Howth Yacht Club

Welcome to the webpage for the Airtricity National Squib Championship, which was hosted by Howth Yacht Club from the 17th to the 24th of June 2005.

The regatta was a tremendous success with a fleet of 82 boats, enjoying fabulous weather, great racing and a hectic social diary.
The full programme of racing was achieved without any adjustment to the schedule, under the astute guidance of Principal Race Officer, David Lovegrove.

Photo
Chirs (helm) and Mark (crew) Hogan sailing their squib Rico’shea (136) en route to their fifth consecutive National Squib Championship

The Championship culminated in a Gala Prizegiving Dinner, at Howth Yacht Club, attended by over 200 sailors and guests, including His Excellency, the British Ambassador to Ireland and representatives from Airtricity, who were the event sponsor.

The overall winners of the event were the father and son team of Chris and Mark Hogan, sailing Squib no. 136 - Ric O'Shea. This is the fifth year in a row that these two sailors have won the event, which is an unprecedented level of success in what is a very competitive class.

The regatta is now over, the trophies and prizes have been awarded and all the boats have returned to their home fleets. However it will not be long before the squib sailors will need to start making plans for next years championship, which will be held at Royal Victoria Yacht Club, on the Isle of Wight, from the 1st to the 8th of July 2006.

Event Photos

Graham Gosling provided photo cover for the event.

Graham has a selection of photos on his website at www.grahamgosling.com

Graham can be contacted by email at [email protected]

Our HYC Website Photo Gallery

I've posted a collection of pics in the site gallery. There is a link under "Event Photo Gallery" in the right side menu - or
click here for the gallery.

The gallery photos break down as follows:
All of Squib Championships (1) and up to reference SC 0326 in Squib Championships (2) are individual boat photos which are identified and indexed.

Squib Championships (2)
SC 0326 - SC 0339 are unidentified individual boat photos.
SC 0340 - SC 0358 are boat groups.
SC 0359 - SC 0376 are the photos I took on the club balcony.

Airtricity Sponsor of the National Squib Championships 2005
Airtricity currently supplies renewable electricity to over 35,000 commercial customers in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and is developing onshore and offshore wind farms in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and the United States.

As an integrated utility, the company is both a generator and supplier of green electricity and currently has wind farms operating in Donegal, Sligo, Cavan, Wicklow, Fermanagh and Ardrossan, Scotland.

Commenting on the announcement of the sponsorship, Mark Ennis, CEO of Airtricity Supply said, "Airtricity is delighted to be associated with this popular sailing event. We are currently developing offshore wind farms in Ireland and the UK and so have a keen interest in maritime activities. As our energy is harnessed from the wind, this event fits perfectly with our company ethos.

When last held in Howth in 1996, the event attracted 100 entrants from the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which has been the largest entry in the thirty two year history of the event.

Howth Yacht Club and the local Squib class are very pleased to have such a prestigious sponsor as Airtricity. Preparations are well advanced for a packed programme of competitive sailing and relaxing social events.

Chris and Mark Hogan, from the UK, will be defending their title against worthy challengers, which are expected to include the top Squib sailors from the UK and Ireland, as well as Dublin based sailors from other classes.

Championship Format

Friday 17th June	Registration & Scrutineering
Saturday 18th June	Registration & Scrutineering
Sunday 19th June	Practice Race followed by Championship Race No. 1
Monday 20th June	Championship Race No. 2
Tuesday 21st June	Championship Race No. 3
Wednesday 22nd June	Championship Race No. 4
Thursday 23rd June	Championship Race No. 5
Friday 24th June	Championship Race No. 6

National Squib Class

The Squib is a two-man open keelboat designed in 1967 by Oliver Lee. The boat is 5.8 m long, with a minimum sailing weight of 680 kg and a total sail area of 28.5m2. The Squib is a one-design keelboat, whose class rules have been controlled by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), since the boat gained National status, in the UK, in 1972.

The class has over 25 fleets throughout Britain and Ireland and is supported by a strong owners association, the National Squib Owners Association (NSOA), whose website can be visited at www.squibs.co.uk. A class championship has been held every year since 1972, regularly attracting entries in excess of 80 boats.