The last “salt-water” regatta for the Irish Flying Fifteen fleet was hosted this past weekend by the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. Early in the week beforehand, the forecast was for a robust Saturday and a more genteel Sunday…….and so it proved. Saturday was projected to see winds in the high teens with gusts in the twenties from a northerly direction and on arrival at the club this appeared to be the case. In his regatta briefing IRO, Con Murphy, advised the fleet that out in the Bay the wind was blowing in accordance with the forecast. He suggested that he would be racing windward-leeward course of two rounds and they would monitor the wind during the course of the day.

Launching off the NYC slipway isn’t the easiest in a northerly, but a reduced fleet from the 26-boat entry got away without too much drama. Outside the harbour it became apparent that not only was the wind a possible issue but there was an ugly sea running as well. An early casualty of the conditions was a broken kicker, with the crew retiring to shore and re-emerging from the harbour in a RIB to supplement the rescue team. Another combination sailed to the starting area, did their own assessment and returned to shore.

With the tide still flooding, the wind was effectively blowing at right angles to the main tidal stream and this created a lumpy sea with cross waves the order of the day. The port tack was reasonably comfortable as there was greater sense of “going into the waves,” but the starboard tack was less so.

The first race and subsequent races got away punctually without the use of either a U-flag or a Black Flag.

Peter Kennedy & Stephen Kane (3920) claimed the first win of the day, with the new National Champions, Niall & Ronan O’Briain (4902) finishing second and Shane McCarthy & Richard Rigg (4085) closing out the podium places. While the upwind legs were hard work, the downwind legs were exhilarating, with big swells helping the Fifteens surf easily downwind. At the leeward gate, the majority preference was to go to the left and head off to the open area of the Bay for the subsequent beat. Nineteen boats finished this first race, which had some excitement in it with a few keels being shown off in the robust spinnaker conditions.

McCarthy & Rigg took control of the first day with two race wins in the second and third races, but the National Champions kept in touch with a third and a second and Kennedy & Kane scored a second and a fifth. This left these three at the top of the table with McCarthy & Rigg on 5, O’Briain & O’Briain on 7 and Kennedy & Kane on 8pts. Class Chairman Hammy Baker and Class Secretary Peter Chamberlain (3756) led the chasing pack with a (4,5,4) with Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (4093) scoring 7,6,6, and visitors Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037) scoring 13,4,3.

The attrition rate grew as the afternoon went on – Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan (3803) had scored a 5th in Race 1 but a broken main halyard in Race 2 left them with an early shower and a no-show in Race 3. Spinnaker complications also “did” for David Gorman and Chris Doorly (4099) and Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070), which left each of them with a high 27pt score in the third race.

Back ashore, the wind speed recorded for the day was in the range 20 – 25knots.

Saturday evening was taken up with an AGM, dinner and the small matter of Ireland V Tonga at the Rugby World Cup. The AGM discussed potential venues for the 2024 regatta calendar which, if it comes to fruition, will see visits to the South Coast, the West Coast, the East Coast, the British Nationals in Strangford and two options for a Northern Championship and, potentially, the “freshwater water regatta” in Lough Derg (subject to invitation). Other matters to get an airing were the issues of membership numbers and membership fees (which impact on places at the next Worlds [UK]) and the need for new blood on the committee. The financial report indicated a stable condition with the prospect of some additional income from a hosted event earlier this year. Given the day on the water, the attendance at the dinner was modest and even fewer lasted the eighty minutes of play in the rugby.

Sunday was a completely different day, light airs, a glimpse of sunshine, and heavy rain as boats were being packed up. Race 1 saw the fleet split between inshore and offshore with the majority favouring the inshore route. However, as the fleet made its way upwind more boats started defecting to the middle and left of the course. Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (3938) led the way in Race 1 but were overtaken by Lawton & O’Hagan and McCarthy & Rigg. Interestingly, while the majority of the fleet went inshore on the downwind legs, those who played “chicken” by going right were rewarded for their ambition. Mathews & Poole and Tom Galvin & Cormac Bradley (3757) were among those who benefitted by this tactic.

Light airs for Sunday's racing  at the NYC hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Con Murphy

For the final race, it seemed that both hard right and hard left on the beat paid and those in the middle were left to take the crumbs from the wind gods’ table. Gorman & Doorly scored spectacularly by staying hard left to lead the race by a comfortable margin. Behind them came Kennedy & Kane and Baker & Chamberlain. In the fading breeze, Race Officer Murphy signalled a shortened course at the leeward gate by showing an “F” flag. Nobody seemed to be aggrieved at the idea of an early finish.

At the prize-giving, NYC Commodore Peter Sherry (and competitor) again welcomed everyone to the National Yacht Club and presided over the presentations, capably assisted by the Dun Laoghaire Class Captain Robin Hilliard.

Additional prizes were awarded to 1st Lady Crew, Margaret Casey, 4028, 14th Overall and 1st Lady Helm, Geraldine O’Neill, 3706, 24th Overall.

2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships results. See full results sheet below

Thank-you gifts were presented to IRO Con Murphy and the sixteen volunteers who had given their time to the regatta over the weekend.

Shane McCarthy closed out the prize-giving by thanking everyone who had contributed to the success of the event – his crew, his fellow competitors and the volunteers without whom the event would not have taken place.

Richard Rigg (L) with National Yacht Club Commodore Peter Sherry and Shane McCarthy (R), 1st Place, Gold Fleet at the NYC hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Cormac Bradley

Peter Kennedy (L) and Stephen Kane (R ), 2nd Place Gold Fleet at the National Yacht Club hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Cormac Bradley

Niall (L) and Ronan O’Briain (R), 3rd Place Gold Fleet at the National Yacht Club hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Cormac Bradley

Lee Statham (L) and Andy Paul (R), 1st Place, Silver Fleet at the National Yacht Club hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Cormac Bradley

Neil O’Hagan (L) and Phil Lawton (R), 2nd Place, Silver Fleet at the National Yacht Club hosted 2023 East Coast Flying Fifteen Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Cormac Bradley

With only two weeks gone since the last Flying Fifteen regatta, the Nationals, hosted in great style by County Antrim Yacht Club in Belfast Lough, the penultimate regatta of the summer season takes place this weekend on Dublin Bay, hosted by the National Yacht Club, the East Coast Championships. As of Tuesday past, the entry was at a modest 20 boats considering the number of Fifteens across the Dun Laoghaire waterfront. The current XCWeather forecast suggests that there will be more wind than at the Nationals, with wind on Saturday at a peak of 17 knots at 10:00 and dropping during the course of the afternoon.

Gusts are forecast at 16/17knots. The forecast is for 12/13knots with gusts in the mid-twenties on Sunday. That should give Race Officer Con Murphy plenty to work with.

The Nationals Title went west for the first time in my memory when the O’Briain cousins, Niall and Ronan, sailed a consistent series with some covering tactics in the last race to ensure there was no late hiccup in their quest for the title. Theirs has been an amazing story, considering they made their class debut at the Connemara Trial Regatta of 2022. Their Nationals win makes them strong contenders for this weekend’s event.

Ian Mathews and Keith Poole were second in Whitehead and will have the advantage of sailing in home waters, assuming Ian is still in the country to sail. They had a spectacular Saturday at the Nationals, and while they came a little unstuck on the Sunday, one can never dismiss them.

Peter Kennedy and Stephen Kane had only one result outside the top five in Whitehead, and Peter will not be put off sailing in Dublin Bay, considering he took away the National Title in 2022 sailing in Dublin Bay with his daughter.

Shane McCarthy & Alan Green didn’t have the best Nationals regatta by their standards and will be keen to regain a place in the upper echelons of the pecking order come Sunday evening. Having said that, most of us would give our eyeteeth for a top-five finish at a Nationals.

Lee Statham and Andy Paul regularly finishing at the upper end of the fleet and took the Gerry Donleavy Trophy home to Dunmore East for the first race win at the Nationals.

Flying Fifteen duo Dave Gorman and Chris Doorly from the National Yacht Club

A conspicuous absentee at the Nationals was the combination of Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly, who, one imagines, will be keen to make a go of it this weekend in their home waters. Another absentee from Whitehead was Phil Lawton, so again, if he is entered, he must be regarded as a serious contender.

Phil Lawton (right) and Neil O'Hagan of the Royal St. George 

Of the potential northern visitors, Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan had a race win in Whitehead, but three big number results undid their challenge. Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain also had too many big numbers in their score to be at the top of the pile but were still comfortably inside the top ten. Both these combinations will be looking to make amends from their Whitehead endeavours.

Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain

The home fleet in Dun Laoghaire is well populated with combinations who are likely to have good individual race results, which should ensure that the racing is very competitive this weekend.

I also believe that a Class AGM is planned, but I don’t have the details to hand to highlight the time of the meeting.

A very successful Flying Fifteen National Championship with 24 boats concluded on Sunday 3rd September in Belfast Lough with a win for the cousins Niall & Ronan O’Briain (4092) from Flying Fifteens Chonamara, after they affected a 10-point swing in the overnight points table from Saturday night. They won the penultimate race of the regatta on Sunday morning and then proceeded to make sure that Ian Mathews & Keith Poole (4093) did not upset the applecart in the final race by keeping an initial cover of the National Yacht Club pair in the middle of the fleet before finishing with an 8th to Mathews and Poole’s 15th. After discard, this left the westerners with a 9pt advantage and the title of National Champions.

