Day one of the Bandon Co-op Squib National championships in Kinsale started in a strong 16kt northern breeze with significant gusts.

The Traditional Practice race gave visitors a good beat and run across the racecourse before Race 1 officially got underway.

The record will show that it was Kinsale locals Colm Dunne and Rob Gill won the ‘Practice’ race in Allegro.

They stayed out to the right side and came home ahead of Portsmouth’s Joe Henry and Roly Wilson in Bacchante VII. 3rd were last year’s UK national champions in Harry VI, Mike Budd and Mark Greaves.

After a short break things got serious and the fleet launched off the start line at the first attempt.

The wind had eased slightly to 14kts and Race officer Peter Crowley and his team set a 3-round windward /leeward course.

A three-round windward/leeward course was deployed for the first race of the Squib championships Photo: Bob Bateman

First to the windward mark was Lady Penelope, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Carley who held the lead from start to finish and won Race 1 of this year’s Combined Championships, a number of the hot favourites were in their slipstream with a number of positional jockeying going on showing that the rest of the week is sure to be a hotly contested event.

The final run sorted the positions and it was the UK’s RCYC from Burnham that had the podium 1,2,3.

Following Lady Penelope was Lucky Counts, Jono Brown and Chris Agar whilst 3rd was Spoof helmed by Micky Wright and crewed by Alex Porteous.

The Irish Championship leader overnight is Allegro, followed By Outlaw with regatta Director Ian Travers and Keith O Riordan, and local Commodore Matthias Hellstern helmed Fifty Shades with Colm Daly crewing.

Results are here

Squib Photo Gallery Day One by Bob Bateman

The Bandon Co-Op-sponsored week-long British & Irish Squib Nationals getting underway this weekend in Kinsale - with the first racing on Sunday, June 19th - is an eloquent example of the imaginative thinking that is needed to get sailing back to post-pandemic normality. Or maybe it’s some sort of new normality.

Whatever, the notion that we can emerge from paralysis by combining formerly constrained major fixtures seems to be working in this case, with 58 top entries. They’re drawn from all the Squib racing centres in Ireland and the main ones in England and Wales, the furthest travelled being from Suffolk on the East Coast and Portsmouth in the south. Their efforts, in particular, look like being rewarded, as the ten-day forecasts are suggesting that next week will see a fair effort at real summer in Ireland, but across in England, they’ll be under their own private low-pressure area, with much rain to match.

Kinsale Harbour is at the heart of The Land Flowing in Milk and Honey, and next week’s championship may provide appropriate summer weather for its full enjoyment

Kinsale meanwhile may well be firmly in line next week for the contest for Central HQ of the Land of Milk and Honey and Sunny Summertime Stakes. And that - combined with the picturesque port’s reputation for hospitality and the sponsorship of a multi-faceted locally-based agri-business – will give some idea of the developing flavour of an event in which the notable camaraderie of the Squib class will interact dynamically with the special venue’s unique sense of itself.

For although the Squib Class in Ireland – headed by the affable Class President Robert Marshall of Killyleagh on Strangford Lough – seems to be a by-word for amiable sport, that’s just a matter of keeping to the spirit of this attractive little 19th keelboat. In fact, they race at least as competitively as anyone else, but it’s regarded as distinctly un-Squibbish to give the impression of trying too hard.

While the Squib Class may like to project a laid-back approach, they race as hard and close as anyone else

Thus in order to deal with a fleet of 58 hot crews determined to get in as much competitive racing as they can while appearing to be simply going out for some agreeable sailing with a spot of racing thrown in, Organising Committee Chairman Ian Travers and his team, with Fiona Sugrue-Ward looking after communications, have been building up a formidable corps of volunteers to ensure that all the various logistical challenges are calmly met, while the legendary Peter Crowley – former RCYC Admiral and ISA President – is in the key role of Senior Race Officer.

As for the competition, while there were restricted-movement British Nationals at Abersoch in Wales and an Irish Championship at Killyleagh in 2021, the mood for the class in Ireland going into the winter lockdown was set at the Freshwater Regatta on Lough Derg in October when – after some great sport – “See you in Kinsale in June” was the parting greeting, and so it has come to pass.

Lough Derg is another Irish centre whee the fleet is growing, in this case at LDYC at Dromineer. Photo: W M Nixon

On current form, Gordon Patterson & Ross Nolan of Royal North of Ireland YC at Cultra on Belfast Lough with Fagin seem to be continuing their good form of 2021 as we look at 2022’s early results. But Dick and Pam Batt of Chichester Harbour – no strangers to racing with the Irish fleet – are always a force to be reckoned with, as are Kinsale’s Colm Dunne & Rob Gill, and Ian Travers himself.

Kinsale combines history with modern amenities – Squibs racing past the harbour guardian of Charlesfort. Photo: Robert Bateman

But after the pandemic shrinkage, 58 boats is a large and strong fleet. It’s going to be fascinating seeing who emerges from the pack. And if we sought a vivid example of the colourful diversity of Irish sailing, we need look no further than next week, when the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race all round our coast, and the Bandon Co-Op Squib Championship at Kinsale, are taking place at precisely the same time.

Squib entry list here

Killyleagh Yacht Club on the western shore of Strangford Lough recently hosted the Squib Northerns and a fleet of 18 enjoyed five races under Race Officer Scott Rogers and his team in challenging conditions over the two days.

Overall winners were Gordon Patterson and Ross Nolan from Royal North of Ireland YC on Belfast Lough.

Gordon Patterson (left) with crew Ross Nolan (right)

Competitors from as far away as Holyhead in Wales, Kinsale, Lough Derg, Dublin Bay and the Isle of Wight joined the northern locals in the event which saw four boats notching up wins but apart from Race 2 which Patterson discarded, Fagin finished consistently in the first six to win by one point from Granat (David Stewart and Brian Hare) from Royal Irish.

In light winds on the Saturday morning, race 1 got underway with Granat taking 1st place, closely followed by Simon Watson’s Volante from the home club.

After a wind shift, race 2 got under way with the sailmaker Dick Batt from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in the Isle of Wight taking first in Squib followed by the consistent Volante, Batt scored another first in Race 3, first making him the overnight leader. Second in that race was KYC’s Stephen Stewart in Second Chance. So, it was all to play for on the Sunday.

Squibs race downwind at the Northern Championships at Killyleagh

Major wind shifts resulted in postponements on Sunday morning and when racing did get under way it was the Royal North boats on form with Gregg Bell and Jayne Kearney in Prodigal taking a win closely followed by the host club’s David Hanna in Blue and the Royal Irish Granat. So, it was all down to the last race and in a steady consistent breeze Patterson and Nolan led from the start to take a well-deserved first, closely followed by clubmates John Miller and Gary Watson in Tamerlane. Overall runners up were Stewart and Hare with Bell and Kearney third.

This event was a valuable rehearsal for the big 56 boat National Championships in Kinsale in June with eight Northern competitors travelling to that event in which the racing will take place between the Old Head of Kinsale and the Sovereigns Islands.

And Killyleagh Yacht Club would like to thank everyone for their generosity in donating £600 to the Wave Project which is a charity which helps young people reduce anxiety and improve confidence through Surf Therapy.

The Robotic Mowers Cork One-Design Keelboat Regatta is on Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May 2022 in Kinsale Yacht Club.

The regatta is open to Squib and Dragon keelboats. It is an open event and KYC is looking forward to welcoming entrants from Glandore Harbour Yacht Club.

Six races are scheduled over the two days, and they will be sailed in the waters between the Old Head and the Sovereign Islands.

Download the NOR below.

The Squib Outlaw sailed by Ian Travers and Keith O'Riordan were the overall winners of the Custom Rigging Frostbites at Kinsale Yacht Club yesterday in a mix of conditions that included some heavy squalls. 

After 12 races sailed, and with a four-point winning margin, Travers and O'Riordan beat clubmates Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward sailing Allegro for victory in the 13-boat fleet. 

Third was Fifty Shades sailed by KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly

There was no Topper or March league racing at Kinsale yesterday.

Results here

Bob Bateman's Squib Frostbites Photo Gallery

After nine races sailed at Kinsale Yacht Club's Custom Rigging Frostbites Series, Ian Travers and Keith O'Riordan took three wins yesterday in Outlaw to lead overall by a single point.

The duo lead Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward in the 13-boat fleet. 

Full results here

In the smaller six boat Topper dinghy division, Matt Maplebeck has a 13 point lead over Lucy Foster.

Full results here

After six races sailed at Kinsale Yacht Club's Custom Rigging Frostbites Series, Colm Dunne and Fiona Ward in Allegro lead by three points.

The duo lead KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern and Colm Daly in the 13-boat fleet. Third is Ian Travers and Keith O'Riordan on 12 points.

Full results here

The series got back on track on Sunday after losing two consecutive days of racing due to bad weather.

