Heavy winds and big seas played a major role on the second day of the SIAC Construction Squib National Championships at Howth Yacht Club with almost a third of the 37-boat fleet forced to retire with gear damage during the three races sailed.
Local boat ‘Whipper Snapper’ (Fergus O’Kelly/Jonathan Wormald) clearly revelled in the conditions to post two bullets and a 5th to move up to 5th overall while a first and two second places gives overall leaders Ross Nolan and Gordon Patterson of RNIYC in ‘Quickstep III’ a healthy 8 points margin after six races.
The day started perfectly for the Howth pair, finishing ahead of the pace-setters from Cultra and another RNIYC entry ‘Fagin’ (Michael & David Hill) and they finished on a high note by leading the same boat in the third race. In between, the Nolan/Patterson partnership took line honours ahead of clubmates David Eccles and Philip Hutchinson (Inshallah) and the leading Howth entry Kerfuffle (Jonathan Craig & Hazel Ruane).
The end result is that with just one race remaining on the schedule, Nolan and Patterson are virtually assured of the title, lying eight points clear of nearest challengers Eccles & Hutchinson, with Craig/Ruane and defending champions Peter Wallace/Kerry Boomer of RNIYC tying for 4th overall.
