Category Archives: Race Reports ’22

2022 race reports

Gordon Mucklow

It is with sadness that we write again so shortly that Gordon Mucklow, our Honorary President, has peacefully passed away.

Gordon was a huge part of the Gareloch Class for many years, sailing Iris. But also originally Teal (now Arke) – which is how he met his wife Sue – who was sailing Iris (a Henderson family boat)! He raced very competitively and successfully – and yet a regular comment after he had won a race was “the wind was kind to us”. But importantly he served as Secretary and then as Convenor for some decades. The healthy state of the class today is in no small part due to Gordon. And why he was honoured as our Class President.

We send our condolences to his wife Sue, his children James, Bess, Tor and John, eight grandchildren, and all his wider family.

We will pass on any information regarding the funeral and arrangements.

We will miss him.

The Gareloch One Design Class


Funeral and reception – There will be a funeral for Gordon at the Cardross Crematorium on Thursday 10 October at 12:15, followed by a reception at the RNCYC.

Carol Rowe

It is with sadness that we write that long standing Gareloch owner and helm, Carol Rowe, died yesterday.

Carol was an active (and always competitive!) member of the Gareloch One Design class. Also a keen horticulturist, with a wonderful garden at her home in Rosneath that she often opened for charities through the Scotland’s Garden Scheme. Many of us will remember her wonderful hosting of this year’s Gareloch Worlds barbecue there.

We send our condolences to Carol’s family. We will pass on any information regarding the funeral and arrangements.

We will miss her.

The Gareloch One Design Class

Tue 28th May

Catriona’s helm arrived early (uncharacteristically) so as to fit a new diaphragm to the bilge pump.  It was raining and there was wind.  When he lifted his head from the bilge, the rain had stopped and wind was gone.  Other crews arrived and waited.  Those with optimism were encouraged by ripples on the water moving slowly from the north.  Those without decided to call it a day.

Race Officer Craig Macdonald had an apprentice so was keen to go through the starting procedure.  Hermes put her sails up, Catriona and Dione followed.  There was wind to get to the starting area and there was wind to stem the ebb tide so as to sail up the loch to the windward mark, G, on the Shandon shore.  The rub was that pressure reduced around the starting area and Hermes was unable to make progress.

Catriona rounded G as wind there was dropping.  Dione suffered from the adverse tide.  Craig shortened the course to finish at A, off the club.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Hermes.

 

Sun 25th Sep – last race of the 2022 season

Report from the Secretary.

The last of the points series races this year. It was combined with a dog race for which a separate report is being prepared. The finishing order, uncomplicated by any time allowance for length of dog, constitutes the result of the points series race.

Race officer, John Campbell, set a course, beginning with a good beat to D, north of Clynder. The Gareloch was up to its usual tricks regarding strength and direction of wind. Sometimes there was very little, and sometimes there was enough for water to come into the cockpit. Some tried beating up the Shandon shore. Others ventured further out into the adverse ebb tide. Either way it was tricky. Catriona was at the mark first from Halcyone and Teal. Those two covered each other, allowing Catriona to get away and establish a lead, which she lost only briefly in the variable air of the second round.

No one fancied setting a spinnaker for the final downwind leg to the finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Zephyrus, 4 Halcyone, 5 Circe, 6 Athene.

Sun 18th Sep

Report from the Secretary

On the water Race Officer Shane Rankin chose one of the longer courses taking us to the northern most marks on the Clynder and Shandon shores. As often with fixed starting lines, there was strong bias. This time favouring the shore end.  Only Luna, Circe and Catriona went for it.

On the long windward leg to E, some found themselves in less wind. Catriona, Halcyone and Circe were at the mark first. Little changed on the reach across the loch to F, off Shandon Church. For the run back to the starting area, Catriona suffered a failure of her spinnaker halyard. Halcyone and Circe passed with ease.

There was time for a second round. Catriona found the best air to retake the lead at the windward mark and had sufficient margin to keep the others at bay downwind to the finish. Hermes was third at the mark, Halcyone had found poor air and Teal had recovered from a slow first round.

The first two places were settled.  Teal made good use of her spinnaker to take third.  Halcyone dropped back with a spectacular broach.  She got back two places near the finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Teal, 4 Halcyone, 5 Hermes, 6 Zephyrus, 7 Dione, 8 Athene, 9 Luna.

Sun 11th Sep – no race

Report from the Secretary.

There was very little wind as we ghosted from the moorings to the starting area.  Then it started to rain.

No race but we sailed back and forth to A, off the club, to justify having turned out.

[Editor: I’m not sure that the passive “having turned out” does justice to the Secretary’s role in it 😉 ]

Sun 4th Sep (abandoned!)

Report from the Secretary.

The morning’s rain had gone away and the sun was shining. A steady breeze took us to the starting area. By the time the stragglers arrived and we went into a starting sequence, wind was very light.  By the start, speed through the water was judged against the flecks of debris on the surface.  Halcyone, Hermes and Dione made progress down the Shandon shore in a back eddy of the flood tide.  The rest of us stood still.

With intense concentration, sails were induced to maintain a semblance of the correct shape. Catriona insinuated herself past Thalia.  Luna, well back, found some pressure to ghost across the loch from the starting area on the way to B, off Silvers.

Hermes and Halcyone swapped the lead.  Catriona found a little momentum whilst the two leaders slowed each other.  At B, the order was Catriona, Halcyone, Hermes, Thalia, Circe, Dione, Ceres, Luna.  Zephyrus had become jaded and took a tow home.

It had taken an hour and 20 minutes to reach B. It looked unlikely we should reach the next mark, G (with the possibility of a finish after at least two legs)  before the time limit.  The decision was made to go home.  As ever, a breeze filled in (through the narrows) to take us to the moorings. Still patchy though. We should have been unlikely to reach G.

Sun 21st Aug

Report from Chris Beale (on board Catriona – but the new owner of Galatea which will be back in the water next season!)

A fine day with no rain, temperature 17°C and winds WSW 6Kts gusting 11Kts. Low tide at 14.22hrs.

Light wind course L7 was in use. Ten Garelochs mustered at the Y line, Catriona leading the beat across to the C mark. There followed a close spinnaker reach to the G mark then a beat to the D mark during which shifting winds unsettled some of the fleet. Catriona reached the line at 54 minutes, initiating the second lap. The beat to the C mark passed in short order however the wind dropped close to the shoreline and the incoming tide made the downwind spinnaker run to the B mark a slow affair in which some places were gained. Catriona rounded the mark ahead of the pack with thirty boat lengths in hand on the final reach to the finish line.

1 Catriona – Charles Darley and Chris Beale (a novice Gareloch sailor who took the Kings’ shilling and was pressed into service at the last moment). A rather clumsy performance by the cabin boy failed to upset the Cap’n and victory was gained none the less.
2 Teal – Iain MacGillivray and Ufo Sutter. Ufo had been away visiting friends in Germany leaving Iain short handed, however the return of the teutonic powerhouse has restored Teal to competitive form.
3 Thalia – Cmdr. Peter Proctor and Roger Kinns. Recently afloat again after repairs Light and clean below the water line.
4 Circe – John Campbell and Gareth
Atkins. Deployment of their secret weapon, a new robotic bottom cleaning device, did little to advantage Circe.
5 Hermes – Donald Aiken and Wendy Jones. Carol is away in Canada therefore after-race drinks was a generally calm affair.
Hermes overhauling Dione on the way to the line.
6 Dione – Lt Cmdr Barrie Choules and Jamie Grant. I’m told Barrie may have suffered a messy bottom – perhaps it was fear of the challenge from Hermes!
7. Athene – Prof. John Blackie and Michael Lapsley. Athene, approaching the C mark for the first time on the starboard tack, allowed the port tack Thalia and Circe, who had called for water, to round in front. I’m informed that he should have made them tack away, so make the call next time John!
8. Luna – Julian Forrester and Chris Ings. Leaking less than she did thanks to Chris and a bucket of sawdust. I have been given some notes on Luna’s performance but I’ll not repeat them here.
9 Thia – Michael Knox of whom I know little but hope to have the privilege of ribbing in future.

DNF Ceres – Paul Blackburn and a young crew. Bottom scrubbing very much needed Paul!

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

Tue 16th Aug – no race

We drifted to the start line on a NEerly which became a NWerly. The RO was persuaded that perhaps racing would best be abandoned. A good thing as what little wind there was promptly died.

We then drifted back as a hint of wind then arrived from the S. Before it decided to come from the SE. Before it decided – contrary to any forecast or reason – to come from the SW.

An early night and some drinks and dinner in the bar was perhaps for the best.

(No race!)

Sun 14th Aug

Report from the Secretary.

With more hope than expectation, crews went out to their boats at the usual time on Sunday.  It was a warm day, lacking even a sensation of wind.  As the last of us finished scrubbing below the water line, we noticed those first to drop their moorings were moving.  A steady breeze developed from the north.   If not quite Champagne wind, it was Cremant.

A course was set incorporating a beat up the Shandon shore, a reach across to Clynder and a spinnaker leg to the club.  The starting line had bias as is usual with fixed lines.  The shore end to windward but more strength at the pin.  Teal got the best of it, to leeward but well in front of those closer to the shore.  Halcyone and Catriona in the mix.

The order at the front resolved on the approach to the windward mark.  Catriona, on port, tacked to keep clear of Halcyone on starboard.  The two overstood a little.  Just as Catriona was bearing away to make room to tack behind Halcyone, Halcyone tacked.  After a while Catriona had an overlap to windward which would be the favoured inside position at the mark.  Teal had been a little closer to the shore.  She crossed the pair and tacked to windward.  Catriona had a bit of luck here.  Sandwiched between two boats, the usual outcome is to fall rapidly out of the back.  She was just able to get her bow forward of Teal, still accelerating out of the tack.  The order of mark room at G was Catriona, Teal, Halcyone.  With the next leg a reach, there was little chance to overtake.  Teal did her best downwind, under spinnaker, but was the outside boat at the leeward mark and covered on the next windward leg.

Meanwhile Athene and Thalia were fighting it out and swapping places.  Both recently afloat, light and clean.  Thalia won that one.  Dione was out of sorts, more thorough scrubbing no doubt needed.  Circe and Hermes suffering the same had a fight between them.  Circe won that one.  Both have done some cleaning but no doubt need more.  Luna, likely more market garden than racing yacht, was not in the hunt.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Halcyone, 4 Thalia, 5 Athene, 6 Dione, 7 Circe, 8 Hermes, Luna DNF.