Tanning Tuesdays

Again, so far only an initial report from the OK Dinghy page here.

There's also a brief report on Afloat.ie here.

And of course all the pretty photos are on the Facebook page.

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Laser Masters, thrills and gentle spills

What a weekend's racing!  6 races, with 5 different race winners. 4 seasons in a day, on both days!  A 3 way tie for 3rd place overall and a 2 way tie for first. It's been another roller coaster Laser Masters Championship.

This popular event, open to Lasers Sailors aged 35 and over, is now in it's 10th year and firmly positioned as an annual favourite with the class members.  This year the fleet was buoyed by the presence of many new faces and also by a fledgling radial fleet - both of which are very positive future signs.

Cork as usual sent a strong contingent. Wexford too was represented, while Galway provided several of the new faces. The northern contingent from Ballyholme sent a boutique but talented squadron of challengers.

Heading upwind again, towards the Seapoint shore

Closer to home it was great to see support from Howth YC. The RStG really padded out the numbers with a large showing and local boats also launched from the RIYC, DMYC and Coal Harbour for a total of 35 racing.

Approaching a gybe mark

Ron Hutchieson was, as usual, officiating shoreside - ably assisted at registration by Sandra Moore.

An enthusiastic fleet - well up on the line!

On day 1 a brisk SW'ly met the sailors as they ventured out towards Seapoint. It was looking a lot like a tough day on the bay. Before Race 1 got underway the breeze had moderated a little but the course was still being raked by strong gusts. Choosing which side of the bay to aim for was going to be crucial.  (Click "Read Whole Article" below to see the rest of the story)

Laser Masters

Hoping to get a full report soon. Meantime, the results are online.

In the standard Lasers it was;

1. Nick Walsh
2. Dan O'Connell
3. Sean Craig

In the Radials it was SUPER close with a count-back for 1st place. Overall the results were;

1. Paul Ebrill
2. Shirley Gilmore
3. David Vinell

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All the points of the compass

While waiting for a full report on Sunday's racing, there's a quick report over on the OK Dinghy page, here.

Results are online here.

Downwind with breeze between the races

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Another sunny Sunday

A full report is online on the OK Dinghy page, here.

Top 3 in Race 1 were Sheehy, Keane, Tate. In Race 2 it was Keane, Sheehy, Tate. A tight day.

And here are some pics from Ros Bremner on the Committee Boat.

Sunny Sunday

A glorious day, finally. Sun. Warm. A bit more wind would have been nice, but let's not complain.

6 PY lined up, two Fireballs and a few IDRA14s too.

Tom Murphy's K1 led off the line in race 1, with the SID Vagos and Sheehy's OK Dinghy late to the line - the OK nearly starting with the Fireballs in the next start. Up the first beat, the OK spotted some wind to the right and made a big gain,  nearly catching the K1 by the windward mark. It actually managed to pass downwind to take the race, taking advantage of the cat rig's advantage in such light conditions. The SID Vagos struggled to beat the time limit and were eventually defeated by the combination assymetric boats hate most. Very light downwind against a strong tide is NOT fun in an assymetric.

Race 2 was sailed in similar conditions. The K1 got out ahead on the left and rounded first, with the OK Dinghy trying the right but not finding better pressure. The SID Vagos were close behind at the mark. Again the OK Dinghy managed to catch up to the K1 on the downwind leg but Murphy regained the lead after some very close gybing and finished a boatlength ahead. The OK came out best on handicap with the Vagos again struggling against - for them - very unfavourable conditions on the downwind leg.

There's more on the OK Dinghy page (https://goo.gl/G8nryc) and presumably there'll be a Fireball report on Afloat.ie. More as we have it.

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Results are online, but show the OK Dinghy as DNC in Race 1. Query is in. See link on the top right. 

Photos by Ros Bremner and J O'Rourke

Tuesdays underway

Once more inside the Harbor, but a totally different mood than last week. Quiet, warm-ish. Unfortunately the DL Harbor cameras are pointing at funny angles, but you get the idea from this picture.

LOTS and lots of Lasers turned out, with a mix of names old and new. In fact there was a mix of people too, old and new. Anyway, race 1 went to Maloney with Marmelstein only 6 seconds behind him. Pretty tight already. Race 2 was even tighter with the first ten boats finishing within a minute!  That's pretty serious stuff. O'Connell led home, followed by Keane and Craig.  See results here

PY was led home by P Ter Host in both races, both times with a decent margin. Results here. We expect more PY arrivals in the next start, with a few laggards signing up in the last few days, so anticipate tighter finishes next week.

Well done to all the sailors.

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Sunday Starts!

The big change for dinghy sailing this year is the move to Sunday starts instead of Saturday.

Based on the turnout today - on the first day of the season and over a Bank Holiday Weekend - it looks like there's a positive response.

Several Lasers turned out, including one what isn't white (radical). There were also a Vago or two. And even the OK Dinghy sailed on the day but WAAAY too late to make it to the startline (tsk tsk).

With no ferry to worry about and no floating caravans blocking the bay, the dinghies can sail pretty much whereever suits best, without being forced up to Seapoint all the time. Today the racing was inside the harbor.

No results, last time we checked. Updates as and when.

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Photos courtesy of Ros Bremner