The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Cruiser Zero fleet got a further boost this week when another addition to the rekindled fleet appeared under the crane at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The 2004 41-footer yacht (for a senior yacht racing administrator in the Bay) is El Pocko, a German Frers Puma 42.

Previously based in the Netherlands, she is currently keelless following transportation to the RStGYC forecourt from Flevoland.

The angular stern of the Frers design

It is the second new addition for the bay's big boat class.  In January the First 40 La Response, formerly known as Courier Zen and a veteran of several Commodore's Cup teams joined the fleet.

El Pocko will be on the line for the first of DBSC's first summer races in April and is understood to be optimised for the ORCi rule with a carbon mast and a new keel in 2014.

The RStGYC boat is a fillip to a now eight-boat (or more) DBSC Cruiser Zero class racing that itself was in question only a couple of years ago.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club will add an extra race to its Spring Chicken Series following the second successive weekend cancellation due to storms.

This Sunday's race was scrubbed this morning after Storm Dennis forecasts revealed that it is 'highly unlikely' that conditions would be sailable on Dublin Bay.

On Friday, it had been hoped that a window of opportunity might give the 50-boat fleet a chance to sail but organisers cancelled after tracking forecasts and charts for tomorrow's 10 am start that showed increasing heavy gusts during race time.

The final race of the Citroen South six-race series will now be sailed on Sunday 22nd March and that date will also feature the post-race prizegiving at the National Yacht Club.

Flat seas but strong gusts up to 50mph are a feature of the south-westerly Storm Dennis on Dublin Bay. See live Dublin Bay webcam here.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club organisers say they will be making every effort to get sailing on Sunday morning in the third race of the DBSC Spring Chicken Series despite the gale warnings issued in advance of Storm Dennis.

Start sequences for the fleet have been issued and are downloadable below.

The hope is that conditions will be like the first race of the series, 'breezy but sailable'. 

If very obvious tomorrow or early Sunday, DBSC may send an email to competitors issuing a cancellation notice but otherwise, the club says it will be making every effort to sail, including going out on the Committee Boat Freebird to check conditions on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the DMYC has cancelled its Dinghy Frostbites scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

This week the Dublin Bay Squib one-design keelboat fleet held their Annual General Meeting this week.

Outgoing Captain Noel Colclough confirmed that the had negotiated new racing arrangements with Dublin Bay Sailing Club and Squibs will race on Tuesday evenings with the dinghy fleet.

This will give the Squibs more competition and more interesting racing.

The new Team organising the Squib fleet for 2020 is to be:

• Vincent Delany- Captain
• Rupert Westrup - Vice Captain
• Gillian Fletcher - Hon Treasurer
• Eddie McCarron -Hon. Record keeper

There has been excellent progress on the revival of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Twenty One project the world’s oldest intact on design keelboat class as they prepare for a new season racing again on Dublin Bay.

Chris Moore of Dublin Bay Sailing Club has confirmed the original DBSC class has been granted a racing start for 2020 Tuesday evening racing starting this April.

Initially, two twenty ones will race then three as the boat building project based in Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary completes the six-boat project. 

The restored boats will be welcomed back to the bay in a special DBSC gun salute from committee boat Mac Lir at the start of the season.

Back to the Future

You can join the '21 project leaders Hal Sisk and Fionán de Barra for a sailing talk and a two-course dinner on Thursday the 13th of February in the RStGYC Dining Room in Dun Laoghaire. The talk, “Back to the Future, the Revival of the DBSC Twenty Ones—the World’s Oldest Cruiser Racer Class" will be a visual presentation on the revival plans.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club has announced its annual six races 'Spring Chicken' Series for cruisers will be held on Sunday mornings from February 2nd to March 8th. 

Racing under modified ECHO. Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome to compete. 

The first gun is at 10.10 hrs each Sunday and the series is sponsored by Citroen South.

An entry fee of €60.00 that includes temporary membership of DBSC. and the National Yacht Club is included.

Entries can be made online at www.dbsc.ie

Sailing Instructions will be made available by the club on Sunday 2nd February and will be emailed to entrants beforehand.

After sailing, food will be available to competitors in the National Y.C.

