The following are extacts from the Event Home page prior to Day 1 (16th May) of the event

The Final Count Down!   by Chris Howard - Posted Tuesday 13th May

We're now on the final count down to the Nationals and we're looking forward to welcoming you to Howth Yacht Club this weekend. While competitors packs will be available at registration, the sailing instruction and the course card are available for download. We remind competitors that the race office will require a copy of your endorsed IRC cert in advance of the event. These can be emailed in advance to admin@hyc.ie Over the past number of weeks the HYC club house has been wired to provide WiFi access and we are delighted to announce that WiFi facility will be available to you over the weekend. As previously flagged, a number of visitors will be berthed in the fishing harbour. A launch service will be provided throughout the event from 0800 to 2100 each day. Please note that it is a mandatory requirement that lifejackets or buoyancy aids are worn on HYC launches. Event passes will be required to be available for inspection on the launch. I would also like to bring to your attention that we have removed the requirement that boats need to comply with ISAF Safety Regulations Category 4 (NOR 2.1). Please see SI 1.1. We would however like to draw your attention to the safety requirements as outlined in SI 1.15 Safety. Our protest panel over the weekend will be chaired by Jon Napier from the UK and he'll be joined by Gordon Davis, Gordon Barry and Gillian Guinness. Jury Secretary is Suzanne Carroll. The protest notice board is located in the archway on the vicinity of the side (marina) gate. Protest Room 1 will be the Boyd Room located on the first floor of the club house and Protest Room 2, the Centenary room on the second floor. Fotosail will be covering the three days of the event and photos of each days racing will be on display in the club house after racing and also available on their website; www.fotosail.com Finally I wish all competitors an enjoyable SAAB National Cruiser Championship.

105 Entries for SAAB Cruiser Nationals   by Graham Smith - Posted Tuesday 13th May

The Saab Cruiser National Championships at Howth YC this weekend (May 16th-18th) has attracted 105 entries across four classes, representing 26 clubs in Ireland and the UK. Eamon Rohan won Class 0 on home waters last year and is back to defend his IRC title with his latest 'Blondie' (IV). Again, he can expect stiff challenges from fellow Corkonians Anthony O'Leary ('Antix Eile') and Conor & Denise Phelan ('Jump Juice') while the Dublin challenge will be headed by Tim Costello's 'Tiamat' and the Howth boats 'Rosie' (Roy Dickson) and 'Team Kingspan' (Matt Davis). Class 1 was headed by Eamon Crosbie's 'Teng Tools' from the National YC in 2007 and he is looking to repeat the success this year. Among those planning to upset the odds will be the Tyrrell's 'Aquelina' from Arklow, Barry Cunningham's 'Contango' (RIYC) and the Breen/Earls/Hogg combination from HYC in 'Flashback'. There are more clubs involved in the 33-strong Class 2 fleet than in any other class yet it probably represents Howth's best opportunity to do well, with 'Kinetic' (Colwell/Murphy), 'King 1' (Cullen/Bourke) and 'Tigger' (Cassidy/Mulhall) - the ECHO winners in Cork last year - among the candidates. The opposition, however, includes the defending IRC champion Barry Rose in 'Obsession VI' from Cork and the always competitive Tim Goodbody on 'White Mischief' from RIYC. With a number of regional titles in recent years, Vincent Gaffney's 'Alliance' will be fancied to be among the front-runners in Class 3. The challengers come in the shape of at least three J24s - Jamie Bergin's 'Jaws' from Lough Ree and Brian McDowell's 'Scandal' and Chris Shackleton's 'Johnny Bravo' both from Malahide - as well as Roger Cagney's recent acquisition 'Chanser' and Basil McMahon's veteran 'Holly', both HYC. Racing starts at 1100 hrs on each of the three days and will be spread over two race courses - one giving windward-leeward courses and the other round-the-cans. The programme has seven races, with prizes awarded daily and overall on both IRC and ECHO.

Gala Night

The Championship Gala Buffet promises to be one of the event entertainment highlights and a ticket order form is now available (see side column). Please complete and return this order form and your tickets will be available at registration.

General Information   by Chris Howard, Chair Championship Committee Posted 1st May

Fleet 1 (divisions 0 and 1) will start the championship with two "Round the Cans" races on Friday 16th, while Fleet 2 (divisions 2 and 3) will participate in three "Windward/ Leeward" courses. The fleets reverse courses on Saturday 17th while on Sunday 18th; both fleets will race one 'Round the Cans and one 'Windward-Leeward' race. Warning singles will be at 1055 each day. Derek Bothwell will act as PRO for the 'Round the Cans' course and David Lovegrove will officiate on the 'Windward-Leeward' course'. A skippers briefing will take place in HYC at 2000 on Thursday May 15th. ICRA's Denis Kiely highlights that class divisions in the NOR and the class allocation posted on the HYC event page are indicative only. Class division will be broadly in line with the values in the NOR but a final decision will not be made until after the validity date for IRC (May 9th), at the earliest. Initial ECHO handicaps will be based on best information available to ICRA and please note that ECHO only entries are welcome. Daily prizes will be awarded each evening while the championship prize giving will be at 1600 (approx) on Sunday. With over fifty visiting cruisers, a number of boats will be berthed in the Howth fishing harbour. We thank the Howth Harbour Master, Captain Maitra, and Howth Lifeboat for their co-operation and assistance in the planning of this event. As security will be being provided each evening, a system of ID cards will be provided to all participating skippers and crew. HYC Marina is co-ordinating berth allocation and they will be in contact with visiting skippers who have requested berths before May 15th, by email over the coming week to confirm arrival dates and berth allocation. There will be entertainment in Howth Yacht Club on Friday and Saturday nights and the Championship Gala on Saturday, May 17th will be a highlight of the weekend. The night starts at 2000 with dinner, followed by music by 'The Enemies' and includes a number of surprises! Tickets are 38 and will available from May 9th via the event home page and from the Race Office at registration. We recommend booking early to avoid disappointment! Friday night entertainment is sponsored by the Marine Hotel, Sutton and starts at 1830 with Jack Wise. Be prepared to be amazed with one of Ireland's leading magicians! HYC Friday night buffet will be followed by music by Colm Meath from 2100. We are delighted to announce that The Butler's Pantry has come on board as our on-the-water food sponsor. Every day throughout the Championship, The Butler's Pantry regatta team will be on the marina from early morning. Lunch and snacks can be ordered in advance and collected fresh each day at HYC. Should you have any questions on this event, please do not hesitate to contact the Championship Committee by emailing admin@hyc.ie and marking your email SAAB Cruiser Nationals.

Note From ICRA   by Denis Kiely, ICRA

We look forward to welcoming you to Howth in May, but in advance I have a few points regarding ratings to clarify. The class division values in the NOR are indicative only but will be broadly in line with the values published in the NOR. A final decision will not be made until after the validity date for IRC at the earliest (Friday May 9th). ICRA will endeavour to ensure that boats will be allocated to the classes that most closely correspond to the class they regularly sail in. Initial ECHO handicaps will be based on best information available to ICRA and will include performance in previous Nationals as well as local performance. Progressive revision will apply during the course of the series as was undertaken for the 2007 Nationals in RCYC

The Butler's Pantry on the water food partner for the Nationals

We are delighted to announce The Butler's Pantry has come on board as the on-the-water food sponsor of the 2008 Saab Cruiser Nationals. They will be present on the marina and in the club over the three days of the championship, providing lunch, drinks, sweet and savoury snacks available for purchase by competitors. The Butler's Pantry is well known in the sailing community through its shops in Dublin and Wicklow and its participation in previous sailing events. The Butler's Pantry ‘Food On Board’ order form is in the side column and will also be throughout registration days. Every day throughout the competition, The Butler's Pantry regatta team will be on the marina from early morning. Lunch and snacks can be ordered in advance and collected fresh each day at Howth Yacht Club before you head out on the water. All food will be boat ready and in chill bags. Check out their website www.thebutlerspantry.ie

Pro-Rig to provide nationals support

Throughout the event Pro-Rig will be on hand with the Harken regatta support package. It will also include a mobile shop with championship, Pro all the basic chandlery and rigging. To commemorate this years championship, Pro-Rig will have available for sale, SAAB Cruiser National GUL gillets at 79.95. These can be purchased directly from Pro-Rig by contacting David on +353 1 839 6434