It rained. That might have put some people off but there was good wind and so a good race.
On the water Race Officer Roger Kinns was unable to set a course beginning with a leg to windward. We set off for A, off the club. It looked like a fetch to begin with but wind veering led to tacking near the mark. Teal suffered blanketing at the start so that Catriona got away first. These two were well clear of the rest, where there was argy bargy regarding opposite tacks and room at the mark.
Downwind, to D, north of Clynder, Dione was on the pace. Owner Barrie Choules had Julian Forrester as crew. The last time he was on a Gareloch was Zephyrus in the 1970s. They damaged their chances by rounding the wrong mark before noticing where the others were going.
There was time for a second round. The early veering of the wind had set in so that the first leg of the round was now truly to windward. Catriona, not for the first time, failed to cover and then fluffed a tack when her jib sheets got caught. Teal was first to A but two were soon side by side on the downwind leg. Catriona with the favoured inside position for the forthcoming mark rounding. In the shifting wind of the Clynder shore, it was suddenly a little too fine for spinnakers. Teal dropped hers early thinking to make a better rounding. Wind came back behind though.
Dione had been concentrating and had recovered her third place. Thalia’s crew came into the bar complaining of things going wrong, including broken gear. They produced a block which Julian might have recognised had he sailed on Thalia all those years ago.
1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Dione, 4 Athene, 5 Hermes, 6 Thalia.
President: