Tuesday - Baptizing the season

No doubt about it, but there's tide in Scotsman's Bay!!

The PY fleet, 11 or 12 strong, headed out into sun and a moderate breeze. Several boats are still not formally entered, but were there racing nonetheless. 

The committee set up a trapezoid course with the start off the east pier and the windward mark in under Sandycove harbor. Maybe a little too close in. Tuesday nights have a separate start for the Lasers, and this week the committee sent them off 6 minutes after the other boats, which means there's a big gap between boats in the same race. Not so ideal, frankly. 

The OK Dinghy, Finn and RS 400s set off along with the Mermaids and we saw Richard Tate zoom off ahead quite quickly. The OK was just about getting ahead of the Mermaids, with the Finn mixed in among them.  Everyone went left up the beat to get most benefit from tide and wind, and struggled with the chop as a result. 

Sheehy, who had arrived barely in time for the start, apparently hadn't read the course board and made a sudden 90 degree course change on the downwind legs when he realised that we were going a trapezoid and not a triangle. That cost him about a minute. That'll teach him! 

Meantime the Lasers were chasing hard and Keane - in particular - was catching up (see video). Keane got ahead early, followed by O'Toole (not entered yet), with  Craig and Galavan (not entered) following close behind. The second beat was tricky. Should you go for the expected right shift, or stay left for the tide. Well, the tide paid. 

At the finish Keane was still ahead and took his third straight win in this DBSC season!

The top 7 boats, down to the confused OK Dinghy, finished across a 2 minute spread. Slightly more spread than most nights, but reflecting the tricky conditions.

Full results here 
(note several boats aren't shown as they aren't entered yet)