey had minor gear failure in that race which left them in 5th to Owen Sinnott & Grattan Donnelly. The chasing pack had close racing all around the course. Race eight saw a four-round Olympic Triangle course signalled but the race team changed that to three rounds as the clock was ticking and the winter sun getting close to diving behind the Dublin Mountains. Again, it was hot and heavy for Fireballs around the course. Miller & Cramer narrowly led around the windward, followed by Court & Syme, McKenna & O’Keeffe and Colin & Casey. Everything changed on the second beat as Colin & Casey banged the left corner and found good breeze to steam in on the port layline. On the run Miller & Cramer managed to nip ahead after a gybe, but that pair lost the lead again on the final beat by going too far left seeking the magic Colin had found previously.

Court & Syme, McKenna and O’Keeffe and Colin & Casey sailed a more conservative middle right course and made the most of a couple of shifts and a few pockets of good breeze to finish in that order and see Miller & Cramer relegated to fourth. Again, the chasing pack had extremely close racing with Power & Barry prevailing over Sinnott and Donnelly, Fisher & Keegan staying just ahead of Colm Breen and son Rory, and Paul ter Horst and son Morris keeping the SID boat of McGoldrick & Dornschneider-Elkink. While Miller & Butler currently hold the overall lead by a very thin margin all bets are off for this winter series.

In light and medium conditions, both Colin & Casey and McKenna & O’Keeffe are deadly, while in all conditions Court & Syme are extremely fast and extremely consistent. What is abundantly clear is that this is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested winter series for Fireballers in some years.

Being a competitive sailor, I love to compete and especially love a win here and there! And so when I heard that our town had won the best town award from the Academy of Urbanism, I was delighted. We all know the amount of work that has been going on in the town, along the waterfront and everywhere in between to make Dún Laoghaire a great place to live, work and play. (See below for details on the award and judges' report)

As the current chairman of the Dún Laoghaire Business Association (DLBA) I am immensely proud of our town and of the award. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow retailers who collectively bring a wonderful retail mix to the town and to everyone who lives, works and shops in Dún Laoghaire. Without you all, we would have no town, no waterfront, and little impetus to make our town thrive.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour - The Coastal Mobility Cycle Route and Village Public Realm project, connecting urban villages, bathing places, walks and parks along the coast, played a big part in the selection process Photo: Peter Barrow/Simon Coate

The Christmas lights are on and give a great festive feel to the town. Can I encourage you all to shop local and, when shopping online, to look for the .ie sites, so shopping local and reducing those air miles? 
And the government this year have increased the amount that companies can annually gift their staff up to €1000 in Gift Vouchers. Good news for everyone. No better way to gift your team members/employees than a gift voucher from their favourite shop. And if that just so happens to be Viking Marine get your Voucher right here.

Dún Laoghaire DLRCC Cathaoirleach Mary Hanafin receives the winning town award

The Coastal Mobility Cycle Route and Village Public Realm project, connecting urban villages, bathing places, walks and parks along the coast, played a big part in the selection process

The judges were particularly impressed with the energy in the town, the joint leadership from all key stakeholders, the inclusive nature of voluntary and business groups and the willingness to incorporate active travel, landmark buildings like the Lexicon and our natural environment into a vibrant town. The Coastal Mobility Cycle Route and Village public realm project, connecting urban villages, bathing places, walks and parks along the coast, played a big part in the selection process and in our town winning the award.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council also received a framed copy of a ‘great place’ poem that captures the essence of Dún Laoghaire, written and read by the Academy’s Poet-in-Residence Ian McMillan

The Judges Report detailing why Dún Laoghaire won the Urbanism award makes for interesting reading.

Dun Laoghaire at night as seen from the town's East Pier lighthouse

For the next five weeks, Viking Marine will give 10% off some of our best-selling products when purchased as part of a bundle with a second best-selling item. When paired together, you will get 10% off both.

There are products to cater to all needs, including swimmers, boat owners, dinghy sailors and kids.

We will release the discount codes weekly but keep reading for a sneak peek of what's coming.

There are products to cater to all needs, including swimmers, boat owners, dinghy sailors and kids

Week 1 (21st-27th November inclusive)

Now that the evenings are getting darker, you may need a Nebo Torch, which can be purchased with our best-selling Seago Lifejacket to get 10% off both items. The Seago Lifejacket is one size fits all, making in the perfect jacket for guests aboard.

Week 2 (28th November - 4th December inclusive)

Fancy a new Rooster Aquafleece Cag? Buy any variation of Rooster Aquafleece Cag and pair it with any Rooster Gloves to get 10% off both. This is the ideal combination for both dinghy and yacht sailors who need some TLC.

