Category Archives: Race Reports

Report from the Secretary.

A sunny afternoon with good wind, except that it was at the more variable end of the spectrum.  On the water Race Officer Barrie Choules was faced with the problem of wind having an easterly component so that a windward leg to start was not feasible.  He set one of the longer courses beginning with a spinnaker leg to D, north of Clynder, then zig-zagging across the loch.

Some elected to start at the pin end of the line, some at the shore end.  Either could be made to work.  Circe, Teal and Halcyone from the pin end were first to D, Thalia from the shore end next.  Catriona found herself pinned on starboard tack from the shore end when she would have liked to sail across the loch.  Ceres and Athene blanketing her.

There were errors at D.  Athene hit the mark which irritated her helm,  the penalty turn set her back.  Ceres had to sail round the outside of all that.  Circe, who rounded first, mistook the course and sailed further up the loch towards E whereas the rest hardened up to G on the Clynder shore.  On this windward leg, wind frustrated.  There were holes, gusts and, especially, large changes of direction.  Close to G, Teal was in prime position to round first but was thwarted by a huge header and was fourth around.

A broad reach next to E, the northernmost mark on the Clynder shore.  Catriona had insinuated herself around G first, from Thalia, Circe and Teal.  Wind had become more consistent so that it was hard to pass on this leg and the next a fetch to the finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Thalia, 3 Circe, 4 Halcyone, 5 Teal, 6 Ceres, 7 Athene.

Summer Points 2 – Report from Peter Proctor (Athene).
This was the second series of Tuesday evening Summer races for Garelochs. Little racing however was expected according to wind forecasts and virtually no race seemed possible minutes before the start of race preparations at around 6 pm when the Gareloch water was utterly calm. Miraculously, a mild blow happened minutes later so the race could take place after all and, furthermore,wind strength improved during the event. This meant that Race Officer Charles Darley, assisted by Jean Mackay, was able to extend racing duration to two laps of S2 – start line to mark C and back – instead of the anticipated one lap.
Seven Garelochs raced, a slightly lesser number than normally because of crew Summer holidays. The start was well achieved by six vessels but Hermes crossed the line a little early. This was exacerbated by a failed assumption that the vessel would achieve a law- abiding start even at the second attempt which wasn’t the case.
Beating up to the C mark across the Gareloch was via an ideal course adopted by Circe and Dione which put them considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet. Hermes also chose a similarly successful run after their seriously delayed start so that they impressively closed in on the rest of the competitors. Spinnakers got all back to the start line with time differences overall of some five minutes and then a welcome second lap. Gareloch positions varied for all except the first three finishers throughout and total times were of around one hour for completion.
Equally unexpectedly, wind strength vanished after completion of racing and the returns to yacht moorings. Almost as if there existed a devine wind beneficiary!
1 Circe, 2 Dione, 3 Thalia, 4 Hermes, 5 Athene, 6 Thia, 7 Luna (RO duty – Catriona)

It was a bit windy.  Several went out to check the boats and three of us decided we might race.  A gear failure on one and a hefty, wet, squall from the head of the loch put paid to that.  It was a struggle to stow the sails.  No race.

Report from Julian Forrester (Luna).

No Sonars were in play, so the GODS had the loch to themselves as Race Commander Commander Peter Proctor RN (ret.) ably assisted by Roger Kinns sent ten of us on Course L6 in a gentle SW breeze on a grey but dry evening.

On the first leg some went left, some went right and met again at B, the field still quite tight.  The run to G began to separate the fleet and, as your correspondent was as ever near the back somewhere was able to enjoy Dione doing a penalty turn for doing something unpleasant and Hermes veering off to the north west on her own private race.

The spinnaker jibe to reach G produced some heroics from the single-handed (Circe) and then it was off to C and, as ever on the Clynder shore, the wind did some funny things, though not funny if you are still snuggled up to C’s  shiny backside watching the others vanish in the gloom.  

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Teal, 4 Ceres, 5 Halycone, 6 Dione, 7 Luna, 8 Hermes, 9 Thia, 10 Athene. (RO Thalia)

Some Notes:

1) Halycone’s skipper was just visible in the cockpit. Often this is not the case.

2) Half the fleet made it home in just under one hour, the other half in just over.

3) Circe and Ceres were both in the top four which is perhaps a first?  

Report from Shane Rankin (Halcyone).

Earlier that afternoon had been wet and windless in Helensburgh. On the Gareloch the sun shone, a light breeze blew from the south.

There was a good chance of a decent race, the abrupt ending was unexpected.

Race Officer Paul Blackburn set course L4, from Blarvadach to the A mark amongst the moorings, across to the C mark at Clynder and back to the start.

It was a small fleet of five boats and two guests helming Catriona, Lucy Forester, and Reay McKay on Thia.

The pin end was favoured at the start, and congested, even with only five boats. Catriona and Circe were early for the gun. Catriona sailed along the line to avoid crossing too early. Circe eased her sails to slow down, stalled, got squeezed by Luna to leeward and covered by Halcyone to windward.

Catriona and Halcyone stood on inshore, the wind was lighter but there was some lift. The others tacked off for clear air.

Beating towards A Thia made good ground and Circe had got her momentum back. Halcyone was caught on port tack between them and had to tack away. Circe and Thia followed Catriona closely round the mark for the long reach to C. Catriona and Circe dualled across the loch. Circe flew her spinnaker for a while with little benefit. Halcyone chased Thia, established an overlap before C, and rounded in third. Thia made a wide rounding in the hope of maintaining momentum and squeezing Halcyone on the next leg. Luna kept coming, losing a little ground at times, gaining at others.

At the end of the first lap Catriona led Circe, Halcyone, Thia and Luna. There was time and enough wind for another lap. At A Thia had caught Halcyone. By C Halcyone had overtaken again.

Crossing back to the finish line at Blaivadach, a Police launch bore down on the leading boats Catriona and Circe and asked if they hadn’t noticed the Frigate Northumberland waiting to come down from Faslane. I guess we hadn’t, it wasn’t in front of us and we were racing. After brief negotiations the boats stopped and made way for the Frigate. The race was abandoned and the positions at the end of the first lap were taken as the results. A good race despite the abrupt end.

 1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Halcyone, 4 Thia, 5 Luna (RO Ceres)

Report from the Secretary.

Shirtsleeves sailing.  Today there were gusts of wind and unpredictable changes in direction.  A couple of the boats were sailing one up so that it was suggested we might not use spinnakers.  Thalia, not an enthusiast of the third sail, leapt on that.  On the water Race Officer Iain MacGillivray was persuaded by his crew to go along with it.

With wind from the East, a start to windward was not possible.  Iain set a course beginning with a fetch to A, off the club, downwind to C at Clynder and a beat back.  In changeable air like this, we all know not to get too far away from the line.  So (except for Circe) what did we all do?  Catriona made the best of it to start second.  Teal was set up for a fine reach to the pin but was badly headed.  Halcyone and Thalia were timely but closer to the shore which was not favoured.

Offwind, Catriona could not get past Circe.  From A to C, spinnakers might have been overly sporty in the gusts which were often on the beam. Halcyone went right to find good wind and move up.  Teal went left with the same effect.  Schoolboy error, Catriona tried to luff Teal not registering they were on opposite tacks.  Teal on starboard.  Following the penalty turns, Catriona watched from a distance as the rest rounded C.

There was a bit of luck to the beat in the changeable wind.  We were caught in headers which induced tacks towards the Shandon shore.  Immediately after which there were gusts with strong lifts on the previous tack.  Anyway, Catriona was back behind Circe at the line and again unable to overtake on the way to A and thence C.  Halcyone found her good air to the right again and was close to achieving an inside overlap to round C second.

Circe chose the Clynder shore for her first tack of the beat.  The rest went out into the loch to begin with, which paid.  Halcyone and Catriona resisted the temptation to tack on the headers and were rewarded by the lifting gusts.  Sufficiently to get back at Circe.  Approaching the line, everyone had remembered to cover the opposition.  We were just in time for a third round but the consensus was to finish.

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Halcyone, 4 Teal, 5 Thalia.

Report from the Secretary.

The first race of the secondary points series.  A magnificent evening, sun and wind.  Wind was from the east so that Race Officer Julian Forrester was obliged to set a course beginning with a downwind leg.  To D, north of Clynder.  There was inevitable congestion at the pin end of the starting line and thereafter some blanketing.  Catriona got away reasonably cleanly. Teal and Circe, who were also timely at the line, indulging in luffing which was helpful to the rest.

Off wind, under spinnaker, the boats had similar speed so that after the leading three or four had rounded D, there was a gaggle and issues of mark room.  Catriona, usually the source of intra-boat shouting, and Dione who was on a charge listened with detached interest.  The two legs back to the starting area were both fetches (maybe a short tack needed near to the line) and so essentially uneventful. [The Secretary seems to have completely forgotten about the two reasonably good beats back from D – to G in the first round and to Y to finish – in which, at least for the first, there was a curious feature that heading L to the Shandon shore there was much better wind. Whoever went left benefitted. And the further  left the better! Teal, ladies and gentlemen, went right. At least on the first round…]

There was time for a second round. Two fine-ish spinnaker legs.  First to B, off Silvers, then along the Clynder shore to C before a beat to the finish.  No places changed in the second round but Dione, Teal and Circe had a close (and photogenic) fight under spinnaker between B and C.

The beat, in air that was consistently strong but changeable in direction, was a matter of maintaining cover.  Guest helm on Thia was Reay Mackay.  Those who like to finish in front of her knew they were up against it.  Hermes is sharper, after her helm’s workout at the Mudhook regatta.  Beaten by Thia by a dog length.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Teal, 4 Circe, 5 Halcyone, 6 Ceres, 7 Thia, 8 Hermes, 9 Thalia, 10 Athene.

A dry, sunny afternoon after the overnight rain.  Wind was gentle, a pleasant change for those who competed the previous day in the Mudhook Regatta,

On the water race officer Barrie Choules was able to select one of the longer courses, beginning with a windward leg to A, off the club.   The shore end of the starting line was favoured regarding direction of wind (changeable) but there was always the risk of light air near the shore.  Catriona took the gamble and it paid.  She was able to tack out and cross Halcyone, the leader of those who opted for congestion at the pin end of the line.  Hermes tacked immediately after starting and did well out in the loch.  She was second round A for the run to D, north of Clynder.  She found herself blanketed by some of those chasing and dropped back.  Teal went left and found better air (clear of the shadow of the hills above Rhu and perhaps better flood tide) so as to relegate Catriona and the rest of the fleet. Circe had kept lowest of the bunch heading right and eventually followed Teal left.  Thalia tried the same but as the wind went forward of the mast nearer the Clynder shore her spinnaker, and thus her challenge, lost shape. Teal and Circe’s approach was good but then benefitted further from a stroke of luck: the wind swinging – completely against the forecast – to the SW.

It now looked like a fetch back to the starting area.  Teal went high to protect her lead from Catriona and Circe so Catriona steered below both her and Circe.  It should not have been possible to overtake on a fine reach, but the Gareloch is a funny place.  As the leaders approached the line, wind was lightening to drift condition and Barrie signalled a finish after one round.  Circe tried a spinnaker and Catriona was moved by example.  It would not fill for either.  Next, the wind (such as it was) changed from blowing up the loch to blowing down it.  Catriona went from being in with a slim chance against a strongly placed Teal to comfortably ahead in the new conditions.  Bad luck, but Teal had gained from some good luck earlier. What the Gareloch giveth, it frequently taketh away. Or vice versa.

1 Catriona, 2 Teal, 3 Circe, 4 Halcyone, 5 Thalia, 6 Hermes, 7 Dione, 8 Thia, Luna DNF.

Report from Teal.

The Mudhook Yacht Club regatta didn’t happen last year (the ripples of Covid and lockdown perhaps?) but was back this year  – with sponsorship from Saturn Sails – and will hopefully continue to be an annual event. It’s a prestigious old event and the MYC exists largely for the purpose of racing and this event. (Well and quite possibly the odd nice dinner?).

As it was only three Garelochs entered – Catriona, Teal and Athene – due to various commitments. With Carol Rowe guest helming on Catriona. Carol was short of crew for Hermes but wanting to race, so Catriona’s skipper Charles Darley – as usual, generous and endlessly encouraging of anyone wanting to sail – had offered the helm.

The racing takes places in the Upper Clyde’s ‘East Patch’ in the area between Helensburgh, Greenock and the Rosneath peninsula (where the RNCYC bigger yachts race alongside Helensburgh Sailing Club yachts under the combined East Patch Racing Committee). But the Garelochs don’t often venture out of the (often dubious) protection of their hill-ringed loch into these more open inland waters. Perhaps a bit more exposed, perhaps a bit more fetch – but perhaps no worse than a NW wind funnelling down the Gareloch – and often a truer, less shifty wind from most directions. (Of course true Gareloch racing zen masters actually like the shifty gusts of the  Gareloch as one approaches a mark close under a hillside. One must become one with the wind.)

And the East Patch was certainly more exposed; to an unusual north-easterly funnelling across Scotland through the flats of Stirlingshire, across Loch Lomond- and then across the saddle behind Helensburgh (between the hills to the north – Tom na h-Airidh – and east – Beinn Bhuidhe/Ben Bouie – of Helensburgh). The wind was good but strong with some feisty gusts. The sidedecks were wet and the boats needed the occasional pump (sidedecks going under, water over the bow and down the mast, or seams opening up?).

The MYC regatta is always well run and set up for multiple classes – of very different sizes and speeds – so that they aren’t simply mixed in together in the race courses, and often with separated finishing. Four classes, with fast handicap yachts off first, then Etchells ODs (fast modern displacement keelboats), followed by a CYC2 class and then finally the GODs. Although this time the format of the SIs and courses were – ahem – not perhaps as clear as they might have been… as became, and will become, clear.

The first race was selected from one of the standard courses in the SIs with a beat – given the E wind – up to a laid mark just off Craigendoran pier. This remained the windward mark all day. For all the classes, which gave Helensburgh a good view of some of the racing. Then downwind to a mark off the peninsula and then L to a spreader mark via the Sugar Boat and finally back up wind to finish at the windward mark off Craigendoran.

The pin end was slightly favoured and Teal lead in from Catriona and nailed the pin end start. And pulled ahead enough to tack and cross Catriona. Thinking to have starboard advantage on the next cross. But Catriona tacked further up and pulled ahead (superb sailing from Carol, and perhaps too a lane of good wind further inshore – that seemed to be a feature all day – the funnelling effect?). Teal tacked slightly early of the line to try to force Catriona to tack under the lay line. It sort of worked: Catriona made the lay-line but pinching slightly and Teal was able to round on top.

Down to the leeward mark and again neck and neck. Catriona went low and had inside. So Teal slowed, rounded wide, inside and on top. The guest helm perhaps not luffing as aggressively as Catriona’s regular skipper would have liked? At least that was the gist of the shouting from on-board.

A very long reach now to a mark off Port Glasgow now. A massive yellow commercial mooring buoy. Except Catriona rounded an earlier mark and headed back upwind. Teal hadn’t spotted the small print under the courses that indicated the GODs would NOT just be doing course B as marked but legs 3, 4 and 5 of course B! Teal quickly called the RO on the VHF and eventually received clarification – VHFs not being entirely easy on a small boat in a blow – of the small print.  And stopped reaching to Port Glasgow and followed Catriona! So race 1 to Catriona, with Teal rectifying her mistake early enough to take second ahead of Athene who continue to stay in the mix in challenging racing conditions. A good tight race slightly marred.

Races 2 and 3 were all about the start. The RO changed the course to give a simple sausage course with true beats up to Craigendoran and downwind legs to one of the massive navigation beacons in the middle of the East Patch, finishing at a second committee vessel at the leeward mark after effectively two and a half good rounds.

In race 2 Catriona lead in – perhaps conscious of Teal winning the pin first time – but with Teal chasing closely enough to worry her about a hook (and being forced OCS). As it was Teal pulled back and went up for the line at speed and close to windward, eventually taking wind from Catriona and pulled ahead. (Again, perhaps Catriona’s regular skipper would have luffed aggressively? A fine fine skill he has honed over years with a beautiful touch. Much of it fighting the much-missed Iris.) Teal was grateful and pulled ahead. And cemented it downwind. And that was largely that. Athene continued to sail well and stay broadly in touch in the challenging conditions.

Race 3 followed the same pattern after the start; largely all over. Catriona lead in early to win the pin but was just too early – as her skipper graciously acknowledged – and had to slow and Teal, following with good speed, had no real option but to hook her over the line (since getting overlapped to windward would have seen Teal luffed over). Duck on sitting duck, as it were (© Ufo Sutter). Catriona was trapped OCS and had to return. And again, in good true and strong wind, that was that.

The bigger and faster boats did a fourth race but the Garelochs were probably relieved to finish after three after a full-on but fun day. And head back to the sanctuary of the Gareloch in the sunshine and warmth. Passing through another regatta of dinghies from HSC off the main Helenburgh shore.

The sanctuary was illusory; despite being tucked under the shelter of Rhu and the hills, gusts continued to sweep over the moorings.

A superb day on the water, over good courses in good wind. Many thanks to the Mudhook YC, their sponsors Saturn Sails and supporters Boatfolk/Rhu Marina, Neill Ross Photography and Helensburgh SC.

1 Teal (2, 1, 1 = 4 points), 2 Catriona (1, 2, 2 = 5 points), 3 Athene (3, 3, 3 = 9 points) – see also MYC results page on Halsail (all classes)