High pressure is all very well, but the lack of wind is bad for sailing. We looked at flat water in the Gareloch with little enthusiasm but went out anyway.
A hint of a suggestion of a zephyr built up to give a beat to windward across the loch. A worry in view of the ebb tide. As we pondered, wind veered to give a beat up and down the Shandon shore, in less tide.
Thalia made the best start, reaching along the line from Catriona towards ripples out in the loch. Catriona could not live in the disturbed air and tacked inshore, which paid. Now Hermes and Thalia were fighting for second, which is always competitive. Thalia reached the windward mark first and the two set off downwind close together. They were overlapped on the approach to the leeward mark with Thalia inside. Upwind back to the starting area Hermes risked a tack out which put her in more adverse tide but better wind.
Catriona, meanwhile, was coming to the end of a first round. Fearing the air was becoming stiller she paused so that the time since the start passed an hour, the key for the finish to be at the end of the round. No one complained. Hermes took second from Thalia.
1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Thalia, 4 Ceres. Luna and Thia DNF.
President: