Early Sunday morning and as expected, a southerly 20kts was duly in place. However all the forecasts suggested it would drop off by mid morning and enable Race Officer Scorie Walls get everyone onto the water for 11am first gun.
No such luck. No worries though as there was plenty of tea and cake to help take the mind off the hanging around - parents and sailors alike. Scorie and her team headed to the bay on the Committee boat to monitor the weather. With no sign of the expected drop off in breeze, Plan A soon gave way to Plan B with a proposal to start Mirrors and Oppi on the Club line along with Oppi novice fleet. But with the wind still showing no sign of letting up in the bay a decision was made to move all fleets to a start off the Club line.
With her team at this stage back on shore, Scorie and Jim Lambkin prepared the balcony area for starting all fleets. Racing needed to be underway by 1:30 latest if we were to get a race concluded before tide dropped off. Soon all bar the Oppi Novice Fleet were being launched.
First out was Paul McNally in an IDRA, a pathfinder eagerly watched by waiting sailors and worried parents alike. A few decided it was not for them but before long the waters in front of the club were filled with 50+ boats across all the fleets. There would be time to set one course for one race. A beat out to Martello, a reach to Dan and then a long run down the Creek to Spit with a good beat back to the club.
For many parents, watching the start of each fleet from the Club balcony was an experience in itself. The water around the start-line was churned up with the heavy wind and the boats completing pre-start manoeuvres. With plenty of capsizes the Rescue crews did a fantastic job in helping recover boats and crews without getting in the way of pre-start timed runs and the usual ducking and diving. One parent from Malahide was heard to comment that this was better than any TV!
In amongst all the seniors the young Mirror and Oppi sailors were not holding back. From the balcony, the starts were a spectacle not often visible to parents and supporters. Given the conditions, the Rescue crews were all kept on their toes, with capsizes a-plenty, a small number of breakages, a few groundings and more than a few retirals.
Sutton Dinghy Club would like to thank again those Rib owners and crews from Malahide, Clontarf and HYC as well as the 8 crews from SDC for making themselves available and without whom none of this racing could have taken place. Back to the racing and there were some great battles taking place. With IDRA nationals next week, 2 of Suttons leading lights Alan Henry and Alan Carr took top spots from 2 of Clontarfs best in Killian Sargent and Pat O'Neill. In Lasers, the Malahide team arrived meaning business and a superb effort saw Orlagh Thompson take honours from clubmates Sean Anglim, Thomas Natin and Vinnie Costelloe. However pride of place must go to young Oppi sailors, with probably the smallest competitor Daniel Hopkins (HYC) winning the closest of races. Just look at picture 105 on the website to see Daniel just pip Philip McDowell from Malahide on the line. This was one heck of a race with the rest of the fleet not too far behind them. Isabelle Cahill (HYC) just pipped Suttons own Darragh Kelly and Hugh Perette for 3rd but this was a great effort in very tough conditions from all of this young fleet.
Good luck next week in the Optimist Nationals in Howth.
And so another Sutton Dinghy Club Regatta successfully concluded for another year, with the sailors and their families sharing hard-luck stories, enjoying the food, the chat and the prize-giving. Maybe not exactly how we had planned it but there aren't many Race Officers that can have a Plan C up their sleeve, let alone get a chance to use it and carry it off!
The Club extends a big thank you to all members and volunteers who gave their time in preparing for and running the event and we look forward to welcoming all visitors back to do it all again next year.