Category Archives: Race Reports ’19

Tue 1st June – awaiting report!

<still awaiting report>

1 Halcyone, 2 Catriona, 3 Teal, 4 Thia, 5 Luna, 6 Hermes, 7 Thalia, 8 Ceres, 9 Dione.

The Gareloch Championship (The Gareloch “Europeans”) 2020

The Championship was held over the weekend 29th and 30th August.  It had been postponed from early in the month.
Nine boats took part, Athene going afloat in the week before.  It was a truly magnificent weekend of racing and socialising.  Perhaps more so because of the contrast with the present austere times.
Our Committee Boat, under the command of Race Officer Peter Proctor, was Jamie Grant’s ‘Kelana’.  As yachting historian Iain McAllister remarked, there couldn’t be a more appropriate committee vessel for the event than Kelana.  A veritable McGruer-fest.
Conditions on Saturday could only be described as Champagne wind.  A phrase coined by Thilo Durach of the Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club where the Garelochs had a weekend of team racing in 2018.
 
Peter was able to set courses with true beats to windward, taking Kelana from the Shandon shore in the morning to Rosneath in the afternoon so as to suit the direction of wind.  Blowing predominantly from the north, we were spared the large changes of direction and lulls which so often happen when it is from one of the shores.  There were, though, patches of stronger air and headers worth tacking on.Those who got it right were rewarded but they were not necessarily consistent.  Halcyone, Hermes, Catriona and Teal each had a second place in the four races.
 
At the barbecue on Saturday evening, hosted by John and Clair Campbell, Barrie and Arlene Choules, the sailors were able to tell anyone who would listen of good starts, luffing and mark room.  The race officer had a sheet of results, which he did not divulge, tantalisingly visible in his pocket.  In the best Gareloch tradition, there were three dogs present.  It was a lovely evening, not diminished even by those desperate to talk of conquests on the water.
 
The forecast for Sunday morning was for next to no wind.  We had to wait a little while for a breeze to fill in from the north.  Again Peter set true beats to windward for the two races.  The second notably won by Lucy Forrester on the helm of Catriona.  
In recognition of people sailing alone on account of the current restrictions, spinnakers were not used in the regatta.  Achieving the optimum Velocity Made Good downwind required extra care.  Some boats prospered by goose-winging their headsails, for others it was slow.  If an unseemly gybing duel was to be avoided, it paid to have a comfortable gap at the windward mark.
1 Catriona 2 Teal 3= Halcyone 3= Athene 5 Circe 6= Hermes 6= Luna 8 Zephyrus (*did not race Sunday) 9 Ceres
(Halcyone and Athene had equal overall points for third place, but Halcyone had higher best position.
Hermes and Luna had equal overall points for sixth place, but Hermes had higher best position.)

The Gareloch European Championships lift off

The Gareloch European** Championships kick off this weekend with (appropriately social distanced) lift off drinks at the club. And the sun is shining as always.

** the usual World Championships postponed given Covid which has presented some of the worldwide competitors from attending!

Islands International Challenge Cup @ Seawanhaka Corinthian YC, NY

Members of the Gareloch OD class have been taking part. The Convenor’s cabled race report was brief:

”Last again.”

Tue 24th Sep

The very last race of the season for the old ladies, born in 1925. It was a stiff breeze off the Shandon shore.

On the water race officer Peter Proctor selected a course beginning downwind to D, north of Clynder. Catriona with Michael Lapsley on the helm made a leisurely start but Spinnaker work better than the rest put Catriona in contention with Halcyone early on.  Thalia following.

Halcyone was first to D but made a wide rounding and let Catrions inside. She dropped into wind shadow and was obliged to tack away. Catriona found better wind on the beat towards the Shandon shore and that was that.

1 Catriona, 2 Halcyone, 3 Thalia

Sun 22nd Sep (informal race)

[Editor: this was not NOT the last (formal) Sun race of the season. The last Sun race – according to the agreed calendar – was the previous weekend…]

The last of the Sunday afternoon races this year.  Heavy rain in the morning did not engender enthusiasm but it was dry with good wind (if gusty) for the race.

New to the Class Michael Lapsley and Louise Corry sailed on Catriona.

With wind blowing from the Shandon shore, a start to windward was not possible.  The C mark at the north end of Clynder was judged to be downwind so that is where we went. There was time for two rounds.

Catriona just managed to reach C first, from Dione and Halcyone, avoiding anyone having an inside overlap.  She was passed by Dione in the changeable air towards the starting area and followed to C the second time.  The order changed as the two made their way to the finish but it was Catriona who finally benefitted from favourable air.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Halcyone, 4 Thia, Ceres DNS.

Tue 17th Sep

On the water Race Officer Shane Rankin sent us on one of the shorter courses up and down the Shandon shore.  There was an instruction to finish after one round.  It seemed a short race but as we made our way back to the moorings, wind lightened so that a second round might have put us into the twilight.

The starting line was square to the wind, being fixed that is unusual.  Tide was against us for the windward leg so that a decision was required.  Start at the outer end, in stronger adverse tide with the hope of more wind or start inshore in less tide and wind.  Catriona and Halcyone opted for the shore, the rest for the outer end.  The shore paid and the two benefitted from an initial lift before being headed with the rest as we all went out into the loch.  Catriona was the first to tack back towards the shore and she crossed only a little ahead of Thalia who had recovered well from a start at the pin end, struggling against the tide to make the mark.  Thalia and Halcyone stood on into the loch and adverse tide, which was their undoing.  Ceres was next, comfortably ahead of Luna (who had to fight to keep Thia at bay) but not able to challenge for the podium.

The downwind leg was straightforward and with the tide.  The only gybe needed was to round the mark.  The order did not change.

1 Catriona, 2 Thalia, 3 Halcyone, 4 Ceres, 5 Luna, 6 Thia.

Sun 15th Sep

(Guest report from Teal)

The days are running out for this season, so when the message came saying that Teal’s crew Ufo was down with cold/flu, I was resigned to gardening with a heavy heart. I nonetheless resolved to pop along and pump out Teal (which was as well since she was full to the deck floor after last week’s rain). The heart became heavier still forlornly contemplating a good breeze and sunshine….

…but then I spotted that Thalia was sailing three-up! After a request to pinch a crew member was kindly accepted, Teal was going to race after all with Wendy aboard (Mother of Rear Commodore Sailing – unsure if this is a formal position like the Queen Mother?). Teal rigged sharpish.

Thalia was RO and selected the excellent L8 course. A good long beat to D, reach across to G, run back to start at Y and then down to A, followed by another very good beat back up to D. A biased start line as so often given the fixed start lines. Teal led in easily with little challenge, Dione following, others lagging. Both Dione and Teal tacked to head across the loch to the Clynder shore but Teal’s large starting lead was easily eaten into by Dione who both climbed and pulled ahead under Teal. Better boatspeed (a dirty hull on Teal?) or better helming from Barrie on Dione? Or both! Teal tacked and Dione followed, now ahead. The others had stayed closer to the Shandon shore and were not threatening. Dione round D first, but Teal had managed to play some shifts inshore and arrived shortly after.

Across the loch to G it was difficult to spot the mark and both headed too high before raising kites and gybing. Thalia went the right way and with slick spinnaker work from Peter was right back in the race. Teal attempted to luff Dione to prevent an inside and then to give her mark room but with skipper on the spinnaker, team communication slowed down reactions and she failed to do so resulting in Dione hitting the mark. Teal was rightly protested and did her turns. Dione and Thalia both swept onwards down to Y. Teal was at least quick with her kite drop, penalty turns and then re-launch of the kite from the cockpit and chasing. Dione had time to fit in a quick penalty turn for touching the mark before rounding Y and still lead Thalia.

To A, Dione leading Thalia, Teal chasing. Both Dione and Thalia rounded and tacked – thinking to keep out of the tide. Teal however spotted good wind on the Clynder shore. While the Gareloch has tide, good wind will always trump it. And so it proved: while Dione and Thalia sailed in lighter air and covered each other up the Shandon shore, Teal thundered up directly to D in a lane of excellent gusty wind.  By the time Dione and Thalia had crossed the loch, Teal was unfairly clear for the run back to the finish at Y. Dione should have secured second but Thalia kept fighting and a spinnaker pole failure on Dione didn’t help. A frustrating race for Dione but a good one for Thalia – especially on her first race after Roger’s broken leg!

1 Teal, 2 Thalia, 3 Dione, 4 Thia, 5 Luna. Ceres DNF. (To be confirmed.)

Tue 10th Sep

The second of the Ancient Mariner series was greeted by a wet evening but with wind, and a forecast of more to come, something of a change from recent weeks.  6 boats ventured out and course L5 up and down the Shandon shore was selected with Catriona as on the water race officer.

It soon became apparent that the wind, and more especially the tide was not uniform across the Loch.  A tidy start with Catriona a few seconds early and having to bear away down the line allowed Dione and Halcyone to make the best of it.  The decision was then inshore for least-bad tide or offshore for the best wind; Dione, Thia & Hermes went inshore, Halcyone, Luna and Catriona (after a foray inshore) went out.  Inshore payed off, although Halcyone managed to find an area of good tide that served her well.

At the windward mark (A) the tide was predominant and all boats had to fight more tide than they were expecting; the latter boats having something of a torrid time as the wind eased in that location separating them from the front of the fleet.  A decent spinnaker run, for most, to the Leeward mark (G) saw some bunching at the mark with Hermes just getting mark room inside Catriona then the beat to the finish.  Dione stayed inshore, Halcyone offshore in her narrow strip of favourable tide, going so well that she almost omitted to pass the finish mark on the correct side and in returning, slipped from 2nd to 4th.

Despite the relatively short race, it was stopped after one round because of fading light, forecasting of more wind, the tail end boats being a little way back and because Hermes asked for 1-round only.

Results: Dione, Thia, Hermes, Halcyone, Catriona, Luna

Tue 3rd Sep

The first of the Ancient Mariner Series, named after Douglas Young, whose nickname that was.  He owned the Gareloch Galatea when he passed on.  We start an hour earlier, on account of the darker evenings.

On the water Race Officer Shane Rankin selected one of the shorter courses to B, off Silvers and back.  Wind lightened towards the start with the result that Carol Rowe, on the helm of Catriona, got away unchallenged.  The rest held back too much.  The fleet set off down the Shandon shore with Dione, a little further out than Catriona, making ground to take first place.  When Catriona tacked out on port, she was obliged to duck. That was the last of the competition for Catriona, however.  She played the shifts in the wind to reach the windward mark comfortably first.  Halcyone had tacked out into the loch early and was comfortably second.  Ceres was going well.  She was later into the water this year and probably has more effective anti fouling.

There was theoretically time for a second round, but the race officer finished us after one.  He saw that Dione and Thia had found a distinct lull at B.

1 Catriona, 2 Halcyone, 3 Ceres, 4 Dione, 5 Thia