Squibs at the Royal St George Yacht Club Regatta
by Vincent Delany 13 Jul 2018 05:50 PDT
7 July 2018
There was an entry of 210 boats at the Royal St George Regatta, Dun laoghaire, with Cruiser Zero as the largest boats, and International Moths and Wazps at the other end of the spectrum, competing within a total of 27 different classes. The fleets were divided among three race areas of Dublin Bay, one for the IRC cruisers, one for one-design fleets, and one for lighter keelboats and dinghies.
The forecast suggested a wind of between 1 and 6 knots swinging from north-west to south -east, which really sounds like 'hell on earth' for the PROs.
However, the wind had swing to the south east by the time the boats arrived at the start lines, and it blew at a steady 8-10 knots while the sun shone. Great sailing weather! In the Squib fleet sailing in the Seapoint area, there were five entries, all of which came from the local fleet, probably because the growing Howth fleet were afraid of sailing across the bay with such a light forecast.
In race 1, Rupert Westrup and Tonia McAllister in 'Sidewinder' led from the start despite the efforts of the rest of the fleet. The best battle was for second place between Sheila Power and Noel Colclough in 'Periquin' and Avril Mullett in 'Allsorts.' Avril is new to Squibs, and this was her first open event. Here is a young lady to watch!
At the finish the order was 'Allsorts' ahead of 'Periquin'.
In race 2, the battle was between 'Allsorts' and 'Sidewinder' who changed places several times, due to 'Allsorts' pointing higher on the beats, and 'Sidewinder' being quicker under spinnaker. At the finish 'Sidewinder' won by one boatlength.
Squib results:
1st. Sidewinder
2nd. Allsorts
3rd. Periquin
4th. Fox
5th. Astrix