Last date for entries – Wednesday 28th January.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Commodore Jonathan Nicholson delivered the following report to the club's AGM last month describing the activities and achievements of the country's biggest yacht racing club.

Once again at the start of the 2019 season, DBSC found itself in a challenging situation. Following the introduction of a fairway and temporary anchorage beside it by Dublin Port, two marks, Zebra and Harbour were removed and a further seven marks on the west side of the bay replaced with new design marks having both radar reflectors and lights.

These new marks and tackle were sourced and a new contractor was found to deploy the larger marks and paraphernalia all in time for the start of the sailing season. A huge thanks to those involved as there was a very considerable effort undertaken in a short time to ensure that the appropriate equipment was available for the first race.

DBSC's new style 'New Ross' Buoy Photo: Afloat

There have been comments that the new marks are hard to distinguish from each other. Due to the composition of the marks, there is no effective way to change their inherent yellow colour, so each mark will bear only the designated letter next season.

DBSC Committee Boats

As with all boats problems always arise. This year we have been fortunate as both committee boats have operated without serious issue. This can be attributed to the care and attention given to both the boats throughout the year and the preventative maintenance programme that has been undertaken.

DBSC Committee Boat Freebird in action Photo: Afloat

The need for both committee boats cannot be understated. In the club, we are fortunate to have two world-class platforms from which the race management team can operate and provide the high-quality racing we have become accustomed too.

Race Management

The Club’s key resource has to be its panel of race management personnel. These teams are the reason we have racing. Running racing is not trivial and is often demanding, needing the ability to think on your feet when unexpected situations emerge, a detailed knowledge of the extraordinary complex rules of sailing, an insight into the Bay’s variable (and sometimes vexatious) wind pattern, and the characteristics of the club’s various, all done in unison.

George Arthur Newsom Cup winners were Flying Fifteen duo Betty David and Chris Doorly Photo: Afloat

Boat Fees and subscriptions

This year boat entries and subscriptions amounted to 340 and 1220, compared to 314 and 1235 respectively in 2018. Boat and subscription income has been hovering at this level for some time. Despite the economic upturn, DBSC (and, it seems, sailing in general) shows no sign of returning to the peaks of the halcyon days when our boat entries topped 400 and membership 1700.

Results

The rapid entry and hence presentation of the results has continued again this year. It should be noted that on a Thursday night up to 150 boats may compete, which would be the envy of many international regattas. I would be surprised if many organisations could compare to the speed and quality of the output from our results secretary Colin McMullan.

There is a huge challenge at the start of each season as boats still enter late and, in some instances, have provided incorrect data, particularly sail numbers and email addresses. With this in mind, we are updating the club’s membership database to integrate with the results system to streamline the operation.

Online Entry

For the 2020 season, DBSC will move towards an online-only entry policy. There are numerous reasons, including improving data integratory, easier system integration and removal of any liability associated with handling cash and cheques.

Cancellations

The beautiful balmy weather during the summer of 2018 was not replicated this year and as such we had, not unexpectedly, more race cancellations. There were two Saturdays, two Wednesday’s and one Thursday’s racing lost due to excess wind. On the other hand, four Thursday’s, three Tuesday’s and one Wednesday’s racing lost because of no wind whatsoever.

Finances

This year the club made a very modest profit thanks to close management of the accounts and an accurate budget. As mentioned in last year’s report the search for sponsorship continues. Extra income is essential to ensure the future viability of the club.

Thanks

A special thanks to our supports MGM Boats, Viking Marine, Citroen South, Dublin Port, Killen Marine, Sage Pay, Gunpowder Gin and most recently Dun Laoghaire Marina.

Protests

Again this year the number of protests was much reduced compared to other years. Time was when the Protest Committee had to deal with up to forty protests in the season. This year they amounted to just under a dozen.

Gratitude

Firstly, there are the various flag-officers and committee members who to an extent not suspected by the general membership have devoted an extraordinary amount of their free time to DBSC’s affairs. We are all deeply in their debt.

I should mention particularly Brendan Finucane, who leaves the committee at the AGM, after many years dedicated service to DBSC. Brendan’s particular sphere of interest has been the West Pier hut along with health and safety. Also leaving us is Chris Corrigan, whose help with the dinghy section has been much appreciated.

