Race officer Stewart Gibb took advantage of a steady breeze, at least by the standards of the Gareloch, to send us on a course zig-zagging across the loch.
The shore end of the starting line was well to windward but pressure was lighter and more variable there. Catriona went for it and immediately Teal, who saw the danger, took the lead. Halcyone was the other strong starter.
The second leg, back across the loch from Clynder, appeared to be a fetch but tacking was needed in the end. Teal got to windward to start with so that Catriona suffered in wind shadow. Halcyone climbed well and got the better of poor defensive manoeuvring by Catriona. Spinnakers next, to B, off Silvers. Teal now had such a lead that she would only be caught if she fell foul of inconsistent Gareloch wind. She didn’t.
Halcyone and Catriona had a battle downwind, Catriona managed to sneak a pass to leeward. Athene was next and used her new spinnaker to good effect. She was well clear of the rest by the end of the leg and concentrating hard so as to give nothing away. Second and third places changed a couple of times more on the windward legs. Athene, greatly encouraged, is set to climb the leader board.
1 Teal, 2 Catriona, 3 Halcyone, 4 Athene, 5 Thalia, 6 Thia, 7 Hermes