05 Jun Dinghy Racing – Brooklands Cup (Weekend Series race 1)
Only in Cork Harbour… On Friday evening the cruisers were becalmed at Cuskinny in a balmy 21 degrees. On Saturday afternoon it was heavy rain, strong winds, cold and choppy seas that greeted Cove’s dinghy racers as they arrived expectantly for their first race of the season.
The Brooklands Cup is traditionally raced over a course from Cobh to Ballinacurra and it was unfortunate that the conditions were such that it was decided to run this years race in the relative shelter of the Oyster Bank in order to avoid another postponement. A salty old seadog with a Rankin at the ready was heard grumbling that we’re too soft these days but in the circumstances it seemed the only option to guarantee a finished race.
An upwind/downwind course was laid with class 2 dinghies completing 3 rounds and the class 1 dinghies 4 rounds. By the time the race started the wind and rain had eased although by that time everyone and everything was soaked through so there was little relief felt. That said, all boats coped very well with the conditions and the Cove Juniors showed how competitive they are becoming as they jostled for positions at the start.
Results & prizegiving was held in Cove’s dinghy park and congratulations to everyone who took part and especially Cian Twomey who took first place in the class 2 dinghies and Ewan Barry’s National 18 “The good, the bad and the ugly” for winning class 1. Full results to follow shortly.

Richard Marshall presents the class 2 trophy to Cian Twomey.
The other significant news was that this marked the first time out on the water for Cove’s new committee boat “Irene”. Tremendous work by John Doyle, supported by Brendan Ryan, Pat Bruton, John Stoat, and others means the club now has it’s very own OD Boat and on the day she proved to be very capable and easy to manage. Hopefully we’ll see her in use every week now for both the cruisers and dinghies and she should prove to be a significant asset to the club.
Dinghy racing continues Wednesday evening with the start of the midweek league. Please check the dinghy race schedule (see below). All participants are reminded to complete the entry form and hand it in before going out on the water to ensure you get a result. All Welcome.
Dinghy Racing Calendar (click here)
Cove Sailing Club Dinghy Racing Entry Form 2012 (click here to download)
If you would like to know more please contact the Dinghy Race Committee (Dave Doyle, Derry Allister, Brendan Ryan, Richard Marshall, Kieran Dorgan, Gareth Dorgan, Adrian Tyler or email info@covesailingclub.ie).
Any other club members able to get involved and help with OD duties, or provide general on-shore support (even as a once-off ) should also get in contact as this is a major commitment by Cove to strengthen the dinghy racing side of our club and any additional support we can get over the summer months would be gratefully received.