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Dun Laoghaire Harbour Saves the Day Yet Again for DBSC Lasers

10th June 2015
Dun Laoghaire Harbour Saves the Day Yet Again for DBSC Lasers

#dbsclaser - Powers that be (and Winkie Nixon!) please take note! Dun Laoghaire Harbour again served up great DBSC dinghy racing last night that would have been simply impossible either (i) Outside, given very light wind and strong tide or (ii) With a new 435 metre pier stuck in the middle of the race course, occupied or not writes Sean Craig. Like the Water Wags on a Wednesday, junior racing on a Friday, Sunday Frostbiting all winter and as with a myriad of other racing, recreational and learn to sail activities, we may see our activities decimated, scaled back and pushed outside where the risk/safety factor rises exponentially. Worth considering is that out of six DBSC Tuesday night races so far in 2015, FIVE have had to take place inside the harbour. Indeed we could have had two more inside on a windy May 12 but for the Cruise Liner shuttle service which, in fact, knocked off business an hour before our start !

The racing round-up is perhaps secondary after that but what a great little race DBSC laid on. A season's best fifteen Lasers joined a great dinghy turnout. It would have been seventeen but (no names here!) one took a wrong turn and went outside the Harbour and another young hotshot overdid his road bike training and also missed the start ! Nice to see 4 Radials out. Off a pin biased line ex 420 ace Adam Hyland nailed the start, the first beat and led for the whole first lap. Gary O'Hare was up to second after a great run. On the second beat, Sean Craig and Luke Murphy broke away and held the top two places on a dicey downwind run to the finish. Mark Coakley was always there or thereabouts and claimed third ahead of the Cahill brothers.

We are delighted to support the Royal Alfred Yacht Club "Bloomsday" Regatta this Saturday June 13. RAYC have kindly added 4.7s to the ticket and we have 2 races, first gun 1130, good après in the RSTGYC after. Online entry and now also sailing Instructions here DBSC Tuesdays resume actual Bloomsday June 16!

Published in Laser
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About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2