Sonar sailors were standing around in the car park looking indecisive. Usually an indication of too little or too much wind. The risk of too much in this instance. Walking along the jetty, there were strong gusts. By the time we got aboard, things had moderated and were quite sailable. Three Garelochs went out. Thia’s crew checked the boat and went in. Three Sonars were moved by example.
Race Officer John Blackie, assisted by Peter Elias and Michael Lapsley, set a course to D, north of Cylinder. A good beat. Catriona made the better start and shortly afterwards, Dione sailed in front. A lead she kept on the second leg to G, just north of Gully Bridge and back to the starting area. Arke found lighter air on the Shandon shore and was never in front. She came close to Catriona but not to Dione.
On the second round, after hardening up across the loch, Catriona saw Dione find a hole combined with an awful header and tacked away. Dione did not cover and the two battled with the large shifts and variation in strength, each in their different parts of the loch. When they next crossed tacks, Catriona had the lead and made sure not to be caught out in light air near to the shore at D. Slick spinnaker handling by Catriona’s crew, Niki Horn, put paid to any hope of Dione overtaking.
Strong gusts from the northwest, accompanied by short lulls, was constant throughout the race with minor impact from the incoming tide.
On the water race officer Charles Darley set a course across the loch to D before reaching back to G. Circe made a great start followed by Catriona and Dione. The leading boats headed to the Clynder shore where good progress was made. Iris, Ceres and Arke selected to beat mid channel to potentially benefit from the incoming tide. Progress close to the Clynder shore proved the more efficient course.
The reach from D to G progressed well for all boats with Circe and Catriona flying the spinnaker. Entering the 2nd round: Circe, Dione, Catriona, Iris, Ceres, Arke.
Arke set a tight exit from D which paid off by beating efficiently to D ahead of Ceres and Iris. Reaching back to finish saw Circe crossing the finish line first. Good competition between Dione and Catriona, with the latter flying the spinnaker to good effect. Catriona finishing second – with the third sail and a smart course to the closer shore end of the line providing the differentiator. Arke, Ceres then Iris. Great to see Iris sailing well.
The blustery conditions enabled a thoroughly entertaining race. All cobwebs blown away!!
A chilly evening but good wind. Blowing from the east so that a start to windward was not feasible, the usual variability to further tax Race Officer Craig MacDonald.
He started us with a fetch to A, off the club. Most were so late to the line that Catriona, on pole, was worried about having the time wrong and being a minute early. The Sonars had shown us that a start at the pin was safest, even though the shore end was to windward. The wind in there was pot luck.
From A, a spinnaker leg to C, off Clynder. Concentration was needed to keep the spinnaker set to optimum on account of wind shifts. Back upwind to the starting area, the variability of wind direction was plain. Catriona hardened up at C to get across the loch and looked back at those rounding later to see she had been substantially headed. Perhaps that encouraged some to try the Clynder shore. It did not pay.
With wind lightening a little, Craig changed the course for the second round, omitting the reach to A. The leg to C, now more directly downwind, required a gybe as the wind towards the Clynder shore veered. All good practice early in the season.
The final leg to the finish required careful attention to the wind. Not just in sailing but seeing where it was and where it wasn’t. Ceres played it right. Circe spent a bit too long on the Clynder shore. Athene both sailed well and found the better air. Dione was not at the races. Miriam Sutter and Mairi McLean in Thia finished ahead of Ed Morris in Halcyone. Ollie Thompson inn Iris had trouble with a shroud and retired.
The first Sunday race of the season. We knew we would have to run the launch ourselves as the new Boatman was away training, but what we didn’t anticipate was the launch being half full of water, and the battery being dead. After spending 20 minutes emptying it, we brought the rib from the marina and got on with the most important thing, going out sailing!
A dry day, with a reasonable breeze from the annoying east, so on the water RO in Circe set course S6, a running start down to D and back.
On the start line it was good to welcome Athene and Zephyrus for their first race, whilst Halcyone remained on the mooring, knitting halyards!
All cleanly off the line, spinnakers set down to D, only to be greeted by a loud horn from a warship coming through the narrows. All but Thia and Zephyrus managed to the Clynder shore before the ship, plus two tugs came through. At D Dione, Circe and Arke had a 3 way rounding, with Dione on the inside and first round, Circe second followed by Arke. Rounding up, Circe came to a bit of a slowing, not helped by some massive wash from the big ships, allowing Arke to gently kiss her transom, leading to a penalty turn that dropped Arke back.
Upwind, it was the usual fickle easterly, with the centre of the loch providing most benefit from an ebb tide, but probably there was more ground to be made from crossing closer to the Shandon shore. It was all about who could avoid the serious headers, without tacking only to find yourself being headed on the new tack, and Dione managed to fall foul of that allowing Circe past her and into the lead after round 1. Down to D again, and on the upwind leg Catriona made some good ground by heading over to Shandon causing the leading two boats a bit of concern.
Posted on03/05/2026|Comments Off on Race report – Tue 28th Apr – first race of the season
We had wind. And sun! What more could you want for the first race of the season…?
Well, ok, the wind was from the SE which is always a slightly difficult direction given the fixed starting line and shore-based race officer (RO). And it proved slightly difficult to navigate with a line perpendicular to the wind and which could not be layed. Dione dealt with it best and lead in to the first mark at A in first place, followed by Circe, Catriona and Arke.
Places did not change on the run. Catriona tacked off early on the beat to try and get ahead. Arke stood longest and then tacked down the loch for the beat back to the start line. It paid and she caught and overtook both Circe and Catriona. Catriona managed ahead of Circe.
The RO – given the superb conditions – rightly sent us around again.
Arke could not catch Dione who was sailing superbly and took a great win to start her season. Thia – being sailed as a class training boat – did ok. Back on the moorings Hermes said she needed to sort out her rigging “knitting”! Halcyone seemed to be engaged in craft endeavours too…
Sun, Champagne wind, only a slight chill in the air to remind us the sailing season is drawing to a close.
On the water race officer Iain MacGillivray set a course beginning with a beat up the Shandon shore to F, off Shandon church, offwind legs ending at A, off the club for a beat back to the starting area.
The ebb tide was strong and wind usually good into the shore so that avoiding the worst of the tide paid. Circe got away well and made the most of less adverse tide inshore. Catriona chased with determination but was consistently behind when the two crossed tacks. Others, especially Dione, ventured too far out, were set back and never recovered.
Catriona found a favourable lift approaching F and was sufficiently in front of starboard tack Circe to make a clean rounding with no interference.
On the reach across the loch to Clynder it was uncertain whether or not a spinnaker would pay. Circe and Catriona waited to see what the other would do. Circe has a slick set up, launching from a chute so she tried the third sail. With no benefit. By the time it was set and drawing she was aiming below the mark. She took it down giving Catriona a bigger lead. Of the rest, Dione mounted a spinnaker pole but thought better of it! Arke got past Zephyrus (without spinnaker) on the run. Dione got past Zephyrus too and was just of Arke at A but Arke got round and under.
There was time for a second round of enjoyable sailing but not much changing of places. Zephyrus did get past Dione again on the beat from Z to F but Dione snatched it back again just after rounding A (in an ironic mirror of the way Arke got past her earlier!).
Posted on26/08/2025|Comments Off on Tue 26th Aug – race abandoned
The RO Wendy Jones managed to get us away after a short postponement and wisely set a short ‘special’ course to B and back.
Photo courtesy of assistant RO Clare!
But even that was too much and shortly after 8pm, with the wind AND light dying away, she sensibly abandoned. A handful had managed to at least reach the B mark, headed by Catriona who found the tide strong enough to misjudge her rounding and hit it! The penalty turn in light air cannot have been fast.
Posted on18/08/2025|Comments Off on The Gareloch Worlds 2025 (Sat 16th – Sun 17th Aug)
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.
The start!
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!):
Posted on06/08/2025|Comments Off on Tue 5th Aug – no race
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…
