Tuesday Night Racing - Ireland

14 May 2013

Tuesday night Fireball racing, Dun Laoghaire, 14^th May.

Who would be a forecaster?

Last Tuesday, 7^th May, my favoured web-based weather forecast site suggested that we would have a genteel sail in Dublin Bay for the Tuesday night Series with winds of 6 knots, fading away as the evening progressed. Before we could get to the mouth of the harbour, the Race Committee had abandoned the race due to the combination of a dearth of meaningful wind and a strong flooding tide, meaning boats would have been swept towards Dublin.

Last night the same web based site was suggesting that at 19:00 it would be blowing 2 knots from the south, gusting to four knots. We could expect some light rain! By 22:00 it would be blowing from the north!In reality it was blowing quite healthily from the SSE with ample grey rain clouds surrounding the race course. Immediately before the race we were subjected to hailstones and heavy rain. And so we find ourselves in mid-May with the air still cold and the sea temperature bracing to put it politely.

Tuesday night Fireball order was restored last night (14^th) when Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (15061) led from start to finish on a trapezoid course with 3 laps.

7 boats took to the water and six started with one boat going ashore before the starting sequence. The first start was aborted, probably due to an errant pin mark, which is a pity because this correspondent had the second best start behind Noel Butler & Stephen Oram.

On the second start, Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley (15007) started at the pin! ............too early it seems, so their effort was recognized by the flying of a flag with a blue cross on a white background.

All the starters went out to sea initially to benefit from the ebbing tide. Virtually everyone went to the port lay-line before tacking onto port for their approach to the weather mark. At Mark 1 the running order was Butler/Oram, Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775), with Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly (14713), Louise McKenna & Hermine O Keeffe (14691) and Smyth/Bradley rounding in close company, followed by Cariosa Power & Marie Barry (14854).

Butler/ Oram were the only boat to fly bag across the top of the course and sailed away as a consequence. Colin/Casey maintained the gap on the next three who indulged in a boat on boat surfing challenge all the way from Mark 2 to Mark 4.

Up the second beat Miller and Smyth were in close company going to sea. McKenna went inshore. But at the 2nd weather mark the order was intact; Butler, Colin, Miller, McKenna, Smyth, Power. An immediate gybe at the 2nd weather mark gave Smyth an advantage over the two boats immediately ahead of him which allowed him to round Mk 4 the 2nd time in third place.

On the last beat an inshore lift on starboard tack benefitted those who went that way. McKenna dropped behind the other two by going to sea. But on legs 2, 3 and 4 of the final lap, the three boats closed up again to round Mk 4 for the last time in tight order. Smyth held off Miller to the finish but crossed the line in silence.

Order restored!