After three days of challenging racing and race management, the Flying Fifteen Championship of Ireland concluded on Sunday 4th September, with a well-deserved victory by father and daughter combination Peter and Juliette Kennedy (3920), flying the burgees of Strangford Lough Yacht Club and Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club. Additionally, they took home the Dun Laoghaire fleet-donated Gerry Donleavy Memorial Trophy for winning the first race of the Nationals.

In second place, representing Killyleagh Yacht Club were Andrew McCleery and Colin Dougan (4037) and shutting the door to the podium for any of the home-based fleet, were Niall and Ronan O’Brien (4092) from the Chonamara Flying Fifteen Fleet.

(Above and below) The start of race four on Sunday morning under the U Flag Photo: Afloat

So why was the Kennedy victory so well deserved? On Friday, we sailed two light wind races and Team Ridgeway sailed by Peter and his daughter won both of them.

Peter and Juliette Kennedy (3920) 

Now you might say that what’s unusual about that? Well, the fact is that the nearest competitor to them after Day 1 was Bryan Willis & John McPeake (4074), counting eleven points with Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan (3803) in third on fourteen points. I think it would be safe to say that many would have believed that as one of the seemingly lighter crews, the Kennedys were well suited to Friday’s conditions. Saturday and Sunday would bring stiffer challenges, but the Kennedys took it all in their stride, counting a 6th, a 4th, a 5th and a 10th, their discard, in the subsequent races. These latter four races were sailed in conditions that started light on Saturday and got up to in excess of 20knots with some recordings of gusts in excess of 30knots. On Sunday, in sunshine conditions we sailed another three races that probably started in the high teens and certainly got above 20knots. Thus, when the heavier crews might have considered they had a physical advantage, this team were able to compete with aplomb and consistency.

The championship turnout of 31 boats was one of the biggest one design keelboat fleets of the season Photo: Afloat

On Friday evening, some well known combinations were carrying a big score: - a past National Championship winning crew had a 22nd, a well-known combination who have been around the block a few times were carrying a 21st, one successful DBSC crew from 2022 were carrying a 26th, another were carrying a 27th and a 20th and this commentator was carrying a 24th.

Saturday dawned grey and drizzly with no real sign of wind ashore. Maybe the flags were too wet to fly on Saturday morning, but the more likely story was that there wasn’t a great deal of wind. Race Officer Eddie Totterdell decided we would go afloat, obviously of the view that if wind arrived he wanted to avail of it immediately. It took over an hour for any tangibly steady wind to arrive! Instead, we could hear reports of less that 5knots radioed in from the weather mark in the drizzly haze. Eventually wind did come in and how!

A first race got underway shortly around 13:30 (ish) when the wind was of the order of 8knots. It continued to build giving a boisterous windward-leeward two-lapper. Former National Champions, David Gorman & Chris Doorly (4099) duly wrapped up the race with a comfortable win. Behind them the finishing order was the Chonamarans, Niall & Ronan O’Brien (4092), Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan (3803), in their debut regatta, Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (4081), followed by the Galvin brothers, Tom & Eamonn (3757). David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne scored an eighth in this one. The trick on this race was to stay on the right-hand side of the beat and subsequently, the left-hand side of the run. However, the run required a number of gybes to get to the leeward gate and some of those were under fast planing conditions.

David Gorman & Chris Doorly (4099) Photo: Afloat

The wind continued to build and by now we were sailing in wind strengths in the upper teens and low twenties in terms of knots of wind speed with gusts getting even stronger. This was taking its toll on the fleet. We had one crew member go overboard going down the run. Another Fifteen did a double broach, ended up capsized and then flooded its forward buoyancy tank, resulting in it being towed home partially submerged. A broken spinnaker halyard in another boat seemed minor in comparison. Unaware that the Race Officer had cancelled all racing, the front end of the fleet comprising the likes of the O’Briens, Lavery & Green (4083), Mathews & Poole (4093), Shane McCarthy with debutant Flying Fifteen crew Damien Bracken (4085), Mulligan & Bradley and Gorman & Doorly continued, oblivious to the decision until they went through the finishing line en route to the leeward gate the second time. Race Officer Eddie Totterdell pointed to his “N over A” as each boat sailed past him. They all went on to the leeward gate and sailed to an upwind finish and silence from the committee boat. As we made our way back to the harbour, still sailing in these high wind conditions, we were perplexed as to the decision. It wasn’t immediately obvious that the fleet was being decimated! Ashore, the explanation was that rescue resources had been stretched to the limit and the decision to fly “N over A” was based on safety. DLH wind readings suggested that gusts of the order of 32 knots had been recorded.

