Pics of the final day

Colin Galavan sits top dead centre on this photo group but the credit - as always - goes to the event organisers and volunteers.

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Post by Dun Laoghaire Dinghies.
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Lasers down to the wire

The final weekend of the Dun Laoghaire Laser Frostbite was a real cracker. The high winds of the morning moderated around midday and the sun came out. Wonderful!

The race officer set his usual trapezoid with the windward mark just off the west pier making for a shifty last third of the beat, and the 16 Lasers that made the start, looked forward to a longer than usual 5 lap race.

The pin end was marginally favoured, and the beat was a little one sided, meaning that most boats soon tacked onto port for the long fetch across the harbour. The fleet sailed hard up the first beat, hiking in a way that you only ever see on the last weekend of a series. At the windward mark it was Harding who managed to nip round first ahead of Dwyer and a significant group containing Cahill, Elmes and Hodgins. 

Harding and Dwyer at the mark

The first reach was tight and gusty, and the bear away at the end was dangerous. Harding led down the first run with Elmes and then Cahill threatening. At the leeward mark it was Harding from Cahill and Elmes.

The wind remained shifty and there were opportunities to make ground if you could pick the right spot to take the short hike across on starboard, but the large part of the upwind section involved thrashing though the short chop at the entrance to the harbour. At the front Harding gradually extended from Cahill. Elmes and Hodgins had a close battle for a couple of laps with Elmes finally getting the jump on Hodgins.

Elmes looking cool

From a series perspective, Harding needed to take two points from Cahill to take overall honours. But, although Elmes threatened, he never quite got onto the transom of Cahill, who sailed hard to retain his second place in the final race, and win the Frostbite Series overall by one point from Harding.

Cahill - winner

At the prize giving there was general agreement that the Frostbite had been a great success. All those involved, from the race officer to the safety crews to the bar staff at the DMYC were warmly thanked for all the hard work that they had put in to making the event such a success.

Laser Overall

Laser Series 2

Race on the day

Race report by Richard Harding
Photos by DMYC Frostbite

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More great pictures. The Laser report has been online for a while. Now here are the pics. No reports for PY or RS yet. Here's hoping!
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Post by Dun Laoghaire Dinghies.

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As always, credit to the DMYC Frostbites team! Great racing, great fun, great photos. 

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Craig avoids the breaks to finish on the podium in Howth

Congratulations to local Laser and RS sailor Sean Craig on his podium finish in the hotly contested Howth Frostbiting Series. For full results go here

Thrills and spills in the Lasers

The 30 knot gusts which were reported on Sunday morning had eased by the time the 14 Lasers launched for two more races of the DMYC frostbite series in Dun Laoghaire harbour. 

However, the gusts were still approaching 20 knots and the direction was unstable as the fleet started the first race. Elmes won the pin and led the fleet out to the left. It was Elmes who rounded the first mark in the lead, closely followed by Cahill and Harding. Helms appeared nervous as the unpredictable gusts took the fleet down the trapezoid course but casualties were limited on that first run. Up the second beat Harding took the left once more, and passed Cahill, who favoured the more stable conditions on the middle of the race track. Down the subsequent run Harding closed up on the leader, as Elmes capsized whilst avoiding an upturned Finn and a Laser Vago, but it was Elmes who still led the fleet into the final lap.

Elmes at speed

The fleet battled on as the wind increased slightly and the rescue crews were kept busy. Elmes led the fleet down the final set of runs from Harding, O'Leary and Hodgins. With the results seemingly settled, a fierce gust hit the leaders on the final reach, which seemingly caused Elmes to drop his mainsheet; his boat heeled gracefully to windward before bearing away and capsizing. This allowed Harding to take the win from O'Leary and Hodgins with Cahill fourth.    

O'Leary tacks

The line was a little more square in the second race and Cahill lead the fleet up the first beat after starting from the middle of the line. At the first mark. the fleet was tightly bunched, but Cahill led from Hodgins and Harding. The racing was very tight across the fleet in this second race as the wind had moderated slightly. As the fleet embarked on the final set of runs, Cahill led from Harding and Hodgins, and all three boats planed into the leeward mark for the short beat to the finish. Harding secured the favoured committee boat end for the finish and he inched past Cahill to take the race win. Cahill was second, with Hodgins third and Flanagan fourth.

Harding now leads the second series by 5 points from Cahill, but Cahill leads the overall (first and second series combined) by two points, with Flanagan well positioned to pounce on any mistakes from the leading two. All to play for on the last weekend of the series! 

Race 1

Race 2

Overall 

Report by Richard Harding. Photos by DMYC Frostbite.

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Race Training

The INSC is running a training course that racers might be interested in.

It's on through April.

Details on the INSC website here. Check it out!!

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Great pics from a spring day in March

More great photos of the DMYC Frostbites!

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Post by Dun Laoghaire Dinghies.
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Youth triumphs over experience in the Lasers

It seemed like the first day of spring in Dun Laoghaire as 19 Lasers gathered for the first of two races this weekend. The wind was a gentle southerly and the temperature was a balmy 14 degrees.  Not what we're used to!

The line was pretty square for the first race and the wind remained fairly true up the first beat. But the wind did get a little more shifty near the windward mark. Harding led round the first mark with Flanagan and Cahill not far behind. With the wind increasing a little all boats were flat out and I am sure that there were some sore legs and shoulders on Monday morning. However on the race course Flanagan drove his boat hard to squeeze past Harding on the third beat to take the win with Harding second and Cahill third. 

Harding on a quieter day

The wind added a few knots for the second race and the conditions were sparkling with tiring beats and fast, exhilarating reaches. Flanagan, who started closer to the committee boat than most, managed to keep to the centre whilst the rest of the fleet went hard left, largely due to the fact that the wind was sufficiently stable to stop anyone managing to cross the fleet on port. Flanagan rounded in the lead but with a gaggle of boats on his tail. 

Cahill and Coakley went low on the first reach pushing themselves up to second and third, but Harding re-took second place at the end of the run as he picked up a gust on the way into the third mark of the trapezoidal course. Flanagan was comfortable at the head of the fleet and took his second win of the day. Cahill's downwind speed eventually proved too much for Harding and it was Cahill second, Harding third and Coakley fourth at the end of the three lap race.

Harding leads the second series on 23 points after the application of a second discard. Flanagan is now up to second on 25 points but both Cahill and Coakley are still very much in contention on 31 points each.     

Race 1

Race 2

Report by Richard Harding

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Ten Go RS Racing

It doesn't get much better than this! There was a turnout of 10 of the 13 RS fleet in 15 wonderful knots of breeze. 

Racing was in the harbour, which was probably just as well for Stephen "The Cool" Craig and Conor "Chilled" Foley. They rocked in just in time to hear the warning gun and wouldn't have made it to an outside start. Naturally, the imperturbable pair duly won the RS200 private battle with the not-quite-so-relaxed Byrne/ Craig team who fell foul of the round the ends rule. 

Meanwhile Cassidy/ Rafferty took a good second in the 200's closely followed by Totterdell/ Kelly, and the Arrowsmith boat.  However, all this was not enough to stop the RS400's taking all three podium spots. Ryan/ Murphy had an fairly average start and it took them three laps to reel in the early flyers O'Leary/ Fenlon and Cleary/ Tyner to take both line honours and the handicap win. 

There was some great racing here, most of the overtaking manoeuvres taking place off the wind, and the outcome was up for grabs all the way until the end.

The second race was even better. The wind had now veered a few degrees towards the East and the crews had to decide between starting at the favoured boat end or getting into the stronger breeze on the left. A stray Fireball on the start line was succinctly persuaded to "move along please!" and all the RS's got away cleanly in the best start of the season so far.  

In the event, four of the RS400's arrived at the top mark in quick succession, with Sean and Tyner edging ahead. The breeze was still strong enough for exciting reaches and the Greystones team held onto their nerve and the lead until the finish. Most of the fleet got within shouting distance of the leaders, with the 200's and 400's well bunched after the PY correction. 

Emmet took second this time with Marty clocking up a consistent third. Right on cue, the wind dropped immediately after racing, just goes to show what a talented race committee we have. Thanks again to Olivier and team.

Race 1

Race 2

Report written by Enid Blyton (or Richard Tate)

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Howth. Lasers. Round the Island.

March 15th, more details on sailing.ie

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Winter Ends - Summer starts

The summer sailing for kids is starting up along the waterfront already, with clubs like the George kicking off this weekend.  Others probably also.

It's time to think of all the kids and parents and their determination through the winter.

This picture can only be a representation of the herculean efforts of people like Flanagan, Eggers, etc at the George and others like them at the other clubs. Note the smiles on the faces of those on launching duty - despite the rain and despite the damp ankles.

Bring on the summer.

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Two races and four seasons in three hours

The heavy rain shower at around mid-day probably put off a few less hardy sailors but nevertheless fifteen Lasers made it to the start of the first race in Dun Laoghaire harbour. 

By the starting gun the rain had passed and the wind was blowing a consistent F2-F3 from the south. The pin was won by Coakley who rounded the first mark in the lead but with six other boats snapping at his transom. Up the second beat, the wind died completely before returning from the west. 

Elmes kept his boat moving best as the wind died and secured an advantage that he never relinquished. Despite the significant change in wind direction, the course still worked well, and racing was tight in the following pack. Cahill secured second place and Coakley third.

Coakley in the sun!

The race officer re-set the course for the second race as the wind picked up and the rain started to fall again. The pin was once more the favoured end but the advantage had largely been eroded by the first cross as boat handling in the gusty conditions become the key factor. 

Fierce gusts of nearly 30knts hit the fleet as they neared the windward mark and there were a number of capsizes. Those still upright reached into the windward mark as the buoy was sailed downwind by a K1 from the handicap fleet. O'Leary led round the windward mark and, with great boat handling throughout, he maintained a comfortable advantage. 

Behind O'Leary there were many capsizes, so with a number of boats upside down and huddled against the leeward harbour wall, the race was shortened to two laps. The final runs were exhilarating and with Flanagan heading for swim at the final gybe mark, Field was second and Harding third.

And then, to cap it all, the sun came out, and boats were packed away in a brief spell of spring sunshine!

Harding now leads the second series of the frostbite on 61 points with everyone now seemingly counting a "DNC".  

Race 1
Race 2

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