The Viking Award went to the former Hon Sec of the club, Donal O'Sullivan (left) for his notable contribution to DBSC Sailing and was presented by Commodore Jonathan Nicholson

As mentioned above this year we replaced seven marks. This would not have happened without the combined efforts of Committee member Phillip Ferguson and our Honorary Secretary Chris Moore. I would also like to mention Brendan Dalton who helped both Chris and Phillip prepare the marks for launch.

Then there are the many volunteers who, whatever the weather and personal inconvenience, have manned the West Pier hut and Club’s committee vessels. Without volunteers we do not have a club. We cannot say this often enough

I would also like to mention the rib crews who are skilfully supported by our Bosun and Patrol officer Declan Traynor. Special note must be given to Joanne Sheehan who has co-ordinated the rib teams for over a decade.

I should not forget, either, Fintan Cairns, Race Officer Henry Leonard and the teams of the Turkey Shoot and Spring Chicken series, who provide most enjoyable, popular winter sailing and plenty of après-sail entertainment.

I thank, also, the management and staffs of the waterfront Clubs, Irish Sailing and the harbour masters of Dun Laoghaire harbour, Captains Simon Coate and Tim Ryan, as well as Dublin Port Harbour Master, Captain Michael McKenna.

Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my predecessor and our current Honorary Secretary Chris Moore. Following Donal O’Sullivan’s departure after twenty-seven years in the role and a further thirteen on committee I was wondering how we could survive without him.

I need not have worried. Chris has worked tirelessly throughout the year, far exceeding the role of honorary secretary. Be it maintaining the committee boats, supporting member’s enquiries, compiling the yearbook, I could go on, he has ensured the smooth running of the club.

As commodore, I have been given the proverbial armchair ride and I am truly thankful as I am sure are, we all.

Jonathan Nicholson,
Commodore
DBSC
25/11/2019

See Afloat's report on the 2019 DBSC Prizegiving here

Race 1

Cruiser 0 IRC: 1. Wow, 2. Tsunami, 3. D-Tox

Cruiser 0 Echo: 1. D-Tox, 2. Tsunami, 3. Wow

Cruiser 1 IRC: 1. Chimaera, 2. Jalapeno, 3. Bon Exemple

Cruiser 1 Echo: 1. Chimaera, 2. Jump the Gun, 3. Raptor

Cruiser 1 J109: 1. Chimaera, 2. Jalapeno, 3. White Mischief

31.7 One Design: 1. Prospect, 2. Levante, 3. Bluefin Two

31.7 Echo: 1. Fiddly Bits, 2. Levante, 3. Attitude

Cruiser 2 IRC: 1. Windjammer, 2. Peridot, 3. Rupert

Cruiser 2 Echo: 1. Windjammer, 2. Springer, 3. Gwili Two

Cruiser 2 Sigma 33: 1. Rupert, 2. Moonshine, 3. Springer

Cruiser 3 IRC: 1. Asterix, 2. Dubious, 3. Maranda

Cruiser 3 Echo: 1. Pamafe, 2. Asterix, 3. Maranda

Cruiser 5 NS-IRC: 1. Act Two, 2. Cevantes, 3. The Great Escape

Cruiser 5 Echo: 1. Just Jasmin, 2. Act Two, 3. Cevantes

SB20: 1. Venuesworld.com, 2. Lo Fly, 3. Black

Flying 15: 1. Perfect Ten, 2. Fflagella, 3. Hera

Ruffian: 1. Ruffles, 2. Alias, 3. Bandit

Shipman: 1. Jo Slim, 2. Viking, 3. Invader

B211 One Design: 1. Yikes, 2. Small Wonder

B211 Echo: 1. Yikes, 2. Small Wonder

Squib: 1. The Backstop, 2. Sidewinder

Race 2

SB20: 1. Venuesworld.com, 2. Black, 3. Sneaky B

Flying 15: 1. Fflagella, 2. Perfect Ten, 3. Ffrenetic

Squib: 1. Sidewinder, 2. The Backstop

Race 1

Cruiser 0 IRC: 1. Tsunami, 2. Wow, 3. D-Tox

Cruiser 0 Echo: 1. Tsunami, 2. D-Tox, 3. Lively Lady

Cruiser 1 IRC: 1. White Mischief, 2. Chimaera, 3. Ruth

Cruiser 1 Echo: 1. Chimaera, 2. Ruth, 3. White Mischief

Cruiser 1 J109: 1. White Mischief, 2. Chimaera, 3. Ruth

31.7 One Design: 1. Bluefin Two, 2. Kalamar, 3. Levante

31.7 Echo: 1. Kalamar, 2. Bluefin Two, 3. Kernach

Cruiser 2 IRC: 1. Peridot, 2. Moonshine, 3. Leeuwin

Cruiser 2 Echo: 1. Springer, 2. Moonshine, 3. Leeuwin

Cruiser 2 Sigma 33: 1. Moonshine, 2. Leeuwin, 3. Springer

Cruiser 3 IRC: 1. Cartoon, 2. Starlet, 3. Ceol Na Mara

Cruiser 3 Echo: 1. Cartoon, 2. Ceol Na Mara, 3. Asterix

Cruiser 5 NS-IRC: 1. Act Two, 2. Persistence, 3. The Great Escape

Cruiser 5 Echo: 1. Act Two, 2. The Great Escape, 3. Persistence

SB20: 1. Bad-Kilcullen, 2. Lo Fly, 3. Venuesworld.com

Sportsboat: 1. Jester, 2. Jambiya, 3. Jamiroquai

Flying 15: 1. Betty, 2. Perfect Ten, 3=. FuZZy, 3=. Ash

Ruffian: 1. Bandit, 2. Ruffles, 3. Carmen

B211 One Design: 1. Yikes, 2. Small Wonder, 3. Ocean Venture

B211 Echo: 1. Yikes, 2. Small Wonder

Squib: 1. Sidewinder, 2. The Backstop

Glen: 1. Glenluce, 2. Glencoe, 3. Glendun

IDRA 14: 1. Slipstream, 2. Diane, 3. Dumoanin

Race 2

SB20: 1. Venuesworld.com, 2. Lo Fly, 3. So Blue

Sportsboat: 1. Jambiya, 2. Jester, 3. Jitterburg

Flying 15: 1. Betty, 2. Flyer, 3. Perfect Ten

Squib: 1. Sidewinder, 2. The Backstop

IDRA 14: 1. Slipstream, 2. Diane, 3. Chaos

Cruiser 0 IRC: 1. D-Tox, 2. Tsunami, 3. Lively Lady

Cruiser 0 Echo: 1. D-Tox, 2. Hot Cookie, 3. Tsunami

Cruiser 1 IRC: 1. White Mischief, 2. Gringo, 3. Juggerknot 2

Cruiser 1 Echo: 1. Powder Monkey, 2. Juggerknot 2, 3. White Mischief

Cruiser 1 J109: 1. White Mischief, 2. Powder Monkey, 3. Something Else

31.7 One Design: 1. Levante, 2. Bluefin Two, 3. Attitude

31.7 Echo: 1. Fiddly Bits, 2. Bluefin Two, 3. Kernach

Cruiser 2 IRC: 1. Peridot, 2. Rupert, 3. Windjammer

Cruiser 2 Echo: 1. Moonshine, 2. Rupert, 3. Peridot

Cruiser 2 Sigma 33: 1. Rupert, 2. Moonshine, 3. Leeuwin

Cruiser 3 IRC: 1. Cartoon, 2. Maranda, 3. Asterix

Cruiser 3 Echo: 1. Cartoon, 2. Maranda, 3. Asterix

Cruiser 5 NS-IRC: 1. Cevantes, 2. The Great Escape, 3. Act Two

Cruiser 5 Echo: 1. Sweet Martini, 2. The Great Escape, 3. Cevantes

Ruffian: 1. Alias, 2. Bandit, 3. Ripples

Shipman One Design: 1. Jo Slim, 2. Viking, 3. Invader

B211 One Design: 1. Yikes, 2. Ventuno

B211 Echo: 1. Yikes, 2. Ventuno