Race Officer Neil Isaacs selected a little used course which took us back and forth across the loch. The first leg, a beat to C, at Clynder.
Teal and Catriona were trying for the favoured shore end of the starting line. Teal got a slightly better start and was then lifted on the tack across the loch. These two, in their private battle, lost sight of the others who took advantage of good wind on the Shandon shore to make progress up the loch. Not the first time that has happened. Hermes, Thalia and Zoe leading at the first windward mark. Thia was in the fray. Catriona had suffered from her duel with Teal, who had ventured into the fickle air (and it seemed strong adverse tide) of the Clynder shore and was nowhere.
There was no scope for overtaking on the reach across the loch to G although the leaders closed on each other. On the next beat, Hermes and Thalia fell back, Zoe cemented her lead with Thia second. So it remained on the downwind leg to the end of the round.
Upwind again, Catriona was consistent with her mistakes and ventured to the unfavoured Clynder shore again. This time trying to escape from under Thia.
Teal, meanwhile, lifted herself from last by passing Ceres, who was helmed by her crew whilst Neil was Race Officer. His feelings as she passed the finishing mark on the wrong side are not recorded on the score sheet.
1 Zoe, 2 Thalia, 3 Catriona, 4 Thia, 5 Hermes, 6 Teal. Ceres DNF.
President: