| For the third consecutive year, RED FM, Cork's best radio station (Even better than Radio Roy), sponsored the Squib South Coast Championships, arguably Ireland's best Squib event. |
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Five boats made the eventful journey from Howth to Kinsale.
Gridlock on the M50 caused some frayed tempers. Switchback junctions at the Red Cow induced seasickness. Two had trailer tyre blow-outs at exactly the same time, thirty miles apart! If there were ever signs suggesting not to do the event, they were all coming at once! |
 Klipbok (Library Photo) |
| Fortunately all arrived in Kinsale to be craned in the same evening. Shattered nerves were welded together with some Murphys. A glorious Friday morning, something us Dubliners will be telling the following generations of web-footed children about, greeted the fleet of 21 boats, 9 of which were visitors, on the startline in a nice Force 3 / 4. Howth's Klipbok and Femme Fatal took three race wins between them, with Fantome's consistency leaving HYC holding the top three positions overnight. Irish sailing's best event BBQ followed racing and tired muscles were given a welcome rest. A sideshow in the form of a visiting cruising group uniformed in reefers and flat white caps added fuel to the fires of evermore-slurred conversations. |
| Saturday morning's sun blasted us from our slumbers to the startline. Klipbok took Race 4 from Femme Fatal. It was down to the wire for Race 5. Femme Fatal took the smoke with Klipbok 5th, Klipbok scraping ahead by a point to take the title which Femme Fatal won two years earlier. Fantome was on equal points with third-placed Derek Jago (RStGYC) but on countback finished in fourth place. |
 Femme Fatal (Library Photo) |
| A dinner of bacchanalian proportions was followed by a fireworks display large enough to light up even the most notorious of Cork coves. (Some said the display was specifically for the Squibs. The cynics said it was part of Kinsale Arts Week.) With armfuls of prizes donated by the main and minor sponsors and a Eurovision-esque thankyou speech (Albeit drowned out by some hecklers) proceedings were brought right up to the RED FM disco. Twinkled-toed HYC members strutted their stuff with the Flattely's of Kinsale until put to bed. With next year's Irish Championship to be held in Kinsale, the bar has been raised to new heights. Only a fool would miss it!
Day 1 of the Dun Laoghaire Regatta week has just taken place. Tim Concannon's Femme Fatal took the overall regatta trophy in 2005. Let's hope for another Howth success. |
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