Squib Irish National Championships at Royal St. George YC

by National Squib Owners Association on 29 Aug 2012 The 2012 Dubarry Squib Irish National Championship was hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club and took place over the weekend of 25th-27th August. With 32 entries there was proportionally a far higher entry that in the UK equivalent championship.

Two days of intensive rain seriously affected many of the seventy two competitors trying to reach Dartmouth for the National Squib Championships, including those from Weymouth who took seven hours by road to reach the regatta venue. Despite this, the Squib competitors were blessed by a magnificent sailing day in Start Bay on Sunday for the first races of the Championship, with good winds and warm sunshine.

The Practice race in about eight knots of wind did not get away until the third attempt under a black flag, and after a single lap of the 2.4mile course it was won by Paul Aspinall in ‘Guy Falkes’. However winning the practice race amounts to nothing if you can’t win the Championship races.

In Race One, the O.O.D. abandoned the race on the starting gun when he found the entire fleet favouring the committee boat end of the line, despite a line of about 300m. in length. The starting line was re-laid. On the second attempt at starting, (on a black flag), the fleet got away without anybody being given a penalty for jumping the gun. The wind was an offshore breeze of about 14 knots, with pockets of lighter winds. There was a wind bend of about 15 degrees, and it was Alan Johnson and David Garlick in ‘Cariad Bach’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club who understood the conditions best. He led the race from ‘Harry II’ sailed by Mike Budd and Rob Larke also from SCYC and Moonstone in third place sailed by Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel.

Behind this group there was a closely packed bunch of about 25-30 boats all vying for clean wind and for space in which they could maintain control of their race. Such space didn’t exist. Many boats lost 15 places or more by being forced out to the wrong side of the beat or by being rolled on the off-wind legs.

The race was a great test over three laps including four beats, two triangles, and one sausage. Any boat which was lacking in boat speed, crewing skills or tactical prowess quickly fell down the ‘snakes’. There were few ladders to be found. Success came to those who opted for the right hand side of the beat and those who succeeded in surfing on the reaching legs. At the finish the order was: ‘Cariad Bach’, ‘Harry II’, ‘Moonstone’, Nigel Grogan in ‘Helmut Shoing II’, Chris Hogan in ‘Ric-o-Shea’, David Best in ‘Crossfire’ Roger Harris in ‘Misfire’. Remarkably the top seven boats were all from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. Racing continues tomorrow with two races.

Race 2 - Monday: Perhaps some competitors are happy to spend up to two hours sailing to their starting lines. In Dartmouth today there was a flood tide and the Squibs struggled to make progress down the River Dart and then two miles along the coast of Start Bay against the tide, in the prevailing conditions of a south westerly wind of about six knots. Some of the Squibs were towed through the entrance between Dartmouth Castle and Kingswear Castle but they still had more than an hour of sailing to the two committee boats waiting for them.

Despite the tide the entire fleet reached the start area on time, and an attempt was made at getting the competitive fleet racing. There was much bunching of the fleet at one end of the start line, and some jumped the gun, so a general recall was called. On the second attempt the fleet got away.

The strong tide and big fleet made it difficult for any boats to tack right towards the shoreline where there was the possibility of weaker tide and a wind bend along the shore. In this race some boats succeeded in breaking free of the brunch by sailing out to sea against the foul tide and beating up the middle of the course. It was ‘Easy’ for David White and Peter Ballam from Felixtowe Ferry Sailing Club who pulled out a lead of more than 30 boat-lengths and maintained their lead for the entire race. ‘Guy Fawkes’ with Paul Aspinall and Howie Enkel from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club generated a similar margin from ‘Dream on’ with Brian Holland and Tony Sampson from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club.

At some distance behind these boats, the other 70 competitors battled to achieve a reasonable result. Yesterdays winner ‘Cariad Bach’ had to settle for sixth place despite making several dry runs at the starting line. The Race was three laps of a windward leeward course, so after a very slow first lap, the subsequent laps were substantially shortened in order to comply with the statutory time limits.

Final Results: 1st. ‘Easy’, 2nd. ‘Guy Fawkes’, 3rd. Dream On’, 4th. ‘Humphrey’ with Robert and Tracy Coyle Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

Silver Fleet: 1st. ‘No Wonder’ sailed by popular local skipper Kit Noble crewed by Ted Holliday
Bronze Fleet: 1st. ‘Satu’ sailed by Kev and Marney Gibson from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club.
Ladies Trophy: 1st. Pam Evans in ‘Maximus’ supported by her long suffering husband Max from Felixtowe Ferry Sailing Club.

Race three was a very different race. The wind increased slightly to about 8-10 knots and swung further to the South south west. The tide was now almost slack. The first start was a general recall. This was followed by two black flag starts and key numbers 13, 40, 50, 83, 128, 137, 510, 763, 774, 797, 800, and 849 were found to have jumped the gun, and were sent home. The fleet go away on their third attempt. It was a challenging race with an unstable wind over a windward-leeward course of three laps.

An early leader was Simon Griffin and John Kirby in ‘Brutus’. Their lead did not survive. It was on the runs, where it paid to sail an inshore course, that ‘Brimstone’ with Bryan and Jenny Riley from Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club, who sailed excellent downwind legs to drew out a slender lead to win from Chris and Mark Hogan in ‘Ric-o-Shea’ and ‘Moonstone’ with Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel.

Results: 1st. ‘Brimstone’, 2nd. ‘Ric-o-shea’ South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club.( Subject to protest.) 3rd. ‘Moonstone’ South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. 4th. ‘Lady Penelope’ sailed by Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

Silver Fleet: ‘Brutus’ Simon Griffin and John Kirby Royal Corinthian yacht Club.

Bronze Fleet: ‘Bootneck’ John Lewis and David Jephcott from R. W. Yacht Club.

Ladies Cup: ‘Osprey’ Gina and Alex Porteous Royal Victoria Yacht Club.

Race 4 – Tuesday: The wind today was offshore, from the south west, and every sailor knows that an offshore wind is the most unstable of all winds. Unstable it was – blowing about 10 knots but with substantial holes, and also occasional gusts of up to 16 knots. The competitors were lining up for the first start when, 15 seconds before the gun, despite the foul tide, a great number of the 72 Squibs rushed the line early, and a general recall was called.

On the second start under a black flag the fleet approached the line with great caution, and the race got away without any boats being penalised. There was a foul tide from the south south west running up Start Bay and the windward mark was laid only 300m off Matthews Point. The competitors who were able to lee bow the foul tide and played the wind shifts to advantage were the ones who did best.

The further the fleet moved inshore the less stable the wind was in both strength or in direction. Initially ‘Banshee’ with Nigel Harris and John Stephenson from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club took control of the shoreside approach to the windward mark, but before they reached the mark the seaward group of boats were lifted up to the mark. Although planned to be a five lap race it was shortened to four.

The first lap was a triangle, followed by a sausage, another triangle with a windward finish. The real place changing took place on the windward legs, with the wind veering through 15 degrees over the duration of the race. Furthermore, the wind oscillations were of the order of 35 degrees. Among the race leaders who lost out, was ‘Crossfire’ with Dave Best and Pete Richards from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club who dropped from the lead down more than 12 places when they missed a wind shift. The quality of the field at this championships is such that every mistake is paid for dearly.

Results:

1st. ‘Banshee’.
2nd. ‘Lady Penelope’ Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
3rd. ‘Cariad Bach’ with Alan Johnson and David Garlick from SCYC.
4th. ‘Easy’ with David White and Peter Ballam from Felixtowe Ferry Sailing Club.

Race 5 – Wednesday: Weather is critical to any sailing Championship because some competitors excel in lighter winds and some excel in strong winds. With a 72 boat fleet all possible skills are represented. In Dartmouth we had a full years range of weather in one day.

The first start took place in a 20 knot wind from the west with an overcast sky. As on previous days in this Championship, the Squib competitors could not contain themselves, and the O.O.D. was forced to declare a general recall.

On the second attempt at starting, under a black flag, the fleet got away. The waves were very short and steep but just the right size to block the forward movement of the Squib keelboats. Helmsman technique was all important, but the lighter crews found it difficult to compete with the fitter or heavier crews.

Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in ‘Alchemy’ from the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club found a gap at the committee boat end of the start line, which they hit at speed and pulled out a substantial lead, and maintained their lead for the entire race. Perhaps it was appropriate for this team to win Wednesday’s race, as between them, they have won the Wednesday race of this Championship on probably seven previous occasions over the past thirty years. The race was a complicated one. On the first triangle the offshore wind stayed strong.

When the fleet approached the windward mark the second time the wind had dropped to 14 knots. By the time ‘Alchemy’ reached the leeward mark on the second lap the wind had disappeared entirely and all that remained was the left over sea. The boats nearest to the shoreline at Matthews Point were the most affected. Despite this, and the north running tide, ‘Alchemy’ managed to hold their lead, they kept an offshore course on the third beat where they found a new wind of 12 knots which carried them to the finish line.

Final Results:

1st. ‘Alchemy’, 2nd. ‘Moonstone’ Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel Hutchings from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club, 3rd. ‘Harry II’ with Mike Budd and Rob Larke from S.C.Y.C.
4th. ‘Cariad Bach’ with Alan Johnson and David Garlick from S.C.Y.C.

Race 6 – Wednesday: While the Squibs were waiting for last few boats to finish the first race, the wind again increased, the skies opened, and the rainfall was so heavy that the surface of the sea steamed under the heavy rainfall. Despite the limited visibility, the O.O.D. set Course Number Four, a windward-leeward course over three laps with an offset leeward finish, for the second race of the day. The wind increased again to 20 knots at the start and the sea state remained challenging. Surprisingly the fleet had their first successful start under a Class Flag. (No black flag required.)

Again Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in ‘Alchemy’ found a gap at the committee boat end of the start line, However, they were unable to match the speed and tactical prowess of Nigel and Jack Grogan in the beautifully prepared ‘Helmut Shoing II’ which was using Hyde Sails. The Grogans won the race in sunshine while the tidal stream was lessening and thus the waves became more easy to negotiate.

Final Results:

1st. ‘Helmut Shoing II’, Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. 2nd. ‘Alchemy’.R.Y.Y.C., 3rd. ‘Harry II’, S.C.Y.C. , 4th. ‘Surprise’ Duncan Grindley and Chris Jones from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Burnham.

Race 7 – Thursday: The 2012 Squib keelboat Championships has had six different race winners over the first six races, they were ‘Cariad Bach’, ‘Easy’, ‘Brimstone’, ‘Banshee’, ‘Alchemy’, ‘Helmut Shoing II’. Any class with this depth of talent has to be among the most competitive non-Olympic class in the UK. Any young helmsman with talent and ability should try their skills in this low cost Class. However, on Thursday the weather was wet, wet, wet, and the visibility was very limited. Although the windward mark could not be seen by the 72 competitors from the starting line, the Committee launch which stood alongside could be seen as a dim silhouette.

The first start, on a windward leeward course, followed the established the pattern for this Championship with a general recall- but in an unorthodox manoeuvre the RIB which crossed the front of the fleet carried a black flag and not the normal ‘General Recall’ signal. It was evident that several boats including ‘Aquabat’ and ‘Easy’ had been sitting straddling the start line at least 15 seconds before the gun fired. They were not the only offenders. The second start was under a black flag.

The O.O.D. identified the backing wind shift which occurred within the last ten minutes before the start. The Outer End Committee Boat had to lift anchor and relocate only ten minutes before the start gun, so some competitors did not have time to sight the line before the second start. The fleet behaved themselves and Race Seven of the Championship was under way. The wind backed again soon after the start and it was the boats which had started nearest the pin end, and tacked on the first shift, which benefited most including ‘Helmut Shoing II’, ‘Alchemy’ and ‘Femme Fatale’.

The wind was about six knots and the tide slack. The first beat was more of a drag race than a tactical windward leg with all boats spending 80% of their time on port tack. The offset mark was further upwind than the windward mark, but that wasn’t a problem to the first boat around, ‘Alchemy’ with Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, On the downwind leg there was little changing of positions. On the third and final beat ‘Pani Munta’, Mike Probert and Melanie Titmus from Royal Victoria Yacht Club headed out to sea where they found a stronger wind which, despite the foul tide, gave them sufficient speed to overtake ‘Alchemy’ and take the win in race seven. In continuation of the established pattern, each race continues to have a different winner.

Final Results:

1st. ‘Pani Munta’. 2nd. ‘Alchemy’.
3rd. Helmut Shoing II, Nigel and Jack Grogan, Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
4th. ‘Spoof’, Mickey Wright and Chris Dunn, Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
5th. ‘Guy Fawkes’ Phil Aspinall and Howie Enkel, Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

Racing concludes tomorrow. If ‘Cariad Back’ finishes in the same position as today (eighth), the Championship is still completely open with at least six boats capable of winning the 2012 event.

Race 8 – Friday - The 2012 Squib keelboat Championships has in previous years been contested over six races. In 2012 this was increased to eight with two discards. Going into the last race there were six of the 72 boats still capable of winning the Squib Championship. Although Alan Johnson and David Garlick in ‘Cariad Bach’ had never won the championship previously, they were leading contenders on 19 points. In close array behind were Nigel and Jack Grogan ‘Helmut Shoing II’, 24 points, ’Harry II’ Mike Budd and Rob Larke also on 24 points. ‘Moonstone’ Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel on 25 points, ‘Ric-O-Shea’ Chris and Mark Hogan 26 points, and finally ‘Lady Penelope’ Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey on 29 points.

The weather forecast was for 17 knots from the west. However when the Squibs arrived at the race area the found the wind in Start Bay to be much stronger, in fact it was blowing up to 28 knots, which must be near the safe limit for Squibs racing on open waters. The tide was ebbing, and kicking up a sea with short waves in excess of 1m. high. Some competitors found the conditions to be too severe and returned to shore. ‘Ric-O-Shea’ ran into trouble before racing began, when the jib halyard came apart from the jib and both became seriously wrapped around the forestay.

Would this put the eight time championship winner out of contention? Despite the adverse conditions, he pulled up alongside the flagship, and managed to rectify the situation before the preparatory signal sounded. The course laid was Course Two, a windward leeward course over four laps with a leg length in excess of one mile. Which of the contenders would revel under these conditions?

Quickest out of the blocks was ‘Spoof’ sailed by Mickey Wright and Chris Dunn. They were found to be ‘On Course Side’ so their efforts were in vain. The majority of the fleet remained on starboard tack to benefit from the west going tide. It was ‘Harry II’ who rounded the windward mark in the lead, with ‘Cariad Bach’ in second position and ‘Helmut Shoing II’ in third. Each of these sailed a conservative race without taking any un-necessary risks. The wind did not abate at all. Under such tough conditions there were some casualties but none of the championship contenders were one of them. The O.O.D, Mr. Parry took pity on the sailors, and shortened to course by omitting the fourth and last windward leg, and providing a short reaching leg to the finish.

At the finish line to order remained as before with ‘Harry II’ taking the gun. He was the eighth different race winner which shows the depth of quality in the class. Second place was ‘Cariad Bach’, which had done enough to win this great Championship which tested the Squibs under all conditions. Credit must go the all-girls team of Gina and Alex Porteous in ‘Osprey’ from Royal Victoria Yacht Club who managed to race through to finish in the top half of the fleet in 34th position despite the adverse conditions and a technical mishap.

Final results:

1st. Alan Johnson and David Garlick in ‘Cariad Bach’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. Placings 1, 6, (13) , 3, 4, 5, (8), and 2.

2nd. Mike Budd and Rob Larke in ’Harry II’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. Placings 2, (17), (73 Black flag) , 10, 3, 3, 6, and 1.

3rd. Nigel and Jack Grogan (Father and son) in ‘Helmut Shoing II’, from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. Placings 4, (11), 8, (17), 8, 1, 3, and 3.

4th. Chris and Mark Hogan in ‘Ric-O-Shea’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club.

5th. Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey in ‘Lady Penelope’, from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham.

6th. Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel in ‘Moonstone’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club.

7th. Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in ‘Alchemy’ from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club.

8th. Bryan and Jenny Riley in ‘Brimstone’ from Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club.

9th. Mike and Penny Fenwick in ‘Ghost Rider’ from Weymouth Sailing Club.

10th. Dave Best and Pete Richards in ‘Crossfire’ from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club. Squib Class website