National Squib South Coast Championship at Portsmouth Sailing Club

Squib South Coast Championship in Portsmouth © Louis Goldman

Squib South Coast Championship in Portsmouth © David Lloyd

Squib South Coast Championship in Portsmouth © Louis Goldman

The National Squib South Coast Championship 2018 was hosted by Portsmouth Sailing Club over the weekend 15/16 September.

Portsmouth Sailing Club has very recently installed a crane within the Town Camber area of the harbour and this was put to good use on Friday afternoon as competitors arrived from around the country and were swiftly launched and readied for action on the Saturday morning.

Saturday morning was sunny and bright but by the start of the first race of the day the gentle westerly had died to almost nothing. Race Officer Tim Johnson managed to get the fleet of 25 away and although many struggled with the dying breeze and building tide, experience shone through with class sailmaker (and event sponsor) Dick Batt in Squib taking the gun, Chris Watts in Blood, Sweat and Tears second and Micky Wright in Spoof third.

The breeze increased for the following three races, a mix of windward-leewards and triangle courses. Ian Keely and James Baxter showed off their pace in Supernova and dominated the front of the fleet for races 2, 3 and 4 however an over competitive start on race 4 resulted in a UFD that meant there was all to play for on Sunday.

Competitors were again blessed with bright weather on Sunday and a fairly consistent south westerly Force 3 to 4 provided excellent racing conditions. The race team again set windward/leeward and triangle courses and the competitiveness throughout the Squib fleet was further demonstrated with David Wines sailing White Magic winning the Bart's Bash Race 5 and Joe Henry in Bacchante VII taking the final race of the series.

Over the two days racing five different boats gained firsts and eight had podium positions but two firsts and the overall consistency of Ian Keely and James Baxter in Supernova won them the South Coast Championship for 2018.

Squib South Coast Championship in Portsmouth - photo © Louis Goldman

Portsmouth Sailing Club is relatively small and it's position at an extremely busy harbour entrance has limited opportunities in recent years for small boat sailing, however this event, and the rapid growth of the home Squib fleet, was a more than useful reminder that Ben Ainslie's INEOS Team UK home waters are equally suitable for dayboat racing! It also demonstrated what can be achieved with the backing of a great team of club volunteers who stepped up to deliver excellent race management, rib support, crane launch and recovery and of course fantastic catering throughout the whole weekend. The club is also extremely grateful to INEOS Team UK, the Portsmouth Queen's Harbour Master, the Port Harbour Master and sponsors Batt Sails, Hyde Sails and Rondar Boats for their support.

Squib South Coast Championship in Portsmouth - photo © Louis Goldman

Overall Results: