You could be forgiven for thinking that there was a major summer sailing regatta on Dublin Bay over the past two weekends with the number of boats out and the sun shinning, but instead it is the National Yacht Clubs frostbite series for Mermaids, Flying Fifteens and SB3's kindly sponsored by Derrycourt Cleaning writes our special correspondent.

There are over thirty boats entered with over 20 of them Flying Fifteens, quiet an impressive turnout  leading some to conclude that maybe we should be sailing more in the winter when there are less distractions!

After four races and one discard Green/Doorly lead the way along with McCambridge/Murphy with Poole/Marsden in third place. There have been plenty of thrills and spills and PRO Ian Mathews and his team have had their work cut out to keep things running smoothly but smooth it has been with excellent courses and racing.

The first week was cancelled due to light winds and on week 2 we just got one race in between squalls of 30 plus knots! This became survival and the PRO took the sensible and correct options of cancelling the remaining races. In Race 1 the lead changed a few times with Crummy Burgess leading at the final weather mark but hit it allowing Green to nip in and take the gun on a shortened course. Dooley/Hickey were second with McCambridge/Murphy third. Some of the crews had plenty of practice bailing out but all survived!

Race 2 took place on Sunday on a sunny day in a nice force 3 in west/south west shifty winds with the tide coming in. The fleet were a bit over eager and eventually after a couple of general recalls the black flag came out, this still didn't stop a number of boats including Crummy, Dumpleton, Sherry and O'Sullivan been over! Coleman/Quinn lead from McCambridge/Murphy followed closely by Green and Poole. McCambridge got the lead on lap two and held it comfortably to take the gun Green had moved into second place but approaching the committee boat got a sudden lift but couldn't release the main and was heading to weather of the committee boat, the racing was so close that after ducking back down and narrowly missing the committee boat, three boats had nipped in. Coleman was second with Murphy third and Poole fourth.

Race 2, boats got off at first time of asking Crummy lead from from Dumpleton followed closely by Doyle and Poole and McCambridge with Green back in the pack. It was nip tuck all the way with Dumpleton getting the lead at the final mark to take the gun, Crummy was second, Poole third and McCambridge fourth.

Race 3, again general recalls were the order of the day, the black flag was brought out again. Green lead at the weather mark followed by Gavin Doyle and there was a mad scramble at the weather mark with some boats totally illegally coming in on port causing havoc and ruining other peoples racing – this needs to stop, rules must be obeyed! Green was sailing with a broken tiller since race one and tacking was difficult, Doyle took advantage of this and took the lead on the last beat, Crummy had his own private wind on the last run over on the right and moved into second place with Green limping over the line in third after an eventful day. There was plenty of incidents with great racing including the usual mid fleet battles also new fleet members Robin and Susan got stuck into the racing and completed all races- an achievement in itself! We all look forward to two more races next Sunday.

The Flying Fifteen Western Championships took place in the Larne at the weekend and were hosted by East Antrim Boat and Yacht Club.

22 crews descended on the town in what was the last event of the season. Andy McCleery & Colin Dougan (KYC) pipped Gorman/Doorly (NYC) to win their second event in succession, had the last race not been abandoned it could have been a different story . . but that's sailing!

Third overall were locals Norman Hamilton and William Rutherford.

The large contingent of classics was won by Rory McKenna & David McFarland (CAYC). Gorman's second overall was enough to put him at the top of the ranking list at the end of this season.

An exotic weekend in Dun Laoghaire with the start of an Olympic class keelboat event plus the arrival of a Volvo 70 into the harbour but Irish weather meant all did not go to plan. Click our links for a round up of the weekend's sailing events from around the country: Mansfield Wins 1720 Euros in Baltimore, Squall Puts Paid to First Race of Star Europeans in Dun Laoghaire, West Kirby Teams Top ISAF Worlds in Schull, Johnston's Beneteau 31.7 is Good Prospect, Killyleagh Pair Scoop Flying Fifteen East Coast Cup, Lively Lady Sails to Victory in Fickle ISORA Race to Rockabill, SB3 Team Sanya Welcome Scuppered by Strong Winds. We'll have more reports later this morning from the J24 Easterns in Howth, the National 18 season in Cork and J80 Match racing.

Andrew McCleary and Colin Dougan from Killyleagh Yacht Club won this weekend's the East Coast Flying Fifteen championships, hosted this weekend by Cushendall Sailing and Boating Club.

Strangford Sailing Club's Brian McKee and Ian Smyth finished second after five races in Red Bay over Saturday and Sunday, while Roger Chamberlain and Jason Scammell-Maarch from Strangford Lough Yacht Club finished third, despite helm Roger receiving a knock to the head and retiring from the fourth race.

Eventual winners Andrew McCleary and Colin Dougan from Killyleagh Yacht Club (far right) lead off the line. Photo: Damian Connon

First in the Silver fleet was Tom Murphy and Andrew Marshall from Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club. The Bronze fleet was led by Philip and Anna Sanford, again from Strangford Sailing Club, while Bryan Willis and John McPeake from Whitehead's County Antrim Yacht Club were the leading boat in the Classic fleet.

In all 27 boats took part in the racing, which saw calm but overcast conditions on Saturday, and increasingly fresh breezes with gusts over 20 knots during Sunday's three races. Clubs participating in the championships included: Killyleagh Yacht Club, Strangford Sailing Club, Strangford Lough Yacht Club, the National Yacht Club, Portaferry Sailing Club, County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead, Larne's East Antrim Boat Club, Carrickfergus Sailing Club and Courtown Sailing Club in Wexford, as well as four local boats from Cushendall Sailing and Boating Club.