Week 3 (5th - 11th December inclusive)

For all those hardy winter swimmers, now is the time to bite the bullet and get a pair of gloves and socks. Many of you may decide the water is getting too cold to swim throughout the winter but rest assured, a pair of gloves and socks will sort you out to let you swim longer.

Week 4 (12th - 18th December inclusive)

Our Helly Hansen Rider Vest is one of our best-selling buoyancy aids. This vest provides easy access with a front zip and is suitable for all ages. Pair it with a Rooster Aquafleece Hat to keep warm this winter.

Week 5 (19th - 24th December inclusive) - Stocking Fillers

Buy 2 of our selected stocking fillers to get 10% off. Hurry, as we expect these to sell out for those last-minute shoppers!

We will release the discount codes weekly on our Social Media Pages, so keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram and Facebook @vikingmarine.ie.

Our bundle discounts can be used in-store and online at vikingmarine.ie.

If you're looking for Christmas Present Inspiration, why not check out our Christmas Gift Brochure here?

Still feel like you need some expert advice? Just reach out to our helpful staff on 01 2806654 or [email protected]

From mid-week, the prospects for the Viking Marine-sponsored DMYC Frostbite racing this past Sunday were a source of discussion between Regatta Director Neil Colin and Race Officer Cormac Bradley as XCWeather was suggesting winds in the high teens with gusts in the low thirties from a direction just east of south. On arrival at DMYC, having driven the long way around through Dun Laoghaire to check conditions in the main part of the harbour, it looked more favourable than the forecast had suggested and Neil advised that a walk to the end of the West Pier earlier in the morning had convinced him that racing should proceed. However, the recommended recipe for the day was to have one long race and get the fleet home.

On setting up the committee boat, “Goose”, in the race area, it became apparent that a weather mark would be required about 60m inshore from the bandstand, with a gybe mark set in line with the red lighthouse of the East Pier but 100m inshore from the harbour entrance and a leeward mark in the proximity of the green INSC raft off the western inner breakwater. The advantage of this set-up is that it gives the longest beat available in the harbour.

The wind conditions were brisk in the time period before the starts, with a base wind strength of 18/19 knots and gusts in the low twenties. A reduced fleet took to the water, with the ILCA 6s taking the biggest class honour with ten boats, followed by the PY Class with 9, the ILCA 7s with six and the ILCA 4s with six, a big jump from the previous Sunday when only one ILCA 4 started.

Prompted by the discussion ashore, the RO set the fleet a five-lap Olympic course, the premise being to get the race in and the fleet back ashore in case more inclement weather came in. It appears, post-race, that this may have been a popular decision.

All three starts were clean, with the RO learning the lesson from last week by having a generous start line in place. The preferred option was to take a long starboard hike off the start line before working rightwards towards the RHS of the course. For the PYs, the first to show at the weather mark was the Fireball of Frank Miller & Ed Butler (14915) and theirs was the first spinnaker to show as well. This pair scorched around the course and took the win by a margin of 5:01 from the Aero 6 of Noel Butler who was closely followed until the last gybe mark by the Aero 7 of Stephen Oram. A swim at this gybe mark allowed Butler to get away from Oram. Despite this sizeable gap in time on the water, the handicaps would convert Butler’s 5:01 deficit to a 1:22 advantage and the PY win. Oram finished 5:58 behind Miller & Butler but lost out by only 47 seconds on time to Miller to take third on handicap.

Viking Marine DMYC PY mug winners Frank Miller (left) and Ed Butler (centre) with DMYC Commodore Ian Cutliffe

Of the four Fireballs racing, only two flew spinnaker, Miller/Butler and the new combination of Glen Fisher & Michael Keegan (14676). Frank Cassidy (14934) sailed with his son for the second time in a Frostbites and given the conditions, they did very well, especially as Frank broke a tiller extension during the race. Miller & Butler’s big margin was down to two factors – flying the spinnaker on the reaches……...and staying upright.

Among the ILCAs there was some “tight cluster” racing on the water in the 6s, with Sean Craig leading home from Conor Clancy and Darren Griffin, while the six-boat fleet of 7s saw Gavan Murphy occupy the top step of the podium ahead of Gary O’Hare and Niall Cowman.

Laser Radial mug winner Conor Clancy (left) with DMYC Commodore Ian Cutliffe

And, after a “one-boat, no race” scenario last week in the ILCA 4s, they mustered a six-boat fleet to make sure they had a race this Sunday. Kate Flood led home Sam Legge and Matilda Murray.

Viking Marine Frostbites – hosted by DMYC Round 2 – 13.11.22

Viking Marine Frostbites – hosted by DMYC Round 2 – 13.11.22

In the individual class fleets in PY, Miller & Butler lead the Fireballs with 7pts, a single point ahead of Louise McKenna, who sailed with Hermine O’Keeffe (15016) in Round 2 and Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (15167) (10pts) who were absent. Miller & Butler are sixth overall in PY with 27 points.

A quintet of Aeros led by Butler (4), with Van Mannen (10), Oram (12), Paul Phelan (Aero 7) (14pts) in 2nd to fourth and Sarah O’Dwyer in her Aero 5 (23) occupy the first five places in PY.

On the Wednesday evening before the start of the 2022/23 Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine and hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, a cursory check of the forecast for the weekend suggested that the opening Sunday might not happen. The predicted winds were in the high teens with gust in the high twenties, from a direction just west of south. However, as the week progressed the forecast became more favourable and, on the day, we were greeted by sunshine and, at least at the DMYC clubhouse, genteel winds.

"Fifty-five boats answered the call for the opening round"

Bringing the committee boat to the main harbour there was a distinct change in the wind strength from the clubhouse assessment and by the time we anchored in the chosen start area a lesser version of the forecast manifested itself. My wind readings ranged from 10 to 22 knots from a mean direction of 210°. In real terms this mean that the breeze was coming off the Dun Laoghaire waterfront which meant a beat across the shorter dimension of the harbour. That precluded the use of a windward-leeward course in my view, so an opening course of three triangles was set.

Before the first race at the Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbites at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, a flag tribute was flown in memory of Ben Mulligan, a Race Officer for the Frostbites in recent seasons who had passed away at the end of October. Photo: Cormac Bradley

An early launched Fireball tested the beat for me, thanks Alastair & Gordon, and also flew spinnaker across the top reach with the gybe mark set in the water early. That assessment persuaded me to drop the gybe mark to leeward. The course configuration saw the weather mark set in line with the Royal Irish Yacht Club, the gybe mark set between the bandstand and the obelisk on the upper East Pier and the leeward mark set in the mouth of the harbour.

Royal St. George's Theo Lyttle - ILCA 7 Winner Race 1 (R), with race Officer Cormac Bradley (L) at the Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbites at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Photo: Frank Miller

Fifty-five boats answered the call for the opening round, split between PYs (24), ILCA 7s (7), ILCA 6s (23) and a solitary ILCA 4. The PY fleet and the combined fleet of ILCA 7s and the solitary ILCA 4 got away cleanly at the first time of asking. However, the ILCA 6s presented the Race Officer (me) with more of a challenge. On the water my first error was that the start line may have been too short – though a 24-boat PY fleet had got away first time. So, the line was lengthened. It took a black flag – far too early in the season – to get them away at the second time of asking. The price they paid was a reduction of the race length from three to two laps!

 The National Yacht Club's Noel Butler – PY Winner Race 2 at the Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbites at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Photo: Frank Miller

With the breeze blustery and coming off a shoreline filled with buildings, the top reach was deemed to “kamikaze” for the spinnaker boats to fly their bags and the philosophy seemed to apply for the second reach as well. Still, there was some fast planing available to everyone.

Royal St. George's Gary O’Hare – ILCA 7 Winner Race 2 at the Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbites at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Photo: Frank Miller

For the second race, the marks were kept in place but the course type was changed to Triangle-Sausage-Triangle. Again, the PY fleet and first ILCA start got away cleanly and again the ILCA 6s needed two attempts and a third attempt was aborted when the class flag hadn’t been raised. At 30 seconds to go the line is clear and even at fifteen seconds, but by this time milestone there is a “clatter” of boats on the aft quarter of the committee boat. But in the final count-down to the start, the fleet just goes and there is wall-to-wall sail hiding the pin from view. A lengthening of the line and moving the pin end upwind didn’t dilute the concentration of boats at the committee boat end! However, given that it was the last start of the day, the ILCA 6s got the full course.

Royal St. George's Sean Craig – ILCA 6 Winner Race 2 at the Viking Marine Dinghy Frostbites at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Photo: Frank Miller

Viking Marine Frostbites – Round 1; 6th November 2022

PY Fleet (24 boats)
Race 1
1. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey, FB 14775*
2. Noel Butler, Aero 6
3. Alastair Court & Gordon Syme, FB 15167
Race 2
1. Noel Butler*
2. Roy van Mannen, Aero 6
3. Stephen Oram, Aero 6

After 2 races.
1. Noel Butler (3)
2. Roy van Mannen (6)
3. Stephen Oram (9)
1st Fireball, Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (12), 5th.
1st Lady, Sarah Dwyer, Aero 5, (17), 9th.

ILCA 7s (8 boats)
Race 1
1. Theo Lyttle*
2. Conor O’Leary
3. Gary O’Hare
Race 2
1. Gary O’Hare*
2. Theo Lyttle
3. Sean Bowden
After 2 races.
1. Theo Lyttle (3)
2. Gary O’Hare (4)
3. Conor O’Leary (8)

ILCA 4s
Only 1 competitor – no race.

ILCA 6s
Race 1
1. Darren Griffin
2. Sean Craig
3. Pascal Boret

Race 2
1. Sean Craig*
2. Darren Griffin
3. Brendan Hughes

After 2 races
1. Sean Craig (3)
2. Darren Griffin (3)
3. John O’ Driscoll (9)
1st Lady, Shirley Gilmore (19), 7th.

*DMYC Frostbite Mug winners on the day – you have to be at the prize-giving to get your Mug.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour-based Viking Marine supported current and former staff members Antonia and Mary in their weekend entry in the National Yacht Club's Women At The Helm regatta on the J97, Windjammer.

The Windjammer crew competed in the Cruiser 1 category - against a fleet of J109s, a Beneteau 50 and a host of other larger boats, claiming a 3rd, 7th & 5th in Fleet, finishing 5th overall on the first day of light airs racing.

Sunday was a tough 2.5-hour race in light winds, and things got trickier when they were pipped at the post with a 'DNF' due to an almost complete shut down of the wind less than 150m from the finish line.

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Its weight makes a massive difference when passing it down to a tender or simply carrying it away with you when you are away from your boat.

Temo 450 is the equivalent to a 2.5HP engine. The increased efficiency of this electric engine means you can do anything you would previously have done with your 2.5HP outboard.

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The unit is available for sale at €1,550 from Viking Marine here

The final day of the 2021/22 Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine and hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club was bathed in sunshine from start to finish. Across Ireland and the UK we were bathed in sunshine (I was in N Ireland on the Saturday) and given that at one stage we went four Sundays without a race, to have a sunshine day for the Series conclusion was just reward for everyone’s perseverance. From early in the week the forecast had suggested we would have a genteel finish to proceedings and while the strength and direction of the wind for the first race of the day was NOT according to forecast, it didn’t prohibit starting of the race. Albeit we flew a postponement for a short period in case there had been any stragglers who had forgotten to change their clocks and watches overnight.

The wind was of the order of 5/6 knots as the committee boat took up station in the main part of the harbour, but it was much further northwards than had been forecast. Expecting a large fleet for the last day and with the weather we had, a triangular course was set for the first race with a start area set inside the transit from the gybe mark to the leeward mark – triangles make the recording a slightly easier task. The weather mark was set just off the red lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour with the gybe located towards the western breakwater and the leeward mark about 100m off the entrance to the marina and three laps were set.

Stephen Oram (L) (Aero 7) [3rd Overall PY Class (Series 1 & 2)] and Ian O’Meara of sponsor Viking Marine

A modest fleet of 44 boats started the first race made up of PY (21), ILCA 7s (2), ILCA 4s (5) and ILCA 6s (16). All three starts got away cleanly at the first time of asking with a large number of all the starts going left initially. Frostbites Director, Neil Colin and Marjo Moonen (FB 14775) were first to show at the weather mark with their reddish spinnaker and they proceed to pull away from the rest of this fleet for the duration of this race.

Sarah Dwyer (Aero 5) [2nd Series 2, 5th Overall PY Class (Series 1 & 2)] with Frank Guilfoyle of DMYC.

Behind them, the rest of the Fireballs were clustered but also in the mix, on the water was the Finn, the IDRA, the RS 400 and, of course, the Aeros.

Daniel O’Connor (ILCA 4) [1st Overall (Series 1 & 2)] with Ian O’Meara of Viking Marine

Colin’s elapsed time for the race was 33:28 and 1:16 ahead of the second Fireball of Frank Miller & Neil Cramer (14713) who had 5 seconds on Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (FB 14854) on the water. Three minutes and thirty-one seconds later, the IDRA of Pierre Long and his son finished. Yet, on corrected time, Colin & Moonen dropped to 7th on handicap, losing out to the IDRA (Long), the Finn (Des Fortune), the K1 (Tom Murphy), the Aero 7 (Noel Butler) the Wayfarer (Monica Schaeffer) and the GP14 (David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne).

Conor O’Leary collects prizes for the ILCA 7s from sponsor Ian O’Meara of Viking Marine

Conor O’Leary took the ILCA 7s, while in the ILCA 4s who share the start with the 7s, the finishing order was Ava Ennis, Max Cantwell, Emily Cantwell, Zoe Hall and Dylan de Vreeze.

In the ILCA 6s Sean Craig led most of the way round to take another gun, followed home by Michael Norman, Conor Galligan, Conor Clancy and Brain Carroll.

Sean Craig (ILCA 6) [Winner Series 2] with Frank Guilfoyle of DMYC

By the second beat of this race, the wind has made a substantial shift to the east but given the space between the leaders and tailenders in the three fleets changing the weather mark during the race is well nigh on impossible. So, while another committee boat member finished the mid to late fleets, the Racer Officer reset the course, moving the weather mark closer to the obelisk on the upper deck of the East Pier, moving the gybe mark to a position close to the green lighthouse, leaving the leeward mark where it was. A three-lap Olympic course was then set for the last race of the Series.

Noel Butler (Aero 7) picks up a prize from the additional Christmas Race from Viking Marine’s Ian O’Meara

Again, all three starts got away at the first time of asking but in the ILCAs one of the younger competitors fell foul of one of the doyens of the Class and was obliged to take a penalty on the water for his efforts.

In the PY Class, Colin and Moonen dominated proceedings on the water, breaking out their spinnaker first and sailing away from the rest of the fleet. In the lighter winds of the mid-afternoon, the all-lady combination of Cariosa Power & Marie Barry were proving difficult to catch but weren’t able to lay a finger on Colin & Moonen, coming in just shy of two minutes after the leaders but 1:17 ahead of Miller & Cramer. On corrected time the three Fireballs finished 2nd, 10th and 14th respectively, with Colin giving 1:10 to the 2.4 of Patrick Hassett. Behind the Fireball there was the K1 of Tom Murphy, the Aero 7 of Noel Butler, the Wayfarer of Monica Schaeffer and the GP14 of Mulvin & Beirne. Special mention must be made of Noel Butler who finished his first day back with two 4th places after undergoing major (major) surgery in early February.

Frank Miller (FB 14713) collects the Fireball Class Trophy for the Frostbites Series Overall from Ian O’Meara of Viking Marine

O’Leary scored a second ace in the ILCA 7s, the Cantwells Max and Emily led the ILCA 4s home followed by Zoe Hall, Dylan de Vreeze and Ava Ennis. And, in the ILCA 6s, Conor Clancy took the win from two ladies, Shirley Gilmore and Judy O’Beirne with the former winning by a “nose” with Sean Craig and Mark Henry closing out the top five.

As this is the concluding report of the 2021/22 Frostbites, there is a large number of results to declare, so they are in tabular form for ease of reading. 

As I was involved in hearing a protest that overlapped with the final prize-giving I am unable to give you the details of who got what, so I am assuming that prizes were awarded on the basis of the table above. I think there is an overall Frostbites prize but I would be wrong to speculate as to how it may have been awarded this year. I can confirm that Ian O’Meara of Viking Marine was present to hand over the prizes under the MC control of Frostbites Director Neil Colin and that Frank Guilfoyle deputised for current Commodore Ian Cutliffe who was unavailable due to illness.

As Race Officer for the Series and correspondent for the Frostbites, may I take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who give so freely of their time to run the racing. To try and name each of them would be dangerous, in that somebody could get left out, but for each Sunday there are at least 16 people who take to the water to provide the racing – 5 ribs with two people apiece and a committee boat of six. A seventeenth person helps with the computing of the results. A further three people help with providing soup and the bar in the DMYC after racing and the DMYC Boathouse crew makes sure everything is ready on a Sunday morning.

And to all those who were asked to sample my beats before racing began, my thanks as Race Officer.

Huge thanks must also go to Frostbites sponsor Viking Marine who were represented at the prize-giving by Ian O’Meara. As you will see from the photographs attached to this report, prizes took the form of glasses and vouchers for this prize-giving and Rick Tomlinson calendars for Series 1. While it might be easy to be blasé about having a yacht chandler on the doorstep of the four Dun Laoghaire waterside clubs, Ian and his staff provide a great service to the sailing community and the convenience of the shop makes life so much easier. Their sponsorship of the Frostbites is a very significant gesture and I would ask all of you to support them over the summer months as best you can.

I am going to revert to being a competitor for the next six months with a busy calendar ahead, including a Fireball Worlds in Lough Derg Yacht Club. I won’t be giving up the reporting though!
Best wishes to all for your summer sailing.

Cormac