Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser Challenge

Colm Barrington's Ker 38 Flying Glove during the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser Challenge © David Branigan

There was no shelter on Dublin bay when gale force gusts struck the Cocoon sponsored Dublin Bay SC Cruiser Challenge fleet yesterday afternoon (Sunday).

Principal race officer, Mr. Hal Bleakley, abandoned the final race of the event but at that stage overall winners in the no discard regatta were already obvious – except for an upset in class two – in all four competing keelboat divisions.

The strong westerlies, however, that flattened a nearby Laser dinghy fleet were no match for Colm Barrington's well prepared Flying Glove. The new 38-footer won all four races sailed in class zero in spite of a late Howth Challenge from David Nixon's 02 sponsored team who blew both spinnakers on their chartered vessel, Cracklin' Rosie, yesterday morning.

Barrington's Ker designed 38-footer was sailed more conservatively, however and her crew opted not to set the kite as gusts on the windward–leeward course reached 30-knots.

Ireland's Commodore's Cup team captain sailed the final downwind leg under white sails alone and chose to wear around instead of gybing on his final approach to the leeward mark but the safety first approach was rewarded with the winning gun.

Nixon finished ended up third overall with Blue Magic (R. Napier and A.hogg) squeezing into third.

By a similar margin Peter Beamish's Aztec 2, from the Royal St. George YC, was the winner of class one from Michael O'Neill with Patrick Kirwan's Errislannan third.

A final race port and starboard incident cost the Elan 31 Rumdoodle (Declan Byrne) the class two prize with Howth club-mate Anthony Gore Grimes at the helm of Dux lifting the Irish Sea title.

Tim Goodbody won the Sigma 33 class.