Category Archives: Race Reports

Wind Guru said gusting over 30 kts. It wasn’t kidding.

No Race.

The forecast said gusting over 30 kts. It certainly did not blow as strongly as that although it showed no resolve regarding direction or strength.

On the Water Race Officer Roger Kinns sent us on one of the longer courses, beginning with a beat to B, off Silvers. Catriona started well but Teal played the changeable wind to better effect and was comfortably first at B. She was slicker with the spinnaker and pulled away.

The next mark, F, was located much further south than normal, which caught out Catriona. She went in vain to look off Shandon Church, its usual position, which did for her. Teal, meanwhile, was caught out by a freak gust (few gusts were of predictable character) and gybed into the mark. Her penalty turn did her no damage. Hermes went home after the first round, before the (heavy) rain started.

1 Teal, 2 Thalia, Hermes DNF. Catriona RET.

A wet and windy day so that those lacking enthusiasm decided not to sail. It turned put to be a good evening. Dry with a good wind. Little sunshine, but you cannot have everything. There were three of us at the start.

Race Officer Neill Ross sent us on a good course up and down the loch. A true beat and a downwind leg requiring a gybe. Teal made the best start at the theoretically unfavored pin end. The wind was better there. Catriona battled against unfavourable shifts of wind and made no impression on Teal before the windward mark.

We were rusty on Sunday and showed no improvement. Catriona’s spinnaker hoist was slow. Teal’s drop convoluted. Teal kept her first place but lost a lot of ground with an error over the course. On the second downwind leg, Teal lost her spinnaker halyard and with it, the lead. Despite Catriona’s best efforts, she remained second. Thia was on the pace, but made no attempt to hoist a spinnaker, which consigned her to third.

All this bodes badly for the team racing at the end of the month.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Thia.

The weather on Sunday morning was especially discouraging. Rain and gusts exceeding 30kts. Most were put off but the forecast by WindGuru was for things to calm between noon and 3. Zephyrus, Catriona and Ufo and Miriam Sutter arrived at the car park.

Miriam took the helm of Catriona and indulged in some match racing tactics before the start of a run across the loch to Clynder. Zephyrus got the best of it but Catriona had an overlap to leeward, stayed with the green boat, and delayed her gybe onto Port to head for the mark. Eventually, Zephyrus took Catriona’s counter and that was that.

The crew of Catriona was extremely rusty after the winter lay off. It was suggested we finish after one round and have some practice. Zephyrus, felt the same. We tried some team racing moves. Trapping the opposition to windward, trapping them to leeward and preventing a gybe. It is clear that, against half decent opposition, we should be way off the pace.

1 Catriona, 2 Zephyrus.

The first race of the season and naturally, excitement and anticipation. Six Garelochs are on the moorings, four went to the start. The weather forecast had been poor so that the Sonars, with many youngsters as crew, stayed at home. As it was, wind was no more than brisk although it was cold.

The evening began badly. Shortly before the start, Catriona was recovering from a tangle of her mainsheet, lost concentration and incompetently ran into Zoe. There was no severe damage although both boats suffered broken rigging and retired. That left Thalia and Thia racing. They had been sent on a longish course, back and forth across the loch. During the second leg across to the Clynder shore, wind died away and left the fleet with no momentum. On this first evening, the light had begun to fade so that the two made for home. A Broadley finish at the G mark. Named after former Rear Commodore Sailing Ian Broadley, if no boat completes the course, the result may be determined by the positions at an intermediate mark.

1 Thalia, 2 Thia. Catriona, Zoe RET.

The last race of the year. A superb year it has been, the Garelochs a truly active class. Team racing agaist the Cultra Fairies and Howth 17s in May seems like yesterday. Our passage race to Rothesay was truly an adventure. Almost 100 people attended the Reunion Regatta which was a great success.

Anyway, wind was light as we drifted towards the start but filled in to give us a good race. There were guest helms, Justin Venton on Catriona and Ted Warren on Thalia. That did not change the natural order.

The Gareloch, as is its wont, had traps for the inexperienced or inattentive. It was important to watch the water so as to spot the light patches. That is what decided it, all the boats were on the pace.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Thalia, 4 Teal, 5 Athene.

The lack of light is beginning to defeat the Ancient Mariner Series, even with the start at 6pm.  It was a dull, damp evening, though.

Race Officer Peter Proctor sent us on a beat to B, off Silvers, broad reach up the Clynder shore to C and home.

Catriona squeezed out Teal at the pin end of the biassed starting line and set off in front.  She was careful to cover the rest who made life easier by mostly going the same way.  Hermes had a stuchie with Thalia and ended up taking penalty turns.  It seemed a painfully slow operation to those watching because wind had lessened just then.

Off wind from B to C, Thalia and Teal were battling and taking each other high, towards the shore.  Hermes gained.  She sailed further out where wind was better and passed the pair of them.  Zoe was out of sorts on account of underwater growth and, rather than prolong her agony, went home.

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

Most people looked at the forecast, which was for no wind, and stayed away.  Only three boats turned out but we were lucky.  On a sunny afternoon, we ghosted to the starting area.  Sufficient breeze filled in for one round of a short course and then died again.

For the first leg, a beat to A, off the club, the shore end of the starting line was favoured geometrically.  However, ebb tide was stronger further out and wind was very light inshore.  Catriona had decided to start near the middle, which she did.  Having rudely squeezed out Halcyone at the pin.  For a while, it looked as though Catriona had made an error.  Hermes, further out, was strong.  An area of rippled water inshore redressed the balance and when the two tacked, it was clear Catriona had the lead.

Spinnakers were set for a broad reach to Clynder.  The direction of wind was remarkably steady although it was sometimes a little light.  Another beat back to the finish.  No places changed in what was a very pleasant afternoon sail.

1 Catriona, 2 Hermes, 3 Halcyone.

The third race of the Ancient Mariner series.  Sailing on Tuesday evenings in September with a start at 6.  A success so far, certainly tonight was superb.

Wind was again blowing from the Shandon shore so that Race Officer Peter Proctor was obliged to start us on a spinnaker leg to D, north of Clynder.  Catriona got away well at the favoured pin end of the line and avoided the blanketing and luffing with which the rest of the fleet amused themselves.  She established a lead which was never challenged.  At D, Thalia, Hermes and Teal were in line abreast, Thalia inside.  There were changes of place upwind.  Thalia seemed to be going well under spinnaker but was off the pace going to windward.  Scruffiness below the waterline is suspected.  There was time for two rounds and she was in a strong second place at the start of the final beat to the finish.  Teal had been second but had had spinnaker trouble.  Teal got her place back on this final beat.  Hermes was not able to make a challenge on Thalia.  Circe, sailing single handed, set a spinnaker and kept Ceres at bay.

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

Perhaps the sun didn’t shine but it was a superb afternoon with as much wind as anyone could want.  Race officer Peter Proctor, crewing on Halcyone for Shane Rankin, was faced with the problem of wind blowing from the Shandon shore.  He set us off on a reach to A, off the club, then up the loch to D, north of Clynder and back again.

For the reach to A, a good start was essential.  The shore end of the line was favoured geometrically, but wind was better further out.  Hermes did well at the pin end.  Teal and Zephyrus less so by being close to the shore.  Catriona had intended to start inshore but, approaching the line, ducked Halcyone so as to avoid being luffed and ended up just to windward of Hermes.  It seemed to work well as Hermes, the only threat to Catriona, fell into wind shadow and dropped back.

Offwind to D, the gusts and changeable direction of wind (occasionally forward of the mast) separated those who love their spinnaker from those who don’t.  Catriona made ground with hers.  Hermes kept the kite stowed and remained in a strong second place.  Peter Proctor, on Halcyone, brought something of the style of his own boat, Thalia, with him.  First, the spinnaker set as an hour glass and stayed like that for some time.  Then, Halcyone was allowed to broach.  Certainly, concentration was needed to keep boats flat in the conditions.  Which is essential when wind is strong and on the side.  Some were alarmed by Halcyone’s angle of heel.  Her crew included, no doubt, as water overtopped the cockpit coaming.

For the beat to the finish, Catriona hardened up to sail for Shandon where there seemed to be good wind.  Hermes tacked down the Clynder shore to try something different and the rest followed.  Wind was better on the Shandon shore and first place was, thereafter, settled.  There was time for a second round.  Teal made her spinnaker work well and climbed into second.  Towards the back, Ceres and Athene were battling.  Athene has carefully cleaned below the water line so that the slowness which has recently afflicted her was gone.

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