A regatta dinner in the National Yacht Club saw the war stories emerge from the day’s proceedings and tired and sore bodies unwound from the efforts of the day. Still leading with a 6th in race 3, Peter and Juliette had the huge score of eight points in the kitty. Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan were in second with 10pts, and John Lavery & Alan Green were in third with 26pts. These were followed by Willis & McPeake (27), Mathews & Poole (30), the Galvins (31), McCleery & Dougan (32), the O’Briens (33), Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain (3756) (33) and Gorman & Doorly (37). A revised race schedule for Sunday with three races and a 10:25 start was advised to the fleet.

Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain (3756) Photo: Afloat

On Sunday the sun had come back out to play but the wind was still very healthy. XCWeather had suggested southerlies of the order or 11 – 18knots building as the day wore on…...and so it was. However, the sunshine made a huge difference!

Andrew McCleery and Colin Dougan (4037) Photo: Afloat

Race 4 (of the regatta) went to the northern combination of Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain, followed by the O’Briens, McCleery & Dougan, the Kennedys, the Galvins, Mulligan & Bradley, Lavery & Green, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028), Peter Lawson & Chris Hannon (3893) and Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774). Again, working the right-hand side seemed to pay dividends, certainly from this commentator’s perspective. So, the Kennedys were still secure, managing the conditions and making sure they didn’t loose the leading pack. It was an interesting watch as this light(ish) crew managed the growing wind strength.

Waterford Harbour SC's Lee Statham and Andy Paul (IRL 4070)

Race 5 saw the O’Briens win in style! Now it was getting crowded at the top of the leader board. Mulligan & Bradley rounded in a podium place at the first windward mark but lost places on the downwind leg – a new phenomenon for them. However, they stayed inside the top ten, using Bradley’s “avoir du pois” to help them go upwind more easily in the breeze.

John Lavery & Alan Green (4083) Photo: Afloat

McCleery & Dougan matched the westerners upward trend by posting a second place with Lavery & Green posting their best result of the regatta in third. Mathews & Poole also kept to the low numbers with a 4th, the Kennedys took 5th, Willis & McPeake 6th, Mulligan & Bradley 7th, Baker & Chamberlain 8th, Lawson & Hannon 9th and Tom Murphy & Carel La Roux (4057) 10th.

Tightly bunched Flying Fifteens on a downwind leg of race four at the Irish Nationals  Photo: Afloat

Race 6 saw the breeze go up another notch. The upwinds were hard work and the downwinds exhilarating! A number of boats pioneered the right-hand side of the beat and looked good until the very end when a few boats, not too many, piled in from the left. Yet again, the westerners were at the front, with Lavery, Mulligan, Mathews, McCleery and Willis and Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070) in the immediate chasing pack. Up the second beat this leading group dropped Willis as they chased the O’Briens. Racing was close as the six boats chose slightly different routes to the leeward gate. The O’Briens went left, had a difficult gybe, wrapping the genoa around itself. Ronan ended up “tap-dancing” on the foredeck trying to get it unravelled before going overboard. That dropped them back to 6th, giving the other five boats a late one-place bonus.

Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (4093) Photo: Afloat

The finishing order was McCleery & Dougan, Mathews & Poole, Statham & Poole, Lavery & Green, Mulligan & Bradley, the O’Briens, Willis & McPeake, Gorman & Doorly, Lawson & Hannon, the Kennedys.

Regatta organiser Keith Poole presided at the prize-giving where due thanks were given to all who had made the regatta possible. Club Commodore Conor O’Regan also spoke welcoming all the visitors and thanking the volunteers and members of the National Yacht Club for their support of the regatta.

The Flying Fifteen Championship of Ireland 2022

Gold Fleet
1st Peter & Juliette Kennedy, 3920, SLYC & RNIYC; 17pts
2nd Andrew McCleery & Colin Dougan, 4037, KYC; 22pts
3rd Niall O’Brien & Ronan O’Brien, 4092, FFFC, 25pts
4th Ian Mathews & Keith Poole, 4093, NYC 26pts
5th John Lavery & Alan Green, 4083, NYC, 29pts.