It was/is a hugely popular win, for these two who joined the fleet two years ago and have contested all the class regattas since. In his acceptance speech, Niall referred to the welcome they had received from the fleet and the applause they enjoyed in accepting the trophy yesterday afternoon was indicative of the popularity of the win. Their enthusiasm for Flying Fifteens is also reflected in the hospitality the class has enjoyed in the first visit we made to Connemara last year and the hosting of a championship regatta earlier this year (May).

CAYC Commodore with runners-up, Ian Mathews (L) and Keith Poole, National Yacht Club

A seven-race series was completed under the excellent race management of Sheela Lewis (NRO) with 10-15 knots on Friday, 10 – 12 on Saturday and of the order of 10 knots maximum on Sunday. The tidal push on Friday caused problems for both RO and the fleet alike and when the fleet came ashore, four boats found that they had “jumped the gun” under a black flag start. In some ways it set the tone of the regatta for those four boats, in that it meant that in Race 1 they had already used their discard. For two of those “black-flagged” there was almost immediate redemption when Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037) won Race 2 by a comfortable margin and Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain (3756) scored a fourth place. For the other two, the misery continued, in relative terms, with Shane McCarthy & Alan Green scoring a 13th and Tom Galvin & Cormac Bradley scoring a 14th. On Friday night, that left the overall situation as follows; Trevor D’Arcy & Alan McClemon (3782) [6,2], Peter Kennedy & Stephen Kane (3920) [4,5] and Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070) [1,9] with the last combination winning the Gerry Donleavy Trophy for the first race win. They had led this race from the start to near the finish when the McCarthy/Green combination caught them and went over the finish line first, but the latter’s black flag gave this first race win trophy to the Dunmore East pair. Two points behind the Dunmore East combo covered a further three boats, Mathews & Poole (4093) [3,8], O’Briain & O’Briain (4092) [9,3] and Niall Meagher & Nicki Matthews (3938) [5,7].

CAYC Commodore with 3rd placed Stephen Kane (L) and Peter Kennedy, Strangford Lough Yacht Club and Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

Due to the onshore wind and the lumpiness of the sea, the fleet came ashore further west of the clubhouse and a recovery operation was initiated to bring boat trailers to the new recovery station and back again to the club site.
Saturday dawned to a no-wind situation and a shoreside raising of the postponement flag meant that running repairs to boats could be concluded. There had been some unusual combinations bumping off each other in port/starboard situations and there was evidence of plasters being applied to bruised boats.

CAYC Commodore with Lee Statham (L) and Andy Paul, Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, Winners of the Gerry Dunleavy Trophy – 1st race winners

The fleet were allowed to launch in accordance with the shoreside postponement and within a modest period of time we were back in start mode. Three races were completed on Saturday under benign conditions of wind and sunshine and Ian Mathews & Keith Poole went to the “top of the class” for the day with a 1,2,1 scoreline. However, the Connemara cousins were a very tight second for the day with a 2,1,2 scoreline meaning that the National Yacht Club pair only had a one-point advantage by the close of business. Behind these two Statham & Paul (11,3,3) and Kennedy & Kane (5,7,5) kept pace with each other and were eight and eleven points behind second place respectively. D’Arcy & McClemon also hung in there with a 4,12,8 haul to stay in 5th. Roger Chamberlain (3962) had a good Saturday, counting two 4th places and Baker & Chamberlain counted a 3 and a 5 from the day. Others to enjoy top ten finishes were Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) [9,6], McCarthy & Green [7,8,6], McCleery & Dougan [8,10,9].
Overall, after Day 2, Mathews & Poole led the way with 7pts, followed by the Connemara cousins (8), Statham & Paul (16), Kennedy & Kane (19), D’Arcy & McClemon (20), Baker & Chamberlain (26), McCleery & Dougan (28), Colin & Casey (34), McCarthy & Green (34) and Roger Chamberlain (36).

CAYC Commodore with Nicki Matthews (L) and Niall Meagher, Silver Fleet winners, National Yacht Club

The fleet and club members then enjoyed a fantastic Saturday night dinner with a superb live band that saw dancing going on until the band stopped playing.

Sunday morning gave us wind and sunshine and saw a prompt launch from shore. However, Race 6 only got away after a U flag and, subsequently, a black flag start. The Connemara duo led this race from start to finish, winning by a large margin at the finish. Conversely, Mathews & Poole were back in the vanguard and could only finish 11th. Between 1st and 11th, were Statham & Paul (2), Chamberlain (3), McCarthy (4), Kennedy (5), Meagher (6), Colin (7), D’Arcy (8), Peter Lawson & Chris Hannon [3893] (9) and David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne [4068] (10).

CAYC Commodore with Bronze Fleet winners Emma Pierce and Ian Smyth, Strangford Lough Yacht Club

The final race saw the Connemara duo keep a loose cover on Mathews & Poole off the start and first half of the race. That left each of them mid-fleet before the westerners departed the scene to finish 8th in contrast to Mathews’ 15th. Kennedy & Kane finished second to McCarthy & Green but ahead of Mulvin & Beirne (3), Meagher & Matthews (4) and Dermot Flaherty & Joe McDonogh (4083), the new owners of Phoenix, also from Connemara (5).

This strategic approach to the last race saw the title go west which, to my limited knowledge of the fleet is a first. The Flying Fifteen Chonamara fleet are enormously enthusiastic and very, very welcoming when the rest of the Fifteen fleet “comes a calling”. Up until two years ago, their fleet would have been deemed to be a Classic Fleet, but they now have 4092 and 4083 in their midst and this weekend’s success can only take them to new heights. Niall and Ronan’s win in Whitehead was warmly acknowledged by the rest of the fleet and Niall spoke warmly of their Flying Fifteen experience of the past two years.

As ever, County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead were exceptional hosts! Commodore Peter Darragh was on-site for the full three days and behind him there was an enormous group of volunteers managed, cajoled and pressed ganged by regatta organiser John Lewis (his own words).

On each morning tea, coffee, biscuits and muffins were available to the fleet. At registration on Friday morning, we booked the evening’s dinners – fish supper or chicken supper – and Commodore Peter collected the orders and brought them back to the club with the assistance of a couple of club members that evening. We had an exceptional dinner on the Saturday night with a choice of three main dishes and accompanying rice, potatoes and salads and all three could be sampled on the same plate if required. That was followed by a pavlova dessert. Soup (three choices each day) and rolls were available after each day’s racing.

At the welcome and race briefing on the Friday morning, the Commodore explained that there had been a catastrophic failure of the boilers meaning that there were no hot showers. At the end of a three-day weekend, I certainly didn’t hear a solitary “groan” at the lack of hot showers such was the hospitality of the club over the weekend. On Saturday night after dinner a three-piece live band played and not a single member of the competing fleet in attendance left early.

Boats were launched and recovered by a group of eight to ten members of the club (men and women) meaning that competitors could get into their boats dry before racing and alight from their boats onto terra firma after racing. Marshalled by a firm and characterful beachmaster, this is a feature of racing Flying Fifteens at County Antrim Yacht Club.

Sheela Lewis and her team ran a good regatta with challenging conditions (tide) on the Friday, more manageable conditions on Saturday and a fluctuating wind on Sunday. She made every effort to get the fleet away under “P” or “U”, before having to break out the black. Her reward was the completion of seven competitive races.

Next month (October) sees the first anniversary of the untimely passing of our dear friend Ben Mulligan. Over the weekend many people mentioned to me how much he would have enjoyed being back at Whitehead with the Flying Fifteens and how much he is missed.

The fleet is reminded that the next event on the calendar is the Easterns, being hosted by the National Yacht Club in two weeks’ time, 16th/17th September. Already there are promises of travel from South, West and North and with nearly thirty Flying Fifteens in Dun Laoghaire alone, there is no reason not to have a bumper fleet in attendance!

Saturday, 2nd September, dawned windless on Belfast Lough for the second day of the Irish Flying Fifteen National Championships at County Antrim Yacht Club. It stayed that way sufficiently long for the Race Officer to fly a postponement flag ashore. It afforded the fleet an opportunity to tweak boats, apply temporary bandages to bruised hulls and engage in the social aspect of the regatta.

The fleet were advised to go afloat after the expiry of the hour signalled by the shoreside flying on the postponement flag. At that stage the water wasn't quite so glassy but there was a semblance of wind. It subsequently filled to allow 3 races to be sailed in winds that probably got up to ten knots.

A well know FF personality is often heard to say after a frustrating day on the water " you can't beat the sailing". Today, he bit back, scoring a 1,2,1 to elevate himself and his crew to the top of the overall standings albeit by a point ahead of the Connemara cousins, Niall and Ronan O'Briain who took the middle race win. The Connemara crew have an eight-point advantage over the Dunmore East combination of Lee Statham & Andy Paul who have 3pts over Peter Kennedy & Stephen Kane with another point separating them and overnight leader Trevor D'Arcy.

More wind is forecast for Sunday, but after a day of genteel winds and sunshine today, we won't get too greedy!

The overall results after five races sailed are below.

Irish Flying Fifteen National Championships results after five races sailed at County Antrim Yacht Club

Two races were sailed on Friday at the Flying Fifteen Nationals, hosted by County Antrim Yacht Club on Belfast Lough.

Wind that varied from 10 - 15 knots from ENE was the order of the day with a lumpy sea.

A number of boats will have come ashore feeling very pleased with their day's work, only to find they had got a letter score rather than a number.

The first race, under RO Sheila Lewis got away at the fourth time of asking, but even then, there were a number of boats who fell foul of the Black Flag start.

The "performance of the race" would be shared by Lee Statham & Andy Paul and Shane McCarthy & Alan Green. The former led on the water for the whole race until just before the end. The latter did turns early in the race and were well back but crossed the line first. However, an OCS gave the race win to Statham & Paul.

Racing at the front of the fleet was tight.

In Race 2, Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan led from start to finish....comfortably. As the results show, being able to count two good results has been critical for Day 1.

Three races are scheduled for Saturday.

Flying Fifteen Nationals, hosted by County Antrim Yacht Club - day one results

Entries are in from the North, South, East and West for this weekend's Irish Flying Fifteen National Championships, but where will the title rest after the sailing is over?

On Wednesday, County Antrim Yacht Club advised that 24 entries have been received for the Nationals in the hospitable Belfast Lough venue.

There are two entries from Dunmore East (4070 & 3883), two from Chonamara (4083 & 4092), eight from Dun Laoghaire (4028, 3753, 3938, 4093, 4068, 4085, 3757 & 3747), seven from Strangford (3920, 3454, 3893, 4037, 3756, 3608, & 3962) and five from Belfast Lough (2278, 4074, 3782, 2265 & 2367). One competitor has flown “home” to contest this regatta.

24 boats will contest the Irish Flying Fifteen National Championships at County Antrim Yacht Club

XCWeather had been suggesting a light wind on Friday, a big breeze on Saturday and light again on Sunday, but reading XCWeather again in preparation for this article, the winds are now predicted to be light all weekend, particularly on Sunday.

So, where will the title be resting after this weekend?

No matter how accurate it is, it might be a tad too easy to say that any Fifteen with Alan Green on board is bound to contest the regatta. But if one were to suggest that Alan will be crewing for Shane McCarthy in 4085, then the chances that they will be looking at a podium finish are considerably enhanced. In Dublin Bay racing, Shane is comfortably leading the Thursday Series Overall, admittedly using a number of crews, but on Saturday past, sailing Alan’s 4026, they scored a 1,4 in the eighteen-boat fleet. He is scoring a plethora of firsts and seconds in DBSC, with very few glitches along the way.

Peter and Juliette Kennedy (3920) are the Flying Fifteen title holders Photo: Michael Chester

Peter Kennedy (3920) is the title holder, with his daughter, from the 2022 Nationals in Dun Laoghaire, sailing a very consistent series. I am sure he won’t relinquish his title without a fight.

The most recent regatta series for the Dun Laoghaire Fifteens was the Volvo Regatta Volvo Regatta (July), where the top five were McCarthy/Green, Phil Lawton/Neil O’Hagan, Lee Statham/Andy Paul, Tom Galvin/Cormac Bradley and Neil Colin & Margaret Casey. Phil Lawton doesn’t appear on yesterday’s entry list from CAYC, but Colin & Casey (4028) will be buoyed by the prospect of a light weather regatta, although they are no slouches when the wind blows. Galvin/Bradley (3757) was a new combination making their debut at the Volvo, but they might prefer more of the stronger stuff.

Ian Mathews and Keith Poole

Ian Mathews will be racing with long-term crew Keith Poole (4093), and Ian keeps his competitive edge sharp with warm weather sailing in the Middle East. Another DL combination who are showing form is Alastair Court & Conor O’Leary from the Royal St George (3753).

Out west, a second boat with a sail number in the 4000s will be joining 4092, Niall and Ronan O’Briain, who made such an impact on our regatta scene last year, and they won’t be travelling to Whitehead to be “also-rans”.

Of the northern contingent, there is no shortage of competitive combinations aside from the aforementioned Peter Kennedy. Hammy Baker & Peter Chamberlain enjoyed success out west in May, and they were in the frame in Dun Laoghaire last year.

Another combination to watch out for is Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (4037) – just when you think they have fallen off the pace, they come roaring back at you. And with hometown advantage, you can’t discount Bryan Willis & John McPeake (4074)

Andy McCleery and Colin Dougan

So, with 24 boats and a seven-race programme, who will likely be at the top of the pile come Sunday afternoon?

