Numbers hold up for DBSC summer series

SAILING:THE MOST remarkable thing about Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) is not that it is one of Europe's biggest, Ireland's busiest or that 2011 marks the club's 128th season. It's more that, in the current climate, the club – which has no clubhouse – appears to have escaped the ravages of the "R" word.

In a shot in the arm for bay sailing, there is no reported drop in DBSC entries at a time when individual waterfront clubs are struggling to hold members.

A total of 390 boats across 15 fleets are preparing to come to the line off Dun Laoghaire for the first race of the DBSC summer series on Tuesday week.

The biggest DBSC fleet is Cruisers III, a mix of 37 types to include quarter-tonners, J24s and eight or nine Sonatas.

The SB3 sports boat maintains its fleet of 34 and therefore its place as the biggest one-design class on the bay.

Formed in 1884 with humble ambitions for small-boat racing, DBSC has remained true to these roots but grown with the popularity of the sport here and become the de facto club racing organisation for the capital’s dinghies and cruisers, organising racing five nights per week from April to October.

Since the marina arrived in 2001 the club has also organised winter fixtures, thereby giving itself a year round remit.

It organises club racing for all four of Dun Laoghaire’s clubs plus an increasing number of those who have opted out of yacht club membership to sail instead from the town’s public marina.

The rise in numbers though, particularly on Thursday evenings, led to growing pains, and last season an experiment to split the fleet to remove congestion at certain marks proved successful.

The red fleet and blue fleet divisions remain, but there are more improvements slated for this season, including a second committee boat on the water.

Inevitably the move means the end of a Dublin Bay institution, for Thursday nights at least. The West Pier starting hut, in operation since 1968, will disappear except for use in very heavy weather.

The club’s MacLir committee boat will be servicing the blue fleet in the northern section, while the Royal Irish Yacht Club’s Spirit of the Irish vessel will service the red fleet in the southeast section.

Other changes afloat have required redrafting courses and relocating some marks. Omega mark has moved from not far from the West Pier to serve as a hub for the red fleet marks which, with the addition of a new Bay mark, form a natural circle. Similarly, Middle mark becomes the hub of the blue fleet circle.

Consequently, other marks have moved‚ though the only radical change is that of Poldy, which was too close to the shipping lane for comfort; it will now be roughly between East and Island marks. Martello mark is now redundant.

The first Tuesday race is April 26th; Thursday’s begin April 28th and the Saturday series that weekend.

A new body that claims it will ensure the continuation of youth sail training was officially opened in Dublin Port yesterday.

The new Sail Training Ireland for Youth Development (STIYD) was opened by Nigel Rowe, president of Sail Training International (STI). Rowe said STI had awarded STIYD a bursary of €10,000 to help fund the participation of young Irish trainees in the Tall Ships Races which call to Waterford in June.