The Royal St George hosted the combined International 12 Foot Dinghy Championship & D.B.S.C. 12 Ft Championship on 15th September,- a day which will be remembered both for the incessant rain, and for the tight competition. The event was held in Seapoint Bay, the original racing area for the Dublin based 12-Foot Dinghies from the 1920s and 30s. This year’s entry was reduced due to ‘Dorado’s’ owner not being available, and ‘Sgadan’ being under restoration in Tralee in preparation for next year’s ‘Clinkerfest 250’. However, the International rigs were represented by three boats. We understand that one potential owner is heading to the UK soon to purchase a Dutch-built dinghy currently for sale there.
In race one, with patchy winds of less than 4 kts George Miller’s ‘Pixie’ held the lead for the entire race, but behind her there was a great battle between ‘Albany’ (Gavin Johnson) and ‘Cora’ (Mark Delany). It was ‘Albany’ who won this battle.
In race two with a steady 5 kt. Breeze, ‘Cora’ won the start but was overtaken by the faster ‘Pixie.’ But due to an error at the finish line, ‘Cora’ regained the lead.
The dinghies were left at anchor in Seapoint Bay while the competitors came ashore for their lunch, and in some cases, extra clothing or extra waterproofing, or additional pumps.
By the afternoon the wind has increased to about 8 kts. Race 3 was won by ‘Pixie’ after a good battle with ‘Cora’ which lasted for the entire race. The improving ‘Scythian’ (David Shackleton) took third place.
The final race was to be the decider of the championship. ‘Cora’ used her team-racing skills to push ‘Pixie’ away from the start line. During the race ‘Pixie’s’ yard support broke, causing her rig to slip down 300mm and, of course, lessened her speed. As ‘Cora’ approached the finish line she slowed up with the hope of bringing ‘Scythian’ into second place and pushing ‘Pixie’ into third place, but her plan went awry, and ‘Pixie’ stole second place to win the championship.
At the prize-giving, Pat and Sheelagh McGloughlin presented the Altair Cup to Andrew Miller crew of ‘Pixie’ noting that the trophy despite being almost ninety years old, has not been won for 42 years.
The Cora trophy for international dinghies was awarded to George and Andrew Miller in ‘Pixie’.
The Edmond Johnson Ltd. Trophy for DBSC dinghies was awarded to Gavin Johnson and Tim Varian in ‘Albany’.
Vincent Delany chairman of the 12-foot organisation explained how next year’s Irish Championship with International entries will take place at Lough Ree Yacht Club over the June bank holiday weekend.