Category Archives: Race Reports

With wind blowing from the Shandon shore, Race officer Jim Findlay was obliged to set a course with a running start. In these condtions, being away promptly is essential so as to avoid being blanketed by the boats behind. Iris and Teal did that. Zoe and Catriona delayed each other. Thia, not long in the water, did not set a spinnaker and appeared to be on the pace with the rest. At the leeward mark, C, Iris appeared to have cemented her first place but had a problem with her main halyard on the beat back across the loch and let Teal past. Catriona insinuated herself inside Zoe at C and made the pass stick. There were two more legs in this round. On the beat from B, off Silvers, back to the starting area, Iris retook her first place.

There was time for a second round. Shorter this time and beginning with a reach up the Shandon shore. The leading three seemed to have their order set and pulled away from the rest. Next a slightly broader reach to B again. This time spinnakers were set and all looked well until the Gareloch lived up to its reputation regarding variable wind. On the approach to B, there was little pressure and no set direction. Catriona ghosted past Teal. Places changed further back too. It was a similar story for the beat back to the finish. Thalia in particular suffered. Iris could be seen almost stationary in a large patch of smooth water. Catriona became ambitious and shaped a course to try and sail round the hole in which Iris found herself, rather than cover Teal. By the time she realised Iris was not to be caught Teal had found wind. She had the momentum to retake her second place.

Approaching the finish, Catriona was behind and just a little to windward of Teal. Somehow she found air which illuded Teal and took second by a whisker. Thia did the same to Zoe but with more aplomb.

1 Iris, 2 Catriona, 3 Teal, 4 Thia, 5 Zoe, 6 Zephyrus, 7 Hermes, 8 Ceres, 9 Thalia.

Not much wind to go out on. Some stayed at their moorings but Thia fresh in the water joined the fleet.

To get a good view of the race all that is needed is a bad start. That was easily achieved. On the water race officer Peter Proctor had set a course starting on Z to A and then to G and back; a sensibly short triangle. The line seemed ever so slightly biased towards the pin end and with bias comes temptation. Catriona and Hermes skilfully evaded temptation and went down the line in very light winds getting the start just right at the shore end. The rest of the fleet gathered at the pin. Slow boats, some trying to get faster, some trying to slow down going to and fro – not a recipe for a swift start. Catriona and Hermes were away well ahead, the rest of the fleet followed across the starting line at various intervals after the gun.

The tide was strong and the wind better out in the Loch. It was about getting the timing right for heading out. Catriona led Hermes out into the Loch and then to the A mark. Some never went out: Circe leading Teal made the rear guard at A. The spinnaker leg to G made for little changes in position and Teal did not prosper at the mark having left her spinnaker up for too long and then being forced by Circe to tack her jib into the still dangling spinnaker pole.

G to A is a nearly straight line along the shore. Wind seemed tempting out on the Loch and temptation can be unkind. The further out they went the farther back they fell; not helped by the fact that some seemed to realize pretty late that they had to go through Z. Teal had stuck to the shore and gained third, Zephyrus followed closely behind with Thalia, Thia and Circe in hot pursuit. Catriona by now sailed for pleasure, while Hermes’ second place was never threatened.

The second spinnaker leg from A to G was a light wind affair not helped by two brick shaped tugs heading out to shepherd a Vanguard Class in. The wash shook out whatever air was gathering in the sails. Zephyrus kept a spirited attack on Teal but remained in fourth. On rounding at G heading out into the Loch did pay this time. Thalia went out and came in like a train just missing to catch Teal slotting in front of Zephyrus. Thia managed to keep Circe at bay.

1. Catriona 2. Hermes 3. Teal 4. Thalia 5. Zephyrus 6. Thia 7. Circe

Guest report from Jens Sutter, crew of Teal

No excuses or reservations about the wind this evening. A work out for the crews.

Race Officer Stewart Gibb sent us on a beat across the loch to D, north of Clynder. Catriona got the prime starting slot at the shore end of the line. Zoe retired after a Port starboard incident with Zephyrus.

Iris, who was not as prompt at the start as she usually is, fell in behind Catriona and began to drop down. Teal, meanwhile, had clear air and looked threatening to windward. Catriona has learned, over many long years, to cover Iris. We are consistent only in our faults. Catriona stayed on top of Teal. Iris benefitted from better air out in the loch and was never to be caught. Zephyrus recovered from the incident at the start to take a place from Thalia.

1 Iris, 2 Catriona, 3 Teal, 4 Zephyrus, 5 Thalia, 6 Hermes. Zoe DNF.

Just when you were feeling optimistic about the weather, you pass one of those signs on the motorway which says ‘heavy rain forecast’. They seem to say that all the time but this afternoon they were right. Much of the time there was little breeze and in the heavy rain, none at all.

On the water Race Officer Peter Proctor set a course beginning with a beat to A, off the club. Catriona spotted the bias towards the shore end of the line and made the best start. Zephyrus was next. The second leg was off wind to C at Clynder. Here the breeze died away and places changed at random. Zephyrus maintained her second place but there was no set order thereafter. Back to the starting area, Hermes prospered and was in front of Zephyrus for the start of the second round, a repeat of the first. The wind had changed radically. Spinnakers were carried to A and the leg from A to C was now a beat. The rain did its worst with the little wind. Thalia, who had seemed quite out of it on the Shandon shore, was in second place at C. Lackadaisical spinnaker handling on the last leg soon set her back.

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

The was a good breeze before the start and after the finish. The Gareloch was unkind to some in between.

Race Officer Neill Ross sent us on a beat to Silvers, then back and forth across the loch. Iris and Zoe started well, Catriona got herself stuck between Hermes to windward and Zephyrus to leeward. A situation with no prospects. She backed a sail to escape. Teal and Thalia saw wind on the Clynder shore and tacked into the loch in excited anticipation. Catriona followed but was in air disturbed by Teal and so tacked back to go down the Shandon shore some way behind Iris and Zoe. It soon became clear there was no wind in the middle.

Catriona was full of hope on the downwind leg but made no impression on Iris and Zoe. The rest were in a different race.

A beat to C, off Clynder. On the fine reach in light air to the finish, pressure filled in from behind and brought Catriona up to Zoe. Iris was concerned as she saw those two advance on a line of pressure but had sufficient cushion to keep her place.

1 Iris, 2 Catriona, 3 Zoe, 4 Teal, 5 Thalia, 6 Hermes. Zephyrus DNF.

It was dreich as we congregated in the car park. There were ripples on some parts of the loch but it did not look promising. Iris and Teal went home. By the time the remaining five of us reached the starting area, there was enough breeze for us to wet the side decks every so often. On the water race officer Eric Boinard sent us on a beat to B, off Silvers, then back and forth across the loch.

Circe got the best start, with boat speed at the key moment at the favoured pin end of the line. Circe sailed the beat in the right part of the loch and would have been first at the windward mark but for bad luck with changeable air at her last tack. Catriona took advantage. Her spinnaker hoist was sufficiently quick (although by no means remarkable) to give her a comfortable lead. Circe lost her spinnaker halyard up the mast. Thalia suffered a malfunction of gear and retired. Zephyrus and Hermes eschewed their third sails out of consideration for their crews.

There were no changes of place on the third leg from Shandon to Clynder or on the reach to the finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Zephyrus, 4 Hermes.

The first race of the Gareloch’s 90th anniversary year. It is best not to have too much wind for the first race but this evening, there was rather too little. Race Officer Jock Fleming set one of the shortest courses, across to Clynder and back.

It was, as they say in another sport, a race of two halves. In ghosting conditions, Iris timed her start best. Catriona was a few boat lengths behind. Thalia was disastrously over early and Hermes was not in the right place. Teal had seen the light air and thought her time would be better spent at home.

Iris increased her lead as the wind shadow from an indecisive Thalia delayed Catriona. There was a little more wind towards Clynder. Iris and Catriona concentrated hard, the gap closing, then opening again. Iris was at the mark a few boat lengths ahead but rounded the wrong way. One of those mistakes we have all made too often. Correcting the error cost the lead and put her out of contention for first place.

The leg back to the finish began as a run with enough pressure to fill spinnakers. Catriona realised something was up when she saw Hermes, still trying to get away from the starting area, coming towards her under spinnaker. Wind was different on the Shandon shore. The end of the leg became a beat to windward under trying, fluky conditions. Three Sonars, who had started 10 minutes before the Garelochs, were struggling to finish and Catriona insinuated herself past them. Iris finished second. Thalia and Hermes, meanwhile, had arrived at Clynder after the light breeze on that shore had gone. They were accompanied by the two Pipers, who had also started badly.

1 Catriona, 2 Iris. Hermes and Thalia DNF.

On the water race officer Iain MacGillivray set a course which took us back and forth across the loch. As we waited for the start, it seemed ambitious. Wind was light and there was a strong tide setting us down the loch. Curious because we were close to high water.
Iain was concentrating on the starting sequence, so that his own start was undone by the tide. Zephyrus would have made a good start, except that she found herself to windward of Catriona and was pushed early over the line. Halcyone was the only other one to be there or thereabouts.
As the fleet moved away from the Shandon shore, wind improved. Catriona thought she was in a strong first place but, approaching C at Clynder, Halcyone crossed her on Starboard tack with elan. Unfortunately, Halcyone is newly afloat and her owner Shane Rankin has not yet rigged spinnaker gear. It cost on the downwind leg with a charging Hermes and the Teal relegating her to fourth.
Wind was beginning to lighten for the last beat across to the Clynder shore. D was devoid of wind, but not of tide. Catriona benefited from many painful lessons of the past and sailed almost to Faslane before heading for the mark. She avoided having to tack up the Clynder shore against the tide with what little wind there was, changeable. Ceres in particular had a torrid time. Athene, from her vantage point at the back, knew to stay away from the shore as long as possible. She was back in contention with Ceres but unable to capitalise.
Wind from behind brought Hermes up to Catriona on the run to the finish. Halcyone’s want of a spinnaker lost her a place to Zephyrus.

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

The forecast had said 22 knots gusting 35 knots. It was quite right. Thoroughbred white horses all over the Gareloch. No race.

An afternoon of good wind, especially welcome after the forecast had spoken of 2 and 3 knots. On the water Race Officer Roger Kinns sent us on a beat to A, off the club, thence to Clynder and back.
The shore end of the line was favoured but there was little room for error. Teal and Catriona (Rebekah Choules on the helm) were a bit early and had to slow. To the detriment of both. Catriona was ahead, Teal to windward but not far enough to avoid disturbed air. She fell back eventually.
Catriona rounded the windward mark first. Teal was a little slicker under spinnaker and pulled ahead to windward. She never got away, though, and Catriona had the inside position at the leeward mark.
Hermes, meanwhile, was under the command of a Nelsonian Carol Rowe. She had an arm in a sling after an incident in the garden. Sailing is preferable to horticulture. Anyway, Hermes’s spinnaker hoist incorporated a rinse of the third sail. They went backwards for a while but soon recovered their third place.
On the fetch back to the starting area, the fleet was met by Halcyone. Newly afloat and looking superb with light green top sides. She had come round from the marina and not made the start but she sailed with us. There was time for three rounds. Wind veered by more than 90 degrees so that all legs became fetches, restricting the opportunities for overtaking.
Catriona eked out enough of a lead from Teal to avoid concern over overlaps at marks. Athene was battling with Ceres. She had the advantage but lost momentum at the start of the final leg.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Hermes, 4 Thalia, 5 Zephyrus, 6 Thia, 7 Ceres, 8 Athene.