Displaying items by tag: SB3 Nationals

5th September 2010

Flannigan's Ulster Trio Take SB3 Title

The Royal Ulster YC crew of Gareth Flannigan/Brian Spence/Jeremy Tomlinson were the emphatic winners of the Investwise SB3 National Championship at Howth with a remarkable 17.5 points margin over runner-up 'Yeti' (Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle/Alan Green) of the Royal St.George YC, with early pacemaker 'Sharkbait' (Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Ric Morris) of HYC a further two points adrift.

The northerners simply got better and better as the series unfolded. After a tentative start with an 8th and a 6th on day one, they strung together an impressive record of three bullets and three seconds, clearly revelling in the strong wind conditions over the weekend.

They arrived in Howth as the pre-event favourites on the back of top class performances at the four regional championships and did not disappoint. Overnight leaders going into the last day, they only had to steer clear of trouble and keep an eye on Craig and Duncan to be sure of overall victory.

Winning the penultimate race (just ahead of Craig and with Duncan back in 17th) effectively sealed the title but the last race threw up the highly unusual result in one-design racing of a tie for line honours with 'Bullet' (Trevor D'Arcy and crew from Carrickfergus), with Duncan salvaging a third after several average results.

Discarding an 8th was a clear indication of the Royal Ulster crew's dominance of the event and the pre-event predictions as to who would be the podium finishers was highly accurate. In addition to the top three, there were four other northern crews and four Dun Laoghaire boats in the top ten.

Duncan was the leading local boat in 3rd overall, although two other Howth crews 'Flying Saucers' (Emma McDonald) and 'Lia' (Dave Barry) filled 11th and 12th places respectively.

David Quinn of sponsors Investwise, who competed himself and finished mid-fleet, was delighted with the event which, with 49 entries, ranks as one of the biggest one-design class championships in the country. Organisation of the championship was headed up by Suzanne Carroll and her committee.

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY GARETH CRAIG HERE

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY BRIAN CARLIN HERE

Investwise SB3 National Championship – overall result:

1. McCreadys Gill Team (Flannigan/Spence/Tomlinson) RUYC 15.5 pts
2. Yeti (Craig/Boyle/Green) RStGYC 33 pts
3. Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran/Morris) 35 pts
4. Flutter (Algeo/Knatchbull/Haughton) RStGYC 47 pts
5. Bad (Hyde/Dowling/Dowling) RIYC 53 pts
6. Toucan 3 (Vaughan & crew) RNIYC 57 pts

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4th September 2010

Day Two: Flannigan Takes the SB3 Lead

In the second day of racing at the SB3 Ireland National Championships the McCready Gill Racing team of Gareth Flannigan, Brian Spence and Jeremy Thomalison took control of the overall lead. The Ballyholme team scored a 2,1,2 in squally conditions to move 8 points clear going into the final days racing.

Leaders from day one Ben Duncan, Brian Moran and Ric Morris had a more testing day with some interesting action at the start of race 4 and 5 leaving them playing catch up. Scoring 6,11,7 they slip back to second tied with Sean Craig (5,3,10). Winner of todays final race Andrew Algio, Garry Houghton and Richard Knatchbull added a 13th and a 6th to a win in the final race to move up to 4th. Ross Vaughan, Rory Fitzpatrick and Ryan Seartons 11, 1, 33 was enough to move them up to 5th.

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Squally conditions on Day two of the SB3 Nationals. Photo: Gareth Craig. More photos HERE.

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. SB3 NATIONALS (O'ALL) 04/09/2010 SB3: 1, McCreadys Gill Team Gareth Flannigan RUYC (13.00); 2, Sharkbait Ben Duncan HYC (21.00); 3, Yeti Sean Craig RStGYC (21.00); 4, Flutter Andrew Algeo RStGYC (34.00); 5, Toucan 3 Ross Vaughan RNIYC (38.00)

Day Two photos by Gareth Craig HERE.

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4th September 2010

Going Right Pays Dividends for Boomsticks (SB3 vid HERE)

By all accounts it looked like the right hand side of the course paid best dividends in yesterday's opening three rounds of the SB3 National Championships. Brian Carlin spoke to crews as they came ashore in Howth and below he talks with Brian Reilly and Sam Hunt of SB3 Boomsticks and how they won the last race of the day.

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3rd September 2010

Sharkbait Takes Early Lead at SB3 Nationals

Ben Duncan, Brian Moran and Ric Morris on Sharkbait have eased into an early lead after day 1 of the Investwise SB3 Ireland National Championships in Howth. Sailing on their home waters the Howth Yacht Club team took home 2 bullets and a 6th to lead over night by 4 points from Stefan Hyde, Jerry Dowling and Jimmy Dowling. Brian Reilly, Sam Hunt and Conor Clancey lie 3rd, with Sean Craig, Stepen Boyle and Alan Green in fourth and McCready Gill Racing Team in 5th.

Photos by Gareth Craig on the gallery HERE

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1st September 2010

Stars on show at Investwise SB3 Nationals at Howth

A week after hosting the Etchells Worlds, Howth Yacht Club is back in high-powered action again this weekend with another fleet of over 40 boats, this time with the SB3s who gather for the Investwise National Championships over three days.

Among the highly competitive fleet will be four or five past or present Olympians, former national champions in several classes and a couple of All-Ireland Champions, a formidable line-up by any standards. Such is the quality of the field that any one of 10 crews is capable of taking the title, with consistency the key over the 8 races on the schedule.

The 'bookies favourite' is undoubtedly 'McCready's Gill Racing' sailed by Gareth Flannigan/Brian Spence/Jeremy Tomlinson from Ballyholme who already have two wins and two runners-up places in the four regional championships sailed this season. Former Olympian Peter Kennedy from RNIYC is the defending champion and with a new crew on 'Belfast Kitchens' has been building slowly throughout the year - their performance at the recent Westerns suggests they are very much in contention.

While the Northern fleet has been dominant in SB3s since the class was formed, they cannot discount the top performers from Dun Laoghaire, Howth and the South. Leading the southside challenge will be 'Yeti' (Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle/Alan Green), a prediction for a top 5 finish, while 'Bad' (Stefan Hyde/Jerry Dowling/Jimmy Dowling) has been improving ever since the Northern Championships

The host club's best bet is 'Sharkbait' sailed by Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Ric Morris, a combination that is consistently at the top of the fleet (e.g. winning the Northerns) and tops the ranking ladder with Flannigan. A 'podium finish' is anticipated. The event sponsor David Quinn and his crew on 'Investwise' have enjoyed good form of late while 'Lia' (helmed by Dave Barry) has improved since a trip to Lake Garda.

The southern challenge is headed by 'Modus Operandi' (sailed by Ronan and Killian Collins and Donal Hegarty) which has the potential to upset the odds if they can put a steady campaign together.

Race Officer is David Lovegrove while Suzanne Carroll has masterminded the organisation of the event as chair of the Championship Committee.

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.