Displaying items by tag: SB3
14 Races to Decide SB3 World Title
The sun has shone as measurement, registration and launching of the 103 boat fleet was undertaken. Now that this is all but complete, there is great anticipation as the fleet make their final preparations to their boats for the start of racing on Monday. The line up of Olympians (past and present), National, European and World Champions will compete for the title of Zhik SB3 World Champion and the honour of lifting the stunning Waterford Crystal World Championship Trophy and receiving a full crew compliment of Zhik ISOTAK range on Friday 20th May 2011.
There is one thing that is guaranteed at this event, competition is going to be fierce and as ever in the Laser SB3 fleet, consistency will be essential. Roger Hudson (RSA) and his crew on Musto Race Ahead will be battling to improve their three previous Laser SB3 World Championship 2nd places. Jerry Hill (GBR) will defend his 2010 Laser SB3 World Championships title with original crew member Grant Rollerson and Matt Alvarado, a new "Sad Old Bloke" for 2011. Joe Llewellyn (GBR) middle man for Jerry Hill last year now campaigns his own boat in the Championship from his home Club, the Royal Torbay YC.
The Australians have launched an assault on the 2011 World Championship and field a team of 4 entries, 2 of which are definite contenders for the Championships title. Glenn Bourke (AUS) returns to the class after a 3 year absence and will undoubtedly return to form in no time at all. Moth World Champion and twice 49er World Champion Nathan Outteridge (AUS) will sail with Olympic Medallist Ian Brown and 2010 ISAF Sailor of the Year and 2010 Laser World Champion Tom Slingsby.
Possibly considered the "wildcard entry," Robert Greenhalgh (GBR) will race Joe Wood's Laser SB3 "Red" with Shane Hughes, Jerry Eplett and Kirsty Skinner. All eyes will be on Robert to see if he can transfer his one design fleet racing and offshore experience to the Laser SB3 class. Rodion Luka (RUS) will helm Oleg Zherebtsov's Laser SB3 "Team Russia" and will be looking for an improvement on his 8th place in 2010. Team Russia have been training hard and deserve a good result.
Craig Burlton (GBR), 2009 Laser SB3 World Champion is considered by many "the boat to beat" at any Laser SB3 event. With his regular crew of Stephen "AB" White and Adam Heeley, Gill Race Team are sure to feature in the top results. Fellow Gill boat, helmed by Geoff Carveth, winner of the 2008 World Championships and 2011 Pre World Championships, seem to be in the groove for a good week of competition at the front of the fleet.
Royal Cork Trio Among 11 Irish to Contest SB3 Worlds
Royal Cork SB3 trio Mel Collins, Kieran Dorgan and Killian Collins are among 11 Irish boats entered in this weeks SB3 World championships on the English South coast at Torbay. Irish crews are also coming from Howth, Dublin Bay and Belfast Lough.
Representatives from fourteen nations will compete in the World Championships. The host nation field an entry of over seventy boats. Entries come from as far afield as Australia and South Africa. Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine and Russia will all be represented in Torquay for tomorrow's first race.
The relatively new keelboat class is still atttracting big numbers since the inaugural worlds event held in Ireland in 2008. The first race is tomorrow.
A full entry list is below.
Bow No | Country | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | Crew | Crew | Crew |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GBR3084 | Eau No! | Mark Sotkes | Craig Watson | James Eastbury | ||
2 | FRA3609 | Marcon Yachting | Louis Marcon | Regis Berenquier | Laurent Bernaz | ||
3 | GBR3074 | Tonic | Douglas Paton | Rory McWhirr | Roddy Anderson | ||
4 | GBR3123 | Mini Mayhem | Paul Craft | Allan Ambury | Gary Phare | ||
5 | GBR3464 | Eric | Martin Wedge | Scott Allen | Alex Ried | ||
6 | GBR3088 | Healthy1.co.uk | Ray Davies | Dick Stephens | Ray Newman | ||
8 | GBR3336 | Uber 3 | Adrian Peach | NiallMyant | Ali Sutherland | Morgan Peach | |
9 | GBR3081 | Prostate Cancer Charity | Ross Lang | Dan Challis | Mathew Thomas | ||
11 | GBR3366 | Hooligan | Guy Broom | Jim Suggitt | Hugh Ray-McCann | ||
12 | GBR3319 | Devils Advocate | Tony Jaffa | ||||
13 | GER3600 | Isabella III | Reinhard Schroeder | Sven Gauter | Benedict Spiegel | ||
14 | GBR3516 | TeamB4Ego.com | Geoff Gritton | Nev Herb | Carl Outhwaite | ||
15 | GBR3058 | Xcellent | John Pollard | Rob Smith | Charlie Hook | ||
16 | GBR3149 | Poor Buoy | Mark Gillett | Graham Camm | Ade Layton | Fran Gifford | |
17 | NED3441 | Rivium | Paul Gast | Wouter v/d Ende | Arno Boot | ||
19 | GBR3489 | Red | Robert Greenhalgh | Shane Hughes | Jerry Eplett | Kirsty Skinner | |
20 | GBR3094 | Xceptable | Ian Lievesley | James Lievesley | Andy Rowland | ||
21 | GER3402 | Tobias Spaenle | Bernd Flock | Marion Rowmel | |||
22 | IRL3324 | Sibelus | Mel Collins | Kieran Dorgan | Killian Collins | ||
23 | GBR3048 | Control-Alt-Delete | Ann Ashworth | Finn Houlihan | Hugo Fitzjohn | ||
24 | GBR3335 | Royal Signals | Stu Southan | Julian Bunce | Jane Turner | Cody Briggs | |
26 | GBR3465 | 3 Sad Old Blokes | Jerry Hill | Grant Rollerson | Matt Alverado | ||
27 | GBR3379 | Joyride | Nick Andrews | Michael Jones | Mike Wells | ||
28 | AUS3224 | Jester 3 | Dave Bull | John Crawford | Zorana Bull | ||
29 | NED3511 | Marco van Driel | Martyn Worseling | Joost Assman | |||
30 | GBR3183 | Respect | John Danby | Nick Jones | Andrew Baird | ||
31 | IRL3307 | Bad/Kilcullen | Jerry Dowling | ||||
32 | AUS3063 | One Design Sailing | Nathan Outteridge | Ian Brown | Tom Slingsby | ||
33 | IRL3484 | Seriously Bonkers x 3 | Martin Cuppage | Peter Lee | Michael Galvin | ||
34 | IRL3033 | Bluebird | Cathy MacAleavey | Con Murphy | |||
35 | BEL3472 | Los Zaparteros | Alex Schoenmakers | Cedric de Bleye | Jan Decorte | ||
36 | NZL3287 | Sailing West - Sharkbait | Ben Duncan | Brian Moran | Rick Morris | ||
37 | GBR3106 | Tom Clay | Richard Clay | Matt Reid | |||
39 | ITA3073 | Stenghele | Roberto Caresani | Pietro Negri | Enrico Fonda | ||
40 | IRL3062 | Joanna Ireland | Lucy Collender | ||||
41 | UKR3522 | Stemcor | Valentin Klymentyev | Valentin Veytsman | Ben Sternberg | ||
42 | IRL3315 | Sirius Black | Ken Hudson | Anna Leech | William Leech | ||
43 | GBR3309 | Narwhal | David Bates | James George | Simon | ||
44 | GBR3029 | 3-SOME | Niall Peelo | ||||
45 | GBR3368 | Kapow | Nick Barnett | Gus Murdock | Lance Mysyrowicz | ||
46 | GBR3540 | Water Music viii | Jonny Foot | Anna Woods | James Foot | ||
47 | GBR3362 | Polar Bear | Tim Newton | Mary Rook | Nick | ||
48 | POR3103 | Viero | Piedade Colaco | Diana Caldeira | Luisa Figueiredo | Caterina Bociro | |
49 | RSA3469 | Musto Race Ahead | Asenaithi Jim | Roger Hudson | Marlon Jones | Wamdisile Xayimpi | |
51 | GBR3021 | Here Comes Bod | Charlie Whelan | Richard McAdam | Richard Hall | ||
52 | GBR3510 | Hutton's | Richard Wharram | Ben Williamson | Nick Wright | ||
53 | ITA3437 | Lupi D'irlanda | Marco Sorgassi | Lisa Neary | Matteo Germano | Jacob Barnett | |
54 | GBR3042 | Gill Racing Team | Craig Burton | Adam Heeley | Stephen White | ||
55 | GBR3305 | Rigging Gurus | Mark Richards | David Ellis | Mini Allison | Claire Booth | |
56 | GBR3575 | Sailboat Deliveries | Sarah Allan | Lizzie Vickers | George Kingsnorth | Ellie Draper | |
57 | GBR3475 | Perky III | Jez Entwistle | Ali Hall | Mark Greaves | ||
58 | GBR3462 | Underground Toys | Andrew Oddie | Gareth Edwards | Mike Hicks | ||
59 | IRL3338 | Milvus Milvus | Robert Howe | Jason Losty | Joanne Sheehy | ||
60 | GBR3468 | Fully Badgered | Paul Lovejoy | Micky Schwartz | Leighton King | ||
61 | GBR3014 | Sponge Bob | Steve McLean | Matt Waite | Tristan Hutt | ||
63 | GBR3027 | Zyke Darling Associates | Chris Darling | Alastair Shaw | Sian McCleave | Margarida Paixao | |
64 | IRL3298 | Toucan 3 | Ross Vaughan | Laurynas Rimsas | Andrew Vaughan | ||
65 | GBR3065 | Rola-Trac | Peter Saxton | Mark Longstaff | Dave Lucas | ||
66 | GBR3069 | Not just a number | Paul Hine | Thomas Campbell | Ash Holmes | Max Griggs | |
67 | GBR3041 | Robina | Dan Goodman | Patch Fillery | Martin Vinson | Jo Lloyd | |
68 | GBR3082 | Henri Lloyd/Forelle Estates | Joe Llewellyn | Nigel Wakefield | Jerry Vigus | ||
69 | GBR3566 | Herbie | Phil Tilley | Steve Venables | Richard Brown | ||
70 | AUS3108 | Club Marine | Glenn Bourke | Rod Jones | Greg McAllansmith | ||
71 | GBR3545 | Savage Sailing Team | Chris Savage | Richard Hughes | Adam Wheeler | ||
72 | GBR3096 | Red Kite | Roger Harford | Tim Bigg | Declan Clamp | ||
73 | GBR3060 | Finitor 7 | Stewart Reed | John Mandsley | Mathew Gray | ||
74 | GBR3104 | Retail Therapy | Charles Sheppard | Andrew Roberts | Jack Norton | ||
75 | GBR3517 | Doolalli | Colin Simonds | Raymond Simonds | Gavin Simonds | ||
76 | FRA3423 | Morpheus | Edward Russo | Jann Chateau | Antoine Royer | ||
77 | GBR3267 | Neilson Heart of Gold | Tom Hayhoe | Ben Rogers | Graham Iles | ||
78 | UKR3443 | Transbunker | Polovy Valeriy | Stasyuk Volodymyr | Bosomolkin Volodymyr | ||
79 | GBR3215 | Sail Navy | Darren Roach | Les Hardy | Dan Ellis | ||
80 | GBR3198 | Time on the water.co.uk | Hugh Styles | Mischa Mieemskerk | Corrie Howe | Samantha Evans | |
82 | NED3470 | Cube | Martijn Buitenhuis | Chris Muilwijk | Edward Van Der Poll | ||
84 | GBR3134 | Marilyn | Dom Ford | Tom Mallindine | Jeremy Fowke | ||
85 | GBR3473 | Sceptre | Nathan Bailey | Tony Procter | Tony Rayer | ||
86 | GER3561 | Razzmatazz | Sebstian Dohrendorf | Jon Griffiths | Frieda van Belle | Alexander Tinoco | |
87 | GBR3531 | Carnage | Nick Over | Rob Partridge | Peter Kent | ||
88 | GBR3077 | Skallywag | Rob Day | Nina Day | Ian Insley | ||
89 | GBR3276 | Trouble & Strife | Ian Armstrong | Mark Sherwood | Martin Wadsworth | ||
90 | IRL3297 | Sunday Brunch | Richard Tate | Pat O'Brien | Eoin O'Fearghair | ||
91 | IRL3312 | BomchickaWahwah | John O'Driscoll | Owen Laverty | Joe O'Reilly | ||
92 | GBR3032 | Rumbleflurg | David Cummins | Guy Jackson | Chris Cousins | ||
93 | GBR3292 | Chill Pill | Tich Summers | Scott Graham | Nick Elder | ||
94 | POR3203 | Roff | Antonio Mello | Manuel Arriaga | Joao Mello | ||
95 | GBR3047 | Rob Gullan | Pieter Heyn | Sarah Hickman | Ben Ainsworth | ||
96 | ITA3598 | Alghero Giorico Hotels | Alessandro Balzani | Umberto Ferrarese | Guiseppe Sotgiu | Alessandro Nughes | |
98 | GBR3546 | Orthteam | Richard Catchpole | Adam Hoad-Reddick | Alan Woosey | ||
99 | ITA 3596 | Briefing | Luca Bacci | Duccio Cowmbi | Cristian Ferro | ||
100 | GBR3056 | Woohoo | Tom Davidson | Andrew Aldwinckle | Richard Hill | ||
101 | ITA3543 | Bravi Thytronic | Giovanni Meloni | Jacopo Pasini | Vincenzo Graciotti | ||
102 | GBR3126 | Geronimo | Simon Hume | Ian Sullivan | Billy Ayres | ||
104 | AUS3607 | Wysiwyg VI | Stephen Fries | Jessica Fries | Ali Blundell | Bryce Penfold | |
105 | GRE3251 | Slippery When Wet | Ruairi Bradley | Vicky Bradley | Andy Monohan | ||
106 | RUS373 | Alissa | Vladislav Ivanovski | Natalia Sukhareva | Mikhail Erokhovets | Frank Dobbels | |
107 | GBR3519 | May contain nuts | John Greenaway | Richard Taylor | |||
108 | GBR3515 | The Young Pretender | Callum Calder | Callum Reid | Sam Dryden | ||
109 | RUS3554 | Team Russia | Rodion Luka | Maria Rudskaia | Oleg Zherebtsov | Eugeni Didyk | |
111 | GBR3053 | Race Team Gill | Geoff Carveth | Andy Ramus | Emma Clarke | Ian Mills | |
112 | IRL3226 | Quantitative Easing | Paul McMahon | D Corr | I McSweeney | ||
114 | ITA3606 | Lunatico XS | Aurelio Bini | Nicola Neri | Nicola Campus | Silvia Ciicalo | |
115 | FRA3078 | Tad Minus | |||||
116 | GBR3079 | Excuse Me Gents | Ann Jackson | Niki Birrell | Ally Martin | Sam Brearey | |
117 | GBR3212 | Echo3 | |||||
119 | GBR3038 | TeamB4Ego,com2 | Will Brooks | Grant Doe | Olly Poole |
SB3s Give Thumbs Up to New Dublin Bay Courses
The SB3s have given a thumbs up to the introdution of the new Thursday night Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) courses and who wouldn't with such a thrilling downwind leg last week? 'So many marks, loads of decisions and loads of mistakes.What fun' is the verdict of Dublin Bay class captain Justin Burke.
The class has regular turnouts of between 9 and 12 boats for the regular one hour evening race. Last Thursday featured a race with gusts up to 25 knots.
It is probably why Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta has had such an enthusiastic reception from the sportsboat class. 28 SB3s are entered already and the view is there could be as many as 40, a number big enough for the class to host a pre-regatta reception on July 7th.
So far there has not been the same take up for next weekend's Royal Alfred YC Baily Bowl but Burke remains hopeful the class will enbrace the long standing fixture. The enthusiastic captain is also putting Howth Yacht Club's Lambay Race on 11th. June out as another option.
Although the next big Irish fixture is the southern championships at Tralee Bay Sailing Club in Fenit, Co. Kerry on June 4th and 5th there will be interest in the Irish team results at this weeks's World championships in Torbay in the UK. There are 11 Irish entries in this week's 119-boat championship fleet.
Northside Dragon Wins in Howth
Jay Bourke's Etchell, Northside Dragon was the winner of tonight's Howth Yacht Club scratch race for the keelboat class. Second was Fetching, Quinn/O'Flaherty and third Simon Knowles' Jabberwocky. In the SB3s Gareth May's Investwise was first, Shane Murphy's Dinghy Supplies sceond and third was Shockwave (E.Quinlan).
HOWTH YACHT CLUB. TUE + SAT SERIES 1 10/05/2011 17 Footer SCRATCH: 1, Deilginis Deilginis Group; 2, Leila R Cooper; 3, Isobel B & C Turvey TUESDAY SERIES 1 Puppeteer SCRATCH: 1, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; 2, Mojo Stanley/Callen; 3, Enigma D Butler; Puppeteer HPH: 1, Gold Dust Walls/Browne; 2, Flycatcher D Wright; 3, Enigma D Butler; Squib SCRATCH: 1, Shadowfax P Merry; 2, Puffin E Harte; 3, Wasabi C & N Penlerick; Squib HPH: 1, Pegasus Smyth+Friends; 2, Shadowfax P Merry; 3, Puffin E Harte; Etchells SCRATCH: 1, Northside Dragon J Bourke; 2, Fetching Quinn/O"Flaherty; 3, Jabberwocky S Knowles; SB3 SCRATCH: 1, Investwise G May; 2, Dinghy Supplies S Murphy; 3, Shockwave E Quinlan
Sharkbait Sails in to the Lead at SB3 Eastern Champs
The conditions didn't seem to bother the 30-strong fleet in Race 1 with all bar one boat crossing the finishing line, the honours going to Andrew Algeo's 'Flutter' from the Royal St.George YC. Another visitor, 'Sibelius' (K.Dorgan) from Carrickfergus took second ahead of another northerner, former Olympian Peter Kennedy of RNIYC in 'Ridgefence.com'. Local interest was maintained by 'Sharkbait' (Duncan/Moran/Morris) by finishing 4th, a promising start for what would become an even better day.
Heavy going at the SB3 Easterns. More photos on the gallery here. Photo: Brian Carlin
Race 2 saw HYC's 'Sharkbait' take line honours ahead of Sean Craig's 'Yeti' (RSt.GYC) while 'Sibelius' came home third to keep the pressure on the leader. 'No Name' (Darren Martin of Strangford Lough) took 4th and Andrew Algeo's 5th kept him in touch after two races. Kennedy in 'Ridgefence.com', however, was one of six boats forced to retire but unlike four boats which could not continue racing, he was able to return to the action for the third race.
In fact, he bounced back rather well with a 5th in that last race so he is not out of contention yet. Sean Craig's 'Yeti' went one better than in Race 2 with a bullet, this time changing places with Howth's leading contender 'Sharkbait'. 'Sibelius' and 'Flutter' continued to demonstrate admirable consistency, finishing 4th and 5th respectively.
It doesn't get much closer at the top of the leaderboard after PRO Harry Gallagher and his team got the three races completed and as the Championship reaches its half-way stage, HYC's 'Sharkbait' (Duncan/Moran/Morris) has the narrowest of margins over 'Sibelius' (K.Dorgan), with 'Flutter' (A.Algeo) two points adrift and 'Yeti' (S.Craig) another point behind, the reward for consistency so far.
Placings after 3 races at Howth Yacht Club
SB3 | Easterns | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plc. | Boat | Owner | Club | Gross | Disc | Nett |
1 | Sharkbait | Duncan/Moran | HYC | 7.00 | ||
2 | Sibeluis | K Dorgan | CSC | 8.00 | ||
3 | Flutter | A Algeo | RStGYC | 10.00 | ||
4 | Yeti | S Craig | RStGYC | 11.00 | ||
5 | Pattersonlifts | G Patterson | RNIYC | 28.00 | ||
6 | Seriously Bonkers | Cuppage/Lee | RStGYC | 29.00 | ||
7 | Bad | G Dowling | RIYC | 31.00 | ||
8 | Bluebird | C MacAleavey | NYC | 31.00 | ||
9 | No Name | D Martin | SLYC | 32.00 | ||
10 | Shockwave | E Quinlan | HYC | 32.00 | ||
11 | Toucan 3 | A Vaughan | RNIYC | 33.00 | ||
12 | Dinghy Supplies | S Murphy | HYC | 36.00 | ||
13 | Ridgefence.com | P Kennedy | RNIYC | 39.00 | ||
14 | Investwise | May/Quinn | HYC | 41.00 | ||
15 | Sin A Bhuifl | Guinness/Costigan | HYC | 43.00 | ||
16 | Lupi D'Irlanda | M Sorgassi | RStGYC | 47.00 | ||
17 | Monkey | Cassidy/Others | HYC | 53.00 | ||
18 | Mr Bump | D Taylor | CSC | 60.00 | ||
19 | Ruby Blue | A O'Connell | RStGYC | 61.00 | ||
20 | Quantitative Easing | P McMahon | HYC | 62.00 | ||
21 | Kick'er Off | Cook/Dicker | RStGYC | 62.00 | ||
22 | No Name | D MacCauley | CSC | 66.00 | ||
23 | Sunday Brunch | R Tate | RStGYC | 67.00 | ||
24 | Smoke on the Water | B Hobby | GISC | 70.00 | ||
25 | Bomchickawahwah | J O'Dricsoll | RStGYC | 72.00 | ||
26 | Seriously Blonde | J Toettcher | RStGYC | 72.00 | ||
27 | Mahanama | R Downing | KYC | 75.00 | ||
28 | Sirius Black | Hudson/Leech | ASC/LRYC | 77.00 | ||
29 | Rubadubdub | N Doherty | NYC | 90.00 | ||
30 | Sandy Bottom | G Judge | RStGYC | 93.00 |
500 Boats will Kick Start the Dublin Sailing Season this Weekend
There could be anything up to 500-boats afloat for events right across the bay and out in to the Irish Sea.
Joining the 390 boat DBSC fleet for its 128th season is a gathering of over 300 dinghies in Dun Laoghaire for the Mitsubishi Youth National Championships at the Royal St. George and National Yacht Clubs. It's an important event because it is a dry run for next year's ISAF Youth Worlds on Dublin Bay.
The National Yacht Club is also host for the first race of the 2011 ISORA offshore season. Up to 17 starters from a possible ISORA entry list of 40 are confirmed for the first race to Holyhead. First gun for ISORA is at 0755. An Early one!
Across the bay in Howth there is a competitive fleet assembled for the SB3 Eastern Championships. A notable feature of the event is the inclusion of Olympic campaigner Annalise Murphy.
Ashore, Réalt na Mara Dun Laoghaire RNLI's new D-class lifeboat is to be officially named during a ceremony on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire this Saturday at 12 noon. The lifeboat is to be named by Mr and Mrs Pat and Kathy Kenny. RTE presenter Pat Kenny and his wife Kathy have been long-standing supporters of the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboats.
Mid week forecasts show good sailing winds for the weekend. Met Eireann is forecasting Southeast to east force 2 to 4 breezes, light enough for a gentle start to the season but there's still a chance of stronger for Saturday afternoon. Listen to Eddie English's weather prediction from Cork Harbour.
Annalise Murphy Lines up for SB3 Eastern Championships in Howth
Unless last year's champion Gareth Flanigan and his crew can beg, steal or borrow a boat, they won't be able to defend their title and a new winner will be crowned on May 1st. The recent Spring Warmer Series saw some boats post inconsistent results while two teams in particular stepped up from last year to place themselves in the running.
Eoin Quinlan's decision to team up with Mike Evans and Peter Frane with 'Shockwave' looked like a smart one, with consistent results putting them on top of that series, and giving them the confidence to make the top 3 or 4 places at the Easterns.
John O'Driscoll of the Royal St.George is another skipper in flying form and will be hopeful of a good overall result next weekend. HYC's own 'Sharkbait' (Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Rick Morris) can never be under-estimated and will be tipped to be among the prime contenders.
A feature of the event is the entry of several women helms, the most notable being Olympic hopeful Annalise Murphy of the National YC with her mother (and former Olympian) Cathy MacAleavey crewing.
Howth Yacht Club Lays Out 2011 Sailing Programme
At a launch reception in the club on Thursday 31st March attended by representatives of local commerce, tourism and community bodies, HYC Commodore Roger Cagney announced that in addition to junior and adult sail training courses and club racing four days a week in the summer months, the Club would host over 20 open events during the year.
"We are used to sailing being a year-round activity," he said, "but even by our standards this will be an exceptionally busy year for Howth Yacht Club. We are fortunate in the number of talented volunteers we can call upon to help make these events successful and we have an enviable track record in this regard. We are also extremely grateful for the sponsorship of individual events from commercial concerns, details of which will be released in due course."
The major event on the 2011 calendar is undoubtedly the European Championship of the J24 Class, the world's most popular racing keelboat, when over 200 sailors from six or more countries will compete in the four-day regatta in September.
Howth will also host the Irish Championships of four classes – Puppeteer, Squib, Howth 17 and Optimist – between July 1st and late-August, with the latter attracting up to 200 competitors, together with their families, coaches and supporters. In addition, HYC will run the SB3 Eastern Championships (end April), the RS Feva Leinsters (late May) and the Dublin Match Racing Open (in J80s in early September).
The club's programme also comprises the Spring Warmer series in April, the annual Lambay Races on June 11th, the Dinghy Regatta a week later and the ever-popular Autumn League over five weekends in September/October.
Ten Irish Sign up for Torquay SB3 World Champs
But top ranked Irish performer Ben Duncan, who races from Howth Yacht Club is entered under his native New Zealand flag.
Seriously Bonkers (Martin Cuppage), Bad Kilcullen (Jerry Dowling) and Cathy MacAleavey's Bluebird are among Dun Laoghaire boats to enter so far. The full entry list is here.
The event will be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, UK from 16 – 20 May 2011.
Representatives from fourteen nations will compete in the World Championships. The host nation field an entry of over seventy boats. Entries come from as far afield as Australia and South Africa. Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine and Russia will all be represented in Torquay in May.
The three Laser SB3 World Champions, Geoff Carveth (2008 Champion, Dun Laoghaire), Craig Burlton (2009 Champion, Cascais) and Jerry Hill (2010 Champion, Torbole) will all compete for the 2011 Championship title.
Carveth, Burlton and Hill are all British and so far the Laser SB3 World Championship has not been won by another nation. Will 2011 see the trophy slip from the Brits grip?
Australian sailing man of the moment, Nathan Outteridge, will compete with Laser SB3 Class President, Dave Cheyne in Torquay in May. Outteridge is twice 49er World Champion, current Moth World Champion and recent winner of the Audi King of Docklands and Audi Victoria Week in the Laser SB3. Fellow Australian Glenn Bourke returns to the class for the Championship.
South Africa’s Roger Hudson will compete in his fourth Laser SB3 World Championship and will no doubt be determined to better his current hatric of second places. Hudson has sailed each of the previous World Championships with a different helm; 2008 David Hudson (father), 2009 Taariq Jacobs and 2010 Iain Ainslie. It is yet to be announced which members of the Race Ahead Foundation will sail with Hudson in 2011.
In preparation for the World Championships, the Royal Torbay Yacht Club will host the Torbay Open, 30 April – 2 May and the Pre World Championship 12 – 13 May. These two events will provide a great opportunity for a number of keen teams from across Europe to travel to the UK and sail on the waters of Tor Bay prior to the World Championships.
“We’re really looking forward to hosting the event at the Club, I sail in the fleet so it’s great to be involved in delivering this event. We’re delighted with the size and quality of the entry list and look forward to extending the entry if necessary,” explained Event Organiser Adrian Peach.
The Laser SB3 Class is proud to be one of the most tightly restricted one design keelboat classes in the world with little variation from the builder’s final product permitted. With minimal maintenance, easy to trail and low campaign costs, the class thrives on its philosophy of providing inclusive, high intensity, great fun and easily attainable, quality racing for its members.
Further news and developments can be followed HERE.
SB3 Sailors Cry Foul at Dun Laoghaire Parking Fees
Dissatisfaction is growing among SB3 sailors regarding the cost of parking and membership at Dun Laoghaire's top yacht clubs.
In correspondence seen by Afloat.ie, one leading sailor said that clubs "need to carefully consider their pricing policies or otherwise we are going to experience a more widespread abandonment of club sailing of SB3s".
Parking and racing fees that can top more than €2,000 per year are no longer "value for money", it is claimed, and have been blamed for membership drains as well as an increase in boat sales.
Yacht club parking fees cover the mooring and security of boats on the club's property.
Unequal treatment of boat classes has also been highlighed as an issue. One sailor said: "It strikes me as being ludicrous that we pay three times what a Flying Fifteen pays to take up not much more space."
Membership fees at Irish yacht clubs were the topic of much debate on the Afloat.ie forums last year and morte on this story HERE.
Click HERE to register and have your own say.
A leading bay sailor makes the following comment. "This is a very slanted article ignoring the fact that the SB3' s in the Royal Irish for example are dry-sailed so their costs includes craneage in and out for all their racing days. Also their fees for DBSC includes dedicated SB3 racing on Sundays. If the SB3s want to moan, let them put out the whole picture and not be selective. We consider it good value, not a rip-off. The clubs have to survive and are not out to reef sailors".