I will suggest that the top of the fleet will be drawn from the following: McCarthy & Green. Kennedy & crew, O’Briain & O’Briain, Mathews & Poole, Baker & Chamberlain, Colin & Casey, McCleery & Dougan, Statham & Paul and from the home club Bryan Willis & John McPeake. ……… though I am not going to offend anyone by suggesting an order of finishing.

The aftermath of Storm Betty on Saturday afternoon led to a reduced racing schedule on Dublin Bay for the AIB DBSC Summer Series racing on August 19th.

The IRC cruiser fleets, Zero and Two were abandoned, with only one boat coming to the line in IRC Three.

The five-boat IRC One fleet, however, was won by Timothy Goodbody's J109 White Mischief in a corrected time of 1 hour 38 minutes and 03 seconds corrected to put the Royal Irish Yacht Club entry three points clear of clubmate Colin Byrne in the XP33 Bon Exemple at the top of the Saturday league with six Saturday races left to sail.

Second, in Saturday's 17th race was John Hall's sistership Something Else in a corrected time of 1:40:28, with another J109 third, Ben Shanahan's Ruth (1:41:26 corr)

In the one designs, Shane MacCarthy's Mr Potato Head from the National Yacht Club won a ten-boat Flying Fifteen fleet. Neil Colin's DMYC-based FFuzzy was second, with West Pier clubmate Alastair Court in FFinisterre third. 

Like many sports, sailing has a number of “Holy Grails” that participants in the sport aspire to achieve. Among the more prominent longstanding ones on the international calendar are the Fastnet Race and the Sydney to Hobart Race, and for the Irish racing community, a Round Ireland Race. Many more recent “classic” races have been added – the Caribbean 600 for example! So, when the opportunity to do a race around the Fastnet opportunity to do a race around the Fastnet arose for the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen fleet, a number of the locals planned to take on the challenge.

The possibility was promoted by current Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen Class Captain, Robin Hilliard who advised that Schull were prepared to accommodate such a race subject to strict weather considerations and the discretion of the Race Officer, Alan Crosbie.

Some of the boats travelling were packed up after the DBSC Facet Trophy sailed last Saturday, while others made an earlier departure.

The Flying Fifteen “Round the Calves” Race Post-mortem at a West Cork hostelry

Regrettably, the weather did intervene with fog hiding the iconic lighthouse, so the RO gave the Flying Fifteens a “semi-inshore race” around the Calves (of Calves Week fame). Class Captain Hilliard reported via WhatsApp that a brief glimpse of the base of the Fastnet was as close as they got.

Race winner, Alan Green, with daughter Caroline, sent me a bullet point precis of the race, which I have tried to develop as follows.

The Flying Fifteens depart on their inaugural race around the Calves Photo: Rosemary Roy

The “Round the Calves” Race for the Flying Fifteens was started in a wind of 8 – 12 knots with a start line that had a 10° bias at the pin end. Having sailed away from the pin in the build up for the start, Alan & Caroline (4026) tacked into the front row of the starting grid and started close to the pin. Immediately after the start they got a nice lift, waited for the reverse shift, dipped a gaff rigged cutter and then tacked back for the weather mark. At the weather mark they were the inside boat with Keith Poole & Robin Prentice (4093) in close company.

The Course card for the  Flying Fifteen “Round the Calves” Race is written on a competitor's deck 

From the weather mark they navigated through the “Castle Island Grounds”, rounded Calf Island West and hoisted spinnaker with Clear Island in the background dressed in a lace cloud. At this stage they were sailing in larger swells and lighter winds and after a brief search for Mark 5 of the course, rounded it for the leg back to Schull Harbour through the islands.

Another upwind leg saw them put under pressure by Poole who pushed them one side of a perch before heading the other way themselves. When their paths crossed again Green could not cross so lee-bowed Poole instead, to the tune of much muttering before Poole was obliged to tack away. A series of tacks thereafter, some in close company with Poole gained them enough air to breath and get to a winning position at the finish.

Alan Green and daughter Caroline, Flying Fifteen Round the Calves Race Winners with DBSC Honorary Secretary and Calves Week Race official Rosemary Roy (left)

Race results: Alan Green & Caroline (4026), Keith Poole & Robin Prentice (4093), Robin & Dacha Hilliard (3729), Mick Quinn & Mary-Jane Mulligan (3960) and 3558.

The longstanding commitment of Facet Jewellers to the Flying Fifteen Class in Dun Laoghaire Harbour manifested itself again this past Saturday when the Facet Trophy was raced for by ten Flying Fifteens in a relatively empty Dublin Bay. Indeed, a start of ten boats might have been a high for the day in terms of overall participation.

