Category Archives: Race Reports

The Gareloch Championship – aka the Gareloch Worlds – was held last weekend. Although not entirely blessed by the strongest of wind. Sometimes you just don’t want beautiful warm calm summer weather!

After the lift-off party at Rhu Marina on Friday evening, we were welcomed by a glassy Gareloch on Saturday morning. Somehow Race Officer Robin Young got a race away. Which lasted anything from about an hour to 2 and half hours depending on how well boats managed the light air and then dying light air and turning tide! Arke taking the win ahead of Catriona, and with Circe snatching third from Dione. Detailed report below.

The class went ashore and the RO wisely gave it some time before abandoning racing for the day. A cracking BBQ hosted by the Mucklow family in Rhu on a warm and almost midge free evening rounded off the day. Many thanks to Barrie and Wendy for all the organisation.

Sunday didn’t look promising. At all.

The crews all decided to head out to the their boats just in case so as to be ready in case any wind did fill in. The odd zephyr did appear to tease us but quickly went again. The RO decided to give it until 11am before abandoning. As the time approached, there were signs of more wind outside the Gareloch and Catriona cast off. She even headed out toward the narrows and radioed suggesting we head out to try racing in Rhu Bay. Forgetting until reminded that the SIs her skipper had written specifically note the racing area is the Gareloch and using fixed Gareloch racing marks!! So sadly the hour arrived and the RO hooted three times to signal racing abandoned. And that was the Championship decided on a single key race! No minimum number of races for it to stand…

Many thanks to RO Robin Young assisted by Marjorie MacLeod McWhirr and Jean MacKay.

Race 1 detailed report

The RO set up by the H mark with a fairly short, slightly committee boat biased line – which made for an interesting tricky start given limited room between the committee boat and the shore! Dione hit the middle of the line on time, with Catriona behind but higher and close to the committee boat. Arke followed Catriona through. Thia – helmed by Chris Ings – the best of the rest.

Dione and Catriona in good positions sailed on the wind and attempting to point and lay the mark. Arke – reckoning a/ that following would achieve nothing, b/ that the wind might be better further left out of the shadow of the shore, c/ that the outgoing tide would be better further out too and finally d/ that sailing freer in the light air would be faster (VMG!) – footed and sailed freer, heading below Catriona and Dione.

Dione and Catriona reached the zone first but with Arke tacking back across just behind. In time to watch the stramash: Dione wasn’t quite laying it – tantalisingly close which was why her skipper hadn’t tacked earlier – and had to tack right to get to the lay line. Crossing Catriona. She tacked back – from port on to starboard (NB rule 18!) – just ahead of Catriona. But had to give Catriona room if she had an overlap. Which she got. Contact ensued. Protesting ensued! None of this helped the two leading boats make good turns or made them particularly fast with their spinnaker launches. And Arke happily took advantage – rounding inside both – and the lead. Dione’s turns in the light air compounded her issues, but she still maintained third place.

Back down to H and with the light air just about holding and, this possibly being our only race given the forecast, the RO didn’t shorten the course. Catriona got some good air from behind and managed a good pass over Arke to grab the inside just before the mark. Even clear ahead. Arke rounded well though and tacked off to repeat her first round’s approach (sailing free and heading left). Catriona tacked slightly later and repeated hers (aiming to lay the upwind mark).

It paid for Arke: while the last of the tide might not have been strong, the wind was definitely better further left out of the shadow of the shore and she sailed free, under and clear ahead of Catriona. Meanwhile the committee boat sensed the lightening (dying!) air and moved the finish line up to the upwind mark. When Arke tacked to head right to it she crossed Catriona by many lengths. Arke finished almost bang on an hour with Catriona another 5 minutes after. As Catriona finished she did so almost on low tide. The rest of the fleet now had to contend with both lightening – almost negligible – wind AND a building adverse incoming tide! Dione woes were compounded when Circe (possible less tide now by keeping in?) got ahead to take third.

The early finishers now enjoyed the sun and bobbed about feeling grateful they were finished.

Thalia – in her first Worlds under the new ownership of Peter Alias sailing with experienced sailor Alan Isaac – finished an excellent 5th. At the back of the fleet Halcyone snatched it from poor Thia after some two and a half hours racing!

Results (with times – rounded to nearest minute – to indicate just how trying and long the race was for those boats who finished after the tide turned!):

1 Arke (approx 1 hour @ 11:31), 2 Catriona (11:35), 3 Circe (11:52), 4 Dione (11:56), 5 Thalia (12:25), 6 Hermes (12:32), 7 Zephyrus (12:34.40), 8 Ceres (12:35.10), 9 Athene (12:41), 10 Halcyone (13:00), 11 Thia (13:01)

The class looked at the boats bouncing on a NW-erly funnelling down the Gareloch and decided it wasn’t a night for racing. As it was it took the boat pumping party half an hour to pump out the boats after Storm Floris had filled them…

(Report from Celia Ballard on Catriona)

Despite a keen hound wanting to join, the blustery conditions soon reduced numbers. However conditions settled and turned into a fun sail with the sun and spinnaker out. 

Results: 1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Halcyone.  

(Report from the Secretary on Catriona – with some corrections!)

Thalia took part in her first race with new owner Peter Elias.  No shortage of enthusiasm aboard.

Race Officer Alan Yendell selected a course beginning with a beat up the Shandon shore.  Dione and Circe stuck to the shore where Arke and Catriona went further out.  Tide was ebbing so further out was worse from that point of view.  Wind is often lighter and more fickle near the shore.  Not tonight.  

Dione was first round the windward mark for the fine reach to C off Clynder. Not withstanding an optimistic attempt to set a spinnaker which gave hope to those behind, she should not have been caught. But she misread the tide and had to tack back up the loch to lay C. Circe got inside. Catriona, with thought of an inside overlap on Circe at the mark, made the same mistake, stayed low and ended up being passed by Arke. Thence to A off the club. Spinnakers essential here. Dione hoisted quickly and got past Circe. Catriona tried her hardest to get on terms with Arke.  She was about level but overlapped outside approaching A.  A very late spinnaker drop allowed her to swing round outside Arke and get in front, with Arke unable to live in the wind shadow.  

A shift in the wind meant Catriona was able to point higher towards the finish than Dione and Circe had done.  Both found light air near the shore, Catriona with good pressure further out.  Dione was out of sight but when Circe tacked out, Catriona was close on her counter.  Circe’s attempt at a slam-dunk did not come off.

Meanwhile, Athene had fallen foul of the adverse conditions at C.  Wind lightened and headed with the ebb tide tending to sweep boats onto the mark.  Athene had to tack which put her on port with Ceres approaching on starboard.  After a good start, penalty turns set Athene back.  Thalia, her crew learning the ropes, did not set a spinnaker which was essential for the run to A.

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

(Report from Wendy Jones on Hermes)

A typical Gareloch day.  No snow or thunder, but otherwise an astonishing change in weather over a short afternoon. Six boats turned out with several new sailors aboard. As we boarded the boats, a baleful raincloud lurking to the north end of the loch made a rapid approach, bringing both wind and water.

Ceres’ crew set a course up the east side towards the Shandon shore, across to Clynder and then back towards the southerly mark. The soggy sailors made their way to Clynder, at which point Dione and Catriona decided against spinnakers on account of still strong wind. Ceres, Circe and Hermes (led by example) were thus not too far away. Thia a little further behind by the end of the first lap. The wind was moderating all the time. Thia decided to do some spinnaker practice over on the Shandon shore and retired from racing while others continued.

There was some changing of places going round the second lap. Catriona initially heading for Clynder having misread the course card. Catriona found her spectacles (or perhaps observed the rest of the fleet) and was unaccountably still first at G, ready for the reach to Clynder. This time, in lighter air, spinnakers were set. The weather gods were having none of this and shifted the wind direction to minimise their advantage.  By the time the fleet arrived at A, off the club, wind had all but disappeared. Dione tacked out into the loch and Catriona covered. Others went up the shore and found a little more pressure.

Circe’s helm nudged the boat to creep across the finish first, followed by Catriona breathlessly arriving from the west. Ceres likewise crept in ahead of Dione, who pipped Hermes on the line.  

Results:  1 Circe 2 Catriona 3 Ceres 4 Dione 5 Hermes. Thia DNF

(Report from Arke)

The second of the short midsummer Tuesday series. A mere five boats out (not including Hermes who was out for a cruise with some guests and potential new Gareloch racers!). Another classic NW course with a beat to D. Circe and Catriona made good starts at the shore end, Arke suffering in their wakes. Further down Dione and Athene powered out in good wind. There was distinct streakiness to the wind across the loch. Catriona leading up the middle. But the fleet all tight.

Across from D to G Catriona leading from Athene who made a high and left route pay. Circe went low and got inside on Dione who had managed to undercut Arke with a couple of well timed gybes. Back at Y and the ROs decided there was time for another round. Why not?!

Catriona again went mid way across and tacked up the middle in a good streak. Looking uncatchable. Athene and Dione went across and both looked like they might have over-stood given a backing westerly wind. Which left Circe, followed by Arke looking good further right as they were lifted further out in the loch. In the end there was a degree of randomness and luck: poor Catriona was completely undone by a hole at D, Athene and Dione got past up the shore on some breeze. And Circe and Arke circled the mark on a lifting wind bend that always made tacking in to the mark unattractive! Arke at least had it better on the inside and got past Circe who had a torrid time.

On the run back to the finish Dione got past Athene to swap the previous Sunday’s race’s places. And likewise Catriona held off Arke’s constant luffing challenges to reverse their positions too. Poor Circe followed up to finish in a position which might feel disappointing but – in a strong fleet and against some snakes-and-ladders sailing – she had really done nothing wrong…

Results: 1 Dione, 2 Athene, 3 Catriona, 4 Arke, 5 Circe