Barry O'Neill made a clean sweep of the prizes for the third year running in the SB3 class on Dublin Bay. James Gorman showed form to win series 3.YC. The class announced its annual Dublin Bay Sailing Club prizewinners ahead of the prize giving ceremony, on of the biggest nights of the sailing year in Dun Laoghaire, on Friday 12th November at the Royal St.George YC. The winners are:

SB3 DBSC Prize Winners 2010

Sunday Overall
1st. Sin Bin                            Barry O'Neill           1st. Silver Fleet  Bob Hobby
2nd. Alert Packaging           Justin Burke
3rd. Seriously Bonkers      Martin Cuppage

Sunday Series 1
1st. Mephisto                        Stephanie and Tim Bourke
2nd. Seriously Bonkers      Martin Cuppage
3rd.Alert Packaging            Justin Burke

Sunday Series 2
1st. Alert Packaging            Justin Burke
2nd.Sin Bin                            Barry O'Neill
3rd. Design Security           Colin Galavan

Sunday Series 3
1st. Odin                                 James Gorman
2nd. Sin Bin                           Barry O'Neill
3rd.  Seriously Bonkers     Martin Cuppage

Thursday Overall
1st. Sin Bin                            Barry O'Neill
2nd. Design Security           Colin Galavan
3rd. Alert Packaging           Justin Burke

Thursday Series 1
1st. Sin Bin                            Barry O'Neill
2nd. Design Security           Colin Galavan
3rd. Bom Chickawahwah  John O'Driscoll

Thursday Series 2
1st. Sin Bin                            Barry O'Neill
2nd. Design Security           Colin Galavan
3rd. Alert Packaging           Justin Burke

SB3 Class captain Justin Burke admits he's not sure how to measure the success or otherwise of last weekend's Open Day but he is sure everyone enjoyed themselves. "We had 31 people that sailed, got fed and watered and got boat info. One fell over board and one lost their breakfast overboard and all said they enjoyed the day. The most encouraging bit was that they all asked to be put on the mailing list".

Of the 31 people who came along six from Howth and Burke anticipates further Howth moves into the class. The Galway connection was also renewed and two top Northern Irish helmsmen travelled to the National YC. 

There is a new helmsman at the wheel of Dun Laoghaire regatta next season and after taking soundings from local Dublin Bay classes, new event boss Adam Winkelmann is expecting in excess of 500 boats, despite the hard times. 'We all need to enjoy ourselves from time to time' Winkelmann, 'and that, as always, will be the focus of the regatta in July next year – great racing and good fun ashore'.

A number of classes have already committed to run open championships within the regatta including the Wayfarer UK and Irish Nationals, the J109 Open Championship, the SB3 Open Championship and a return match of the Irish Sea Championship in J80s between Ireland and Wales. The race management team headed up by Con Murphy, aided by the usual ocean of wonderful volunteers, are working to facilitate this to ensure the kind of quality race management and organisation that will ensure the success of these championships.

The non-spinnaker fleet was the largest fleet in the Regatta in 2009 and is expected again to top the numbers and provide great racing for large boats with a smaller crew.

The regatta combines the wonderful waterfront facilities of all 4 Dun Laoghaire clubs and includes support from other clubs in the Dublin area including Howth. There will be a full on entertainment programme for all participants and many more with the continued support of many of the sponsors of 2009 which included Volvo Cars, Dublin Port, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, The Royal Marine Hotel, Helly Hansen, Dubarry and many more.

One of the highlights of the regatta are the Ladies Lunches which will again be held across a number of the clubs on the Saturday. Top Fashion, great food, a dash of style accompanies by the glass of champagne are the order of the day. All these at a very reasonable price reflecting the realities of today's tightened purse strings.

There will be more announcements in the coming weeks.

For more information visit www.dlregatta.org or event secretary Ciara Dowling at [email protected]

What started out as local recruitment drive on Dublin Bay has widened with interest now reported nationwide for next weekend's Dun Laoghaire SB3 Open Day. Sailors are coming from Howth, Galway and Northern Ireland for test sails at the National YC. "We never imagined there would be so much interest from so many locations out side the Dun Laoghaire area" says class captain Justin Burke.

"Our original intention was to encourage local sailors to try out an SB3 but we will look after everyone. The bookings are coming in at a steady rate and everything thing is in place for a great day. We have racing , boat show , demos and video of the Worlds at Lake Garda", he added.
The Sports Boat concept is focused around close competitive racing on 40 minute courses in easily manoeuvrable one design boats. "You do not need a football team to race just 3 people. And above all they are fast. This is not cheque book racing. Everyone has the same boat same sails so it's all about the racing, Justin says.

Although this concept of racing is not new it is very much in tune with the modern life style where free time is at a premium and the prospect of getting 2 competitive races in 2 hours appeals to helm and crew .

Contact Justin Burke 087 2417542 or drop him a line at [email protected] with your name and number to book a test sail

Not content with being the biggest (and fastest) keelboat class in the country the SB3 class association in Dun Laoghaire intends to break new ground this winter and further expand the class. In a letter to members class captain Justin Burke is urging owners to get behind a new off season initiative. "To keep the class vibrant we need to encourage new boats and members to join the fleet" he says. 

New sailors are invited to try a sail on the 'one design performance boat' in a special Open Day on Saturday, 9th October between 1030 and 1600. Registration begins at 9.30am.

Boats will be alongside at the National Yacht Club in the harbour for demo runs and class members will be available to discuss the Sportsboat design.

The recent SB3 Nationals staged in Howth this month attracted a fleet of 48 boats racing with attendance from all the major Irish sailing centres. Internationally Ireland sends a team to the World championships and the inaugural world championships were held here in Dun Laoghaire in 2008 with a massive fleet of 137 boats.

The class association will organising sailing in Scotsman's Bay on October 9th with RIB transfers to the boats. Experienced or novice sailors are all invited to participate. Those wishing to sail ideally should advise the organisers first of their time slots and make sure they bring their sailing wet weather gear and a life jacket. Short races will also be run to allow visitors get a feel of the boats.

To make a provisional booking, please call or text Justin on 087 2417542

The Royal Ulster YC crew of Gareth Flannigan/Brian Spence/Jeremy Tomlinson were the emphatic winners of the Investwise SB3 National Championship at Howth with a remarkable 17.5 points margin over runner-up 'Yeti' (Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle/Alan Green) of the Royal St.George YC, with early pacemaker 'Sharkbait' (Ben Duncan/Brian Moran/Ric Morris) of HYC a further two points adrift.

The northerners simply got better and better as the series unfolded. After a tentative start with an 8th and a 6th on day one, they strung together an impressive record of three bullets and three seconds, clearly revelling in the strong wind conditions over the weekend.

They arrived in Howth as the pre-event favourites on the back of top class performances at the four regional championships and did not disappoint. Overnight leaders going into the last day, they only had to steer clear of trouble and keep an eye on Craig and Duncan to be sure of overall victory.

Winning the penultimate race (just ahead of Craig and with Duncan back in 17th) effectively sealed the title but the last race threw up the highly unusual result in one-design racing of a tie for line honours with 'Bullet' (Trevor D'Arcy and crew from Carrickfergus), with Duncan salvaging a third after several average results.

Discarding an 8th was a clear indication of the Royal Ulster crew's dominance of the event and the pre-event predictions as to who would be the podium finishers was highly accurate. In addition to the top three, there were four other northern crews and four Dun Laoghaire boats in the top ten.

Duncan was the leading local boat in 3rd overall, although two other Howth crews 'Flying Saucers' (Emma McDonald) and 'Lia' (Dave Barry) filled 11th and 12th places respectively.

David Quinn of sponsors Investwise, who competed himself and finished mid-fleet, was delighted with the event which, with 49 entries, ranks as one of the biggest one-design class championships in the country. Organisation of the championship was headed up by Suzanne Carroll and her committee.

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY GARETH CRAIG HERE

SB3 NATIONALS PHOTO GALLERY BY BRIAN CARLIN HERE

Investwise SB3 National Championship – overall result:

1. McCreadys Gill Team (Flannigan/Spence/Tomlinson) RUYC 15.5 pts
2. Yeti (Craig/Boyle/Green) RStGYC 33 pts
3. Sharkbait (Duncan/Moran/Morris) 35 pts
4. Flutter (Algeo/Knatchbull/Haughton) RStGYC 47 pts
5. Bad (Hyde/Dowling/Dowling) RIYC 53 pts
6. Toucan 3 (Vaughan & crew) RNIYC 57 pts

The latest from Howth, report follows: HOWTH YACHT CLUB. SB3 NATIONALS (O'ALL) 05/09/2010 SB3: 1, McCreadys Gill Team Gareth Flannigan RUYC (15.50); 2, Yeti Sean Craig RStGYC (33.00); 3, Sharkbait Ben Duncan HYC (35.00); 4, Flutter Andrew Algeo RStGYC (47.00); 5, Bad Stefan Hyde RIYC (53.00); 6, Toucan 3 Ross Vaughan RNIYC (57.00)

By all accounts it looked like the right hand side of the course paid best dividends in yesterday's opening three rounds of the SB3 National Championships. Brian Carlin spoke to crews as they came ashore in Howth and below he talks with Brian Reilly and Sam Hunt of SB3 Boomsticks and how they won the last race of the day.

A collision at the SB3 western championships in Galway two weeks ago has prompted a leading Irish sailor to question the international sailing rules because in certain circumstances he says the rules appear to protect boats without right of way e.g. boats on port tack.

"There is a real problem with the rules which effectively protect the port tack approach to a windward mark inside the zone unless the offended Starboard tack boat is prepared to jump through endless complicated hoops to ensure a successful protest and in the meantime his boat could be badly damaged" says top helmsman Roger Bannon.

The damage sustained in Galway is expected to cost over Euro 5,000 to repair. 

Discussion on the matter has taken place on the afloat.ie forum HERE and also on the class forum HERE.

A fleet of up to 50 boats from 10 clubs is a strong possibility for the Investwise SB3 Irish National Championships at Howth YC on September 3rd-5th, with 'McCready Sailboats' (Gareth Flannigan, Ballyhome) and 'Sharkbait' (Ben Duncan of the host club) among the pre-racing favourites.

The two crews have been regular front-runners in the Irish fleet, with wins at the Southerns and Northerns respectively, and they sit on top of the ranking ladder this year. Peter Kennedy (RNIYC), who won the title last year in Cork, and former All-Ireland Champion Sean Craig are also expected to be among the leading contenders.

The Western Championships in Galway a fortnight before the Nationals will give a further indication of form although such is the high level of competition in the SB3 class that any one of 10 crews has the potential to lift the title.

The Nationals, under the control of PRO David Lovegrove (???), will involve 8 races over three days, with the fleet being split into gold, silver and bronze divisions after the second day, based on overall positions at that time.

The sponsor is Investwise, a financial planning firm based in Dublin's docklands whose managing director David Quinn is an active SB3 sailor in Howth. Established in 1988, the firm offers independent, impartial, client-focused advice on all aspects of personal finance including pension strategies, savings and investments and guidance on lending and debt issues.

"As a keen SB3 sailor, I am delighted to have the opportunity to be associated with the Nationals as its title sponsor and I wish all the competitors – and the organizers – the best of luck for the event", said David Quinn.