Category Archives: Race Reports

On the water Race Officer Charles Darley set a course beginning with a windward leg to Clynder, thence zigzagging back and forth across the loch.

Catriona, with guest helm Gordon Mucklow, started at the favoured shore end.  Just an arms reach from the shore before she tacked.  The good start paid and she gently made ground to windward against Teal, who was characteristically on the pace.  Wind towards the Clynder shore was unkind to the light blue boat.  Wind backing favoured the boats to leeward.  Zephyrus, benefiting from crew Felix Taylor, crossed in front of the fleet having sailed close to the Clynder shore.  Meanwhile, those who had delayed their trip across the loch had a favoured streak of wind into the mark.  It was Hermes who led the downwind leg to G, off Shandon.  She, however, rounded G on the wrong side and failed to correct the error.  The rest of her race was purely for practice.

Unusually, tacking was only needed at marks for the rest of the race.  Which included a second round.  Those who could make their spinnakers work with the wind well forward of the mast did well.  On the fine reach from G, back across the loch to Silvers, there was luffing between Thalia and Halcyone.  To the benefit of Catriona.  Athene too was going well and gained a place on each subsequent leg.

Catriona made Teal concentrate so as to keep her first place.  Which she did by dint of superior handling of the spinnaker.

1 Teal, 2 Catriona, 3 Halcyone, 4 Athene, 5 Thalia, 6 Zephyrus, 7 Thia.  Hermes RTD.  Galatea DNF.

Wind was not exceptional, but there was enough for Race Officer Carol Rowe to send us on a beat across the loch to D, north of Clynder.  Teal got the best start at the favoured shore end of the line and was not to be caught.  There was a choice to be made of going up the Shandon shore or Clynder shore to begin with.  Zoe stayed right longer than the other contenders.  She was close to rounding in second place and was able to luff Catriona on the downwind leg across the loch. The luff prevented passing to windward but Catriona set a spinnaker, which Zoe did not, and made progress to leeward.  All this, though, let Thalia into second place.

Fearing the wind would die (as was forecast) Carol finished us after one round.  Teal was enjoying the sail and carried on, some of us followed for a second round.  Just for pleasure, of course.

1 Teal, 2 Thalia, 3 Catriona, 4 Zoe, 5 Ceres, 6 Thia, 7 Galatea

Too much wind, no race

Race Officer Michael Knox was faced with the usual problem when wind has an easterly component.  It is not possible to start with a beat to windward.  He sent us on a fetch to A, off the club, thence downwind to Clynder and a good beat back.

There was to have been 5 of us racing but Galatea suffered failure in a piece of iron from 1924 and returned to her mooring.

On the water Race Officer Eric Boinard chose a course zig-zagging across the Gareloch which gave good beats to windward. There was variable pressure, especially close to the Clynder shore so that it was important to sail in a favoured part of the loch.

Catriona was early for the start and obliged to bear away along the line.  As a result she had to tack to clear a moored boat, all of which put Hermes in the lead.  Ceres, meanwhile, found an area of light and changeable air on the Clynder shore.

Catriona managed to be in front at the windward mark but was surprised not to pull away from Hermes, who did not set a spinnaker downwind.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Zephyrus, 4 Ceres

The trees had been moving all afternoon but persistent rain eventually drew the life from the wind.  Many were disheartened.  Especially after the highlight of the World Championship at the weekend.  Only three turned out to race.  Athene had been making repairs to the track on her mast which caused her to be late for the start.

Race Officer Alan Armstrong chose the shortest course, to the A mark off the club and back.  The first leg a good beat.  Catriona, with Penny Davisdon at the helm, maintained momentum better in the light air and established a lead which only increased.  Hermes was suffering from poor acceleration.  Athene’s late start did for her.  She tried going inshore, but was not favoured by lack of wind and less helpful tide.

The Pipers were given a second round.  As even larger patches of smoothness appeared on the water, Neil finished the Garelochs after one.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Athene.

With no race officer on shore, Thalia’s helm selected a beginning with a downwind leg to D, north of Clynder.  Thalia set off with elan followed by the Zoe and the rest.  Wind lightened as we approached D and we all came close, Thalia still ahead.

After the mark, wind lightened so that direction was indeterminate and progress was measured against flecks of debris on the water.  Catriona was unpleasant to Teal, to windward.  She luffed to a collision course and as the gap closed Teal, with limited manoeuvrability,  left it too late to respond.

Ceres was in the fray, Zoe further up the loch looking for wind.  Catriona set her sights on Thalia.  She set a spinnaker, which did no good, but managed to draw level.  The two battled for some time, tacking and gybing with little change of direction, their racing flags seldom pointing in the same direction.  Eventually, Catriona managed to pass ahead on port tack, Thalia with right of way on starboard was unable to reach her.

By this time, wind was filling in on the Shandon shore in which direction Catriona was pointing.  Thalia stayed too long in the light air and was passed by Ceres and Zoe.  The best wind of the evening took us to the finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Ceres, 3 Zoe, 4 Thalia.  Teal and Hermes DNF

On the Water Race Officer Peter Proctor selected a course with two windward legs from the Shandon Shore to the Clynder Shore.

As is usual with wind blowing across the loch, it was lighter and more variable near to the shores.  Roger Kinns on Thalia used this to advantage.  Thalia started on Starboard tack, discomfiting the rest of us on Port, and reached the better wind first.  She never looked back.  The rest of us changed places in the variable air.  Looking strong in second place were, at different times, Catriona, Teal, Hermes and Halcyone.  As it was, the second windward leg to D did for some and kept others in the game.  Catriona saw Hermes pass close behind with speed on an approach to the Clynder shore.  She decided not to follow, but to cover Teal, who was to leeward on a tack up the loch.  Both of them beat her to the mark.  Hermes rounded second but was passed by Teal under spinnaker to the finish. The wind had it in for Halcyone, Zephyrus and Athene

1 Thalia, 2 Teal, 3 Hermes, 4 Catriona, 5 Halcyone, 6 Zephyrus, 7 Athene.

Breezy from the west to begin with,  Race officer Neil Ross decided on the longest course but sensibly changed his mind and sent us on, in effect, a sausage course on the east shore.

Teal and Thalia opted for the Shandon shore from the start. To begin with this looked like the best option as they were pointing much higher than boats further out led by Zoe. There was a very nice wind out in the loch where, to get clear air, Hermes was forced as she was pushed down the course at the start by Catriona sailed by Penny singled handedly in the absence of her usual skipper.  A lot of the boats closer to the shore suffered seriously from less wind  and  soon became relatively becalmed and watched semi-helplessly as the leading boats raced towards the G mark, now some considerable distance ahead.

Zoe led Hermes  to the windward mark but she lost out due to the tide but retrieved her position on the downwind leg, where effective luffing enabled her to round the mark ahead and enabled Teal to make inroads on the substantial distance between the boats, so much so that on the beat further luffing from Zoe reduced substantially the lead.  At the G mark Hermes approached from the further out windier loch with Zoe struggling further inshore with the ebb tide. After rounding the windward mark the order did not change and after the A mark Zoe was threatened by Teal.  Meanwhile further back Thalia was slow in
getting her spinnaker up from G allowing Ceres to pass.  Thereafter with Thia Catriona and Athene bringing up the rear, Ceres and Thalia battled it out for fourth and fifth places over the remaining lap and a half, with Ceres just taking the edge by virtue of gaining water rights at A, the penultimate mark prior to finishing. Athene suffered very badly from the ebb tide at the windward mark

Congratualtions are due to Penny for attempting to fly the spinnaker.

1 Hermes,  2 Zoe,  3 Teal,  4 Ceres,  5 Thalia,  6 Thia,  7 Catriona, (but retired after finishing) 8 Athene