Photo by Photosail
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SB3's got off to a flying start in 07 where the national fleet grew from one boat to over 70 in an incredibly short space of time. The class association was established and very professionally run by Tim Burke and committee. A series of regional championships was quickly established and well attended by the class with turnouts of 25 to 55 boats.
Howth Yacht Club made some notable Open Championship achievements which were:
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| Volvo Week | 4th | Des Faherty, Mike Evans, Brian Moran |
| Southern Championshps | 2nd | Dave Quinn, Tom Fitzpatrick, John Malone |
| Northern Championships | 2nd | Dave Quinn, Tom Fitzpatrick, John Malone |
| East Coasts | 1st | Dave Quinn, Tom Fitzpatrick, John Malone |
| | 4th | Ben Duncan, Tracey Carey, Graham Brennan |
| Nationals | 2nd | Dave Quinn, Tom Fitzpatrick, John Malone |
| | 3rd | Des Faherty, Mike Evans, Brian Moran |
| Midlands | 3rd | Dave Quinn, John Malone |
We are expecting a lot more SB3's in 2008 and the season will kick off with a Spring Warmer series on the last Saturday in March - which will be windward leeward racing on 3 Saturday mornings along with the Etchells fleet and will be an open event so entries from other clubs are welcome.
There is a good reason to get practicing early this year - the SB3 World Championships will be held in the National Yacht Club in September 08. This was originally to be the European Championships however, the world council were so impressed with the organisation and facilities and strength of the fleet in Ireland, decided to make it the World Championships. This is very exciting news for a fleet that only truly became established in Ireland with 70 boats this year.
The Irish fleet will have to qualify in order to compete in the Worlds - the class ranking system will be used for this from the championships held during the Summer months preceding the Worlds. The Irish fleet will have an opportunity to practice in Dublin Bay at the National Championships which will be hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club two weeks before the World Championships.
Howth will host the SB3 East Coast Championships for the second year running, on the 6/7th July - this will qualify as a ranking event.
Should anyone be interested in sailing an SB3 please contact Michael Evans, HYC class captain. Anyone considering purchasing one - Shane Murphy has a special offering running for a limited time period - please contact Dinghy Supplies. Also, there are a number of second hand boats on the market in UK and Ireland currently.
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