This was a race in a perfect South to South West wind. Race Officer Craig Macdonald set the course L6. The first leg being a beat down to the B mark on the other side of the loch due South, there was inevitably a tactical decision as to what the best route would be. The tide was at slack water at the start.
Catriona, Dione and Teal tacked immediately onto port and crossed the loch, as did Athene. Thia, Hermes and Ceres for differing periods continued down the Rhu shore, before tacking across. Catriona, Dione and Teal were round B first with Thia not far behind. Hermes, Ceres and Athene, met at the mark, the latter having come down the Clynder shore on the opposite tack. It was revealed in the bar after the race that Athene thought she had a right to protest but failed to do so.
On the broad reach, sometimes a run, to the G mark all set spinnakers and the fleet became clearly separated into the four who were first round B, and the other three. Teal got past Dione at G. With the wind having veered a little to the west, and the tide now coming in it was a true beat from G to C and hard to judge laying the mark; it could only be done in two tacks by going so far down the loch as to have a very long journey. Wisely, all bar one resisted that temptation. A beam reach from C with spinnakers produced a finish with Teal and Dione a minute or so apart, but in all other respects there was a pleasing mathematical regularity of two minutes separating each boat from the next.
1 Catriona 2 Teal 3 Dione 4 Thia 5 Hermes 6 Ceres 7 Athene
President: