Kinsale Yacht Club hosted the 'Red FM/Evening Echo' Irish Squib Championships over the weekend of 8 - 10th August. 35 entries representing Howth, Belfast, Dublin Bay and Dungarvan joined the local fleet for a very successful event. The format for racing was four races on the Friday and three on the Saturday, leaving Sunday for hauling out and travelling home. Howth was represented by seven boats, the largest visiting club contingent.
The previous weekend, four of Howth's Squibs travelled to Kinsale Regatta and left the boats locally. The ever-extending motorway from Dublin to Cork makes it a more relaxed drive every year. Only the inevitable jam in Abbeyleix knocked the average speed. For some, the train provided a chance to pre-rest for the event and discuss dining arrangements.
The Howth boats' speed was well up from last year's and the dominance of the RNIYC boats was not as evident throughout the weekend. Notable individual performances included a second race place for "Fantome" (Ronan MacDonnell and Gordon Hudson), a fifth in the same race for "Bateleur" (Hazel Ruane and Jonathan Craig) and a sixth race place for "Puffin" (Emer Harte and Julian Seymour). The wind was predominantly Force 4 with some tasty gusts and a couple of waves to delude people into thinking Squibs are fast! 40 years after their first sail, Squibs are still not fast but can handle conditions all but Folkboats would dare to venture out in!
Kinsale's legendary hospitality couldn't be dampened by the torrents of rain. It wasn't as dreadful as that which Dublin experienced but some crews continued to moan about the state of their hands and the condition of their oilies "After only one season". Many helms noted that the part of their crews oilies which was suffering most wear suggested that they weren't hanging out far enough. An investigation is underway.
As usual, the prize giving dinner provided a demonstration of what happens when a gaggle of RStGYC ladies have a glass too much of sherry and hit the dance floor. Only the bravest of men entered the ring. Only the fittest survived. Crews went missing, only to reappear the next day when boats were trailered and packed away.
The final standings were as follows:
| | | | | Pts |
| 1. | Aficionado | | RNIYC | 12 |
| 2. | Toy for the Boys | | RNIYC | 18 |
| 3. | Halloween | | RNIYC | 22 |
| 4. | Inismarra | | RNIYC | 29 |
| 5. | Klipbok | Dalton / Merry | HYC | 29 |
| 7. | Fantome | MacDonnell / Hudson | HYC | 42 |
| 8. | Bateleur | Ruane / Craig | HYC | 48 |
| 11. | Pot Black | McMurtry x 2 | HYC | 60 |
| 12. | Puffin | Harte / Seymour | HYC | 71 |
| 18. | Shadowfax | Merry / Odlum | HYC | 112 |
| 31. | Astrix | McCaughey x 2 | HYC | 178 |
|
Pot Black
Puffin
Shadowfax
Astrix
|
