47th Frostbite Series at Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club - Day 4

Noel Butler & Marie Barry on day 4 of the 47th Dun Laoghaire MYC Frostbite Series © DMYC

Neil Colin & Margaret Casey on day 4 of the 47th Dun Laoghaire MYC Frostbite Series © DMYC

The fourth Sunday of the 2017/18 Frostbite Series, hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, saw blustery conditions from a westerly direction and cool temperatures under a blue sky that clouded up as the afternoon wore on.

The XCWeather forecast was for 12/13 knots with gusts of 18 – 20 knots and that was pretty much how it felt on the water. Five Fireballs made the start with a sixth ashore, afflicted by a broken gooseneck, and they enjoyed some close racing on the trapezoid course with five laps set as the course duration. In addition to the five Fireballs there was a Finn (Hugh Sheehy) a 470 (Gerry Ryan & John McAree) and a RS400 (Stuart Harris) making up the PY fleet.

Two practice laps followed by a reconnaissance of the start line suggested that a) the pin was the place to start and b) that spinnaker flying would be very much dependent on the wind conditions at the time rather than the course configuration and geometry.

Our (Miller & Bradley, 14713)) to a pin-end start was thrown awry when Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (14775) came charging down the line from the committee boats end. Additionally we found ourselves a few seconds too early and both boats were obliged to gybe out and start on port tack. Alistair Court & Gordon Syme (14706) and Noel Butler & Marie Barry (15061) were closer to the committee boat but when Miller cut the start line he had to duck both these transoms on his way out to the right-hand side of the course... which was not the original plan!

The other four Fireballs went hard left and as the two contingents converged on the weather mark it appeared as though the left-hand side had paid off. Miller crossed behind Butler but ahead of Court as he came across on starboard and by the time he had tacked to finalise his approach to the mark on the port lay-line, Court had also eked ahead. Meanwhile Colin & Casey were not too far away and as the first four boats rounded the mark the order was Butler, Court, Miller, Colin though only about eight boat-lengths separated 1st to 4th. Butler's spinnaker hoist got snagged which allowed Court and Miller to go through his wind while Colin also closed the gap from behind. While Mark 2 was geometrically in the right location, and in the channel leading to the inner marina, the wind had gone slightly forward and the leg from 1 to 2 was a tight reach. Mark 2 to Mark 3 was broader and the places changed again with Court consolidating his place at the front and the other three boats closing in on each other. Court led around Mark 4 and went right initially. Butler rounded second and took an early hitch to the left. Miller rounded third and followed Court, while Colin also went left.

Miller was obliged to tack away to the left as he was starting to suffer from Court's dirty wind and this proved to be an astute move because when the fleet converged again in the vicinity of the second weather mark, Miller had taken the lead followed by Court and Butler with Colin only just behind them. Again the wind was variable in direction, relative to the geometry of the course, and this time the legs from one to two and two to three were broader than before. Miller led for the next two laps (3 & 4) until the penultimate rounding of Mark 3. At this stage Colin had moved into second place, followed by Butler while Court had dropped off the pace. Later it transpired that Court's outhaul on the main had come undone and while he got it back in place it wasn't perfect. On the leg from 2 to 3, Colin occupied the inside berth relative to Miller with the boats overlapped. Rather than gybing immediately at Mark 3, Colin sailed on for a short distance, pinning Miller on the outside. Butler rounded behind them, unfettered, gybed immediately and sailed off inside the two boats to lead the race round the last lap. Colin's spinnaker gybe went skew-whiff allowing Miller to get to windward and into second place though Colin came back with a vengeance to close the gap at Mark 4 to half a boat length.

While Butler sailed the last lap in clear air, Miller kept an eagle eye on Colin and at the finish the time intervals were:- Butler to Miller, 25 seconds, Miller to Colin, 10 seconds, Colin to Court, 38 seconds.

While the conditions had started blustery and gusty they eased as the afternoon wore on but the crews were "full-trapezing" on the upwind legs. In real-time terms Butler had 4:25 on the Finn and 5:14 on the 470 on the water but after the application of handicaps this reduced to 56 seconds and 4:48 respectively. The Fireballs finished 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 with the Finn fourth on corrected time and the 470 in sixth. As Butler & Barry had won the Frostbite Mugs on the first Sunday, the day's Mugs went to Miller and Bradley.

– Frank Miller & Cormac Bradley – Frostbite Mug winners, Fast PY Fleet on day 4 of the 47th Dun Laoghaire MYC Frostbite Series - photo © Frank Miller

Day 4 Results: (Fast PY fleet)

1st Noel Butler & Marie Barry, 15061 (NYC)
2nd Frank Miller & Cormac Bradley, 14713 (DMYC)
3rd Neil Colin & Margaret Casey, 14775 (DMYC)
4th Hugh Sheehy (Finn) 2
5th Alistair Court & Gordon Syme, 14706 (DMYC)
6th Gerry Ryan & John McAree (470) 777
7th David & Michael Keegan, 14676 (RStGYC)

Results after Day 4:

On the Friday evening preceding Sunday's Frostbites, the Fireball Class convened for their prize-giving dinner in the National Yacht Club. The NYC put together an excellent meal for the Fireball attendees and in addition to recognising success on the water, the Class awarded its perpetual trophies. The recipients were as follows:

• Travellers' Trophy: Awarded to the 1st placed boat counting four best scores from 4 provincial regattas and the Nationals.
  Awarded to: Noel Butler & Stephen Oram, IRL 15061; National Yacht Club
• Silver Trophy: Awarded to the leading Silver Fleet Boat (after 4 provincials and the Nationals).
  Awarded to Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire, IRL 14865; Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club
• Lady Helm Trophy: Awarded to the highest placed Lady Helm in the Travellers' Trophy.
  Awarded to Louise McKenna, IRL 14691; Royal St. George Yacht Club (Crewed by Hermine O'Keeffe)
• Asterix Trophy – Awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the Class.
  Awarded to Olivier Proveur for his contribution to the Fireball Class in the form or organising and managing the DMYC's Frostbite Series over a significant period of many years
• India Trophy – Awarded to the Most Improved Fireball combination in the season.
  Awarded to Frank Miller & his crews Ed Butler & Grattan Donnelly, 14713; Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club
• Class Captain's Prize – Awarded at the discretion of the Dun Laoghaire Class Captain (Hermine O'Keeffe).
  Awarded to Louis Smyth, 15007; Coal Harbour
• The Liam Bradley Memorial Trophy – Awarded at the discretion of Cormac Bradley.
  Awarded to Noel Butler & Stephen Oram:- For winning a "Grand Slam" of events in 2017 – Nationals, all four provincials and the DBSC Tuesday Night Series and for setting a standard in Fireball sailing that the rest of us are still aspiring to