Category Archives: Race Reports

There were six boats intending to race.  Athene’s skipper’s vehicle suffered a punctured tyre.  On account of the modern trend for cars not to carry spare wheels, Athene could not race.

Luna’s crew found that a cross tree had broken as they were hoisting sails.

It was very gusty weather so that Halcyone, who was single handed, and Ceres, who had young crew, stayed on their moorings.  That left Teal and Catriona.  The sudden changes in direction of wind, coupled with the gusts, made it impossible to avoid water coming over the cockpit coaming.  Boats caught without momentum (and thus without manoeuvrability) at the key moments would have been vulnerable.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal.

This was a dull wet evening.  None of us would have turned out for a pleasure sail but, it being a race, there were six boats competing and we enjoyed it.

Teal was a little early at the favoured pin end of the starting line.  Having squeezed out Hermes, she was obliged to bear away.  Catriona, just behind, was able to start at the pin, spoiling Halcyone’s approach on her way.

On the first leg, windward to Silvers, Teal and Catriona were even for some time until a lift in the wind put Catriona in front.  The battle was then for second between Teal, Hermes Circe and Halcyone. All had their moments.  The final leg was was a fetch from Clynder back to the starting area.  Hermes had insinuated herself ahead of Teal at the mark.  In an effort to clear her air, Teal stood on down the Clynder shore before tacking.  The tactic did not work because Hermes, then Halcyone were able to tack at the mark and lay the finish.

1 Catriona 2 Hermes, 3 Halcyone, 4 Teal, 5 Circe, 6 Ceres.

A wonderful sunny afternoon.  There could be no better place to sail although the race was essentially uneventful.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Teal, 4 Zephyrus, 5 Ceres

It could only be an anti climax after the championship at the weekend.  It was a dull evening, even with  the start an hour earlier to take account of the loss of light later in the year.  The race, two rounds of a short course up and down the Shandon shore was uneventful.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Hermes, 4 Halcyone, 5 Ceres.

The Gareloch European** Championships kick off this weekend with (appropriately social distanced) lift off drinks at the club. And the sun is shining as always.

** the usual World Championships postponed given Covid which has presented some of the worldwide competitors from attending!

As we stood in the car park, there was no breath of air. The keener ones rigged and ghosted towards the starting area. Sometimes ghosting backwards. By the time the leader got there, a light but steady breeze had filled in.

A course was set up and down the Shandon shore which gave a start to windward. Catriona misjudged it badly, she failed to respond quickly enough to Teal, to leeward. By the time her penalty turns were finished, the fleet was well on its way. Led by Halcyone from Teal and Circe.

The tide turned during the race. Balancing wind and tide going up and down the loch was always key and associated with some luck. On the approach to the downwind mark, Catriona managed an inside overlap on Circe and climbed to third. The first two positions were not close. There was time for a second round but it seemed the podium places had been determined.

Catriona, going downwind, narrowed the gap to the leaders a little. On the beat to the finish they went inshore, into less adverse tide, so that Catriona went out. Out paid. Halcyone found light air. Teal came out and crossed ahead of Catriona but lost momentum in the tack to cover and could not make it stick. Halcyone, nearer the shore, held her first place by a whisker.

1 Halcyone, 2 Catriona, 3 Teal, 4 Circe, 5 Luna. Hermes DNF.

Another in a sequence of races when wind was blowing from the Shandon shore and was extremely variable.

The pin end of the line was the place to start, the windward shore end suffering from patches of light air.  The first leg, to A off the club, was a fetch on port tack.  Those tempted to approach the line on that tack were undone by boats reaching in on starboard.  Teal was the most successful of these.

The downwind leg to D, north of Clynder, was also characterised by wind of variable strength and direction.  Those who concentrated, trimmed their sails and headed down in the gusts made up places.  Zephyrus looked slow in light air near the Clynder shore but found pressure and rounded D first from Teal and Catriona.  The windward leg back to the starting area another trial.  The only consistency was Teal in first place.  There was time for a second round.  It was on the final beat to the line that places changed as wind favoured different boats.  Circe, Zephyrus, Luna and Catriona were all in second place at some point.  Approaching the line, Circe had found good wind down the Shandon shore and crossed ahead of the rest.  She overstood the favoured pin end and in a light patch her final tack was not optimum.  Catriona was able to sneak the place.

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

(Updated with amended results.)

There was next to no wind as we left the moorings.  On the water Race Officer Iain MacGillivray waited and was rewarded by a healthy breeze although it had more than the usual Gareloch variability.

The course a fetch to A, off the club, downwind to C, at the north end of Clynder and a windward leg back.

The shore end of the starting line was closer to the wind but it was stronger at the pin. From where Teal got away best followed by Hermes and Luna.  Halcyone and Catriona at the shore end did not do too badly but were always outside boats for the rounding of A. Downwind Catriona challenged Teal for the lead, once she had freed herself from wind shadow.  Teal luffed with determination to prevent Catriona having the key inside overlap at C.  That part worked well but the fleet had arrived by this time and the pair rounded in the middle.

The leg back to the starting area was characterised by variable strength and direction of wind.  Teal suffered badly on the Clynder shore.  Circe and Catriona went to the middle of the loch and did better.  Luna was always in the fray.  Halcyone lost out on the final approach to the Shandon shore.

Catriona had a large lead for the start of the second round.  As is so often the way in the Gareloch, it evaporated in lighter air near the Clynder shore.  Teal got back into contention downwind.  On the beat back to the finish it was Hermes and Teal who read it best, followed by Catriona, Luna and Circe.  Few of us had been watching the time. Lighter air at Clynder, together with the late start put us over the time limit so that the results are taken at the end of the first round.

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Luna, 4 Halcyone, 5 Teal, 6 Hermes, 7 Ceres.

It seems three boats crossed the finishing line close together and, following discussion, have been unable to establish their order.  Amended results are as follows:

1 Catriona.  2= Luna, Circe, Halcyone,  5 Teal, 6 Hermes, 7 Ceres.

(Admin/Iain PS on a point of rules for future, Charles Darley later noted that when Teal and Catriona gybed to approach C after their luffing, they still had right of way as inside, overlapped boats – even on port over starboard boats:

“rule 18 not turned off by 18.1 a or 18.1b”.

Admin/Iain PPS. Charles further clarified that – in a slightly technical aspect of the rules – that the starboard boats continued to have (general) right of way but that it was limited by Teal and Catriona’s entitlement to mark-room! So Teal and Catriona had A right to A way and the ‘mark-room’ to do it but that the rules do not define this as ‘right of way’! All clear?

If not, go read RRS Section A Right of Way – especially the intro with definition of right of way as requiring others to keep clear – and Section C At Marks And Obstructions.)