Squib National Championship 2021 at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club

by Glenn Pritchard 22 Sep 2021 13:29 BST 13-17 September 2021

Squib Nationals at Abersoch © Michelle Stoker

43 boats gathered at SCYC for the 2021 Nationals. After a frustrating Sunday with no wind it was a relief to wake on Monday with 10 -14 knots from the SE.

Race 1 got away first time. The lumpy swell made for challenging sailing conditions. Alan Johnson and Dave Garlic sailing Cariad Bach made it look so easy leading from start to finish. Mike Budd and Mark Platt sailing Harry 6, a new Rondar boat finished 2nd. New to the fleet Tony Woods and Josh Hamer came in a creditable 3rd.

Race 2 got away after a few false starts under U flag. The breeze was up and down. Mike Budd took this race pulling away from the pack on the 2nd beat for an impressive victory. Crossfire sailed by Dave Best and Matt Johnson came in 2nd.

The race team did a great job getting 2 races done and everyone in the bar for 5pm. A gentle breeze from the SW greeted the 43 boats for race 3 after a 2-hour delay. Flat seas and sunshine, champagne sailing conditions. Andrew Moore and Peter Hallinan sailing Winkles Retreat were first to the windward mark followed by locals Nigel Harris and John Stevenson sailing Banshee. Andrew sailed a faultless race to take the win. Special mention to Silver fleet winner Mike Hughes and Gary Catterall coming in 5th overall sailing Alexa. Great reward for all the hours of work put into putting the boat together.

Everyone got a bit enthusiastic on the first start of race 4 so we were called back. The wind was flicking around so much PRO Mike Crompton did well to get the fleet away. The right was right and it was Andrew Moore again first at the windward mark hunted down by Mike Budd. As the race went on Mike Budd and Nigel and Jack Grogan took control. Another silver fleet star Firecracker sailed by Steven Bridges and Mathew Bolton came in a creditable 7th. Great for the Killyleagh Yacht Club.

Today was extremely challenging and credit must go to the Mike Davies and his team for staying till very late to ensure all competitors were retrieved from their boats and into the bar safely. Best wishes to Mark Hogan who sustained an injury on the way in and thank to everyone for a prompt and professional response. The Burnham fleet are ensuring the social is on fire and prize-giving is very lively.

Squib Nationals at Abersoch - photo © Michelle Stoker

Another beautiful day at Abersoch for race 5. The breeze started to fill in from the SW so the PRO gave the go ahead to get out on the race course. A good breeze had developed and after a number of false starts, the 43 strong fleet got away. This was a tricky race with many lead changes but in the end RicO'shea sailed by Tom Jeffcoate and Mark Hogan took the win followed by Mike Budd. Good to see Mark patched up after yesterday's accident. Squiggle sailed by Jono Brown and Chris Agar came in third.

The breeze was still up at 12-14 knots for race 6, with flat sea and sunshine. Perfect sailing conditions. The fleet got away with numerous incidents on the start line. Magic Flute sailed by Ian Ackroyd and Pete Richards sailed a faultless beat to lead at the windward mark. Many places changed on a day of snakes and ladders; one place didn't change that was the lead. Great sailing by Ian and Pete to take the win. Nigel and Jack Grogan got through to 2nd and Lady Penelope sailed by Malcolm Hutchins and Andy Carley capped a good day for them to come in 3rd.

Some mixed results today but good to see some new boats in the top 10.

Competitors arrived at SCYC on Friday morning for race 7 to be greeted with 17-20 knots of breeze with plenty of ground swell. Mike Davies and the launch men did a great job getting everyone out to their boats. As always, the fleet were really keen to get away, too keen as it turns out and after the first black flag 4 boats went back to Pwllheli marina. It did the trick and the next start got away. A big swell running with waves breaking over the decks. James Peters and Paul Vernon sailing Misfire crossed the fleet on port closely followed by Dave Best and Matt Johnson sailing Crossfire. Matt sailing his third Nationals in different class in as many weeks. Down the first run there were some spectacular surfing conditions. Race 6 winners Magic flute suffered spinnaker damage after being right up in contention. Bacchante VII sailed by Joe Henry and Roly Wilson got in front. The lead changed between these 3 boats. Dave Best got in front then Jo Henry took it again. James and Paul tried everything down the final run, a terrific effort from two SCYC old boys who last sailed a squib 15 years ago. In the end Bacchante VII took the win. Crossfire came in 2nd and the old boys 3rd. A fantastic last race to end the Championships. The fleet enjoyed a fast reach back to the marina where Nick Butterworth from Firmhelm Pwllheli Boatyard craned 43 boats out in under 3 hours. A great job with the support of the SCYC fleet.

Overall

This year there were 6 different winners of the 7 races sailed. Mike Budd and Mark Platt were the deserved winners. Some interesting facts, the Race team conducted 19 starting sequences for 7 races prompting Nick Spall to comment that the fleet were 'Geriatric Hooligans'. I think that sums up the week well!!

We had some excellent sailing thanks to PRO Mike Crompton and his team. The social was superb with the free nibbles in the bar just what was needed after a long day on the water.

These events rely on the support of volunteers and sponsors, we would like to thank everyone who donated their time, expertise and prizes in making such a success of this event. Main events sponsor was BTTC Infrastructure with supporting sponsors being Abersoch Boatyard, Batt Sails, Firmhelm Ltd, Hyde Sails, Orca Bay, Partington Marine, Tanners Wine, The Ship-Llanbedrog and Zinc Abersoch.

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Squib nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here

Pos	Fleet	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Pts
1st	Gold	Harry 6	908	Mike Budd	Mark Platt	SCYC	2	1	‑7	1	2	6	(DNS)	12
2nd	Gold	RicO'Shea	136	Tom Jeffcoate	Mark Hogan	SCYC	‑5	‑14	4	3	1	4	5	17
3rd	Gold	Helmut Shoing II	105	Nigel Grogan	Jack Grogan	RCYC	‑13	3	‑10	2	9	2	6	22
4th	Gold	Squiggle	142	Jono Brown	Chris Agar	RCYC	4	7	‑9	‑8	3	7	7	28
5th	Gold	Winkles Retreat	881	Andrew Moore	Peter Hallinan	Haven Ports YC	‑34	15	1	4	‑29	5	8	33
6th	Gold	Magic Flute	805	Ian Ackroyd	Pete Richards	SCYC	‑16	‑28	15	5	6	1	10	37
7th	Gold	Grayling	23	Richard Robinson	Mark Thompson	SCYC	‑21	4	3	10	17	‑30	4	38
8th	Gold	Crossfire	797	Dave Best	Matt Johnson	SCYC	7	2	22	‑29	‑30	11	2	44
9th	Gold	White Magic	828	David Wines	Keith Davies	West Hoe SC	8	5	‑29	9	‑24	10	19	51
10th	Gold	Spoof	811	Micky Wright	Alex Porteous	RCYC	14	6	‑24	12	11	‑17	9	52
11th	Gold	Banshee	65	Nigel Harris	John Stephenson	SCYC	17	‑35	2	17	5	‑33	14	55
12th	Gold	Mayhem	754	Steve Allso	Glenn Pritchard	SCYC	11	‑24	12	11	12	‑21	12	58
13th	Gold	Misfire	127	James Peters	Paul Vernon	SCYC	‑30	9	18	‑36	7	22	3	59
14th	Gold	Alchemy	800	Peter Marchant	Katie Cole	RCYC	10	12	8	‑28	16	‑25	16	62
15th	Gold	Moonstone	96	Malcolm Blackburn	David Shiel	SCYC	‑20	10	‑36	18	14	12	11	65
16th	Gold	Cariad Bach	132	Alan Johnson	Dave Garlick	SCYC	1	17	‑31	14	20	14	(BFD)	66
17th	Gold	Bacchante VII	52	Joe Henry	Roly Wilson	Portsmouth SC	18	23	6	‑32	19	‑24	1	67
18th	Gold	Lady Penelope	819	Malcolm Hutchings	Andy Carley	RCYC	‑27	21	25	15	8	3	(BFD)	72
19th	Gold	Squib	11	Dick Batt	Rob Eldridge	Royal Victoria YC	6	16	17	‑30	‑33	20	15	74
20th	Gold	Kaizen	882	Nick Whipp	Mark Southee	SCYC	25	13	‑28	16	15	8	(BFD)	77
21st	Silver	Alexa	444	Mike Hughes	Gary Catterall	SCYC	‑29	26	5	22	4	‑35	21	78
22nd	Gold	Archimedes	822	Tony Woods	Josh Hamer	Glossop SC	3	22	11	25	‑26	18	‑27	79
23rd	Gold	Firestarter	129	Chris Rust	James Vineer	Portsmouth SC	15	19	19	19	‑31	9	‑30	81
24th	Silver	Firecracker	149	Steven Bridges	Matthew Bolton	Killyleagh YC	‑32	‑30	14	7	23	16	23	83
25th	Gold	Bacchante	84	Gez Brown	Harvey Worden	SCYC	12	‑32	20	26	10	15	(DNS)	83
26th	Gold	Discord	91	David Pinner	Jono Baker	Haven Ports YC	9	25	21	6	‑27	‑31	25	86
27th	Gold	Guy Fawkes	72	Phil Aspinall	Howie Enkel	RCYC	19	20	‑39	13	22	13	‑32	87
28th	Gold	Supernova	605	Ian Kelly	James Baxter	Horning SC	22	11	16	27	13	‑32	(BFD)	89
29th	Gold	Dream On	789	Brian Holland	Tony Sampson	SCYC	‑26	8	‑26	20	18	26	18	90
30th	Gold	Lucky Number	906	David Lloyd	Mark Stomes	Portsmouth SC	23	18	27	‑35	‑35	19	31	118
31st	Silver	Artemis 2	36	Philip Rust	Mike Rust	Brightlingsea SC	31	‑37	23	23	32	‑39	17	126
32nd	Silver	Kitten	85	Jamie Pope	James Pritchard	SCYC	‑36	27	‑37	33	28	23	20	131
33rd	Silver	Slipstream	102	Neil Logan	Robert Marshall	Killyleagh YC	33	33	‑41	21	25	‑34	26	138
34th	Silver	Nimbus	17	Mark Greaves	Will Oldroyd	SCYC	24	36	32	‑38	21	29	(RET)	142
35th	Gold	Essayess	849	Phil Snewin	Richard Rigg	SCYC	‑39	34	‑40	31	39	28	13	145
36th	Silver	Zoom	164	Patrick Wilton	Robert Cubitt	Haven Ports YC	35	31	33	24	‑37	36	(DNS)	159
37th	Silver	Squiblet	601	Ian McMillan	Laura Fitzgerald	SCYC	38	29	‑42	‑41	38	37	22	164
38th	Silver	Roisin	843	Ian Williams	Selina Thomas	SCYC	28	‑41	30	39	‑40	40	28	165
39th	Silver	Volante	807	Simon Watson	Jordy Withers	Killyleagh YC	‑42	38	38	34	34	‑41	24	168
40th	Silver	Threadbare	772	Tim Jones	Charlotte Jones	Royal Yorkshire YC	41	‑43	13	37	43	43	(RET)	177
41st	Silver	First Tango	39	Chris Thomas	Toby Thomas	SCYC	‑43	42	‑43	40	42	27	29	180
42nd	Silver	Lil Quickie	847	Tudor Roberts	Ieuan Williams	Holyhead SC	40	40	35	(DSQ)	36	‑42	33	184
43rd	Silver	Five	101	Dave Eddowes	Brian Dixon	SCYC	37	39	34	‑42	41	38	(RET)	189