With four Hyde-powered boats in the top five, it was a successful weekend of racing ahead of the class nationals.

The Squib East Coast Championship was sailed at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk YC in conditions that could reasonably be described as 'testing'. Saturday had a steady Force 4-5 and Sunday marginally less breeze, but the strong tides and onshore breezes made for rough seas and frightening white water over the ever-present sandbanks. A quality fleet included visitors from as far afield as Yorkshire and racing was very close with many crews seeing the event as the last real practice before the Nationals later in the month.

Race one started with a heavily port biased line, and with the tide setting towards the pin there was only ever one place to be. Grogan and Cripps stole the pin and led from start to finish. The breaking seas on the sandbanks meant that the course was very short and with tacking being so hard in the waves overtaking lanes were restricted to the markroundings, which could be eventful in the conditions. Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in the oldest Squib still sailing - the beautifully restored number 11 - chased hard with Dave White and Pete Ballam in third. Race two got under way after chaos at the pin end resulted in a recall after Sam Cole and Denise Sinclair wrapped 'Flying Fish' securely around the buoy's mooring line. Former National Champion Lloyd Crisp emerged from retirement to win by a huge margin with Gerard and Tony consolidating their overall lead with another second. Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey showed good pace and excellent boat handling to take third.

After a night of Abba at the club, the fleet went afloat in shocking weather for two further races, which did no one with a hangover any favours. Race three got away with slack tide and a starboard-biased line. Grogan and Cripps again led from start to finish with ex-505 World champion Pete White and Sarah 'Agnetha' Hastwell close behind, going fast in their new Parker boat. Brother Dave was just behind again. Grogan and Cripps then made a schoolboy error by miscounting Lloyd's finishing position and thinking that they only had to sail Gerard and Tony lower than fourth to win. They sat on Gerard who limped into eighth place, but Lloyd went on to win the race by a mile and beat Grogan and Cripps who had retired, on the tie break. Pete White and hard-hiking Sarah beat his brother again to come third overall with Dave and Pete fourth. A consistent Robert Coyle and Mel Titmus came sixth being in the top five in all three races. Lloyd and Nick Barret of the home club secured a very narrow, but well deserved win and Grogan and Cripps had the ignominy of winning the 'Dick of the Day' and the contempt of their peers for their limited maths skills.

Generously the club gave prizes to the top 12 boats, adding some smiles to the battered, rain-soaked competitors. Four out of the top five were sailing old boats and using Hyde Sails. Crew weight mattered and lightweights like the three times nationals winning Rileys could only manage 10th. The fleet now looks forward to the nationals in Weymouth at the end of June. Entries for the event have now been limited at 108, promising to make it the biggest Squib event ever and probably the biggest one-design keelboat event in the UK this year.