First Irish Melges 15 Fleet Races are Sailed on Dublin Bay

A gentle breeze and sunshine got the new Melges 15 fleet off to the perfect start on Dublin Bay on Wednesday. With sailors still working out settings, tensions, and even basic rigging, a nice soft breeze was just what the doctor ordered.

Four windward-leeward races were completed, with former All-American sailors Scotia Ryer and Mike Huang putting down an early marker for the season with three race wins.

As always, good starts and clean air makes the rest of the race easy! Rian Geraghty-McDonnell and Katie Sheehy took the other race win.

The new Irish Melges 15 class sailors at the Royal St. George Yacht Club after the first night's racing on Dublin Bay 

The three father-son combinations sailing locked out the middle of the fleet show that family ties aren’t always the strongest.

Despite the light wind, the top speed recorded on the night was 10,6 knots, and the fleet look forward to testing the boat in more typical Bay breezes.

As Afloat reported in January, the Melges 15 dinghy is a new double-handed dinghy taking the US by storm that has its first European fleet on Dublin Bay. John Sheehy of the Royal Saint George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour leads the class launch