This weekend WHSC in Dunmore East will host the Flying Fifteen South Coast Championships. With good numbers turning out at local level they now turn to the road to one of the countrys favourite sailing locations for the second Regional event this season.

In recent seasons the local fleet in Dunmore East has grown thanks mainly to local class captain Charlie Boland and they will be hoping to be among the prize winners. As usual with this fleet it is difficult to call the winner as the racing is always close and exciting and any of a number of boats could win. Sean Craig sailing with Alan Green (NYC) will lead the charge with Mathews & Poole (NYC), McCleery & Dougan, Brian McKee and the Martin brothers all from Stangford Lough also likely to be contenders as will holders Gorman & Doorly (NYC)

Thursday morning 9th June 2016 and thick fog and no wind, will we get racing in Dublin Bay this evening? Jack Roy must have been on his prayer mat as the afternoon cleared and a nice 14 knots appeared for DBSC racing.

There was much “shuffling” of pairings on the platform with Ken Dumpleton & guest crew Ken Ryan together on Kooigjog. Ross Doyle as guest helm with Frank Burgess on Snow White, John Whelan with Alan Balfe on Perfect Ten. Peter O’Callaghan guesting with Ralph on Tuugannini and Chris & Alan back together again on frequent flyer. Regretfully no crew available for A Mere Triffle. Volunteers required in a hospitable class.

With a strong ebb tide and fifteen fifteens on the line the fleet got away, well almost. Some tight bunching at the committee boat end and frequent flyer jumping the gun and having to go back over the line. The first beat to Battery with ffling Brian O’Neill & Mary Jane Mulligan) followed by fflogger (Alan Dooley & Joe Hickey) and Ignis Caput (Dave Mulvin & Ronan Beirne) heading out to sea and the rest of the fleet heading inshore. At Battery it was the seaward boats ahead followed by frenetic (Mick & Hugh Cahill) and Kooigjog.

Around the mark spinnakers up and out to Omega and a gybe on to Pier. At Pier there was some bunching with four boats rounding together which resulted in some “focused” discussion in the bar after and talk of protests.

A beat back to Bulloch and once around no spinnaker hoist for fflogger having lost her halyard and with Ignis Caput close behind ffling out to East mark where after the gybe Ignis Caput overhauled ffling to take the lead and on to Pier mark and to the line for the gun. ffling second with frenetic third and Kooigjog fourth.

With discards now in place Ignis Caput discards a first in the Thursday series.

#DBSC - Sixteen Flying Fifteens turned out on another sunny Saturday afternoon on 4 June for two races in the DBSC Series, writes our Flying Fifteen correspondent

And it can be confirmed that rumours of Gorman and Doorly's demise after last week's results are very much exaggerated as they were in great form on 'Betty', winning both races to lead the DBSC series from Mulvin/Beirne and Mathews/Poole.

In a light east-northeast breeze with strong ebbing tide, Race 1 eventually got going following a long postponement after the cruiser boats all came sailing through the start area, a dangerous situation to say the least.

The pin was slightly biased but it was hard to decide which way to go for the wind. Ryan, Colin, and Gorman all kept going left; Mathews cut back across to the right, as did Mulvin. The further the boats on the left went out the more breeze they picked up and they had a good lead approaching the weather mark. Colin and Ryan seemed to be ahead and tacked for the mark as Gorman approached on port.

It's moments like this that races are won and lost. Would they just dip the guys and stay third or tack below them?

With the knowledge that the tide was pushing the boats away from the mark they tacked under them and made it by a boat length, it was a lead they were not to lose despite the confusion of the gate being lifted as they approached the finish, a SB20 had apparently crashed into it. Colin, sailing his new boat Deranged was a close second.

Meanwhile back a bit, Mulvin caught Ryan downwind to finish third and Balfe and son were sailing very well to finish fifth, followed closely by Mathews as well as Mitchel and Greer.

It was similar conditions for Race 2. The winds were shifty but the committee boat was more biased. The individual recall flag went up but not many went back (they would find out later who they were).

Gorman was tuned into the shifts and the breeze and reached the weather mark just ahead of O’Neill and MJ Mulligan with Mulvin, Mathews and Ryan/McAree all close behind.

O’Neill lost out to Ryan and Mulvin but he was sailing well and on the second beat had got back to second place. Mulvin was third, Mathews fourth and Balfe and Son fifth again, with O’Sullivan and Ken Ryan next.

The winds were starting to fade on round 3 but this is how it stayed. O’Neill was deemed to be on course side so Gorman won with Mulvin second, Mathews third and Ryan fourth. Behind the racing was also very close with boats finishing within seconds of each other.

Thanks to the PRO and his team who did a good job on the day. Tom Murphy sported the yellow spinnaker and true to form they stayed in the peloton. Next up with the yellow spinnaker, after all the club regattas, will be Gorman and Doorly.

The DBSC series continues this Thursday 9 June.

This year's Flying Fifteen European Championships are at the highly regarded venue of Medemblik on the Ijsselmeer just north of Amsterdam and run from Sunday 29th August through to Friday 2nd September. It's the first time the Flying Fifteen class has visited this venue which is a chosen choice for many major sailing events including the Olympic classes circuit.

Flying Fifteen International's Greg Wells says 'It is a great opportunity to showcase our fantastic boat and the brilliant racing it provides to the Dutch sailors'

Hosts are the yacht club KZ & RV Hollandia. More here

Seventeen Flying Fifteens turned out on a sunny Saturday afternoon for two races in the DBSC Series with Gerry Ryan & John McAree winning the first victory in their new boat IRL 4045, Ian Mathews & Keith Poole won the other race but the winner of the day with two seconds was David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne.

Race 1: the tide was coming in and the wind from the E-NE, Mulvin went partially into the middle and then to the right where he was just ahead of Gorman and Mathews at the weather mark. There were not many opportunities for catching up but on the second beat Mathews went more left and took the lead at the weather mark to win the race, Mulvin stayed second with Colin and Mulligan getting in ahead of Gorman who had gone to the right in search of wind on the run to the finish.

For Race 2 the winds had shifted to the NE and the PRO reset the course. The big question was would it flick back? Those on the right including Gorman and the Cahill brothers hoped it would but it was not to be as Ryan and Mulligan on the left came into the weather mark just ahead of Mulvin. On the second beat Gorman had gained and moved into second only to lose it by hitting the weather mark and doing turns. On the run Mulvin persevered and passed Mulligan as they both stayed uptide on the left, meanwhile Ryan was more on the right and when he went around the right gate he had a lift and wind and was soon in a comfortable lead he was not to lose.
Thanks to the PRO and his team who did a greta job on the day in difficult conditions, in particular he kept the fleet informed of his plans as the wind remained shifty and light. John O Sulllivan & Ken sported the yellow spinnaker and true to form they stayed in the peleton!

This Thursday the DBSC series continues.

Strangford Lough didn’t disappoint the Irish Flying Fifteen fleet at the weekend with the usual mixture of sunshine, wind, no wind, tides in both directions, thunder, lightning and hail stones as big as marbles and a bit of sailing thrown into the mix!

The Flying Fifteen Northern Championships was hosted by Portaferry Sailing Club at the weekend and was won by former World Champion and guest UK helm Charles Apthorp with Alan Green (NYC) crewing. Ian Mathews & Keith Poole were second with Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly (NYC) a close third.

