Displaying items by tag: MASTER

23rd May 2016

Royal Cork's Nick Walsh Crowned Laser Master Champion at National Yacht Club

Nick Walsh (centre) with the Laser Masters Trophy at the National Yacht Club. Race officer Con Murphy is left with NYC Commodore Larry Power right.

Royal Cork's Nick Walsh was the winner of the Irish Laser Master Championships at the National Yacht Club at the weekend. The Crosshaven man beat local Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Dan O'Connell on the tie break rule after both sailors finished on the same nett points of 14 after six races sailed. In third place in a 26–boat fleet was Royal St. George Yacht Club helmsman Sean Craig on 19 points. Paul Ebrill of Wexford Harbour Boat Club was the winner of a five boat Radial fleet. Results are downloadable below.

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 bouyed by many new faces and a fledgling radial fleet both of which are very positive future signs.

Cork as usual sent a strong contingent, Wexford too was represented, Galway provided some of the new faces and Ballyholme sent a boutique but talented squadron of challengers. From 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.

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

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.

The fleet was very eager to get away and there were two general recalls before PRO Con Murphy unleashed the fleet and let them at it. The inner loop trapezoid course is very popular with the Laser sailors as it provides a good W/L course complete with 2 and a quarter beats alongside a sprinkling of blast reaches thrown in for good measure.

In race 1 Nick Walsh laid down a marker to take the bullet and begin his quest to reclaim the title he lost to Roger O'Gorman in Ballyholme 2015. Nick wasn't having it all his own way and it was a hard fought race with big wind pressure changes and shifts. 'Head out of the boat' was the order of the day. Second was Dan O'Connell and Paul Keane opened his account with a 3rd.

In race 2, David Hillmyer visiting from Sarasota Sailing Squadron in Florida showed great mental reserve to hold his lead to the finish from the marauding pack who were chasing him down after the breeze shut off. Sean Craig scored a handy 2nd while Daragh Sheridan bagged the last podium place. Front runners Dan O'Connell and Nick Walsh had a 6th and 7th respectively.

Race 3 (part #1) was going all the way of Ross O'Leary and Shirley Gilmore in a radial who were launched on the paying side of a huge shift before Con, cruelly perhaps but demonstrating why he is so respected as a PRO, abandoned the race to reset the course. The wind had other ideas and disappeared completely so Con weighed anchor to head into the bay in search of some new pressure. Summer turned into an Autumn gale as a strong line squall found the fleet. When the squall abated Con was able to reset a course and the fleet was quickly off again.

Race 3 (part #2) went to Nick Walsh to put him in the overnight lead. Dan O'Connell was 2nd and Robert Howe began to find his form with a third. Points wise it was very close at the top and a good indicator of things to come.

Saturdays Master Class dinner in the National YC was a perfectly tempered meal. Tired sailors caught up over a delicious meal provided by Louise and her A-Team of helpers.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny with a mysterious, light, but very raceable westerly breeze in place of the pessimistic soft forecast. The breeze held nicely for the first race though it was hard going keeping the concentration on the beats and torturous body positions downwind.

Sean Craig revels in the light air and the more twisted the turns in conditions the better. In Race 4 he stamped his mark, and his larger intentions, on the fleet with a convincing win. With Dan again in 2nd and Nick bagging a 3rd the leaderboard was getting tighter and tighter at the top.

Race 5 went to Rob Howe who was on a bit of a charge as he tried to negate a heavy DNF from Saturdays racing. Ross O'Leary popped up in 2nd and Nick posted a 3rd against Dan's 11th.

After race 5 the wind abrubtly but simply shut off! Con, with his usual instinct for detection of the slightest zephyr, upped sticks and set off into the bay in search of breeze. He really should play the lottery as a perfect sea breeze duly arrived as if by magic from 155deg.

His very experienced mark laying team led by Dave Morley were quick to take advantage of the cards they had been dealt and set up a course in record time. And so Race 6 was quickly underway in a sunny glamour 12-14kts, perfect champagne sailing (with a little lightning and thunder across the bay) for the fleets last hurrah.

At the first mark it was neck and neck between O'Connell, Craig, Rice and Keane who all rounded in unison. It was Keane who got a lucky break and the inside berth on the downwind to lead at the bottom. He held the lead for the remainder of the race and despite a strong challenge by O'Connell on the finish line took the bullet. Rob Howe finished in 3rd with Craig in 5th and Nick back in 6th.

As the sailors headed towards the harbour the conversation on the water turned to maths. Incredibly Nick and Dan were tied for 1st on 14 points and 3rd place was a tie three ways between Sean Craig, Rob Howe and Paul Keane on 19. The top slot in the radial too was a tie between Paul Ebrill and Shirley Gilmore.

Ron applied the various countbacks as dictated by the SI's and the leaderboard took on it's final shape. Nick Walsh is again Masters Champion and Paul Ebrill Champion in the radials. The complete and official results can be viewed below

Published in Laser

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7th June 2011

Captain Frank Allen Appointed Dun Laoghaire Harbour Master

Dun Laoghaire's new Harbour master is Captain Frank Allen, according to an announcement by Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company this morning.

Captain Allen replaces Captain Simon Coate who is retiring.

A native of Cork, Captain Allen has spent all his working life in shipping. His first management role was as General Manager of Dundlak shipowners from 1986 to 1997. He was then appointed Ships captain for Carrisbrooke Shipping in the UK and subsequently worked as Operations Manager for Swansea Cork Ferries from 199 to 2003 before joining Dundalk Port as Harbour Master.

The Harbour Company is about to launch a Masterplan for the 200 year old harbour., the country's largest sailing and boating centre.

Published in Dublin Bay

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6th March 2011

Dun Laoghaire Seeks New Harbour Master

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is recruiting a new harbour master. The port facility is seeking a 'commercially driven' harbour master, according to an advertisement in today's Sunday Times newspaper. Applicants for the job, in the country's biggest leisure port ,will need a certificate of competency/Deck officer class one or two or have served in the Defence Forces and held a commissioned naval rank of Lieutenant Commander. The adveritsement also ran in the Martime Journal HERE.

Published in Jobs

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14th November 2010

Greagsbey in Front at Howth Laser Frostbtes

LASER FROSTBITE WINTER (O'ALL) 14/11/2010 LASER STANDARD: 1, Conor Greagsbey NYC (13.00); 2, Robin Hegarty HYC (21.00); 3, Colm Cunningham HYC (21.00); LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Brendan Costello MYC (7.00); 2, Conor Murphy HYC (7.00); 3, Brian Tyrrell HYC (13.00); LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Conor Greagsbey NYC (11.00); 2, Colm Cunningham HYC (14.00); 3, Daragh Kelleher SSC (21.00); LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Robin Hegarty HYC (7.00); 2, Michael Evans HYC (10.00); 3, Stephen Quinn HYC (12.00); LASER RADIAL: 1, Darragh Peelo MYC (17.00); 2, Simon Revill HYC (17.00); 3, Ciaran Costello MYC (20.00)

Published in Laser

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7th November 2010

McMahon and Hegarty Win HYC Laser Races

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. LASER FROSTBITE WINTER 07/11/2010 RACE 1 LASER STANDARD: 1, Paul McMahon HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 4, Conor Murphy HYC; 5, Daragh Kelleher SSC; 6, Stephen Quinn HYC; LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Conor Murphy HYC; 2, Brendan Costello MYC; 3, Brian Tyrrell HYC; 4, Conor Hopkins HYC; LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Paul McMahon HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 4, Daragh Kelleher SSC; 5, David Quinn HYC; 6, Evan Dolan NYC; LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Stephen Quinn HYC; 2, Robin Hegarty HYC; 3, Daragh Sheridan HYC; 4, Cathal Sheridan MYC; 5, Dermot Mowatt HYC; 6, Alan Carr SDC; LASER RADIAL: 1, Darragh Peelo MYC; 2, Vincent Varley MYC; 3, Robert Ferris HYC; 4, Simon Revill HYC; 5, Ciaran Costello MYC; 6, Carla Fagan

HYC LASER FROSTBITE WINTER 07/11/2010 RACE 2 LASER STANDARD: 1, Robin Hegarty HYC; 2, Colm Cunningham HYC; 3, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 4, Paul McMahon HYC; 5, Conor Murphy HYC; 6, Stephen Quinn HYC; LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Conor Murphy HYC; 2, Conor Hopkins HYC; 3, Brendan Costello MYC; 4, Brian Tyrrell HYC; LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Colm Cunningham HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Paul McMahon HYC; 4, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 5, Richard Deane HYC; 6, Evan Dolan NYC; LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Robin Hegarty HYC; 2, Stephen Quinn HYC; 3, Dermot Mowatt HYC; 4, Conor Costello MYC; 5, Daragh Sheridan HYC; 6, Edward Ferris HYC

Published in Howth YC

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.