The forecast for the weekend had been dire from the middle of the week, but as the week wore its way towards Friday, there was a sense that the conditions were set to moderate. However, anyone who was awake very early on the Saturday morning (3 – 4am) would have heard a howling gale outside. By 13:00, the concern wasn’t so much the wind but the sea state! However, a preliminary reconnaissance by the committee boat deemed that racing could proceed.

With the wind set to be slightly west of north, according to XCWeather, we set off for a start area in the vicinity of Merrion with a weather mark that was initially in transit with the leading lights at the mouth of the Liffey.

The wind was pretty much as forecast 16/17 knots with gusts coming through with each pass of grey cloud. However, with the tide still having just over an hour of flooding and the course being inshore, in relative terms, the seas were quite confused and lumpy. The majority of the fleet started on starboard tack for the first race with David Gorman & Cormac Bradley (4099) about halfway down the line in the company of Ian Mathews and Keith Poole (4093), David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne (4068), with Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) also in this group. Unbeknownst to this scribe, three boats went hard right – Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey (3955), Joe Coughlan & Andrew Marshall (3913) and Jill Fleming (3747). The consequence of the latter group going hard right was that the former group, having done their best to get away from their colleagues in the middle and left of the course, found themselves playing second fiddle to Dumpleton & Hickey who were never headed after the weather mark and won by a comfortable margin. Behind them, the running order was Gorman & Bradley in very close company with Mulvin & Beirne and Mathews & Poole. Down the first leeward leg, Mathews and Mulvin closed on Gorman with Alastair Court & Conor O’Leary (3753) behind this group. Colin & Casey were also not far away from the chasing three.

As the chasing group gybed and gybed again to get to the leeward mark, Mulvin sneaked in ahead of Gorman while Mathews dropped a little behind. Within the last few boat-lengths to the mark, Gorman came back again, and while he had no room, Mulvin made sure that he wasn’t tempted to squeeze in, by slamming the door shut. At this stage, Mathews and Poole parted company, giving Gorman the chance to chase Mulvin up the next beat unfettered. Court also took advantage to get into fourth place.

There were no changes up the second beat and subsequent run in the lead group, leading to a finishing order of Dumpleton, Mulvin, Gorman, Court, Mathews, Colin, Alan Balfe & son (3995), Coughlan, Mick Quinn & Mary-Jane Mulligan (3960) and Fleming. Back on shore Dumpleton said his decision to go hard right was influenced by the cloud movement and while there wasn’t unanimity about that on the boat, it paid dividends.

For the second race, the RO, Barry O’Neil moved the weather mark quite a bit westward to compensate for the shifting breeze. Once underway the reverse of the first race applied! The bulk of the fleet worked the middle and right of the course after a starboard tacked start. Gorman, peeled off first, taking a modest port tack before coming back into the middle of the course again. Mathews, Court and Mulvin took the port tack later and Gorman found himself leading this bunch as he worked the middle part of the course. But where were Colin & Casey? In contrast to Dumpleton the first time round, they worked the extreme left of the course as Dumpleton had done before on the right and lead the fleet around the weather mark. Behind them came Gorman and Court with a bit of distance before Mathews, Mulvin and Dumpleton rounded.

The run to the leeward mark required only a single gybe and a much later one at that. Colin, Gorman and Court all rounded safely without giving anything away to those who were chasing them. All three set off on the second beat holding a port tack before Court became the first to peel off and go shore-wards. Gorman took the decision to chase Colin and as the beat developed it appeared that was a good decision as some distance had been eked out from Court and Colin’s lead was slightly reduced.

While Gorman had closed on Colin, he had to keep an eye on Court as a slip at this stage might change the whole scene in overall terms. Again, the run to the mark was a single tack sail with a gybe late on to accommodate the short three sail reach to the finish, the wind having swung a bit further westward. Gorman gybed before he reached the leeward mark which allowed him a more relaxed set of the spinnaker and a higher windward slot to the finish. Colin’s later gybe did not go quite so smoothly and Gorman was able to take advantage and the winning gun. Ashore, Colin’s explanation of his first beat tactics was working the shifts on the left hand-side.

Since a recent session on rigging and tuning by John Lavery, there has been a much greater awareness of the need to change rigs in accordance with conditions. Post-race it seems everyone had taken heed of John’s advice as most people made a rigging change between the two races.

The finishing order for the second race was; Gorman, Colin, Court, Mathews, Mulvin, Dumpleton, Coughlan, Balfe, Fleming.

Over the two races the points were as follows; Gorman (4), Court, Mulvin and Dumpleton (7), Mathews (9), Coughlan and Balfe (15), Quinn and Fleming (19), meaning that tie-breaks were needed to resolve the 1-2-3 in both the Silver and Gold Fleet.

Ronan Beirne & David Mulvin (4068) were 2nd Gold Fleet in the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy race and were presented with the trophy by Pat Shannon of Facet Jewellers (right) Photo: Dasha Hilliard

Ken Dumpleton (left) & Joe Hickey (3955) were 3rd Gold Fleet in the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy race and were presented with the trophy by Pat Shannon of Facet Jewellers (centre) Photo: Dasha Hilliard

Gold Overall
1. David Gorman & Cormac Bradley 4pts
2. Ken Dumpleton & Joe Hickey 7pts
3. David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne 7pts

Silver Fleet
1. Joe Coughlan & Andrew Marshall 15pts
2. Alan Balfe & son, 15pts
3. Mick Quinn & Mary-Jane Mulligan 19pts.

Alan Balfe & son (3995) – 1st Silver Fleet in the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy race Photo: Dasha Hilliard

Andrew Marshall & Joe Coughlan – 2nd Silver Fleet in the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy race Photo: Dasha Hilliard

Mick Quinn (3960) was 3rd Silver Fleet in the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy race Photo: Dasha Hilliard

Class Captain Robin Hilliard, ably assisted by his daughter Dasha, officiated at the prizegiving at the National Yacht Club with Facet Jewellers’ Pat Shannon in attendance to hand out the prizes. Pat commended the fleet for the day’s racing and referenced the longstanding relationship between Facet Jewellers and the Flying Fifteen Fleet. He also thanked Class Captain Robin Hilliard for his work in putting the event together.

In relative terms, Sunday’s conclusion to the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta in the Flying Fifteen class was probably the best day on the water – the wind had abated somewhat, after some initial rain, the sun came out, a single race was scheduled, and we had the best turnout of competitors on the day.

As the regatta leaders from Day 2 onwards, Shane McCarthy & Alan Green (4085) were safe in the knowledge that they couldn’t lose the regatta, and probably Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan (3803) were in a similar position with respect to second overall, so the only potential place changes in the pecking order were further down the fleet. Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070) and Tom Galvin & Cormac Bradley (3757) were tied after three days, so they were in a winner takes all situation, and Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028) were also in a position to move up the order with a good final race.

A clean start for the three-lap Windward-Leeward race was achieved by the fleet, and the majority went right to the shore before making their way towards the weather mark on the right-hand side of the course. Leading the charge up the right-hand side was Colin & Casey, who were rewarded by being 1st at the weather mark. Others to feature at this stage were Peter Murphy & Ciara Mulvey (3774) and Alastair Court & Conor O’Leary (3753), and the four boats holding the first three places overall.

At this stage, Galvin had a boat between himself and Statham. The run saw Murphy & Mulvey go wide while others sailed inside them and used a couple of gybes to get to the leeward gate. My recall is that Murphy may have rounded the leeward gate first but with Colin not far behind. The recipe for the subsequent beats was the same as before - go right initially and then fine-tune the approach to the weather mark. Statham was still behind Galvin at the latter stage of the beat, and the overlapping Dragons, who were on the same course, forced him into a couple of extra tacks that I’m sure he could have done without. At the weather mark for the second time, the regatta leaders were at the front of the fleet and Lawton had also moved up. However, Murphy, Court and Colin were still hanging in and Galvin was still ahead of Statham, though there was no boat between them anymore.

On the third beat, the running order had settled and rounding the weather mark for the last time, the order was McCarthy, Lawton, Colin, Murphy, Court. Galvin and Statham. A hiccup on Galvin’s spinnaker hoist allowed Statham to close the distance between the two boats, but importantly for Galvin, he remained ahead. However, about 100m from the leeward gate, Statham got past and went on to finish 6th to Galvin’s 7th, thus taking 3rd overall.

The regatta showed just how competitive the Flying Fifteen class is! In an eight-race series, we had three different race winners – Shane McCarthy & Alan Green (5), Tom Galvin & Cormac Bradley (2) David Gorman & Chris Doorly (1). The top five boats overall came from four different clubs. On Friday, 5 boats started a race in very high wind conditions, and all five finished, albeit with some spectacular spinnaker broaches and capsizes. Phil Lawton & Neil O’Hagan announced their presence on the scene with seconds and thirds in all but two races, and a competitive debut for Galvin & Bradley saw them win two races. And for the mixed-gender crews, there was ample evidence that they can be competitive when the breeze is up.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Flying Fifteen Results - Top Five