On Saturday the wind settled to be reasonably steady from the sw and there were three races. In race 1 Gorman was out of the blocks quickly and led all the way, Mathews was second with .McCleery third and Apthorp fifth after having to do penalty turns. The wind was holding and the right was generally favoured, Apthorp won Race 2 with Mathews second again after gybsetting on the run to get inside Gorman who finished third with Brien Willis fourth. Shortly after Race 3 got going, Gorman got stuck on the second row as most sailed on, surprisingly no one was over the line. Gorman cut out to the right to get clear wind and work the shifts and came in second behind Apthorp at the weather mark. It was a triangle course and Apthorp went too high looking for the mark allowing Gorman to take the lead. It was short lived as Apthorp passed him at the gybe mark, a bit of rustiness in the crewing! It is strange that triangles are been taken out of club racing and then when we go to regional events we end up doing something we don’t practice, we live and learn!. On to the next beat, Gorman was flying and took the lead again but again it was not to last downwind. Apthorp won by a couple of boat lengths from Gorman with McKee and Darren Martin third and Mathews fourth. Over night it was Gorman just ahead of Apthorp with Mathews a close third- all to play for on Sunday with two races and a discard to come into the equation.

Sunday started off with little or no wind, ir was difficult for the PRO and each time he set a course and started the sequence it shifted and the AP went up. Eventually he started with the zephre of wind from Killleagh in the west. It was adrift up the beat, at one stage Ben Mulligan was flying over the glass like pond, soon spinakers went up and yet the ‘race’ went on, Apthorp, Mathews, Willis and Gorman all arrived at the weather . . or was it the leeward mark together but then it changed into a run as the wind filled in, Andy & Rory Martin who are back in the fleet were flying out on the right. The course was strangly shortened while there was wind, you could have thrown a blanket over the first six boats but it was Apthorp who continued his good form to win, Willis was second, Mathews third, the Martin boys fourth and Gorman suffered in sixth place.

The forecasted wind from the south slowly made its way up from the south and Race 5 got going after the course was reset. Gorman, the holder, still had a chance if he won the race but it was not to be as he had a poor start and got stuck in a pile up at the committee boat end, unfortunate as Apthorp also had a poor start. On the first beat right seemed to pay with McKee leading from Shane McCarthy and the Martin brothers and Ian Smith. The second beat the left paid, Apthorp was making inroads and moved to third, that was the way it was to stay and this was enough for Apthorp & Green to deservedly win the event which is the oldest Flying Fifteen trophy in the land. As the fleet headed back towards Portaferry the heavens opened with thunder and hailstones pounding on to the frozen crews, it was a sight and sound to behold!

As this year is the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Flying Fifteen Association of Ireland its first President and Flying Fifteen stalwart Jim Rodgers presented the prizes to the Gold fleet while Colin Coffey also a member of the original committee presented the prizes to the Silver and Bronze Fleet winners.

Special thanks to the PRO and his team who did a great job in really difficult conditions, to Shane, Peter, Jo and all the local sailors and volenteer’s who made the event happen. It’s always a pleasure to go to Portaferry which is one of the friendliest clubs in the country. Those who didn’t travel missed out on a great weekend.

Thursday evening presented a strong westerly wind with flood tide making a good Dublin Bay chop and wet sailing conditions on a Flying Ffteen. On the way out to “Freebird” the DBSC flag ship, some of the spinnaker issues the SB’s experienced were a signal for the conditions out on the bay.

Off the line and into the first beat to Harbour mark the boats at the Committee Boat end had the advantage and were making good way. First around the weather mark was “Rollercoaster” closely followed by “Ignis Caput” ” (your scribe is advised of the translation “Fire Ahead”) and followed by “Hi Fibre”. The broad reach to Omega was just flying fifteen sailing at its best. Around Omega and a wobbly run to Poldy with the fleet closing in on the Dragons. Once around Poldy and a beat back to Omega and back out to Poldy followed by a long beat to Bay mark. It was on this leg that “Flyer” made up a number of places and “Rhubarb” lost her boom horse line requiring a run away on the beat to sort the problem.

Once around Bay a beat back out to East and on to the finish in the direction of the harbour. “Ignis Caput” (David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne) got the gun with “Hi Fibre” second and “Flyer” third. Another excellent evening course set by the DBSC “Freebird” team. Ashore there was much activity as boats were packing up to head to the Northern Championships at Portaferry.

Read more: Full DBSC Thursday results

The Flying Fifteen Northern Championships will take place in Strangford Lough this weekend and will be hosted by Portaferry Sailing Club. There should be some great racing as up to twenty boats are expected in what is the first regional event of the season.

Favourites will be UK guest helm Charles Apthorp sailing with Alan Green (NYC) but current holders and National champions Dave Gorman & Chris Doorly (NYC) as well as local sailors Shane McCarthy, Andy McCleery, Brian McKee and Brian Willis among others will also be looking to have a say in where the silverware goes.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Flying Fifteen Association of Ireland and its first President and Flying Fifteen stalwart Jim Rodgers will be presenting the prizes to mark the occasion.

With strong wind form the North East 18/20 knots and gusting over 25 and a big lumpy sea the Flying Fifteen fleet started by Jack and his jolly crew from the DBSC flagship "Freebird" with a beat out to Zebra mark in a big sea writes our special correspondent.
First around was "frequent flyer" with Alan Green just back from the Mediterranean flying fifteen regatta with Finn sailor Richard Tait as guest crew. With "Ignis Caput" Dave Mulvin and Ronan Beirne close beside them as the fleet headed off on a screeching reach to Harbour Mark. "Ignis Caput" took the lead with a gybe around the mark an a roaring run off to Bulloch mark. On this mark guest helm ex Mermaid Champion Jonathan O'Rourke with Joe Hickey sailing "flooger" made a few places with some slick spinnaker work on the gybe.
Your scribe heard a fella on the bus the other day saying he had been to Las Vegas and it was just amazing, well I have never been to Vegas but he would want to try a flying fifteen in Dublin Bay in these conditions! On rounding Bulloch mark a beat out to East into the big sea. On this leg Niall Coleman and Mick Quinn in "flyer" were making ground but it was "Ignis Caput" first around and off an another screaming broad reach to Bay Mark where the Dragons were rounding. Choosing to go on to the pier and avoid the Dagon fleet, "Ignis Caput" tacked only to have jib sheets knot backing the jib and stopping the boat. A quick back tack and with lines cleared "Ignis Caput" was able to keep the cover on "flyer" to get the gun with "Floggger" third and John O'Sullivan and Ken Ryan in "Rhubarb" fourth. Regretfully as "frequent flyer" crossed the finish line a stay parted and the mast came down. See photo here. Thanks to the DBSC rib crew for attending to the disabled fifteen and other fiftees who remained in attendance. Jack Roy set a great course and thanks to the "Freebird" crew for their work. "Ignis Caput" now has the first two Thursday guns.

See DBSC Thursday results HERE

The first Dublin Bay SC Thursday Flying Fifteen race (after last week's cancellation) presented an overcast evening with wind form the South East c15 knots. With Jack Roy and the "Mac Lir" crew on station off Scotsman's Bay the spring flood tide presented a challenge for the fleet of 10 boats to getting it right on the line.The fleet saw the first outing for Gerry Ryan's new fifteen.
4008 Coleman & Quinn judged it well and set off in to the shore at the Forty Foot followed by 3665 Neil Colin and 4028 Beirne & Mulvin.
Close tacking along the rocks as the fleet got in close under Bullock and off out into the tide to Bullock Mark and on out to Poldy. With spinnakers set the fleet followed the Yellow Mitsubishi class spinnaker flown by 4008. On rounding Pier mark and another beat back to Island with the fleet again going in to the shore to avoid the tide. Close tacking along the rocks 4008 heading to Bullock while 4028 (Dave Mulvin & Ronan Beirne) made out early to Island mark and so taking the lead. Geraldine and Dermot O'Neill judged it well to gain a few places. Rounding the mark in the lead and on to Pier mark and to the finish. 4008 (Niall Coleman & Mick Quinn) second and 3198 (Adrian Cooper & Joe McNamara) third. Class Captain Joe Coughlan commented he was hounded all evening by Frazer Mitchell in his newly acquired boat, no rest for the Captain.