The Jack Roy Memorial Trophy, presented by the Roy Family – 1st placed NYC Boat at the Nationals; Ian Mathews & Keith Poole.

The Gerry Donleavy Memorial Cup, presented by the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen Fleet – Winner of the first race at the Championship of Ireland; Peter & Juliette Kennedy.

Silver Fleet
1st Peter Lawson & Chris Hannon, 3893, PYC; 50pts 10th Overall
2nd Tom & Eamonn Galvin, 3757, NYC; 51pts 11th Overall
3rd Tom Murphy & Carel La Roux, 4057, NYC; 55pts 14th Overall

Bronze Fleet
1st Mairtin O’Flatharta & Mike Hopkins, 393, FFFC; 93pts 20th Overall
2nd Joe Coughlan & Andrew Marshall, 3913, NYC; 115pts 23rd Overall
3rd Alan Balfe & Patrick Frison Roche, 3995, NYC; 119pts 24th Overall.

Peter and Juliette Kennedy from Strangford Lough Yacht Club were crowned Irish Flying Fifteen National Champions after six races sailed at the National Yacht Club on Sunday. 

The father and daughter pairing led the three-day Dun Laoghaire championships from start to finish in a contest that featured light, medium and heavy wind conditions.

In a one-two for Northern Ireland Flying Fifteen interests, another Strangford crew took second place overall in the 31-boat fleet. Killyleagh Yacht Club's Andrew McCleery and Colin Dougan finished on 22 points, five points behind the Kennedys.

In a significant podium result for the emerging West Coast fleet, the recent winners of the Southern Championships, Niall O'Brien and Ronan O'Brien from Connemara, were third on 25 points sailing their new boat Checkmate.

The top Dublin Bay boat was the host club's Ian Mathews and Keith Poole in fourth place on 26 points.

Read Cormac Bradley's full championship report here

Peter and Juliette Kennedy continue to lead the Flying Fifteen National Championships of Ireland after three races sailed at the National Yacht Club.

Leaders since Friday, the consistent Strangford Lough father and daughter combination are on eight points. They have a nine-point margin over Royal St George YC's Phil Lawton and Neil O'Hagan after just one championship race was sailed on Saturday in a blustery 20-knots on Dublin Bay. 

Third, are defending champions John Lavery and Alan Green of the host club on 26.

To make up for lost races, Race Officer Eddie Totterdell has amended the schedule for the final day.

Sunday, 4th September, will have a new first warning signal of 10.25 am with subsequent races following. The intention is to run three races if possible.

Yachties, like any other sportspeople, enjoy consistency. Footballers and rugby players want consistency of interpretation of the rules when they are playing. Football has introduced VAR to try and enhance the application of consistency to offside decisions and instances of foul play. For those of us who practice their sport on the water, we want the wind to be consistent, so that when one side of the beat pays, that same side of the course also pays on the subsequent downwind leg.

Today, at the Flying Fifteen Nationals, sponsored by Thomson Process Engineering and CMI and hosted by the National Yacht Club, that fundamental principle of consistency didn’t apply, unless of course you were the winner of the first two races of the regatta, Peter & Juliette Kennedy (3920) who as a consequence have a 9pt cushion to second place, occupied by Bryan Willis & John McPeake (4074), counting a 9th and a 2nd, who have three points on Olympian Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan (3803) (7,7), with Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain (3756) (4, 12) and John Lavery & Alan Green (4083) (5,11) tied on sixteen points.

And to highlight the challenges of the racing today, we only have to look at some of the scores that were recorded. Former Flying Fifteen National multiple champions scored a 22 and a 14, a successfully campaigned boat in this year’s DBSC series scored a 26, 8, and other high profile DBSC campaigners rendered scores of 27 & 20, 11 & 26, 12 & 24 and 26 & 8. And these varied results weren’t limited to the locals, a South Coast boat scored a 3,23 and a World, British and Irish National winner (in another class) scored a 6,15.

Thirty-one boats contested the first two races under the Race Management of Eddie Totterdell, who declared in his briefing that it was his intention to start proceedings on time, 13:55. Given that there was little wind on the bay when he said this, it was deemed slightly optimistic, but on exiting the harbour and monitoring the airwaves between committee boat and windward mark, there was a breeze of 6.5knots at an early stage coming from a direction of approx. 120°. The wind fluctuated a bit going as far right as 140° but the RO got the fleet away in the first race at the first time of asking. The right-hand side paid and the likes of Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (4093), the Kennedys, Lawton & O’Hagan, Baker & Chamberlain and Lavery & Green availed of this advantage. The left-hand side of the run paid this time and some who had not got the correct side of the beat got back into the frame. The same group were leading at the second weather mark of the 2-lap Windward-Leeward course but there was a split in how the run was sailed. Lawton went hard right while Kennedy and Mathews went left. Left paid off but not by much as the post-race view was that Lawton went too far to the left in the closing stages of the leg letting Kennedy and Mathews through to take the first two places, followed by Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070), Baker & Chamberlain, Lavery & Green, Shane McCarthy & Damien Bracken (4085), Lawton & O’Hagan, Stuart Harrison & Conor Brennan (3892), Willis & McPeake and Tom & Eamonn Galvin (3757).

The second race got away under “U” after a General Recall and some of us were intrigued that a clear start was called. Again, the right side paid and this time the likes of Lavery, Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (4081), Joe Coughlan & Andrew Marshall (3913), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) and Niall Coleman & Justin Geoghegan (4008) were looking good.

A port/starboard incident between Mulligan and Coughlan resulted in the former taking turns which halted their presence in the lead group, but by going left down the run they managed to regain some of the lost distance. By the second beat, shortened by the RO, the wind was starting to fade. And the second run became tortuous for those on the left as the breeze virtually shut down. Out on the right-hand side, theoretically fighting the tide, the likes of Kennedy, Willis, Lawton and Colin were making major inroads with the Kennedys very comfortably ahead of Willis & McPeake. Among those whose momentum stalled on the left were Mulligan, Harrison, Statham, Gorman and Mathews.

At the finish, the Kennedys were comfortable winners and Willis & McPeake were also comfortable in 2nd place ahead of Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774), Andrew McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037), Niall Coleman & Justin Geoghegan (4008), Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (3938), Lawton & O’Hagan, Colin & Casey (4028), Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara (3896) and Peter Lawson & Chris Hannon (3893).

Flying Fifteen Nationals; Day 1

1. Peter & Juliette Kennedy: 1, 1 = 2pts
2. Bryan Willis & John McPeake: 9, 2 = 11pts
3. Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan: 7, 7 = 14pts
4. Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain: 4, 12 = 16pts
5. John Lavery & Alan Green: 5, 11 = 16pts.

Three races are scheduled for Saturday. The weather forecast (as of 00:04) is for more light breezes with some rain.

This coming weekend, the Irish Flying Fifteen community have their biggest regatta of the year, the National Championship of Ireland, hosted by the National Yacht Club. A seven-race programme is on the agenda over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2nd, 3rd and 4th September.

This year’s regatta will see two new trophies donated to the regatta by the family of the late Jack Roy and by the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen Fleet in memory of the late Gerry Donleavy, respectively. Both gentlemen had strong connections with the host club and the Flying Fifteens as competitors and supporters of the class in Dun Laoghaire and further afield.

Jack will also be fondly remembered as a Race Officer for DBSC and for the Flying Fifteen fleet and, in particular, for his most recent race management of the 2019 Flying Fifteen Worlds in Dun Laoghaire.

The Roy Family’s trophy will be awarded to the first National Yacht Club boat in all Nationals going forward and the Gerry Donleavy Memorial Cup will go to the winners of Race 1 at all future Nationals.

In terms of the runners and riders, there is a wide field of potential winners and occupiers of podium places to be considered and the best place to start with the speculation on these places is with the current holders, John Lavery and Alan Green. With a wealth of experience on board, supplemented by an early summer of contesting events in the UK and closing with the Europeans in Cowes last week, where they finished 15th, they must surely be considered the boat to beat sailing in their home waters.

David Gorman's Flying Fifteen Fomo

On the domestic regatta scene, we would have to look at the events sailed this year, in Whitehead, N. Ireland and Dunmore East. The common denominator in these two events is Peter Kennedy (3920) who won the Northerns with Stephen Kane and was placed second in the Southerns with Peter Chamberlain. Others who filled podium places at these two events include 2021 Northern Champions Stuart Harrison & Conor Brennan (3892), 3rd in Dunmore East, Bryan Willis & John McPeake (4074), 2nd in Whitehead, Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070), 3rd in Whitehead. And, given their performance in Dunmore East, where they won three races, the O’Briens, Niall and Ronan, (4092) from the Connemara Flying Fifteen Fleet can no longer be considered “dark horses”.

New Flying Fifteen regional champions, Ronan (l) and Niall O’Brien (R) from Connemara Photo by Niall Meagher

If we then look at the Dun Laoghaire fleet, there are a number of boats that warrant attention in this exercise. Last Thursday, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) closed out the DBSC’s Thursday Overall Series with a comfortable margin and given that this far out the forecast is for light winds, that brings this combination into the equation of consideration. David Gorman (4099) has dominated the DBSC’s Saturday Overall Series with a number of crews and, for this weekend, teams up with Chris Doorly, a positive development, so they too warrant consideration. And an exercise such as this would not be complete without mentioning the potent combination of Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (4094). While Ian has been abroad for the majority of the season, he has come home in good time for a crack at this title.

Ian Mathews & Keith Poole

And of course, there is a host of DBSC regulars who will be “itching” to knock some of those mentioned above off their pedestals.

Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037)

Reports of low club numbers in the northern fleets should not dissuade consideration of the likes of Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037) or Bryan Willis & John McPeake.

The regatta, sponsored by CMI and Thomson Process Equipment & Engineering will be under the race management of Eddie Totterdell, with the first race warning signal on Friday 2nd September due at 13:55.

The 75th Anniversary Flying Fifteen European Championship on the Solent came to a fitting close on another semi-overcast but warm, humid day.

There was a short delay of an hour to wait for the wind to fill, which it did, to start one final three-lap race at 1330hrs on the second attempt.

The wind averaged 10 - 12 knots from around NW in direction, with a slightly stronger ebbing tide improving upwind boat speeds by a shade. With a second series race discard coming into play, the maths was a bit complicated, but Andy McKee and Richard Jones did enough with an 18th finish in the last race to win the championship. The pair from Dovestone SC / Shotwick Lake SC counted four race wins, and an overall net points score of 25 points.

Their nearest threat before the last race of the series was Richard Lovering and Matt Alvarado (WYC / HISC) but the Hyde Sails pair suffered a bad start and struggled deep in the pack for the first two laps, deciding to throw in the towel and retire.

Ireland was represented by John Lavery and Alan Green from the National Yacht Club, who finished 15th in the 71-boat fleet.

The Classic fleet trophy went to Graham Latham and Sara Briscoe from Parkstone YC. The trophy for best local sailors went to Henry Bagnall and James Downer.

This event, staged by Cowes Corinthian YC, brought to a close two weeks of FF15 sailing on the Solent on this 75th anniversary of the class.

The Uffa Fox 50th celebrations at Cowes to mark the life of the famous yacht designer has acclaimed huge success, with over 80 Uffa Fox-designed boats visiting Cowes over the weekend. 

The event attracted 220 sailors and volunteers and over 1000 visitors

As part of the celebrations, a secure dinghy park was constructed on Cowes Parade this weekend, with 40 Uffa Fox boats displayed, with some going racing on the Friday and Saturday.

These ranged from Uffa’s 22 square metre Vigilant, the Flying Fifteen Hobgoblin and the 1934 frostbite dinghy Fay with bamboo mast, which is now on display at the Classic Boat Museum. Also in the mix were National 18’s, Albacores, plenty of International 14’s, a Pegasus, National Redwings, a National 12’, a Flying 10 and a small swarm of Fireflies.

Uffa Fox boats at the dinghy park Photo: Simon Terry

The oldest boat was Anthony Wheaton’s 101-year-old gaff-rigged International 14’ Grebe of Hampton which sadly lost her mast on Saturday. Other boats of note, and there are too many to mention, were Patricia Knight’s International 14’ K201 Daring, in which Uffa won his second Prince of Wales Cup, the first being Avenger which is at Cowes Library, and Alastair Vines Firefly 503 Jacaranda which was the GB entry in the singlehanded dinghy class in the 1948 London Olympics sailed at Torquay.

The buzz on the Parade, with crews comparing notes on their vintage boats, was as much fun as the racing. So was the buzz at Shepards Wharf Marina with numerous Flying Fifteens and Yachts, including the Atalantas, who were out in force with some coming from the East Coast and Guernsey.

To add a bit of additional interest the 1930s ‘one off yawl’ Mary Lunn, built in then Bombay was berthed on the Trinity Landing alongside Clare of Beaulieu a former Cowes Harbour Master’s launch.

Karen Armitage, a keen vintage dinghy racer from Norwich, who was out in the 1934 International 14 366 Sayonara said that she had never seen such a large collection of classic dinghies and we may never see it again.

Racing took place on Friday and Saturday with the dinghies from a committee vessel off the Shrape and the Yachts and Flying Fifteens from the RYS line. On Saturday many Flying Fifteens chose the alternative of windward/leeward racing in the Central Solent forming a practice race of their Europeans the following week.

Flying Fifteen racing in Cowes as part of the Uffa Fox fiftieth celebrations

The dinghies were launched from the Watch House slipway at the southern end of the Parade with a strong beachmaster team and support ribs waiting to escort them across the Fairway before proceeding to the race area. So successful was this that all the boats arrived a little too early for the first warning signal on Saturday so had plenty of time to check out the course. The support rib cover was better than 3:1.

Martin Bean, Admiral of Gurnard Sailing Club and a senior Cowes Week official racing, with Mark Harrison, the 1949 Fairey Marine built International 14’ 545 Sunrise in which Charles Currey won the POW said ‘many thanks for putting the UF50 Regatta together, it is many years since dinghies were launched and raced from the Parade. Mark and I really enjoyed the racing and the hospitality RLYC provided’.

Racing took place with a range of forecasts showing gusts of over 20 knots which was of concern for PRO Peter Taylor about the durability of the vintage boats

However, Friday started off quite light with the first race for the dinghies being abandoned and re-raced in a light westerly breeze on a sausage/triangle course into a flood tide. The Yachts and Flying Fifteens raced in the Western Solent with the former suffering from the light winds and building tide but the latter getting in two races skillfully managed by Race Officer Bob Milner.

With a stronger forecast for Saturday the plan was to go for one race for the dinghies and get them in before the wind built, but a second short race was able to be held with the wind building to about 18 knots and all credit goes to the crews of these classic boats for sustaining this. One of the many achievements on the water was RYS member Harry Hutchinson from Lymington racing his early 50s Fairey Marine International 14’ K556 Iolanthe, with his daughters Annabel and Maisie looking very much under control.

The Yachts raced to the east ending up at Peel Bank with the option of anchoring in Osborne Bay for lunch, with the Flying Fifteens racing in the western Solent from the RYS line or out on the bank, both groups getting in two races in over 20 knots.

A total of 83 boats registered for the event with 65 racing.

Day 1 of the Uffa Fox fiftieth celebration racing event Photo: John Green

Competitors, volunteers and visitors were given an Uffa Fox trail map enabling them to view various aspects of Uffa’s life, at Commodore’s House which was his last home and where Prince Philip’s Flying Fifteen Coweslip, a wedding present from the Townspeople of Cowes, was displayed. Also at the Sir Max Aitken Museum, the Classic Boat Museum Shed, Cowes Heritage and Community Group, Cowes Library, East Cowes Heritage Centre and the Classic Boat Museum Gallery in East Cowes.

It was a testing day for the DBSC Flying Fifteen fleet on Saturday with a strong and gusty southwest wind but PRO Brian Mathews and his team got two races completed. As well as the regulars there were a few new crews including Sean Craig & Eoin Laverty and Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly presumably getting together for the upcoming Championships of Ireland hosted by the NYC in September.

As with the keelboats, some decided to stay ashore, others went out for a look and didn’t race and some retired. Those who stayed were tested physically and mentally but it was exciting sailing.

It was a short start line but the fleet got away at the first time of asking, Gorman started to weather at the committee boat end and held his line to take advantage of the small shifts particularly as they got closer to the weather mark which was close to the harbour entrance. It was close at the weather mark with Mathews and Craig and Mulvin all rounding close together.

With the strong gusts and with the SB3s broaching on the downwind there was reluctance for the Fifteens to fly the spinnakers. Gorman pulled out a good lead downwind and led all the way for the three laps to take the gun with Mathews second and Craig third.

The second race followed the same pattern again with Gorman starting at the committee boat and working hard to get the lead by the weather mark. Mathews was second with Mulligan third and Craig fourth.

Flying Fifteen DBSC Race Officer John McNeilly set an exciting course in the 14-22 knots westerly wind with blue skies giving what can only be described as champagne sailing conditions on Dublin bay last night.

Dumpleton and Hickey led off the favoured pin end before a tack to port and broken kicker meant an early shower.

At the other end, the Colemans battled with Sherry to head right in the freshening conditions and short sea.

After the short beat, it was Murphy and LeRoux who powered in on the port lay line to lead ahead of Poole/Galvin, followed by Mulvin/Beirne and the Colemans.

A seat of the pants fast reach to Omega saw the lead change to Poole/Galvin, with Ben and Mary Jane Mulligan now starting to climb into contention.

The long beat back to Bay saw Murphy regain the lead before again losing it downwind to Poole. The final beat saw the upwind power of the two former rugby back rowers, Murphy/LeRoux, pay off again and for good this time, they passed Poole/Galvin on the line for a hard-earned win.

A fast approaching Mulvin was 3rd with the Mulligans 4th and Shery passing the Colemans for 5th.

Thirteen Flying Fifteens contested their Southern Championships in the sunny South-East in the company of sixteen 420s when Waterford Harbour sailing Club hosted both fleets over this past weekend.

The host club had three boats on the water and the balance of the fleet was made up of three boats from Northern Ireland, representing Portaferry Sailing Club, Strangford Lough Yacht Club and County Antrim Yacht Club. The National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire had six representatives and Connemara Flying Fifteens had a sole representative.

At the regatta briefing on Saturday morning, Race Officer Michael Conway from Wexford Tennis and Boat Club (hope I have got that right) made his intentions very clear. Despite the limp flags at the clubhouse, he was determined to start on time (11:55) and made it clear that there would be very little leeway with respect to errant starts. After one General Recall there would be a “U-flag” start and thereafter a “Black-Flag” start for all races after a General Recall. We knew who was boss!

Michael’s optimism was rewarded when after launching we found there was breeze on the course. Maybe not a huge amount but enough to get racing in. Indeed, it was relatively steady in direction, approx. 100° and while there would be no sustained hiking out there was enough wind across the course to make racing fair.

Note that I refer to the wind distribution being “fair”, the tide or more correctly, the current, was another matter altogether. To paraphrase John Ford, “You can pick any side of the beat you want, so long as it’s left”. In the first race of the day, Ben Mulligan & Cormac Bradley (4081) pioneered a course to the weather mark on the right-hand side of the beat, having decided that there was better wind on that side. For the majority of that beat, it looked the way to go. Until the boats that went left tacked onto port to sail to the mark. The distance between the lone boat on the right and the incoming boats on the left evaporated quite quickly and in the end Mulligan & Bradley did well to round in the top five. Leading the charge form the left were the “Boys from the West” Niall and Ronan O’Brien sailing their new charge 4092, recently bought from Nigel Biggs. Also prominent were Peter Kennedy & Peter Chamberlain (3920) and Niall Meagher & Keith Poole (3938), despite their banter the night before as to who was the “form horse” for the regatta. Last year’s Northern Champions, Stuart Harrison & Connor Brennan (3892) also signalled their intentions for the weekend by rounding in the lead bunch.

Down the spinnaker leg of the Windward-Leeward leg there was little place changing, 4092 having a handy lead throughout the race. While there was some place changing during the race, the next significant incident came with the signalling of a shortened course. Onshore there had been some debate about the mode of finishing and it was advised that on the last downwind leg of each race the leeward gate was not a mark of the course and boats were to sail straight to the finish. Neither of the home boats twigged that the first race was being shortened, not finished, as they made their way to the finish rather than the leeward gate. Thus Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070) and Charlies Boland & Peter Coad (3883) got letters rather than numbers for their efforts. The O’Briens led the fleet home followed by the two Peters, Meagher & Poole, Harrison & Brennan, with fellow northerners Bryan Willis & John McPeake (4074) taking fifth.

Having learned their lesson of the benefits of the currents, not the tides, the fleet restricted itself to the middle and left of the next race and it was only after the tide had turned by the time of the third race that anyone was tempted by the right-hand side of the course…….and paid a heavy penalty for doing so.

Harrison & Brennan upped the ante in Race 2 by taking the win by a comfortable margin. Statham & Paul recovered quickly from their faux pas of the first race to record a second place with Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774) scoring a third. The O’Briens (2) and Peters (2) would use this race as their discard, scoring a 4th and a 6th respectively, while 5th place went to Tom Murphy & Carel la Roux (4057).

By Race 3, the wind was starting to fade a little (a relative term) and some of us thought that a change in the tide might make a scouting trip to the right-hand side of the beat a worthwhile venture! Oh! the vanity of it all! The pioneers of this reckless adventure were ultimately rewarded with 9th and 11th place finishes respectively.

At the front to the fleet could be found the O’Briens, the Peters, Meagher & Poole, Boland & Coad and Harrison & Brennan. And this is the order in which they finished, though it wasn’t always the order in which they sailed. If my recall is right, Harrison & Brennan led for a large part of this race and may indeed have been leading at the last weather mark, but I may have to take that under advisement.

Thus, on Saturday evening, with three races in the bag, the situation was a s follows; The O’Briens led with 6 points, followed by the two Peters and Harrison & Brennan tied on 10 points, the Peters ahead by way of a second in the last race of the day versus Harrison’s fifth. Meagher & Poole were fourth on 13 points with Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey closing out the top five with 18 points. “Home towners” Lee Statham and Andy Paul had a “Countdown day” ending up with five consonants and a vowel on their score sheet and only one number, admittedly a 2!

Sunday dawned as hot as Saturday and a sense that there wasn’t quite as much breeze as there had been on the previous day. Again, the RO got the fleet afloat, anxious presumably to make sure he could get racing underway promptly if breeze arrived. It took quite a while and even then, came from the opposite direction to what had been forecast, from a southerly/south-westerly quarter rather than the northerly that XCWeather had suggested.

The first race of the day was a single-lap and in contrast to the previous day the current on the course was probably more evenly spread across the course, at least that was the decision for Mulligan & Bradley as they worked their way right up the shortish beat. It seemed to pay as they rounded the mark in good company with the two Peters, the O’Briens and Harrison & Brennan. However, there was diversity of thought on the run and the two Peters and Mulligan & Bradley went left while the majority stayed right. The two left side boats were slightly more favoured with breeze and ultimately the angle of the line, with the limit mark much closer to them than the committee boat for the others. The first two boats crossed the finish line overlapped, with Kennedy & Chamberlain ahead. Third went to the O’Briens, fourth to Harrison & Brennan and 5th to Murphy & Mulvey.

The final race of the day saw the majority of the fleet working the middle and left of the course with a sole practitioner on the right-hand side for the latter half of the beats. It was enough to keep Mulligan & Bradley in the frame for the first lap and on rounding the weather mark for the second time they had moved up to second behind the O’Briens. However, on the last run, Peter Kennedy and Stuart Harrison worked the inshore side of the run and Harrison got ahead of Mulligan to finish behind the O’Briens and Statham & Paul. Kennedy & Chamberlain finished 5th.

New champions, Ronan (l) and Niall O’Brien (R) Photo by Niall Meagher

Thus, after a sojourn out to the west at the end of May where four DL-based boats were regally hosted by the Flying Fifteen Connemara Fleet, they have their first Provincial Flying Fifteen Champions in Niall and Ronan O’Brien. When we met them, they were sailing 3621, which they sailed again in Whitehead. They appeared in Dunmore East with 4092 and have won a debut regatta in their new boat! It doesn’t get much better than that. It was a hugely popular win and well deserved.

 2022 Flying Fifteen Southern Championship Results

The Bronze Fleet prize went to John O’Sullivan & Pat Kiersey, while the Silver Fleet prize went to Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey.

The next Flying Fifteen regatta is the National Championship hosted over the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday of September 2/3/4th. We hope to see a big turnout for that event.
We also offer best wishes to those Flying Fifteen sailors who will be contesting the Fireball Worlds which start on Thursday coming with the Irish Nationals and Pre-Worlds (two days). The Worlds themselves start on Sunday 21st.