News / Irish Frostbite Series at Dun Laoghaire - Day 3

Two races within the same race! 

Yesterday's Fireball Frostbite race, sailed inside the harbour was a case of two races within the same race. Series leaders Noel Butler & Stephen Oram and third-placed Kenny Rumball & Conor Kinsella had their own race, while the rest of us chased each other looking for the sundry places.

With light winds coming out of the SSE and lots of activity in the harbour with Oppies, Laser 4.7s and Toppers all having training sessions, the committee boat was stationed just off the west pier with a weather mark that was just to the left of the StenaLine ferry gantry.

The start was clean and the larger group of the 16 Fireballs contesting the race was at the pin end. Kenny Rumball/Conor Kinsella was the leeward-most boat of this group, but crossed the course to get to the RHS of the course and rounded behind Noel Butler/Stephen Oram. Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly had a late start and went right immediately. It didn't seem to pay the same dividends as the Rumball manoeuvre!

Conor Clancy, helmed 15*** this weekend with John Chambers on the wire and they rounded in third place in reasonable shape. Thereafter there was a log jam at the first weather mark, particularly when the Ryan brothers, Emmet & James, sailing Dogbolter, decided that coming in on port-tack to the weather mark was the best approach relative to a line of other boats coming in on starboard. Boats to the fore in this group were Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney sailing 14953, Gavin's latest purchase, Alastair Court & Gordon Syme (14706), Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keefe (14691), Mick Creighton & Joe O"Reilly (14937), Eamon Burke & Robert Slater (14719), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) and the aforementioned Miller/Donnelly as well as Dogbolter, after they had extracted themselves from the consequences of their earlier action. This correspondent was able to watch the action taking place in front of him!

For the remainder of the five lap race, Butler/Oram & Rumball/Kinsella had their own private session and pulled further and further away from the fleet. It looked as though they had a leg lead on the third placed Clancy/Chambers combination who, in turn, were comfortable relative to the chasing pack. Rumball/Kinsella did take the lead but Butler/Oram took it back when "fluffed" spinnaker gybes allowed the lead to change again.

Behind there were a variety of issues for the chasing pack – a fouled spinnaker halyard, a capsize, a 360º penalty for hitting a mark and at least one interaction between boats on a rules issue – as well as trying to work out which way to go up the beat that proved difficult to work out. These various issues sorted out the latter places with Court/Syme sailing their best race to date to stay at the head of the chasing pack. Creighton/O'Reilly also sailed a good series of beats to score well and Doyle/Sweeney also had their best day. McKenna/O'Keefe (capsize) and Coin/Casey (spinnaker halyard) went the opposite way!

During the race there seemed to be better breeze on the right, but those who went left never seemed to lose out! It would be easy to say it was an unpredictable afternoon (and quite a few of us did) but the lead of the first two boats was testimony to the fact that it could be worked out quite easily... or at least that's the way they made it look! On the third lap the wind eased a bit, but the final two laps saw the breeze build again and on the last beat, the crews were in full, but comfortable, trapezing mode going upwind.

The Frostbite Mugs went to Alastair Court & Gordon Syme who weren't at the post-race presentation to accept the fruits of their endeavours!

Race 5 Results:

Series Results: (after 5 races)

The race between the all-lady crews is tight with Louise and Hermine just ahead of Cariosa Power and Marie Barry in 7th and 8th overall respectively.