Category Archives: Race Reports

(Report from the Secretary on board Arke)

The wind was deceptive. The forecast was for a westerly breeze but, at least in central Helensburgh, it was almost calm. However in the Gareloch it became clear that the wind was coming from much further N and being channelled down the Gareloch from the NW. Reasonably consistent and the fetch was creating some waves too. The Race Officer opted – perhaps at first sight boldly for a Tuesday evening – for an H course. But the logic was obvious and it set up a good long true beat to E.

The start line was heavily biased as usual. Shore end favoured. Thalia – being helmed by experienced campaigner Reay MacKay – approached just below and tacked to cross the line with almost perfect timing. Arke ducked and tacked closer to the shore. Behind but higher. Circe made a good start too. Other boats seemed late.

Thalia tacked back to the Shandon shore and crossed Arke. Arke saw the sense in heading up the R shore out of the tide and tacked to follow. Most others – with the exception of Athene who decided to get across – followed more or less. Arke climbed above Thalia and then, spotting dark cloud to the west, tacked to cross the loch. Catriona and Dione – both always fast – doing likewise. Arke crossed Catriona and tacked to head up the loch to E. Rounding first followed by Catriona and then Dione. Athene had made good ground too and in fourth.

Across to F off Shandon church. Reaching in patchy lightening wind. No changes. Round F to the – given the long H course – probable shortened course finish. Reaching again with wind (at least apparent wind) roughly from the W (from starboard on this leg). Now if the race was going to continue to a second round the lead boat would defend against attackers trying to get to windward in order to keep inside rights at the next mark. But with an almost certainly shortened course, Arke was immediately conscious of the biased line – hugely favouring a boat keeping left in to the shore. At this juncture the key word is the German chess term: ‘zugzwang’ – any move you make will worsen your position. Stay high to protect wind: the attacker behind simply heads left to leeward and wins due to the biased line. Stay low to protect the left for the biased line and the attacker behind will get on your wind and either roll you completely (before still being able to head left!) or use the advantage to catch up and dive left. Additionally luffing too far in a fight with Catriona would simply let Dione through!

Arke attempted to protect her wind enough without getting dragged high but it still didn’t work and Catriona got to leeward. To add insult to injury the westerly wind seemed to swing back to come more directly down the loch so Catriona wasn’t even in her wind shadow! Some you win, some you lose! Luck? Maybe but I think it is worth highlighting that Catriona made her ‘luck’ by being in contention and with the experience and skills to execute perfectly to take advantage. The better you are the more luck you might seem to get…

1 Catriona, 2 Arke, 3 Dione, 4 Athene, 5 Thalia, 6 Circe, 7 Hermes

(Report from Charles Darley – aboard Catriona)

Race officer Iain MacGillivray, aboard Arke, set a short course to H, off Clynder and back.  With the race officer being on the water, he took the opportunity to specify a Boinard start,  Named after Eric, skipper of Zephyrus, the start line was between Y and Z, the two pin ends of conventional starting lines.  

The left end of the line was favoured.  Several of the hot shots thought to reach along on starboard and start at that end.  They were undone by wind dying and were not half way along at the gun.  A group of three, Hermes, Zephyrus and Thalia made their way on the left of the course and were first to the windward mark by a margin.  Catriona was best of the rest and some were well back in very changeable air.  The windex was seen to flick through ninety degrees or more, the sails were in different wind to the top of the mast.

It should have been a spinnaker leg back to the starting area but rapid gybes with no change of course put paid to that.  The leading group of four opened a gap on the rest which was not to be closed. Catriona passed to windward of Thalia, who established an inside overlap at the mark for the start of the second round.  Zephyrus outside both, Hermes long gone.  Thalia rounded wide allowing Catriona to windward for the start of the second round.  Curious air at H slowed Hermes.  She rounded first but Catriona was able to sneak to windward.  

In the following group, Arke pulled clear.  Despite having stayed high, Dione lost a place to Circe who undertook and charged through literally in the last boat length (editor – with the RO on board Arke positioned to look along the line!).  Athene, who suffered badly in the changeable and unpredictable air, got the better of Halcyone.

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

(Report from Charles Darley – Catriona but acting as RO for reasons which the report will explain!)

Catriona’s crew was late arriving at the club, due to incompetence. With self service Launch operation he was unable to get out to his boat and so volunteered to be onshore race officer.

There were four Garelochs with people aboard, but Iris was having trouble with rigging and thought she might not be able to race. The others had a discussion about whether or not it was too windy.  Iris got things sorted and the race officer set a long course beginning with a beat to B off Silvers and then today northern most mark on the Shandon shore.  Dione was the only boat to make a good start, Circe and Arke were both early and obliged to round the mark. Shortly afterwards everyone stopped and the race officer began to think that he would need to change the course to a shorter one. As it happened, some stronger gusts came in and there was sufficient wind. Circe tacked out early and benefited from stronger air which alluded Dione. There may have been moments on the run to F where Dione was in front but approaching the mark it was clear Circe had the lead.  She tacked at the mark and found good air whereas Dione hardened up across the loch and was much more upright. With variable wind in different parts of the loch they were only five seconds apart at the C   mark ready for the reach back to the starting area. Dione tried her best and there was luffing but to no avail. A second round was set to B and back again in an effort to have a dead downwind leg. Circe benefited from her sophisticated spinnaker arrangement with a sock on the deck and increased her lead over Dione.

1 Circe, 2 Diane 3 Arke, 4 Iris.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Arke, 4 Athene, 5 Thia, 6 Hermes (RO Circe)

Race abandoned – no wind