Laser SB3 Northern Area Championships
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
April 26/27 2008

A fleet of 24 SB3s came to the line for the start of the second ever Laser SB3 Northern Area Championships at host club Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club.

The event was sponsored by North Down Tourist Board, who assisted with accommodation bookings, and Fleet Clothing sponsors Helly Hansen provided a wonderful spread of Sailing Clothing for event prizes.

In an experimental set up, the boats had been launched at Carrickfergus Sailing Club. They then sailed to Cultra to moor overnight on club moorings, giving a wonderful sight, as the fleet of sleek one-design racing yachts provided a glorious backdrop to some excellent on shore revelry.

Thanks go to Carrickfergus Sailing Club, and Rory Moore of Carrickfergus Boat Yard, for allowing the fleet to use their excellent facilities.

Last year’s winner Ronan Collins was replaced at the helm by his Olympic veteran and usual middleman Killian Collins, with Peter O’Leary, fresh from his Star World Championship race win in Miami last week, in the middle. However it was to be another Cork man who was to take the spoils overall, as Kieran Dorgan and team put in a marvellous series with a 2,13,1,2 to take the Championship title.

All looked set for a repeat of last year, as Killian shot off over the horizon in Race one, which saw a gusty force 2-3, the most breeze of the weekend. With the wind shifting to the right for race 2, Nigel Kearney, the PRO, adjusted the course, and Gordon Patterson, after a third in Race one behind the Cork duo, pulled away shortly after the start, to take the win from Aidan O’Connell, also formerly of Cork, by an impressive distance. Ross Nolan, with Stefan Hyde helming, picked up a Black Flag at the pin end by a whisker, when he might have got a way and crossed the fleet, an expensive error given his next two races saw a second and a first. Ben Duncan and Colin Galavan both showed the usual consistency to be well ranked overnight.

Dorgan won race three from Hyde, in a dying breeze, and the PRO wisely sent everyone ashore, from where a very boisterous and friendly evening commenced with a buffet and band at RNIYC.

Sunday awoke with unexpected sunshine, and no breeze, but unusually for April, there was enough heat to kick of a sea breeze, and the fleet was able to squeeze in a race before the gradient breeze finally pushed in moments after the fourth race finished to call a halt to proceedings, with Kieran Dorgan’s second place being enough to send the Trophy back to Cork again for the second successive year.

All in all, a very successful and fun filled weekend. The fleet now move to Dublin in late May for the Baily Bowl, where the Dublin fleet should see the numbers swell well into the 40s or even 50s.

DrC

Full results are here.

Hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, a running commentary of the weekend of racing is here.

The last 6 months has seen an immense effort from the SB3 World Council, the Irish and British SB3 Associations, ISAF and PSE the builders of the boat, in undertaking a review of the rules and manufacturing processes to ensure that we sail in the tightest one design sports boat fleet in the world.

The essential principal underlying the rule changes is that all SB3’s should be identical when delivered and require no further work or expense to be used for competitive racing.
The revised rules clarify and enhance the enforceability of regulations that govern the class and should ensure that boats remain one design and competitive for many years.

It has to be acknowledged that variations, particularly in weight, do exist between some of the boats built to date. For the future it is planned as part of the manufacturing process that very tight control of weights will be implemented. However, in order to ensure the existing fleet competes on an equal footing and that second hand values of boats are underpinned, the decision has been taken to adopt weight limits for boats and keels.

The Irish SB3 Association has already undertaken sample weighing of almost 40 boats and the picture emerging is that most of the boats will weigh close to the new weight limits.

Key Changes
• There is now an overall minimum weight of the hull, rig and rudder of 685Kgs. (This excludes sails, engine, designated safety equipment and spinnaker bag).
• The maximum permitted weight for the keel is 327Kgs.
• For the vast majority of boats it should be a relatively straight forward process to adjust hulls and keels to conform to these weight limits. Hulls which are under the 685 Kgs weight limit can have their weight adjusted with the addition of lead correctors.

Keel weights can also be adjusted fairly easily in accordance with advice provided by Laser Performance, see here (pdf format).
• The keel box is misaligned by about 3 degrees to port on older boats. The new rules now allow straightening the alignment of the keel fore and aft in the keel box by using Tufnol packing pieces supplied by Laser Performance. Technical guidance from Laser Performance on how best to do this is available here.
• It is now a requirement to fix national (IRL) letters on both sides of the mainsail.
• The alignment and position of the rudder blade may be adjusted so that the rudder blade is flush with the bottom of the hull.
• Owners are reminded that the use of GPS devices is now prohibited.

