You might imagine that an event with over forty knots of wind recorded on the racecourse and with only nine Fireballs entered would be a disaster writes Frank Miller. In fact you would be wrong.

The Irish Fireball Open event hosted by Killaloe SC at the UL Activity Centre on Lough Derg was memorable for all the right reasons. From the moment we arrived in the beautiful village of Killaloe a sense of holiday and fun pervaded. Boats were rigged at the activity centre in near calm while a young swan paraded nearby and mallards flew overhead. The venue for activity then switched to Goosers pub where really excellent food was had, washed down by a few pints. Stragglers left by the back door at about 1am, several heading for John Bolger's home where he hosted wayward Fireballers. John, of whom more later, surely went above and beyond the call of duty by evicting wife and child for the weekend to provide more room for waifs and strays.

Saturday saw the dawn of a beautiful but blustery day. From our perch in John's surrendered bedroom we watched as everything in sight flattened in gusts. Undaunted the fleet gathered it's sandwiches and drinks and headed for the venue. The official forecast for the lake gave a force 4-6 with gale gusts but PRO Geoff O'Donoghue cautioned that with the wind direction there would be some funnelling and gusts could be higher. The fleet took to the water, launching between squalls. The squalls were now coming through with monotonous regularity, about ten minutes apart, almost like clockwork. A dragging boat anchor and ground tackle made setting the course difficult and the start was delayed for over an hour as crews screamed around the lake trying to get used to quite odd conditions. If you set up for the squalls you were a bit underpowered in the lulls but there were no settings available for the extremes of the windiest squalls.

Finally the race course was set and a start sequence initiated. About two minutes before the start gun however almost the entire fleet was flattened by a gust. The postponed flag was raised while crews recovered their dignity. A few minutes later and the fleet finally got away cleanly from the line. We reached the windward mark as a bunch, water being given without complaint in the extreme conditions, safety now being as significant a factor as the RRS. Looking over their shoulder at another black squall approaching at least one boat kept sailing on for shore. Those of us who rode the 30 knot plus squall downwind had the ride of our lives, mainly under two sails though at least one boat carried a kite. Regardless of the sail-plan there was absolutely no prospect of gybing, tacking or changing course in any way during this squall. Happily there was plenty of lake and everyone rode the squall downwind well past the gybe mark, towards the village. Only when the pressure dropped for a minute did anyone attempt a tack. Almost everyone capsized. Those who recovered quickly continued to race, others more winded headed for shore.
When the spray finally settled three boats had remained upright long enough to complete the course. Noel Butler and Stephen Oram won the race, having clawed back the lead from Gavin Doyle and Dave Sweeney who were second. Third place went to John Bolger and his crew Serguei Belochapkine, a fantastic result for the local team who normally sail in the silver fleet. With conditions showing signs of increasing rather than abating the PRO called it a day. Thus the one-day Open event came to an end with that one race determining the result. While Noel Butler and Stephen Oram carried away the main prize hero of the day was surely event organiser John Bolger with Serguei winning not just third place overall but the silver fleet and also the classic trophy.
That evening the fleet gathered at the Cherry Tree restaurant, availed of it's great early bird menu, and then repaired to Flanagan's for a glass. When a local band arrived to set up there were groans but we were wrong. The band proved brilliant, especially it's female lead singer, and led by dance queen Marie Barry the fleet took to the floor until well past midnight.

The following day conditions had not changed enough to go ahead with the mixed fleet Killaloe SC Spring Challenge so we packed up exhausted but definitely happy with as good a weekend as you could possibly have with so little sailing. Thanks are due to all at Killaloe SC for their terrific welcome, to race officer Geoff O'Donoghue and his team, augmented by visiting Fireballer Dave Coleman, to KSC's Jim Ryan, Suzie Coote and all the other club volunteers who stretched the resources of their small club to make this event happen against all the odds.

Fógra – the next Irish Fireball event is our Ulster Championships at Killowen (north side of Carlingford Lough) 15th & 16th June. It has always proved a brilliant venue with a great welcome, free camping and use of loos and showers on site so a very affordable weekend with great racing.

Please get the credit card out also and enter the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta July 11-14th. While it doesn't count towards the Fireball Travellers Series it is a great event with four days of solid racing. Be there or be square.

Who would be a forecaster? XC Weather was suggesting that at 19:00 it would be blowing 2 knots from the south, gusting to four knots. We could expect some light rain writes Cormac Bradley

In reality it was blowing quite healthily from the SSE, immediately before the race we had hailstones and heavy rain and still the atmosphere remains cold as does the sea! And this is mid-May!

Tuesday night Fireball order was restored when Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) led from start to finish on a trapezoid course with 3 laps. 7 boats took to the water and six started. Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007) started early at the pin............too early and got a blue cross on a white background flag for their effort.

All the starters went out to sea initially to benefit from the ebbing tide. Virtually everyone went to the port layline before tacking onto port for thie approach to the weather mark. At Mark 1 the running order was Butler/Oram, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), with Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly (14713), Louise McKenna & Hermine O Keeffe (14691) and Smyth/Bradley rounding in close company, followed by Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854).
Butler/ Oram were the only boat to fly bag across the top of the course and sailed away as a consequence. Colin/Casey maintained the gap on the next three who indulged in a boat for boat surfing challenge all the way from Mark 2 to Mark 4.

Up the second beat Miller and Smyth were in close company going to sea. McKenna went inshore. But at the 2nd weather mark they were still in the same order. An immediate gybe at the 2nd weather mark gave Smyth an advantage over the other two which allowed him to round Mk 4 the 2nd time ahead.

On the last beat an inshore lift on starboard tack benefitted those who went that way. McKenna dropped behind the other two. But on legs 2, 3 and 4 of the final lap, the three boats closed up again. Smyth held off Miller to the finish but crossed the line in silence.

1st Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061
2nd Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775
3rd Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly 14713

Order restored!

The Flying Fifteen fleet provided the Race Committee, high tide was at 16:00 and the XCWeather forecast had got it right with predictions of SSE wind when the Fireball fleet initiated their 2013 DBSC Tuesday Night Dinghy Series.

Defending Tuesday night champions Stephen Oram and Noel Butler were there, as was Class Chairman Neil Colin with regular crew Margaret Casey. A relative newcomer to Tuesday nights was Conor Clancy, sailing with an unidentified crew, as far as this correspondent was concerned. Also making a rare but welcome appearance was Stephen Campion, sailing with Louise McKenna.

Three quarters of the way up the first beat a very premature assessment might have suggested we were sailing on the wrong night as Louis Smyth led the fleet with his rivals split left and right, offshore and inshore. Butler & Oram were back in third with Conor Clancy separating the pair! However, in the final approach to the weather mark, Clancy got through to lead and while he kept a wary eye on his competitors he was never headed thereafter.

Smyth & Bradley held off Butler & Oram across the top reach of the trapezoid course and for a reasonable section of the subsequent leg. However, with both crews working hard to make use of the wind and waves the younger combination got ahead but unusually for them did not streak away from the rest of the fleet. Behind the leading three boats, Colin & Casey and Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly led the chase.

On the second beat the majority of the fleet had tacked immediately at Mark 4 to head to sea. However, not everyone stuck with that game plan as first Colin & Casey and then Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire peeled off to the right. Smyth/Bradley closed the gap on the lead two, hailing starboard on Butler/Oram when they headed inshore for the second turning of the weather mark. Clancy & crew were clear ahead but by a shortened margin.

For the run down to Mark 4, the fleet initially went out to sea again on starboard tack. Miller/Donnelly stayed inshore of everyone and at one stage looked very healthy indeed. Colin/Casey went further out to sea and seemed to lose the distance they had gained on the earlier part of the leg. Chambers/McGuire and McKenna/Campion sailed a much more "middle of the road" course and the former combination was rewarded by rounding Mark 4 in 4th place. However, while the lead two were never in trouble, the fleet actually condensed somewhat, creating a much shortened finishing sequence for the class.

DBSC Tuesday Night Series 30th April 2013
1 Conor Clancy & A. N. Other 150**
2 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061
3 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007

Why does the Irish Fireball fleet persist in inviting Adam Bowers to a coaching session at the start of every domestic season writes Cormac Bradley?

To answer that question, I will begin at the conclusion of his end of session briefing on the Sunday afternoon and testimonies from people in different constituencies in the Irish Fireball fleet; "I first came across Adam at a training session in the UK and made a point of going across for subsequent training sessions. He is a natural teacher, he could teach you anything, sailing, engineering.......... Now that I can access him here in Ireland, it makes it so much easier. He is excellent at what he does and he has the experience of doing it right at the highest level in regattas."

"I was contemplating giving up on the Fireball, but this weekend has boosted my enthusiasm. I am now looking forward to the rest of the season."

"First time I've seen my own sailing on video – great to have the input to how I can improve.

Looking from outside the boat with expert advice has made a huge difference."

Previous articles on Adam's training of the Irish Fireball fleet may have come across as being a bit gushy – hail fellow, well met type commentary, but as these two statements confirm there is a persona about the man that makes him very easy to listen to! Additionally as a World Championship winning crew in the Fireball, a committed and successful Osprey and J24 sailor and a highly regarded coach to the UK Cadet Class, Olympic aspirants and the RYA, it would be difficult to deny that he has all the credentials to coach at the highest level.

We like him in particular because of his infectious enthusiasm for what he is doing, his attention to our requirements and the tailoring of the classroom and on-the-water sessions to the goals of the weekend. Over and above that he gave specific attention to three boats on the shore in terms of mast and rigging setup.

The combination of whiteboard work to explain the principles of what he is teaching, his own experiences of what he is trying to get across, the on the water exercise and the video footage to conduct the post-mortem afterwards means that everyone in attendance can follow what the weekend is setting out to achieve. An additional bonus this year is the fact that he brought sunshine with him.

From a Fireball Class perspective, the turnout this weekend was small, 6 boats on Saturday and 8 on Sunday! For those who were in attendance, the advantage of the small numbers was that they got more one-on-one attention from Adam.

There was more room to do the exercises on the water.

Objectives for the weekend were;
· Straight line speed (upwind and downwind).
· Starting techniques.
· Tight spinnaker reaching.
· Spinnaker handling.
And the weekend was rounded off with the three race, back to back, no discard, Porsche Cup.
Concepts that were covered over the weekend included;
· PSSSTT – Position, Space, Speed, Slippage, Time, Transits.
· Gorgeousness
· WUMPETA
· Fastest Speed – Shortest Distance.
· Reducing the ability of other boats to RUIN YOUR DAY!
· Stop giving away parcels of time – first reach, gybe mark, leeward mark, 2nd beat!
· Importance of the long tack.
· Importance of layline calls
· Communication – a quiet boat is a slow boat!
· Spinnakers – 50% trimming, 50% communication.
· Spinnaker handling – windward set with windward pole, drops, trimming.
· Spinnaker adjustment – pole height, collapsing leeches – windward & leeward.
· Boats whisper, rudders shout!
· The concepts of Risk and Reward.
· When does strategy start and how do tactics influence the strategy?
· First beat is a race to the bottom of the 9th square!!

Weather conditions inside Dun Laoghaire harbour were ideal for the weekend. On Saturday morning we started in light winds and sunshine with the wind coming from the eastern quarter of the compass. As the morning progressed the wind strength gradually increased and became more blustery.

Some people took a swim in the afternoon. On Sunday the wind had completely changed direction to blow from the south and west, was stiffer and topped off with grey skies. However, as the day progressed, the grey skies gave way
to sunshine and the odd showers. The rain clouds had an interesting influence on the running of the Porsche Cup which was successfully defended by Noel Butler and Stephen Oram.

The weekend was hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, to whom we offer our thanks. Adam was hosted and chauffeured by Stephen Oram and Marie Barry and support for the event over the two days, in the form of rib drivers and crew was provided by Neil Colin, Margaret Casey, Alistair Court, Hermine O'Keeffe, Grattan Donnelly, Mick Creighton and Aidan Burke.

Thanks too, to those people who attended the course.

#fireball – The advent of the Irish Fireball sailing season is usually heralded with the arrival on these shores of Adam Bowers to provide us with a coaching weekend for the forth-coming season writes Cormac Bradley. 2013 will see us being visited for at least the fourth time by Adam who not only is a highly regarded coach internationally, but is also a great character. In addition to the technical advice he brings to his coaching sessions, he throws in hands-on experience, commitment, entertainment and expertise in keeping both the classroom and on the water exercises interesting and challenging.

The classroom sessions combine video footage, discussions, sketches and pro-active interaction between coach and students. Adam makes a point of moulding the weekend to the requirements of the group by discussing the theories in the classroom and then applying them on the water.

"WUMPETA" will invariably come up in the classroom session within minutes of the discussion commencing but it can only be applied on the water. "PSSSTT" isn't a description of one's level of sobriety but rather a key aspect of the Bowers school of getting a boat to go fast off the start-line!

While some may suggest that after four years of Adam's start of season coaching us we should all be better Fireballers, there is an aspect of the weekend that says – it is just invigorating to be under his tutelage for a weekend!! Based at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire over this coming weekend, April 20/21st, the two days will be certain to be full of interesting discussions and action, culminating in the three-race-back-to-back-no-discard-highly contested Porsche Cup.

#fireball – The 42nd Frostbite Series promoted, managed and hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, came to a disappointing close yesterday when high winds made racing impossible writes Afloat's Fireball Correspondent Cormac Bradley. While we have not had the heavy snow that has cut off parts of N.Ireland and the UK, we have had very strong winds blowing here since the previous Thursday. Nobody in their right mind would have contemplated going out on Thursday past such was the state of the sea and while the wind seemed to have abated slightly on Friday and Saturday, it came back with a vengeance yesterday.

So rather than racing yesterday, the prize-giving for the Series was brought forward to 14:30!

DMYC's Sailing Secretary, Neil Colin, opened up the proceedings by introducing the DMYC Commodore Liam Owens. Liam commended the Frostbite community for their hardiness in sailing throughout the winter months and indicated that the DMYC would continue to support as much sailing as could be accommodated in the context of the proposed harbour development plan. He said it was very encouraging to see so much use being made of the harbour by the Frostbite Series.

Frostbite Organiser, Olivier Proveur expressed his appreciation to all those volunteers who had contributed of their time to make the series possible. He made particular mention of Race Officer Kevin Cullen who had not missed a single race of the 42nd Series. He also thanked the rescue crews who double up as the mark layers and gave special mention to the catering staff of the DMYC who were available every Sunday, including the St. Patrick's Day, this year, to look after the Frostbiters après racing.

Going into the last race of the Series, Noel Butler and Stephen Oram were two points behind Kenny Rumball and David Moran despite the fact that the former combination held an 8pt advantage in the second Series. Thus, leaving the Club the previous Sunday we all had an expectation of a match race between the two boats to determine the winner of the Series overall. Both combinations are well capable of sailing the opposition "down the pan" to try and gain the necessary advantage in this situation but the weather didn't "play ball". Thus the positions as advised in this report last week remained.

42nd Frostbite Series by DMYC – Series 2 (Post Christmas) – Overall.

1 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 DMYC 9pts
2 Kenny Rumball & David Moran 15058 INSC 17pts
3 Connor & James Clancy 150** RStGYC 19pts
4 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 29pts
5 Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 36pts
6 Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney 14950 NYC 54pts
7 Luke Malcolm & Shane Divinney 14790 Howth 60pts
8 Mick Creighton & Joe O'Reilly 14937 ISA 64pts
9 Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly 14713 DMYC 73pts
10 Andy Boyle & Brian Flahive 14934 RIYC 74pts

42nd Frostbite Series by DMYC – Overall (Series 1 & 2: Pre & Post Christmas).

1 Kenny Rumball & David Moran 15058 INSC 17pts
2 Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 15061 DMYC 19pts
3 Connor & James Clancy 150** RStGYC 32pts
4 Neil Colin & Margaret Casey 14775 DMYC 56pts
5 Louise McKenna & Hermine O' Keeffe 14691 RStGYC 75pts
6 Alistair Court & Gordon Syme 14706 DMYC 91pts
7 Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney 14950 NYC 91pts
8 Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 15007 Coal Harbour 111pts
9 Mick Creighton & Joe O'Reilly 14937 ISA 118pts
10 Luke Malcolm & Shane Divinney 14790 Howth Yacht Club 122pts

For the Fireball Class, there is now a short break before we get into summer (!!!!) mode. Our first event post-Easter is an Adam Bowers training weekend hosted by the DMYC over the weekend of 20/21st April. Thereafter, we have events in May, June, July (2) and a season closing event in September. The Worlds are also scheduled for Slovenia in September.

At the conclusion of the prize-giving a number of dinghy initiatives were announced by Hugh Sheehy (OK Dinghy) to try and entice lapsed sailors back onto the waters of Dublin Bay and the burgee of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club who organise racing during the summer months. Under the umbrella organisation of Dun Laoghaire Dinghies and making use of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter Hugh and a number of DBSC dinghy stalwarts are looking at a variety of racing, coaching and social events to draw more people back into the sport in our locale.

The prize-giving was also advised that one of the stalwarts of the Frostbite and Dun Laoghaire sailing scene, Bob Hobby, suffered a slight stroke on Monday of last week. Bob's partner, Louise McKenna, was able to advise those who attended the prize-giving that Bob has suffered some complications but the medical advice is that they were not as severe as they might have been. The Fireball community, in particular, would like to wish Bob a speedy recovery and offer Bob and Louise all our support and best wishes.

This is the last of the Frostbite reports for the 2012/13 Series. I will endeavour to bring you reports from the regatta season when it gets underway in May.

#fireball – The decision to race the Frostbites on St. Patrick's Day, 17th March, neither attracted a big fleet nor nice weather. The smallest Fireball fleet of the entire series, 9 boats, was greeted by damp grey, flat conditions and no obvious sign of the means to have a race. Getting out of the harbour was an extended exercise in kinetics and some of those who mistimed their departure from shore in the conditions will have been grateful for the postponement enforced on the Race Officer who had nothing to work with at the scheduled start of 14:00.

What little wind that did appear came out of the NE but it was very fickle and at its strongest on the first lap of the initial three lap course. Eight of the nine boats in the fleet worked the middle and left of the course. The exception was Conor Clancy, crewed by James Devlin (150**) who went right off the line. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) also went right but at a later stage of the first beat. The leaders in the series Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) worked the middle to keep a watching brief on Kenny Rumball who had a guest crew in the form of Shane McCarthy (15058).

Clancy's right side play was rewarded when he rounded first but the second boat was Alistair Court and Gordon Syme (14706) who approached the weather mark on the port layline. Third round were Butler & Oram, followed by Colin & Casey and Rumball/McCarthy. However, at this stage the fleet was in close company and only a few boat lengths separated each of the boats from the one in front of them. The two reaches of the first triangle didn't conjure up any place changes.

On the second beat it was a case of not getting too far removed form your nearest opposition and as a consequence everyone ended up working the middle of the course to varying degrees. At this stage the wind was still reasonable in the context of the day. At the 2nd weather mark the leaders, Clancy/Devlin, Butler/Oram and Court/Syme gybed immediately to head inshore whereas Colin/Casey, Rumball/McCarthy and Louise McKenna and Hermine O'Keeffe (14691) stayed offshore. The second gybe mark was now a tidal challenge as the ebbing tide held the upper hand on the fading wind. It claimed one victim who then retired altogether.

As the leaders approached the leeward mark a shortened course was signalled. Clancy/Devlin and Butler/Oram were having a close quarter battle for the lead and they took slightly different approaches to the finish. Clancy/Devlin took a short hitch before tacking to the finish whereas Butler/Oram did the opposite. This promoted a very tight finish with the winning margin very much less than a boat-length.

The Series 2 points table sees Butler & Oram with a healthy margin over Rumball & Kinsella/Moran who need to be aware of Team Clancy over their shoulders. A quick perusal of the score sheet for Butler & Oram confirms that their worst result in this Series is a 2nd.

The combined Series 1 and Series 2 table was also available yesterday and this promotes the prospect of a last race duel for the outright win as only two points separate 1^st and 2^nd. Rumball/Kinsella/Moran lead by 2pts from Butler/Oram and neither of them has to worry about the third placed combination, Team Clancy who are 13pts further back. Of course what actually happens on the water is a different story and putting boats between themselves and Rumball will be the prime objective of Butler & Oram. Let’s hope there is wind to make the finale a good one!

#fireball – On Saturday Dublin Bay was a sheet of glass! Very early Sunday morning saw a repeat condition which prompted this correspondent to think we would have a second Sunday cancelled due to a lack of wind writes Cormac Bradley.  However, as those who sailed the keelboats in the morning reported, when they went afloat the wind started to fill in and by 14:30, when I took up my position on the harbour wall, the weather station on the East Pier was recording winds of 10knots on a bearing of 153º in temperatures of 6.7º C.

Racing had been postponed for an hour to accommodate the HSS which is still operating out of Dun Laoghaire, and this factor combined with the favourable weather – sunshine and blue skies – allowed the fleet to go a short distance outside the harbour for their racing.

My last view of the weather station before the start had the wind at 11.5 knots on a bearing of 139º. While racing outside was to the benefit of the fleet, from a reporting perspective it made my job a little harder as I couldn't quite read the sail numbers rounding the weather mark and a preponderance of red spinnakers also caused some confusion. So while this report should have most of the key details right, thanks to being able to identify boats by the clothing combinations and some distinctive spinnaker colours, if all the details aren't right............my apologies!

The PY and Laser fleets had a mixed approach to the start and early stages of the first beat. In contrast the Fireball fleet was uniformly distributed along the start line by the start signal with Mick Creighton & Joe O'Reilly (14740) on the pin and Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) one back from the pin. All thirteen boats went left initially before the peel to the right was initiated by some of those who were closer to the committee boat. Colin & Casey also peeled off early and were rewarded for their endeavours when they rounded the first weather mark in pole position. As the fleet was outside the harbour, the Fireballs had a separate weather mark, upwind of the mark for the PY and Laser fleets. Interestingly, as they had worked the other side of the beat, Creighton & O'Reilly rounded second. Thereafter the running order was Kenny Rumball & Dave Moran (15058), Frank Miller & Susie Mulligan (14713), Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061). From my position the Fireballs seemed to sail very high on the first reach, but the consensus afterwards was that the leg was quite broad so sailing high gave them more speed and allowed an earlier gybe into the mark.

Colin & Casey led the fleet into the gybe but due to some close quarter stuff they believed they had infringed and set about doing a penalty. On getting a second opinion they resumed sailing the second reach but crucially had lost time and distance to Rumball/Moran and Creighton/O'Reilly who got away. Rumball/Moran led into the leeward mark.

The second, and subsequent beats, saw the leaders work the left hand side of the course to varying degrees. Rumball invariably took a port hitch until the second placed boat played their hand and tailored his tactics accordingly. Thus the leaders sailed parallel course up the left-hand side while the chasing group took longer hitches inshore to work inside them but from a position astern. On the second beat Rumball sailed all the way to the port lay line to round ahead of Butler, Creighton and Colin. These positions stayed the same for the remainder of the second lap.

Alexander Rumball & Conor Kinsella (14820) then entered the fray at the third weather mark having worked the beat inside his brother and Butler/Oram. Sailing with a red spinnaker, rather than the blue I would associate with them, this was an instance where the clothing combination allowed them to be identified. Rumball/Moran again rounded first, again favouring a port layline approach, Butler came to the right hand side earlier to approach the mark on starboard tack and Rumball/Kinsella went round third. Creighton/O'Reilly and Colin/Casey closed out the top five, but Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney (14953) had come through the fleet to get into sixth while Miller/Mulligan dropped to seventh.

For the latter stages of the next beat a shipping movement to the east of the course, parallel to the port lay-line but far enough away not to present a safety issue, was the feature. Six stainless steel silos for the upgrading of the St James's Gate Guinness brewery in Dublin carried on board the Keizenborg of the Wagenborg line, part of a consignment of 27 silos, arrived in Dun Laoghaire. It didn't really influence the cat and mouse game that had evolved between Rumball/Moran and Butler/Oram, the former doing the classic cover of staying between their opposition and the weather mark. However, they did not go all the way to the lay-line but came across earlier to approach the weather mark on starboard. Rumball/Kinsella split the previous pair to round in second place, approaching the mark on the port lay-line. These three had a significant lead on the rest of the fleet, where the chasing order had changed again! Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe (14691) had passed out Colin/Casey to slot in behind Creighton/O'Reilly and Doyle/Sweeney. By the third leeward mark, Butler/Oram had overtaken the younger Rumball when they went to windward and leeward respectively of a group of Lasers approaching the leeward mark.

Two of these three again worked the left-hand side of the beat, the third taking a more inshore route to the weather mark. Rumball/Moran led around the fourth weather mark, by a margin of 20 seconds, followed by Butler/Oram and his younger brother. McKenna/O'Keeffe pinched more places to go to fourth, with Doyle, Colin, Creighton & Miller chasing them. Rumball K extended his lead on the offwind legs, but the leading three boats were the best part of ¾ of a leg ahead of the rest of the fleet.

As the leaders worked the latter stages of the fifth and final beat the HSS emerged from the harbour, an hour later than had been expected. However, she had no influence on the racing as she turned eastwards on her way to Holyhead. At the fifth weather mark the lead had changed hands. After the race Noel Butler explained how he and Oram had been able to get out from underneath Rumball/Moran to reverse the roles of coverer and coveree and rounding the weather mark for the last time, Butler/Oram had a few boat-lengths of the elder Rumball. Done and dusted...........not quite!
In the final approach to the gybe mark, Butler/Oram nearly went swimming. A very uncharacteristic slip by Oram who was trapezing off the centerboard case saw Butler scrambling to the windward deck to prevent a full immersion. This was enough of a glitch to allow Rumball/Moran to overtake them and go into the lead. On the second reach, the new leaders were able to pull out a few more boat-lengths to hold out for the win.

On my way back along the East Pier the weather station was recording 9.8knots with a "gust-high" of 16.4knots and an air temperature of 6.4º. The blue skies had gone and a mistiness to be replaced by broken grey clouds though the sun still shone.

The post-mortem after the race revealed that Creighton & O'Reilly broke a trapeze wire which explained their drop in the rankings. Doyle & Sweeney were deemed OCS. The day's Frostbite Mugs went to Alexander Rumball & Conor Kinsella.

In overall terms for Series 2, Butler & Oram retain their five point lead which means that their aggregate over the two Series still leaves them on top.

There are three race-days left in the Series, 10th, 17th and 24th March. March 17th is of course St. Patrick's Day and will give us in Ireland a long weekend, as the Monday will be a Bank Holiday in lieu of the Sunday being St. Patrick's Day. The intention is to sail on the 17th and additional day-only entries for the 17th will be accepted. So if you haven't entered for the Series but want to sail on the 17th, you are most welcome and will be included in the day's results.

The expectation is that weather permitting, the last three days will be raced outside the harbour on the assumption that the HSS will still be operating out of Dun Laoghaire.

#frostbites – Saturday afternoon's wintry showers, which significantly reduced visibility in Dun Laoghaire harbour, gave way to sunshine and blue skies on Sunday morning writes Cormac Bradley. Unfortunately, from a racing perspective, the disappeared snow took the wind with it and we were left with a patchwork quilt of calm areas and small pockets of breeze blowing from every which way within the confines of the harbour.

The lack of motive power for the racing fleets meant that another element of harbour traffic had to be considered in the Race Officer's thoughts on the viability of racing.

Due to the maintenance regime for the ferries that sail out of Dublin and the consequences of damage to one of the berthing facilities in Holyhead, the HSS crossing of the Irish Sea is back operating in Dun Laoghaire. With a scheduled departure that would have coincided with the middle of the racing "window", the absence of wind meant that dinghies could potentially compromise the manoeuvres of the HSS in getting out of the harbour. As the ferries hold the right of way, that was an unacceptable prospect, so racing was abandoned.

So despite glorious sunshine and modest air temperatures, racing was replaced with watching rugby. Don't need to detail the reaction to that exercise!

#fireball – Blustery conditions in Dun Laoghaire harbour yesterday made the day's Frostbite race more challenging than might normally be the case, for in addition to trying to work out the right way round the course, the wind conditions meant that staying upright also became a significant challenge writes Cormac Bradley.

And while the winners on the day achieved both objectives, some of the other more prominent challengers saw their day's work unravel when they went swimming. Andy Boyle & Brian Flahive (14934) were up at the front end of the chasing pack until an interaction with a Laser, being helmed by a Fireballer, saw them take a swim, break the end of the pole and do damage to their mainsail. Another combination who are enjoying a strong showing in this second half of the Frostbites, Gavin Doyle and Dave Sweeney (14953), had two swims. Mick Creighton and Glen Fisher (14740) also had a capsize on one of the beats. Another podium bid, by the Clancy brothers, Conor and James, (15***) came undone with a capsize at the least weather mark!

With a weather mark sitting just upwind of the ferry gantry and an offshore breeze, the approach to the weather mark required a little circumspection as it got very squally in the immediate vicinity of the mark. The leading boats had initially gone left and approached the weather mark shy of the port layline. However, those who had gone right a bit earlier didn't seem to have lost out and so there was almost a continuous procession of boats round the first weather mark. Kenny Rumball, with Conor Kinsella crewing (15058) got round first having gone left up the first beat, but then had to re-thread their spinnaker when the guy came out. In close proximity to Rumball & Kinsella were Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) and Team Clancy (15***). Luke Malcolm and Shane Divinney (14790) were having a better start to the day than in recent weeks and Gavin Doyle and Dave Sweeney (14953) were also well to the fore, as were Andy Boyle & Brian Flahive (14934). The likes of Neil Colin and Margaret Casey (14775) and Alistair Court and Gordon Syme (14706) were further back along with Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007).

Gybing on the mark left the fleet sailing too high relative to the leeward mark which meant that the double-gybe at the bottom of the second reach made for interesting boat-handling, particularly in the blustery conditions. The position of the limit mark for the start/finish line, on the line between the gybe and leeward mark and only 20-30m upwind of the leeward mark, introduced another "hazard" that some people came closer to than they might have preferred.

The leading boats appeared to favour a short hitch on port after the leeward mark before tacking onto starboard to work the middle of the course. The boats behind then seemed to work the extremes of the course, ending up either hard left or right and it was very easy to get out of synch. Having appeared to have put "boats away" in the early part of the beat, it was then very frustrating to seem them take meters out of you when they rounded the next weather mark ahead.

Butler & Oram did a horizon job on the fleet leading during the second half of the race by almost a leg (leeward to gybe marks). Rumball/Kinsella led the chasing pack and Malcolm/Divinney had their best day for a while by staying with the chasing bunch. Team Clancy were almost ever present in the chase until their unscheduled swim at the last weather mark. Doyle/Sweeney came badly unstuck to fall out of the top half of the fleet as did Boyle/Flahive.

This afforded Colin/Casey and Court/Syme to move up the fleet while in the middle Smyth/Bradley and Creighton/Fisher were dicing with each other.

Despite the viciousness of some of the squalls, the bigger problem was with the lulls and crews had to work very hard to keep their boats upright. Nobody was disappointed when a 2nd race wasn't scheduled.

The day's Frostbite Mugs went to Louis Smyth and Cormac Bradley in 7th place. A fleet of 13 boats started the race but the conditions took their toll with 4 retirals.

In overall terms the 2nd Series of the Frostbites is becoming the Butler & Oram show as they enjoy an 8pts lead over their closest rivals. This will start to have implications for the combined scores of the two series, to find the 2012/3 Frostbite Champion.

Leading Fireball sailor, Noel Butler will join two other high profile dinghy sailors, James Espey (Olympic Laser 2012) and Graham Elmes to give a talk next Saturday, 23rd February in the Royal St. George Yacht Club at 10:30. Marketed as a "First Dinghy Summit", the event has a charge of €10 (at the door) with the option of lunch afterwards.

Noel's presentation will deal with the psychology of winning and being properly prepared and will detail how he came into sailing and how he approaches training. For those of us who have raced against him, this should prove an interesting insight.

James Espey will focus on laser sailing while Graham Elmes will concentrate on starting techniques and the first beat.

Everyone is welcome to the Summit.