Please select your home edition
Edition
Noble Marine 2022 YY - LEADERBOARD

Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy at Dublin Bay Sailing Club

by Cormac Bradley 3 Aug 2021 15:42 BST 31 July 2021
Niall Coleman (centre) and Susan Halpenny winners of the Flying Fifteen Facet Trophy presented by Facet Jeweller's Pat Shannon © Cormac Bradley

The Facet Trophy for Flying Fifteens on Dublin Bay is unique in that it is the only event within the DBSC Flying Fifteen Series where the trophy is presented on the day of the racing. This is due to the fact that it was primarily intended to encourage the Flying Fifteen fleet to race on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday weekend in Ireland. In recent years it has been hotly contested and 2021 was no exception with one high-profile "Fifteener" procuring the services of an Irish Olympian to helm on the day.

The name of the trophy is due to the fact that the sponsor is a local Dun Laoghaire jeweller and the owner, Mr Pat Shannon, is currently the Commodore of one of Dun Laoghaire's four seafront yacht clubs, the Royal Irish.

The forecast for the day promised very light winds, of the order of 4-5 knots which were forecast to move from NNW to NE during the course of the afternoon and with hindsight, Race Officer Eddie Totterdell would have taken that with open arms! Instead, we arrived in the race area with light winds as forecast except that as race time approached the wind from the NNW quarter disappeared and a southerly wind came in in its place. That would have been manageable, except that the big boat classes started their race on time in the western part of the bay with the forecast winds from the NNW. Indeed, one of the more readily identifiable big boats, the Sisk-owned WoW, was able to sail a longish upwind leg and the following off-wind leg in this breeze while the Fifteens and other Green Fleet classes were sailing in a southerly and then no wind at all.

The Race Officer persisted, and we set off in what appeared to be a reasonably steady but light breeze from a southerly direction. Wishful thinking! Fourteen Fifteens started with two boats called for being OCS. With a flooding tide in such light winds, the sensible thing to do was to go inshore, where there would be less strength in the tide. And the boats that did that seemed to be rewarded - Niall Coleman and Susan Halpenny, aka Mr & Mrs N Coleman (4008) were to feature prominently and consistently at the front of the fleet, starting at the first mark of a 2-lap Windward-Leeward course. Others at the head of the fleet at this early stage were Ger Owens & Alan Green (4083), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028), Alan Balfe & Tom Galvin (3995) and Tom Murphy & Carel (4057) - though the latter combination would have their minds on later events off the water in Cape Town. Other combinations enjoying a good race early on included Peter Sherry & Mick Quinn (3749) and Joe Coughlan & Andrew (3913).

This correspondent was having a more difficult day, forced left early on when the declared intent had been to go right, things went from bad to worse when the combination of a foul tide, relative to rounding the windward mark, and fading breeze necessitated multiple tacks to get around the mark - race over potentially.

As the race progressed, the wind became even more fickle, in strength and direction. At one stage on the second "beat" we were sailing away from the mark, almost in the opposite direction to where we needed to go. In conditions like these the various fleets on the course were concertinaing with Ruffians, Mermaids and Sportsboats all looking to find zephyrs of wind on the same patch of water!

Regrettably, I can't afford a blow-by-blow account of activity at the head of the fleet - I was not close enough, but there was movement and the interaction with boats from other fleets, unavoidable in the circumstances, may have also influenced the eventual outcome. The Colemans, Colin and Owens monopolised the head of the fleet - at least judging by spinnaker colours and certainly Colin & Casey laid claim to occupying first, second third and ultimately fourth place at different stages of the race.

The final finishing order was, Niall & Susan Coleman (4008), Ger Owens & Alan Green (4083), Alan Balfe & Tom Galvin (3995), Neil Colin & Margaret Casey (4028), Tom Murphy & Carel (4057) and Peter Sherry & Mick Quinn (3749).

Having lost an hour in getting the first race away, there was no time for a second race! At the prize-giving in the National Yacht Club, MC-ed by Frank Burgess, Pat Shannon opened the proceedings by thanking all the participants and the race team for their involvement in the regatta. Additional speakers included Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteen Class Captain, Neil Colin, the Race Officer and the winning helm of the Facet Trophy, Niall Coleman. Collectively they thanked all those who had contributed to the afternoon's activities. Special thanks were given to the Race Officer, Eddie Totterdell, in persisting with the conditions to get a race in.

In addition to the Facet Trophy Cup, crystal prizes were awarded to the podium places in each fleet and all participants got a prize to acknowledge their attendance.

Related Articles

Save the Date - Cowes Classics Regatta 2026
The dates now confirmed after a highly successful 2025 event As the curtain comes down on what has been a remarkable Cowes Classics Week 2025, thoughts at the Royal London Yacht Club and the Royal Thames Yacht Club turn towards the hosting of Cowes Classics Regatta 2026 with the dates now confirmed. Posted on 5 Jun
Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 overall
Building breeze and sea state create a spectacular conclusion Ahead of an oncoming, breeze-filled front from the west, the superb race management teams, under the watchful eye of Principal Race Officer Tim Hancock, elected to send all the fleets out early on the concluding day of Cowes Classics Regatta 2025. Posted on 1 Jun
Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 Day 2
Fog lifts on the Solent to reveal the front-runner A dense, wispy fog sat over the Solent this morning, hampering visibility and causing Cowes Classics Regatta Principal Race Officer, Tim Hancock, to call a short delay shoreside to let the sun burn through and leave a simply stunning day for all. Posted on 31 May
Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 Day 1
Perfect Solent Conditions The Solent shimmered and glistened under early summer sunshine and with a brisk building Force 3-4 westerly wind over tide initially before the turn mid-afternoon, the racing areas of Hill Head and Osborne Bay offered near-perfect conditions. Posted on 31 May
Poole Week Revitalised For 2025
New race teams and new courses for the summer's big event How do you make a great sailing week even better, without losing the elements that have always made it a great sailing week? Posted on 24 May
Enter now for Chichester Harbour Race Week
Last year nearly 600 competitors in 383 boats attended Book your place at the biggest dinghy and keelboat regatta in the UK! With the website open, you can now reserve your place in this year's 'must attend' event. Starting on Monday 11th August, ending on 15th. Posted on 24 May
Cowes Classics Regatta countdown is on
A week away, and late entries are coming in thick and fast across all divisions We are just one week away now from the start of the Royal London Yacht Club's flagship event - the Cowes Classics Regatta 2025 - and as ever, late entries are coming thick and fast across all the divisions. Posted on 23 May
Rooster are Clothing Partner of Poole Regatta
2026 is shaping up to be the largest in the event's history Rooster, the well-known watersports clothing and accessories manufacturer is to become the Official Clothing Partner of the International Paint Poole Regatta 2026. Posted on 22 May
Hyde Sails Flying Fifteen Video Tuning Guide
Ben McGrane explains how to get the most out of your B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs Hyde Sails release new detailed video guide for tuning the Flying 15 for use with the B1 mainsail with B1 or 2H jibs. Posted on 22 May
Final call for event delivery to Looe
The P&B and Zhik Fireball Nationals takes place this weekend The P&B and Zhik Fireball Nationals take place at Looe Sailing Club this weekend, the fleet's looking strong, as are the conditions! If you need an order taking we can arrange that for you. Posted on 22 May