The Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

Congratulations to all competitors on a wonderful week of sailing! Well done!

FOR FINAL RESULTS CLICK HERE

The Squibs started to arrive in the George on Thursday 17th. June to join the local Dublin Bay fleet and Howth Squibs which had already been diligently scrutineered and weighed during the previous week by Derek Jago and his support team of Jill Fleming and Sheila Power. Checking continued over Friday and Saturday and all seventy boats were inspected on the Carlisle Pier and transported to the club cranes where they were weighed before launching. Some crews were required to undertake minor alterations to their boats such as replacement of their sandcastle buckets with something more substantial, or adding lead ingots to boats which failed the weigh-in.

On Saturday the competitors were invited to compete in two Dublin Bay Sailing Club races which allowed the competitors to experience the winds, tides and waves of Dublin Bay. Derek Higgins in ‘Trio’ ( the e-bay Squib purchased for ST£350 ) was the popular winner of the second race. This was followed by a competitors briefing where David Lovegrove from Howth the former Squib sailor and OOD outlined his strategy for race management. His intention was to communicate with all the competitors by VHF, but not address individuals.

On Sunday the sun shone and the Squibs showed that they are excessively keen when starting, so the OOD resorted to the dreaded black flag. The race got away safely on the second attempt, with a one mile windward and leeward leg. It tested all systems, as was intended, and the systems worked.
In the first race Nigel Grogan in ‘Helmut Shoing II’ won the race from Dave Best in ‘Crossfire’ thanks to a radical 180 degree wind shift. The wind shift was a classic Dublin Bay occurrence caused by the sea breeze overwhelming the gradient wind. The race was stopped at the second windward mark. It was difficult for the committee who recorded sail numbers of the whole fleet who finished within about three minutes,  Pete and Anne Evans in ‘Anemos’ were best George boat with a 9th. place.
That evening a reception was hosted by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in the Town hall followed by dinner and salsa dancing in the Clubhouse.

On Monday a sea mist blowing in from the east persisted, and racing was abandoned at 13.15hrs. before the boats were rigged. In the evening the competitors were dined and entertained in Johnny Fox’s Pub. Some squibs commented that the pantaloons drying in front of the hearth really looked a bit untidy.

As a result of no race on Monday, there were two races on Tuesday. The first race was with a light westerly wind and the second race had an easterly wind growing in strength. Chris Hogan won the first race in ‘Rico’shea’.  Frank Whelan was best of the George fleet in 28th. place, with Angela Heath and Mary McGloughlin in ‘Chillax’ in 29th. with Derek Jago in ‘Why Not’ in 30th. place.
The beautifully prepared ‘aLchemy’ steered by Gerard Dyson won the second race in a force 4-5 breeze. Vincent Delany and Brendan Fogarty in ‘Femme Fatale’ finished in 9th. place. This was followed by the AGM.

Wednesday was a remarkable day. In light airs, the first race to get away without a general recall, had a wind shift of 30 degrees just before the start gun which favoured the boats at the committee boat end, and they had to start on port hand in order to cross the start line. About ten boats in the mid line including Pete and Anne Evans’s ‘Anemos’  picked up the new breeze and pulled clear. On the first downwind leg the wind collapsed which allowed the mid fleet boats to pass the leaders by staying in the failing breeze. After rounding the ‘leeward mark’ the OOD signalled a mark change which was mis-interpreted by the lead boats and the race was abandoned. On the second attempt to start several boats were black flagged including ‘Femme Fatale’ which prevented them from any further racing that day. The race was abandoned several minutes after the start. The third attempt to start with a black flag had a dip in the line, and the start got away cleanly. A further major wind shift at the windward mark resulted in the race being abandoned. However the dancing on the club balcony late into the night was a hugely enjoyable success.

Due to the black flags of the previous day, several boats were required to sit out the first race on Thursday. Sam Cole in ‘Sophie’ who won the race from rooky Brian O’Hare and Peter Finnegan in ‘Nimble’. This was the best R.St.G.Y.C. result of the week.
In the second race, on a shortened course, which was lead by Philip Aspinall and Tansy Millerick in the yellow boat ‘Guy Falkes’ until 300m from the finish line. Nigel Harris in ‘Banshee’ overtook him and won the second race from ex.pat. Owen Delany in ‘Firebird’ . ‘Lola’ finished in 16th. Place and ‘Anemos’ in 17th.
The Mid Fleet AGM took place on Thursday evening.

On Friday, Mike and Penny Fenwick in ‘Ghost rider’ won the race with ‘Ruby Blue’ Aidan O’ Connell and Sian Mc. Cleave in third place. A great result for the George fleet. The Fenwicks were popular winners the Championship which they won previously four years ago.
The lift-out of the Squibs was organised with military precision, towing about 50 trailers from the Carlisle Pier, lifting Squibs out on the two club cranes, and returning the boats to the Carlisle Pier, where the crew dropped their masts.. It took only 90 minutes thanks to full support from the club boatmen under Paul Mc.Donald and all of the George Squib crews.
The final prizegiving on the balcony of the clubhouse was followed by a magnificent dinner in the club dining room. Commodore Patrick Blaney thanked the competitors for coming and thanked Ian Roberts the event manager and all of his team for all his hard work. During the Dinner Frank Harrington was presented with a hatful of money collected for the R.N.L.I. The amount of money was exactly the same number in euros, as his finishing place in the event, and his age. ( it was his birthday.)  The dinner was followed by dancing on the balcony to the music of Johnny Hurricane and the Jets.

Final results: ‘Anemos’ 20th.
Ruby Blue 24th.
‘Lola’ 26th.
‘Femme Fatale’ 29th.
‘Absolutely Fabulous’ 34th.
‘Chillax’ 35th.
‘Nimble’ 40th.
‘Why Not’ 42nd.
‘Little Demon’ 46th.
‘Aquabats’ 50th.
‘Sidewinder’ 52nd.
‘Waverider’ 60th.
‘Coorse and Fine’ 61st.
‘Little Bird’ 63rd.
‘Buzz Lite’ 65th.
‘Fox’ 67th.
‘Bellerophon’ 69th.

P.S. We can have another crack at beating the English and Welsh Squibs at the championship in Plymouth next year.

 

 

 

---