Squibs from all over Ireland converged on Lough Derg Yacht Club at Dromineer at the weekend. Three came from the Royal North of Ireland in Belfast Lough, two from Killyleagh Yacht Club on Strangford Lough, two from Royal St George Yacht Club, and one from Royal Irish Yacht Club and one from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, One from Howth Yacht Club, three from Kinsale Yacht Club, one from Galway Bay Sailing Club and plenty of Squibs from the home club. Only for a huge rugby funeral, there would have been many more boats from Kinsale. All in all, the entry of 20 Squibs equalled the Irish Championship in Kinsale a few weeks earlier.

Racing on Saturday was held on Lough Derg in the racing area North of the Corrikeen Islands, with windward-leeward courses. Initially there was almost no wind, so competitors paddled to the race area, and racing was postponed till a force two breeze from the south-south-east kicked in. In race one ‘The Worm’ sailed by Sam Lyness and Erk Heyes from RNIYC played the shifty wind and flat water to their advantage, to win the first race from Jack and Jill Roy’s ‘Kanaloa’ from NYC and ‘Fuggles’ sailed by Jeffs Condell and Cochrane who were using the new ‘Olimpic Sails.’ These prototype Squib sails depend on really bar tight rigging, unlike the normal set up for Squibs.

By race two the wind had swung to the south-east, again was light and shifty. This time the order was ‘The Worm’, ‘Fuggles’ and Gordon Patterson and Ross Nolan’s ‘Quickstep III.’
There was a quick break, for lunch afloat. By race three the wind was in the east, with the windward mark near the Tipperary shore. ‘Quickstep III’ skilfully handled the shifting winds, which were particularly trickey near the windward mark, and won from ‘The Worm’ and Simon Watson and Brian Kelly’s ‘Volante’ from Killyleagh.

‘The Worm’ nailed the start of the fourth race, with the same wind strength and direction, and held a decent lead from the fighting pack behind. It was Judy Hamilton and Vincent Delany’s ‘Greeb’ who stole second place from ‘Volante’ and ‘Quickstep’. This was the significant result which decided the championship.

On Saturday evening the Lough Derg club, and The Whiskey Still’s hospitality lived up to their reputations. ‘The Worm’ allegedly downed more gin and tonics than his overnight racing score.
On Sunday the forecast was for fourteen knots gusting to twenty-seven knots. Racing was held near Ryan’s Point, with the windward mark off Urra. This would test the skills of the sailors. In the first race the wind only got up to about 12 knots. ‘Quichstep III’ took the gun (in a race with winds shifting up to twenty degrees), from Des Clayton and Paul Henry in ‘Inismara’ in what was almost a photo finish. ‘The Worm’ took fifth place which was enough to give him the championship.

By the final race the wind, as forecast, was very gusty, which allowed the Squibs to plane on the running legs, and produced a few spectacular broaches. This time it was ‘Fuggles’ which won from ‘Quickstep’ and Colm Dunne and Emmet Ryans ‘Allegro’.

Thanks go to Commodore David Meredith and his team for organising a great regatta, and to Lt. Cdr. John Leech for acting as OOD in difficult conditions.

For full results see below.

Only three points separated the top three overall in yesterday's Bandon Co-op Irish National Squib Championships 2016 at Kinsale Yacht Club.

After six races sailed and one discard Cian and Finbarr O'Regan's local entry was the overall winner by a single point from Royal North of Ireland's John Driscoll and David Cagney.

Third overall was another KYC entry, Fuggles sailed by Jeff Condell Jeff Cochrane.  

The 20–boat fleet inlcuded entries from Killyleagh YC, Royal Ulster and Lough Derg YC and Howth Yacht Club but none from the Dun Laoghaire fleet

Results are downloadable below.

#Squib - Poor weather forecast for this weekend has prompted Kinsale Yacht Club to postpone the scheduled Squib Nationals till 1-2 October.

Seven races had been planned for the Old Head of Kinsale and the Sovereign Islands in what would be the club's third time hosting the event, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The club has also pushed back the annual Mary P trophy race till Saturday 27 August on account of the wet and windy outlook for this weekend.

Kinsale Yacht Club host the Irish Squib National Championships for the third time in August. They hosted it first on 2008 and again in 2013 when KYC members James and Bruce Mathews in Mucky Duck took the title.
Seven races are planned between the Old Head of Kinsale and the Sovereign Islands in the Bandon Co–Op Sponsored event. Last year, the Irish title went to UK visitors, father and son crew Nigel and Jack Grogan of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham–on–Crouch, when the event was sailed at Howth Yacht Club. 

With the leaders in both the Squib and Laser fleets away today the Kinsale Yacht Club Frostbite title was up for the taking. There was no wind at all on the course and so the AP was flown. At 11.25am the decision was made to start, wind was out of the West, about 4 – 5 knots. However it soon became apparent that what little wind there was had faded away, with only 1 boat near the windward mark after 20 mins PRO, John Stallard, called for the N flag and the race was abandoned. Thus began the wait...... It was bitterly cold on the water and the laser fleet decided to abandon the racing and the 4 headed back to shore. Not so the Squib Class – with at least two boats in the running they were anxious to get some racing in.
All marks were lifted and the N over A were about to be hoisted when John called “stop”. Eureka – the wind was filling in from the South East. Finally at 12.50pm – after over 2 hours on the water we got the racing underway. Viking Gold, Jeff Condell & Nigel Dann, were held down at the pin end allowing Sedition, Neil Prendeville & Dominic Falvey, and Fagin, Cian & Finbarr O’Regan, clean starts. Sedition sailed a great beat and got to the windward mark first, closely followed by Fagin and Viking Gold. However Fagin and Viking Gold took advantage of Sedition having to go around the spreader mark again and set off down the run. Viking Gold took a lower line than Fagin and had to gybe for the mark, this allowed Fagin to extend his lead. John Stanley & Alastair Christie in Bateleur passed Sedition at the first windward mark and managed to stay ahead to take 3rd place.
The wind was now a steady 8 – 9 knots out of the SE and so at 13.23hrs a second race, this time with 3 laps of the course, got underway. Both Fagin and Viking Gold got caught by tide at the line which slowed their starts. Fagin tacked under Viking Gold and went up the right side of the course while Viking Gold stayed more to the left. Bateleur got a clean start and was following Fagin up the right. Fagin made the windward mark in the lead, Bateleur and Viking Gold were very close but some tactical tacking by Bateleur secured him the mark and he started down the run ahead. Fagin was in clear command of this race and now Bateleur and Viking Gold were battling for 2nd place. Bateleur took the higher line on the run and gybed early, which paid off and he was lifting in to the mark on port at speed while Viking Gold was gybing. This ensured a 2nd for Bateleur and Viking Gold came in 3rd. Fagin had done enough to take the overall title, Allegro came 2nd and Viking Gold was 3rd .
Many thanks from the Fleets to Bruce and June Matthews for not only sponsoring the event but also providing the committee boat, Destiny. To all the volunteers, both on Destiny and on the ribs many thanks from all the sailors who thoroughly enjoyed the event. Looking forward to the season ahead.
The Irish Squib National Championships are on in Kinsale this year. See you all 19 – 21st August for some excellent racing in the waters outside Kinsale Harbour.

The third week of the Frostbites in Kinsale Yacht Club was run under testing conditions today. When the Committee Boat, got to the racing area there was barely 5 knots of breeze, compounded by the fact that it was out of the NE and there was a very strong tide ebbing, the windward leg was definitely challenging for the competitors.
9 Squibs were on the start line. 1st race saw Viking Gold, Jeff Condell and Jeff Cochrane, trying hard to hold his position at the Committee Boat end of the line but he got pushed OCS and had to go around. Allegro, Colm Dunne and Rob Gill and Fagin, Cliodhna and Finbarr O’Regan, were neck and neck for the first two legs. Colm came down on starboard on a higher line, Cliodhna ran a more direct line to the mark. However Colm jibed onto port and reached in at speed to take the mark and this was to prove a decisive move in the race. Viking Gold put in a great race and despite the recall managed to overhaul the fleet to take 3rd.
The wind picked up to 8 – 10 knots for the next 2 races which made the challenging beat a little easier. Allegro took command from the start by finding clean air on the line. Fagin and Viking Gold were tick tacking for 2nd place. John Stanley and Alastair Christie on Bateleur and Denis and Brid Cudmore on Sensation were not far behind. Fagin rounded the leeward mark ahead and secured 2nd. Viking Gold decided to come up to the finish line on the left side of the course and this paid off by securing him 3rd place ahead of Sensation and Bateleur.
The final race again saw an OCS, this time Fagin got squeezed over the line and had to come around. Allegro and Viking Gold both got clear starts, Allegro rounded the windward mark first and managed to hold the lead for the rest of the race. Bateleur rounded the windward mark in 3rd and had a very strong race. Despite the recall Fagin picked off the fleet one by one and with some serious hiking by Finbarr and great helming by Cliodhna just managed to get ahead of Bateleur on the last tack to the line to take 3rd. Next week Allegro is away so Viking Gold and Fagin have it all to play for.
The Laser Fleet saw only 3 competitors today as 1st & 2nd in the series are away training. Mathias Hellstern took command of each of the races to take 3 bullets, Chris Baker put in a steady performance to come 2nd each race with Nic Bendon taking 3rd. Hopefully next week will see a larger turnout of Lasers.

Lough Derg Yacht Club's freshwater regatta completed the 2015 one design season for the SB20s, Flying Fifteens, (see our earlier report here) and Dragons last weekend. The Squib class also counted the inland event as a Midland Championships.

With a combined turnout of 54–boats across the four classes and some tight races on Lough Derg there were some noteworthy winners including a second overall for debutante Squib campaigner (and London 2012 International Race Officer) Jack Roy sailing with daughter Jill. Squib winners, with by far the biggest fleet of 25 boats, were Jeff Condell and Jeff Cochran.

Full results for all classes below.

The top Irish Squib at July's British Isles Championships in Howth has won the 11-boat Squib Irish East Coast Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club at the weekend. Afficionado sailed by John Driscoll and David Cagney of the Royal North Ireland Yacht Club beat club–mates Gordon Patterson and Ross Nolan. Third in the five race, one discard series was Royal St. George's Jill Fleming and Conor O'Leary. Full results downloadable below. 

#squib – A three-way tie at the top of the 2015 Squib Nationals leaderboard was settled in favour of David Jones and Mark Hogan from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club writes Emmet Dalton. Saturday's final race was led from start to finish by the duo. That race saw the second overall going to their clubmates Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. The champagne-splashed podium was completed by Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

On the final day, Principal Race Officer, David Lovegrove, set the fleet off under the U-Flag penalty system after some misbehaving during the first attempt. The 20kt southeasterly breeze in glorious Howth sunshine, with five 1,700m windward legs, made sure that the crews got their bang for buck. Without exception, "Squib Arse" was suffered by hard-hiking sailors! The visiting sailors would later express their gratitude to David for his skill and engagement with a fleet that enjoyed his communicative banter on the VHF all during the week.

The event was made all the more epic by the championship dinner. Even the traditional Howth Seventeen Footer Class would have been impressed by the array of precious metals and rare timbers presented. Top Irish boat was "Aficionado" (RNIYC), hard driven by John Driscoll and David Cagney to 9th place. The leading HYC Squib was the super-slippery "Kerfuffle" in the hands of Emmet Dalton and Neal Merry which ended the week in 22nd place.

Woe betide anyone who thinks that grey (or no) hair indicates an easy crew to pass. Such was the quality of the fleet that one previous champion noted that he would have been happy to end up in the top ten at the end of the week!

Howth looked fabulous in a week of sun and the competitors enjoyed a warm welcome from the members and fabulous food and service. So good was the championship dinner that the Squib Association Chairman announced that it was the best meal at any Squib Championships in 40 years! That opinion was roundly applauded by the 130 guests.

Thanks was also expressed to the Race Office team, Orla Sweeney, Dara and Lara Jameson, Emma Inglis and Alice Kissane and to the ever-watchful Fergus O'Kelly and his group of friendly tape-wielding equipment inspectors for ensuring that each boat complied with the rules.

Launching, berthing and retrieval of the boats was coordinated like a North Korean political rally by Pat McCaughey. Slick!

Finally, the top speed of the week was shared by "Alchemy" from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club and Howth's "Kerfuffle" both hitting 10.2kts during Monday's screaming reaches. 

Additional reporting Vincent Delany

SQUIB NATIONALS 2015- day 6- Final Day.

The level and depth of talent in the 49 boat National Squib fleet was seen in today's race off Ireland's Eye at Howth. The wind was between 15 and 20 knots from the south-east. The outcome of the Squib Championship 2015 was yet to be decided. The three leading contenders being Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay from R.C.Y.C. in 'Lady Penelope', on 12 points, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C., in 'Banshee', on 14 points, and David Jones and Mark Hogan, from S.C.Y.C. in 'Ric O'Shea', on 20 points. Which of these talented sailors had the ability to pull the championship out of the bag?
Unusually, the scoring system used allowed for two discards in eight race series. Would the winner be an older boat such as 'Banshee', no.65, or 'Ric O'Shea', no.136, or would it be the newer boat, 'Lady Penelope', no. 819? There was another significant variable in the mix, would the winner use Batt Sails or Hyde Sails? 'Ric O'Shea' is the only one of the three to use a complete wardrobe of Batt Sails the others only use Hyde Sails.
The course selected by race officer Dick Lovegrove was Course Number Two, a windward-leeward race of with five beats of 1.7km. each. The sea conditions were a little 'lumpy', and the tide was due to change mid-race.
On the start line the tide was flowing against the Squibs, which enabled the fleet to start on their first attempt, without recourse to the 'U' flag, which had been used for most of the races earlier in the week. The race officer did not use the dreaded 'black flag' at any race this week.
On the first beat against the tide it was 'Ric O'Shea' which appeared to get the bit between their teeth. The wind was steady in strength and direction, so it was a boatspeed race. At the first windward mark 'Ric-O-Shea' led from Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in 'Alchemy'. The locally Howth based 'Too Dee' sailed by Dave and Simon Sheahan rounded the mark within the top six boats. 'Banshee' rounded in about eighth place and 'Lady Penelope' about five places behind. These two had a lot of work to do, it was going to be a long nine mile race. On each round 'Ric O'Shea' sailed to her pre-determined tactical plan, and increased her lead until she was more than 100m. ahead of the bunch of Squibs following. 'Crossfire' sailed by Dave Best and Pete Richards worked their way into second place.
At the last leeward gate marks it appeared that 'Lady Penelope' had done enough to take her place on the podium and lift the championship trophy. But there was still one more beat to be completed, and the tide had turned. 'Lady Penelope' and 'Banshee' rounded different leeward gate marks, and by the end of the beat at the finish line, 'Banshee' had overhauled her opponent. As they passed the finish line the order was:
1st. 'Ric O'Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Crossfire' 797, Dave Best and Pete Richards, S.C.Y.C.
3rd. 'Alchemy', 800, Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall, R.Y.Y.C.
4th.'Helmut Shoing II', Nigel and Jack Grogan, R.C.Y.C.
5th. 'White Magic', David Wines and Keith Davies, W.H.S.C.
6th. 'Moonstone', Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel, S.C.Y.C.
7th. 'Pani-Munta', Mike Probert and Richard Delves, R.C.Y.C.
8th. 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C.
9th. 'Lady Penelope', Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C.,

So, who had won the championship?
Remarkably after eight races and two discards, 'Ric O'Shea', 'Banshee', and 'Lady Penelope' were all on equal points. Each had 21 points after discards.
'Ric O'Shea' discarded a 15th. and 21st. place. 'Lady Penelope' discarded 25th. and 26th. places. 'Banshee' discarded an 8th. and 29th. These figures are not relevant under the current scoring system, where a draw is resolved by the highest place boat in the last race which, as noted above, was won by 'Ric O'Shea.

RESULTS OF THE NATIONAL SQUIB CHAMPIONSHIP 2015.

1st. 1st. 'Ric O'Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Banshee', 65, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C.
3rd. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C.,

The top Irish Squib is 'Aficionado', 78, John Driscoll and David Cagney in 9th place.

Of the top ten places overall, 4 were from South Caernarvonshire Y.C., 4 were from Royal Corinthian Y.C., one from Royal North of Ireland Y.C., and one from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, which indicates that strong fleets at the local clubs are significant to developing the boatspeed necessary to win championship races under all conditions.

The top lady helmsman is Megan Pascoe with crew Hannah Stodel in 'Squibble' from Weymouth who finished in 31st. place. Their performance in this fleet is commendable. The also won the trophy for the top 'ParaSquibbers'. They were thrilled by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere which exists in the Squib fleet. They are newcomers in this fleet, and are more accustomed to the 2.4m. class, and Sonar parolympic circuits.

#squib – Yesterday the Squib fleet in Howth, north of Dublin, enjoyed conditions similar to those on Sunday last, with an offshore south-westerly wind blowing from Portmarnock beach at about 4 knots. Race officer David Lovegrove decided to postpone racing until the wind grew in strength and the direction stabilized. When the wind increased to about 6 knots, the race course was laid with windward-leeward Course 4, with a beat length of about 1.5 km. The cumulus clouds hung over the land, while over the sea there was a blue sky. How would the Squibs interpret this information?

The Squib fleet, as usual, rushed the start line, and the were recalled. On the second attempt the fleet started cleanly. Ian Peter Keely in 'Squibbo' from Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club seemed to have great speed in the conditions, and quickly broke clear of the leading line of boats. He is the only boat in the fleet which uses Londen and Gray sails which appear to be tuned to flattish water. Many of the Squib fleet headed left, because the forecast had suggested that the wind would swing towards the south. However the wind flicked back and forth by up to fifteen degrees. Approching the windward mark, David Lloyd and Mark Stones in 'Incendio' appeared to hold the lead, but they were headed, and the lead boat was your race correspondent in 'Femme Fatale' from the Royal St. George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire. However 'Femme Fatale's' lead was short lived as 'Incendio' led around the leeward mark from Cian and Finbarr O'Regan in 'Fagan'. On the second beat 'Femme Fatale' played the shifts like a boat more used to lake sailing. At the windward mark 'Femme Fatale' had a 2 boatlength lead from 'Incendio'. On the run 'Femme Fatale' stayed low, and benefited from a small windshift fifteen boat-lengths from the leeward mark, at which point the races was shortened, requiring competitors to beam reach to the finish line.
The finishing places were:
1st. 24, 'Femme Fatale' Vincent Delany and Joe O'Byrne, R.St.G.Y.C.
2nd. 160, 'Incendio', David Lloyd and Mark Stones, D. Portsmouth Y.C.
3rd. 65, 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson, S.C.Y.C.

Then the wind did as promised, and swung to the south east. The race course was moved accordingly. Again, it took two attempts for the 49 boats of Squib fleet to achieve a clean start in the 14 knot breeze. The tide flowing from the north was beginning to have an impact on the racing. There was a great battle at the front of the fleet, where David Jones and Mark Hogan in 'Ric-O-Shea' held a short lead from Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey in 'Lady Penelope'. These two gybed back and forth on the offwind leg at which stage the wind had dropped to about 8 knots. At the first leeward gate there was an interesting choice. Take the port mark and be swept around the mark or take the starboard mark where you were nosing the tide. Behind the first four boats a large numbers of Squibs reached the leeward gate at the same time. Some were lucky to round the leeward mark quickly and to get into clear air. On the second beat there was a sharp chop on starboard tack which slowed the progress of the Squibs. It was a long race with1.7 km. legs. After the first three laps the race seemed to be establishing a pattern, head left, and tack when you were fifteen boat lengths short of the layline for the windward mark. On the final lap the pattern changed, and it paid to go right. Many place changes occurred due to competitors failing to respond to the windshift. At the finish the places were:
1st. 'Ric-O-Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey R.C.Y.C.
3rd. 65, 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson, S.C.Y.C.

The second discard has been applied to the results. The scoreboard has not changed much since yesterday and now looks like this:

1st. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C., 2,3,3,(26),2,(25), 2.
2nd. 'Banshee', 65, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C., 6,1,7, (29),1,3,3.
3rd. Ric-O-Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C., 1,2,2,(21), (15), 14, 1.

It can be seen from above that despite the consistency of the counting results, each of the competitors has had some lowly placings, which they have been able to discard.

The leading Irish boat is 'Aficionado', 78, John Driscoll and David Cagney have dropped one place to 7th. place, with Cian and Finbarr O'Regan's 'Fagin' in 11th place.

The leading lady helmsman is Megan Pascoe with crew Hannah Stodel in 'Squibble' who lie in 32nd. place in the 49 boat fleet.