In the smaller six boat Topper dinghy division, Matt Maplebeck leads from Lucy Foster.

Full results here

The Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Squib fleet had their annual prizegiving at the National Yacht Club on 25 February 2022.

The two-man keelboat fleet say they expect to increase the number of boats competing in Dublin Bay for 2022 by one or two above the number for 2021.

Prizewinners were as follows:

The Royal St. George Offshore Trophy was originally presented by Billy Mooney in 1963 to the winner of the Royal Ocean Racing Club Irish Sea race. Some time later the RORC declared that Wales was too close to Ireland and that the Irish Sea no longer qualified as an Ocean and that Offshore Ocean races could no longer take part there. The trophy is engraved with famous yacht names as Korsar, Tritch-Tratsch, Finndabar of Howth, Swuzzlebubble and Moonduster.

The trophy was represented to the Squibs in 2006 and is now awarded to the Squib which competes in the most regional events and was won by Dave Stewart and Brian Hare of the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Granat which competed in Howth at the East Coast Championship and at Dromineer in the Inland Championship.

Tonia McAllister from Pintail

The Lucky Wooden Block is awarded to anybody who has an unlucky incident during the year like falling overboard 50 yards from the finish line. It was awarded to Tonia McAllister who didn't fall overboard!

The Cocktail Shaker was presented by Alf Delany in 2006. He originally won this trophy in 1930 with a powerboat called Hold Everythin’ which was about 3m. long and had a 100 horse-power Johnson engine screwed onto the back. That event was organised by the North Dublin Motor Boat Club (which no longer exists) and racing took place between the Bull Island and the mainland at Dollymount. Today the trophy is awarded to the most successful Squib in the twenty-six Saturday races of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club- Green Fleet and was awarded to Noel Colclough and Rupert Westrup in Periquin.

Avril Mullett and Vincent Delany from Allsorts

The Eamon Leahy Memorial trophy was awarded to the most successful Squib in the seven Thursday evening races organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club in Scotsman's Bay and was awarded to Allsorts which is owned by Avril Mullet and her dad Tony Mullet and steered by Vincent Delany.

Race Officers John and Valerie Stallard and Michele Kennelly got the first races of the Custom Rigging Kinsale Yacht Club League off to a gentle start in a patchy 10-knots on Sunday. 

The first day of scheduled racing was last Sunday but was blown out so 11 eager crews were keen to get in practice for the Bandon Co-Op Squib National Championships. 

Racing was also provided for Topper dinghies.

Photo gallery below

It’s a long way for crew and boats to travel from Belfast Lough and Strangford Lough to Kinsale but eight from the northern-based Squib class will be making that 300 mile trip in June for the eight-race Bandon Co-Op Squib Nationals which will incorporate the Irish Squib National Championship.

At least, as Robert Marshall of Killyleagh says, it’s easier than travelling to Cowes.

The Kinsale event featured in WM Nixon's Afloat column on Saturday here where he described the event as being an "ideal launching pad for Ireland’s reviving international sailing scene In 2022".

From the 14 strong Royal North fleet on Belfast Lough there will be Fagin, Second Chance, Prodigal, Toy for the Boys and Jumini and of the eight Killyeagh boats on Strangford Lough will be Slipstream, Firecracker and Volante.

Robert Marshall and Neil Logan in Slipstream

The RNIYC based Squibs competing are Gordon Patterson and Ross Nolan in Fagin, Steven Stewart in Second Chance, Greg Bell and Jane Kearney, who have been runners-up in the Irish championship; Toy for the Boys with new pairing Peter Wallace and Kinsale local Fiona Ward as well as Ross Kearney and his cousin Charles (Woo) Kearney who will defend their Championship title in Jumini.

From Killyleagh, there will be Robert Marshall (Chairman of the Irish Squib Class) and Neil Logan in Slipstream, Simon Watson and Jordy Withers in Volante and Steven Bridges and Mathew Bolton in Firecracker.

Squib 146 Greg Bell's Prodigal

Robert Marshall is looking forward to the 2022 competition; “It's a big year for Squibs in Ireland with the combined Irish and UK nationals being held in Kinsale. Entries from both Killyleagh and Royal North at Cultra are eagerly awaiting the start gun to sound for the battle to commence.

Killyleagh is hosting a spring series 16/4 to 7/5 followed by the Squib Northern championship on 14/15 May at Killyleagh Yacht Club. There is quite s buzz around the class already and it’s only January. Good times are nearly upon us - great sailing and good craic with the best class in Ireland”.