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DBSC's 2022 Turkey Shoot Series to Match Last Year's Bumper Fleet as 45 Entries Already Confirmed

27th October 2022
Chris Power-Smith's offshore J122 Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club is among the strong entry of big boats contesting the 2022 AIB DBSC Turkey Shoot Series on Dublin Bay
Chris Power-Smith's offshore J122 Aurelia from the Royal St. George Yacht Club is among the strong entry of big boats contesting the 2022 AIB DBSC Turkey Shoot Series on Dublin Bay Credit: Afloat

Dublin Bay Sailing Club organisers expect its 2022 Turkey Shoot Series fleet to match last year's bumper fleet of 75 boats when racing begins next week.

DBSC has received 45 entries to date, with several new designs and boats to the capital's waters expected to debut for the first race on Sunday, November 6th.

"Entries to date are on a par with what we received at this time last year, so I'm hopeful we will have a great fleet once again when we start next week",  Turkey Shoot boss Fintan Cairns told Afloat.

"It would be of great help in working out handicaps and starts to get the rest of the entries in now", he added.

Kenny Rumball will sail in the new RS21 keelboat, and a new First Class 8 class campaign is also expected to appear in the 'all-in' fleet that includes five J80s and three 1720s to date. 

A large fleet of Class Zero boats – including Chris Power-Smith's offshore J122 Aurelia – means a fifth start as per the 2021 series is anticipated.

Travelling from the west coast for the short and sharp morning racing that promises to have everyone ashore by lunchtime is Turkey Shoot regular from Sligo, Sean Hawkshaw, in his Sigma Wardance.

Now in its 22nd year, the AIB-sponsored seven-race series will be hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. 

As regular Afloat readers will know, the white-sailed Elan 333 White Lotus was the overall winner of the 21st edition.

A Notice of Race is downloadable here.

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Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

© Afloat 2020