The full text of the revised rules, showing both the updates from January and April 2008 are available here.

Implementation
The class has always prided itself on its low key approach to measurement and it is intended that this should continue to be the style that will be adopted.
• Boats will be liable to random checking and inspection at all events by the Irish Measurer and the team of Irish Assistant Measurers.
• Crew weighing will continue to be undertaken during check in at selected events.
• It is planned to provide all boats with the opportunity to be formally weighed prior to 31 May 2008. Already 30 boats have been processed. It takes about 15 minutes per boat provided the boat is stripped and dry. The keel is weighed in situ in the boat.
• Boats will be issued with a measurement certificate. This certificate will record the measured weights of the hull and keel together with details of any correctors that need to be fitted.
• A central database of Irish boat weights will be maintained by the Irish SB3 Association.
• Boats which are found to be below minimum weight on a check weigh will be required to permanently fit appropriate lead correctors, apart from any action that a protest committee may wish to implement. Correctors may not be reduced following a check weigh. Lead correctors may only be removed or adjusted following a formal reweigh by an approved Class Measurer. The conditions for formal weighing are very strict particularly in relation to the “dryness” of the boat.
• It remains the responsibility of the owner, whether they have a measurement certificate or not, to ensure that the boat complies with the designated weights and that the stipulated amount of corrector lead is permanently attached to the boat in accordance with the rules. How to weigh a boat.
• All new boats from 1st June 2008 onwards, notwithstanding that they will be fitted with lead correctors as appropriate by PSE, must be formally weighed by an official Class Measurer before being eligible to participate in SB3 Class events.

Technical Queries
Should anyone have technical queries regarding conformance with the rules, these should be directed by email to the Irish Measurer:
The Irish measurement team is as follows:
(email addresses being set up, check back after a day or two)
Irish Measurer Roger Bannon
Regional Assistant Measurers
South Coast Ronan Collins
Northern Region Dave Cheyne
East Coast Jerry Dowling
Midlands Donie Herraghty

—————————————–
Changes to the Rules:

Rule C.6.1 Amendment: Delete “680kg” and replace with “685kg” and delete (1) and replace with the following: “(1) All equipment as listed in C.5 except for the compass bracket, buoyancy bags, if fitted, the main traveller rope, bowsprit outhaul rope, spinnaker tackline, jib tackline, lower backstay rope and any fittings or bags as detailed in C.5.2(8).”

Rule C.6.2 (b) Amendment: Add new rule to read as follows: “If the total weight of corrector weights required exceeds 20kg, the owner may divide the weight between the centreline stringer and the stringer at the port side of the mast bulkhead.”

Rule C.7.3 (h) Amendment: Add new rule to read as follows: “If the total weight of corrector weights required exceeds 20kg, additional reinforcement as detailed by the LIC may be added to the area around the centreline stringer between the mast bulkhead and the keel box.”

Rule C.8.3 (b) Amendment: Add new rule to read as follows: “From 1 September 2008, the maximum weight of the keel shall be 327kg.”

Rule C.9.5 Amendment: Delete “Main Cunningham Diameter” and “Gnav Control Line Diameter” from the list of rope dimensions.

Rule C.9.6 Amendment: Delete the current rule and replace with the following: “The bowsprit shall be retracted at all times, other than when the spinnaker is set or in the act of being set or recovered. When retracted the forward end of the bowsprit shall not extend more than 200mm forward of the hull.

———————————

Updated 2008 SB3 International Class Rules (pdf format)

Weigh an SB3 (pdf format)

Align the SB3 Keel (pdf format)

Add Weight to an SB3 Keel (pdf format)

The Royal Alfred have issued the Notice of Race for the Baily Bowl, 17 + 18 May.

It’s important we support this regatta, Ailbe Millerick (Royal Alfred) has been a great supporter of our class.

Ailbe did PRO for the Sunday Series last season and will do so again this season. So lets support the Baily Bowl, it promises to be a great week end in May.

Jerry Dowling
Dun Laoghaire Class Captain

Baily Bowl 2008 NoR (pdf format)