Report from Wendy Jones on Hermes
With age comes wisdom. It would be churlish and might involve major feats of arithmetic to compute the total or even average age of the crews on this beautiful summer evening. Even using a rough estimate it may be recorded that the boat with the greatest years of wisdom used this to advantage from the start and proceeded up the Shandon shore while the rest of the fleet battled the receding tide to head across the loch and thence northwards to the rarely visited E mark. This strategy paid off, and Hermes (for so it was) rounded the mark first, followed by Catriona and then Luna. Thalia followed from Ceres and Halcyone. (Catriona and Halcyone both being sailed singlehandedly it should be noted).
There was a lively WNW breeze, and Hermes decided against a spinnaker launch. Catriona deployed her spinnaker on the run back to Blairvadach and sneaked past Hermes – and of course once past was not going to allow further interlopers on first position, although she was observed taking a scenic route to the A mark on the second round. Thalia tried an alternative orientation for the spinnaker on the first lap, but Luna failed to get mark room at the F mark and lost a place or two.
On the second lap, all except Luna followed the leaders up the east side of the loch before crossing over to the D mark against less tide than the previous lap and then back to the finish line in lessening wind. Halcyone dropped from 3rd to 5th on the second lap, swapping positions with Ceres, while Thalia maintained 4th place between them.
A well selected course, and thanks to the race officers who had the excitement of a collision on the start line among the Sonars but did not allow this to distract them.
Results: 1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Ceres, 4 Thalia, 5 Halcyone, 6 Luna, 7 Thia.
President: