SAILING:DUBLIN BAY Sailing Club (DBSC) have unveiled a range of courses for the summer season, the biggest in the country, which starts next week. Arising out of congestion on Thursday's evening races the club will separate their blue and red fleets that total nearly 300 boats.
Hon secretary Donal O’Sullivan says there is very little sign of any recessionary drop off among their 1,700 members, indicating there is still high demand for local racing on the capital’s waters.
There are 17 keelboat fleets, each racing at different speeds, so separating classes is no easy job.
The first of the current phase of course changes happened in 2001 when DBSC acquired a committee boat, MacLir, which has given great flexibility to course changing afloat. Then in 2003 there was a major overhaul and now for next Saturday’s first race, there is a 2010 model.
Two new marks have been introduced, Merrion in Seapoint Bay and Molly near Scotsman’s Bay to combat the problem, other marks have been moved.
The Blue fleet (Cruiser classes 0, 1,2,3, 31.7s Sigmas and White sail boats) will race in the upper northern part of the racing area on Thursdays.
The overall shape or pattern of the courses remains the same. As before, there will be blue, red and green divisions, with alternating West Pier Hut and MacLir starts.
“The big change is that in order to limit as much as possible the intermingling of different fleets, the blue fleet will tend to race most of the time in the upper, northern section of the racing area while the red fleet will race in the lower, southern section,” says new commodore Tony Fox.
On the dinghy course, there are exciting changes as well. This year, besides the usual triangular or windward/leeward courses race officers will be able to select a trapezoid course. This could pose interesting problems for mark-layers but the dinghy organisers have, not unexpectedly, anticipated this. There have been training courses, marks will be laid using GPS, and the team have access to a dedicated website with training videos.
Flags were flown at half mast at the National and Royal Irish Yacht Clubs in Dún Laoghaire yesterday as the sailing exploits of former Dublin Bay 21 class captain Liam Boyd, who died on Monday, aged 91, were remembered fondly.
Father of six, including Round Ireland race winner Michael and former Irish Sailing Association CEO Paddy, Liam played a founding role in many sporting organisations in the area, his funeral mass was told. He was captain of the 21s in 1963, the time the controversial decision was made to change the yacht’s design from original gaff to Bermudan rig.
Forty seven years later that six-boat fleet which dates back to the 1890s, lies derelict in Wicklow and remains the oldest intact one-design keelboat fleet in the world.
It would still be a worthy – if massive restoration project – and a fitting celebration of the bay’s rich sailing history. Liam Boyd would surely approve.
On the south coast, Kinsale’s season is well under way with a light north-easterly wind last Sunday for the first race of its Spring Series event. Adopting a similar format to Royal Cork’s October League, the south coast club has opted for a two-race format each day over two courses.
A lot of interest centres on Commodores Cup yachts competing. Both Anthony O’Leary’s Ker 39 Antix and Dave Dwyer’s Marinerscove.ie were on the water last weekend but it was Marinerscove that drew first blood, taking two wins in IRC Zero.
Antix is among the Irish line-up for the Scottish Series in a month’s time where there are seven Irish boats already entered. A new Corby 36 Roxy 6 is expected to be among the top boats on Lough Fyne, its first big outing in a bid to become the small boat in the Irish Commodore’s Cup team this August.
The Irish Schools’ Team Racing Nationals will be decided this weekend, with 14 teams taking part at the event, hosted by the Bow Waves Galway sailing centre.
UCD Sailing Club won the annual Colours match this year, denying Trinity a fifth successive win. The annual Sailing Colours Match was hosted by Trinity College and the Royal St George.