The first home of the locals were Rob Pelley and Marc Ritson. Paul Lowry and Brenda Reddington were next, followed by Eddie and Eoin Ritson. Paul McLaughlin and Michael McKinley, competing in a borrowed boat, were next over the line.

30 boats will travel to Cushendall this weekend for the East Coast of Ireland regional sailing championships in the Flying Fifteen class.  The two-day championships will be the penultimate major event in Cushendall Sailing and Boating Club's 2011 sailing season, during which the club celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Last year's East Coast Championship in Carlingford was won by Strangford Lough Yacht Club's Buckfast, helmed by Darren Martin. Brian McKee, also from Strangford Lough Yacht Club in Killinchy, and sailing Stifflers Mom is currently ranked first in the national fleet, with only this weekend's event left to race. David Gorman aboard Hy5ive and from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is second; while Strangford Sailing Club's Gerry Reilly on Over the Moon is ranked third. The winner of the south coast championships at Dunmore East two weeks ago, John Lavery is not competing.

The Flying Fifteen is a 20-foot keelboat that provides competitive sailing for its two-person crew. There are thriving fleets across Ireland and the UK, with approximately 50 boats regularly competing in races in Ireland. More than 4,000 flying fifteens have been built worldwide to date and a large number of these are still sailing.

CSBC Commodore John Lowry said: "This is the second regional event to be hosted in Cushendall this year, following the Topper Ulster Championships in June. We're all looking forward to some great racing on the water, and great craic off it. We have six Flying Fifteens in our club, and I know that those sailors are excited by the added competition from the visiting boats this weekend. We're crossing our fingers for some good weather," he added.

An early start for the Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen fleet paid off yesterday when up to eight of the 20-foot keelboats ventured from their moorings at the National Yacht Club (NYC) across Dublin Bay and up the river Liffey for the Royal Alfred Yacht Club's (RAYC) annual Liffey Challenge in Dublin's city centre.

Although there was little wind for the confined event the class nevertheless made the headlines; splashed across the front page of this morning's Irish Times newspaper. An impressive five column wide photograph captioned 'Liffey reflections' by Irish Times snapper Brenda Fitzsimons is top of the page. One no doubt that will now hang on the wall of the Dun Laoghaire clubhouse!

 

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This morning's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the Rick Tomlinson's pics of the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Derry-Londonderry is on her way to Rio in the Clipper race. Regrettably there was no Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth but we're in a strong position. See our video with Annalise here. Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, John Lavery's win at the Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, A local pair whitewashed the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour, some great shots from Bob Bateman. The Oppy Nationals start in Howth and Afloat's Sailor of the Month for July Martin Byrne retained the Dragon Nationals in Kinsale. There's also the full weekend results from Dublin Bay SC.

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Big seas and big winds off Hook Head for the opening day of the Flying Fifteen South Coast Championships at Dunmore East, County Waterford produced some of the most exciting sailing of the season for a fleet of 16 of the two man keelboats at the weekend. John Lavery and David O'Brien called a halt to David Gorman and Chris Doorly's recent run of success with three wins win to retain the South Coast title that concluded yesterday. The top Irish performers at the recent world championships Brian McKee and Ian Smyth of Strangford Lough Yacht Club were third. Next up for the Fifteens is the class Northern Championships at Cushendall in County Antrim in two weeks time.

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Monday's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Will it be Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth? How will Peter, David and Annalise end up at the Pre-Olympics? Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, Teens battle for the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour,  the Cove People's Regatta, The Oppy Nationals at Howth and the Dragon Nationals from Kinsale. There's also the full results from Dublin Bay SC and Howth.

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After finishing fifth in the penultimate race Graham Vials and Chris Turner were able to head back to HISC for an early shower after winning the 2011 Flying 15 World Championships at Hayling Island SC. The Championships closed yesterday with British boats occupying the top ten places in the 120-boat fleet. Ireland's Brian McKee and Ian Smyth from Strangford Lough finished top of five Irish boats competing in 17th place overall.

Mike Hart and Richard Rigg won the first race of the final day, second Greg Wells and Mark Darling and in third Arnaud Biet and Fabien Constant of France. Vials and Turner finished fifth to take the title with a race to spare. In the final race the 2010 champions, Grant Alderson and Dean NcAullay from Australia took the final gun. Second were Russell Peters and Tim Hall with Hart and Rigg in third.

The Classic and Silver fleets also completed their series. Bobby Salmond and Robert Till GBR627, from Holy Loch SC are the 2011 Classic Flying 15 Champions and Malcolm and Alex Hall from Burton SC took the Silver event title.

Flying 15 - Final Leaders 2011 World Championship at HISC
1. Graham Vials / Chris Turner, GBR, 21 points
2. Mike Mcintyre / Gemma Mcintyre, GBR, 41
3. Andy Mckee / Richard Jones, GBR, 44
4. Greg Wells / Mark Darling, GBR, 46
5. Russell Peters / Tim Hall, GBR, 48
6. Jeremy Davy / Simon Childs, GBR, 52
7. Mike Hart / Richard Rigg, GBR, 57
8. Grant Alderson / Dean Mcaullay, AUS, 66
9. Alan Bax / Bill Masterman, GBR, 74
10. Charles Apthorp / Gavin Tappenden, GBR, 75