Report from the Secretary
The last race of the season. The usual points series race was run in parallel with the annual Dog Race. The weather was again kind to us.
Dogs assembled in the car park. Fergus (Catriona) and Jasper (Zephyrus) were old hands. Rio (Dione) took part in her first dog race. She managed the steps at the end of the jetty with growing skill and confidence. The official measurer, Archie Horn, also measured himself as crew on Athene.
Dogs entered a preliminary Bonio eating competition with Jasper the clear winner. The ‘chasing the Bonio’ part of the event had to be cancelled because Jasper grabbed the biscuit before it was thrown.
Cognoscenti will know rule regarding handicap (2 seconds subtracted from elapsed time for every cm of dog). Measurements were as follows:
Rio 150cm, Jasper 130cm, Archie 130cm, Fergus 120cm.
On the water Race Officer Iain MacGillivray grappled with wind blowing from the Shandon shore (requiring an offwind start) and the Z mark being so out of position as to be unusable. He set an excellent course beginning with a spinnaker leg to D, north of Clynder.
Ceres and Catriona were the only two near to the line at the gun. These two sailed a little way up the Shandon shore on starboard before gybing to cross the loch. The rest gybed at the pin. Thus the fleet was separated. As it came together at D, Catriona had a clear lead from Arke. With crew Niki and James Horn on Catriona, there was no fumbling the spinnaker, the lead increased on the leg back across the loch and then down the Shandon shore to the end of the round. Careful covering needed on approach to Y, wind was lighter and more changeable towards the shore. There was time for a second round.
Results and times (duration in excess of 1 hour), recorded by the Race Officer were as follows:
Catriona at 2m 15s
Arke in 5m
Hermes at 7m 20s
Athene at 9m 20s
Zephyrs at 10m 15s
Dione at 10m 20s
Ceres at 13m
Halcyone at 14m 40s
President: