Category Archives: Race Reports

Report from John Campbell (on Thalia – confusingly!)

I didn’t use to be a gambling man, but the Scottish summer is making me reconsider.

Saturday the 10^th August, roll the dice, a 6! The RNCYC regatta for one-design classes and cruiser-racers was held on the East Patch, or rather it wasn’t as the wind was gusting up to 35 knots and proved too much for the fleets.

Sunday the 11^th August, roll the dice, a 1! The Gareloch Sunday afternoon race, and the boats drifted off the moorings at 14.30 and rode the tide down to Blairvadach in no wind.

Roll again, a 2. 14.45, and a bit of wind filled in from the east, and provided a decent wind for a start, even gusting nicely. A random event also occurred, odds of 100-1, the sun was shining!

9 boats were ready for the race, but either the crews didn’t have a stop watch, were single handed, or had no whistle / horn, so Thalia’s crew (well Circe’s crew IN Thalia) selected a course ZAGZ and started the race using an improvised sound signal / radio system. It seemed to work.

The tide seemed to hold the boats up a bit, trying to get over the line, but there were no mishaps. Catriona had the best start, followed by Luna and Thalia, but Dione started last and spent the race playing catch up. Some boats elected to head out into the centre of the loch (and full flood, but probably in the hope of more wind), others hugged the Rhu shore, and round the first mark Catriona led, from Thalia and Luna. Athene had some good speed, and Arke (her helm freshly returned from a Scandinavian road trip) was in the mix.

The run down to G again saw some boats heading out into the middle and covering more ground in the hope of more wind, and others sailed directly. By now the wind was gusty, a little patchy and crews had to read the water to see where to go.

The first round took some 25 minutes, and Catriona was leading (sometimes only just) from Thalia, but they had developed quite a space from the remainder of the fleet. Dione was up to mid fleet and Arke had come to the fore, as Luna dropped back progressively. Athene maintained her good speed, possibly due to her recent sojourn in Costa del Marina, or her new streamlined rudder stock.

Round 2 continued to be a gamble between in shore and centre loch, but it did seem that the inshore option worked a bit better. By the end of the 2^nd round, the leading boat (Catriona) was at the line before the hour mark, and therefore a 3^rd round was called for. By this time Arke and Dione were in 3^rd and 4^th, Luna continued to drop back, and Athene maintained her speed and bettered her position. Ceres and Halcyone dropped back, whilst a 3^rd round proved too far for Hermes, who decided to abandon the remainder of the race.

Round 3, and on the downwind leg, Thalia sailed into a mysterious wind hole and then sat stationary whilst Catriona sailed into the distance, and Arke and Dione (who were further out in the loch) sailed serenely by. Round the final leeward mark, Catriona was away, but Arke moved to 2^nd and Dione to 3^rd. A short leg up to finish at Z, Thalia threw the dice, gambled, tacked on a few horrid wind shifts and regained her 2^nd position by the finish line.

I think enough allusion to gambling – for now!

1 Catriona, 2 Thalia, 3 Arke, 4 Dione, 5 Athene, 6, Luna, 7 Ceres, 8 Halcyone. DNF Hermes.

Report from the Secretary (*with corrected results*)

A windy day  Some forecasts said gusts of 30kts, others 20kts.  Maybe there were a few gusts a cat’s whisker over 20.

Five of us turned out, some people are on holiday.  Wind was blowing from the south, with an element of west in it.  A course was set down and up the Shandon shore.  Visiting F, off Shandon Church, in the first round and G, a little north of Gully Bridge subsequently.

Iris, with Bess Homer at the helm,  made by far the best start.  She was at the favoured pin end at the gun.  Catriona a little way down the line.  If the rest start like they did when we team race against the Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten in September, we shall have brought a knife to a gun fight.

Catriona set off down the loch close to the shore and soon realised further out was favoured.  From being to leeward of the fleet and taking counters, she found the better clear air in the loch and was first to the windward mark.  Partly because the rest did not follow her out and partly because she had scrubbed below the water line.

Downwind it was undoubtedly a spinnaker leg but it was gusty.  Catriona set hers and amused the fleet.  As Dave Perry says in his excellent ‘Winning in One Designs’ “if your rig is rocking and rolling a bit dangerously, over trim your main, put more weight to leeward, move aft and head up a bit. If you want to go faster, reverse all the above”.

Anyway, the competition was between Zephyrus, Dione and Iris.  Ceres at the back.  Zephyrus led the group convincingly for the first two rounds.  She let Dione have better air out in the loch at the start of the third.  She had mark room at the windward mark but thereafter was behind Dione.

No one set a spinnaker downwind, which they easily could have.  Wind had moderated.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Zephyrus, 4 Ceres, 5 Iris.

Report from Julian Forrester, Luna

Course L6, Wind variable, SW

Sunshine and a fickle Gareloch breeze took us on Course L6, a beat first across to B at Silvers and, whether crossing the loch early or late to reach the Clynder shore, the fleet remained relatively together. The long run up and back across the loch to G saw something rather different as Catriona stretched into the distance ahead. Crossing back across the loch to C one could have been forgiven for assuming she had gone home early.

The rest of us meanwhile had a great race; getting across from G to and around C and home to Y provided some close competition – and the variable breeze perhaps explained why some did better than others. Possibly also seamanship had something to do with the result, in particular towards the finish at Y where Zephyrus, Dione and Hermes crossed the line almost as one. It was not possible to hear if there was any shouting.

1 Catriona, 2 Zephyrus, 3 Dione, 4 Hermes, 5 Luna, 6 Halcyone, 7 Thia.

Report from the Secretary.

A warm afternoon with wind.  In the way of the Gareloch, direction of wind was fickle but it would be churlish to complain.

The on the water race officer chose one of the longer courses, zig zagging across the Gareloch with a Boinard start.  Named after the skipper of Zephyrus, the starting line was taken between the Y and Z marks so as to have a line square to the wind.   The first leg, a beat to C, off Clynder.

Catriona and Dione started on starboard tack and continued down the loch, so as to cover each other.  When they tacked boats which had gone up sometimes looked favourable.  Circe especially.

90 degree wind shifts approaching C added uncertainty.  Dione’s helm was preoccupied with preparations for the spinnaker.  He put his crew on the helm and gave strict instructions not to hit Halcyone.  The penalty turns set them back.

Meanwhile, Circe was first at C from Catriona and Ceres.  Circe kept her lead across the loch to Shandon Church and increased it by keeping high on the fetch to Silvers.  Ceres comfortably ahead of the rest.

We had been sailing for just over an hour as Circe, running downwind under spinnaker, approached the line at the end of the round. Hence no second round.  Building pressure from behind brought Catriona close enough for blanketing and then a pass to windward.

1 Catriona, 2 Circe, 3 Ceres, 4 Dione, 5 Zephyrus, 6 Thia, 7 Halcyone.

Report from Carole Rowe on Hermes

Sunday was a surprise day. The Met office synoptic chart had very few isobars indicating a lack of gradient wind so from where did the wind come? As the afternoon progressed the winds got stronger until we had quite a few white horses on the water.

H1 was the course chosen with a beat to F (northernmost on the east side). As per usual Dione and Catriona fought it out for the lead – Arke being away – leaving the rest to do what they could.

With the increasing wind there was  time for a second round and positions established in the first round changed. Dione well clear of Catriona and the fleet failed to check the race card and headed off down the loch before realising her mistake and then tried to head up the loch against an ebb tide. The damage was done and could not be retrieved but she held onto the second place. Luna retired at the end of the first round with gear problems. Hermes – helmed by crew Donald – showed what could be done and on the last leg to the finishing line managed to overhaul Ceres. Circe finished the course not far behind.

1 Catriona 2 Dione 3 Hermes 4 Ceres 5 Circe, Luna retired.

Report from Arke

The fleet was thinned out; only five boats turned out (and no Sonars at all). Perhaps post Gareloch Worlds exhaustion or holidays? It wasn’t the most encouraging evening with a chilly breeze and louring sky; more autumnal than summer (which has been pretty dreadful so far!).

Race Officer Peter Proctor wisely got us going early and sent us up the loch to D on a classic course for the NW wind with a good beat. Catriona led in with Arke following. A cliche. But Dione hadn’t read the script and came in from the course side on starboard. She felt that Catriona had perhaps not kept sufficiently clear but no protest was made. At the start of the beat Arke tacked away hoping to trap Catriona into having to cross and duck Luna. But she tacked under her. Arke, observing, also felt Catriona perhaps hadn’t kept clear of Luna either with her late tack which forced Luna above to luff. But again no protest! Where was Hermes when you need her?

The beat was marked by a shifty, gustiness which was notable even by Gareloch standards. It required concentration, skill and perhaps some luck. Catriona certainly had the skill and reached the D mark first. Arke used some of all the above when she spotted Dione being killed by a horrible header and tacked to take a huge lift to reach the mark in second.

Escaping the D mark in the very sheltered lee of the shore was trying! Dione went the wrong way as the wind backed more westerly. Iris went the right way.

1 Catriona, 2 Arke, 3 Iris, 4 Dione, 5 Hermes, 6 Luna (results TBC against official RO results sheet!)

Report from the Secretary*

28th to 30th June, a celebratory weekend.  The Garelochs are 100 years old.  Friday was a centenary event for previous owners and friends of the class.  There was racing in the afternoon but strong wind discouraged many.  Five boats raced with Michael Henderson, who had last none of his touch, a clear winner.  The wind was off the Clynder shore which led to large changes of strength and direction.  A characteristic which continued over the weekend, happily without the fierce gusts.

For the first race of the championship on Saturday, Race Officer Jean Mackay – aboard Reay Mackay’s Diatas Air – sent us on a beat across the loch.  Circe started supremely well.  Half way across the loch, her sail number could no longer be read.  Iris not far behind.  Both found adverse air above the mark and let in Arke, Dione and Catriona.  This was a pattern which continued.  To win needed luck with the wind as well as skill.  Iris and Circe took the next two races.  Catriona had the required luck in the fourth until the race was abandoned on account of a submarine leaving the loch.

At Carol Rowe’s magnificent (and well attended) barbecue on the Saturday evening, we contemplated our chances.  Arke, Iris, Catriona and Dione were in that order with one point between each.

Wind had veered by Sunday morning so that the course was up  and down the Shandon shore.  After a brief wait for wind, the pin end bias of the starting line led to two general recalls.  For the third start, flag U was used at the preparatory signal.  Any boat over early would be disqualified.  In spite of the more northerly elements of the wind, there were still some areas of loch much better than others.  Dione showed consistency with two first places.  The other contenders did not.  Zoe was next best placed in these two races.

A superb win for Dione.  The first time she has appeared on the trophy.  Next were Catriona, Arke and Iris equal on points.   The tie for second place was broken in favour of Iris.

* a belated report through no fault of the Secretary; the Convenor had intimated HE was going to write a report but seems to have disappeared on holiday!

Report from Arke

John Campbell was Race Office (which – glass half full – was just as well because his boat, Circe, is poorly with a broken rudder stock. But the wonderful Chris Ings is on the case!). He was assisted by Jean Mackay in lieu of Gareth Adkins,  his usual crew; because Gareth was out crewing for Reay Mackay in the recently launched Zoe! Wonderful to see her out and Reay has put a lot of effort in to getting her afloat for the Gareloch class 100th anniversary and to take part in the imminent Gareloch Worlds this coming weekend. (Anyone wishing to know more please contact the Convenor or comment!)

But John was faced with a difficult challenge: very light wind indeed from the SE and a poor forecast (although meant to strengthen later and back east) and coming from a poor direction for the fixed shore starting lines. And further exacerbated by a strong outgoing tide. As we rigged however it filled in early with – contrary to any forecast – a nice southerly breeze. John set course L5 – from Z up to A off the moorings, then a run down to G off the Shandon shore and back to the start. Repeat if wind and time allow.

The shore end was favoured (just). Many boats seemed to be early. Catriona particularly so and she had nowhere to go when shepherded up across the line by Arke. She was over early and had to loop back. Dione too was squeezed out and didn’t make a good start either. Zoe made a good start below Arke and both headed left up the shore through the moorings. Both Catriona and Dione – late and with no real choice tacked out right into the loch (but also one suspects knowing that tide would assist further out and that the wind might better!). Arke agreed and also wanted to cover them. It paid for them all out in the loch and Dione and Catriona had undone their starting misdeeds. Further on Arke tacked on top of Dione for the layline and led in to A. In the light air Dione was so stalled she had to tack and then back again to clear her air. (Or was this the second round? It all blurs!) She stayed ahead of Catriona.

So Arke round first, followed by Dione and Catriona. All headed left at first out in to the loch, but Arke leading had difficult choices to make: protecting her wind would take her further and further left, out in to more tide, risk the inside being taken AND she was mindful of the forecast with the wind backing easterly (right)!! She gybed right early and across the other two! Dione and Catriona did ok out in the loch – perhaps slightly better wind – but Arke was heading more directly for the mark in less tide and – helped by a couple of short gybes to keep apparent wind – rounded clear ahead. Dione maintained her lead over Catriona. Arke covered Dione for the short beat back to the start and what she thought – given the light wind and 45 mins elapsed – would probably be the finish. But the RO had other ideas and (perhaps buoyed by the forecast and plenty of summer daylight!) decided we all needed more racing and another round!

Arke again covered Dione loosely and kept an eye on the always threatening Catriona. Interesting difference in tactics: Dione pointing very high, Catriona sailing freer. The order unchanged at A: Arke, Dione, Catriona. And downwind Arke was faced with the same dilemma. And again she gybed early to protect her wind, the inside and from the forecast stronger easterly. Of which still no sign! This time Dione made the wind in the loch pay, and using better apparent wind on the approach, caught Arke at the G mark. But Arke had mark room and Dione was overlapped outside and rounded in tight cover. She when dropped behind and tacked, Arke tacked and covered. Meanwhile Catriona rounded and, never one to give up, attempted to insinuate her way up the shore side of the beat. She almost caught Dione – hampered as Dione was by Arke’s cover. Arke crossed the line and Dione pulled clear in clear air to narrowly take second from Catriona.

Of the others there was a good race from the father and daughter team of Michael Lapsley & Niki Horn on Athene finishing in fourth. And Zoe managed a good first shakedown race in fifth.

The RO had perhaps gambled in the light air but he gave us a cracking long evening of racing. Back at the moorings a light smirr of rain and further louring cloud did their best to disguise the midsummer daylight. And STILL no sign of the forecast easterly!

1 Arke, 2 Dione, 3 Catriona, 4 Athene, 5 Zoe, 6 Luna, 7 Thia. DNF Thalia.

Race report from the Secretary (Catriona)

A wonderful sunny afternoon.  With wind.  Dione and Catriona were there, their skippers winding down from the wonderful Classic week in Denmark and Germany.  Halcyone, Circe and Arke too.

Wind was from the south west, a first it seemed for this year.  A course was set with a beat to B, off Silvers, and then back and forth across the loch.  The pin end of the starting line favoured, Catriona was early and obliged to bear away.  Fortunately with no one below her.  Circe got it just right, beating Dione, Arke and Halcyone to it.

The Gareloch did not have its usual fickle wind but some areas were better than others.  Dione prospered on the Shandon shore, close to the club moorings.  Catriona had tried to take a middle path so as to try and cover the fleet.  The rest of which had headed across the loch early.  Anyway, she got to B first and, although a bit late with her spinnaker, kept her lead on the run back to the Shandon shore.

It was at B that Circe suffered a broken rudder stock.  Without steering, she retired.

Time for a second, shorter, round.  Dione and Catriona were fighting at the front, Arke and Halcyone had found the less good air.  Catrioina still had the lead at the second rounding of B but it was close.  Spinnaker leg to C, up the Clynder shore.  Wind far enough forward to tax us, especially in gusts.  Catriona gybed the kite at C, which took her a little low on the leg to the finish, Dione dropped.  Again, wind was a little forward of the mast.  Dione was strong in the gusts but the spinnaker paid in the lulls.

1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Arke, 4 Halcyone.  Circe RET

Report from Arke

Race Officer Julian Forrester (Luna) – ably assisted by his daughter Lucy and Chris Ings – was blessed with an absolutely perfect evening to direct. Sunshine, warm, good breeze (and much stronger than forecast) and funnelling down the Gareloch from the north (and much more northerly than forecast). It was difficult for the RO to tell just how northerly it from the sheltered shore. After a bit of discussion with some of those on the water, course L1 was selected.  First up to G off Shandon/Queen’s Point, a reach across to C off Clynder, then a fun run/broad reach down to A and a short beat back to the start/finish line at Z. Repeat. (Perfect for the conditions, and without being tempted in to an H course since the forecast had the wind lightening – and even with our long days we do need to keep at least one eye on the time!)

The Z start line heading N is always quite an oblique, biased line but Arke nailed the start on starboard – offering no hope to any sneaky attempted port starters (always a temptation with this line!). But there were none and she was clear ahead. Of the rest, Hermes – helmed by guest Reay Mackay (who knows his way around a Gareloch and the Gareloch!), and crewed by Wendy Jones and Gareloch newbie Clare Somerville (who is thoroughly enjoying it so far) – made much the best start and followed Arke up to G.

In the end the good starts made by Arke and then Hermes, followed by a lack of further mistakes and a good steady wind, left them clear and in 1 and 2 throughout the race. They simply concentrated and enjoyed the sun and sailing…

In the middle, Thalia was going well with Peter Proctor on the helm. She held off attacks by Ceres throughout the race (Ceres had spinnaker halyard shackle issues with didn’t help her cause) until the final short beat from A to the finish at Z, when Ceres managed to cross Thalia and executed a perfect tack on top of her on the lay line to the finish. And that sealed her third place. The others finished in a commendably tight fleet and it was good to see Ed Morris (new skipper/owner of Halcyone) on the helm and going well.

Sadly, Circe – who had cast off for the race – had to abandon and return to the moorings when her skipper (John Campbell, our new Convenor, single-handing) noticed water up to the floor-boards from leaks. Her usual battery-operated pump wasn’t working and she is thirsty old girl.

1 Arke, 2 Hermes, 3 Ceres, 4 Thalia, 5 Halcyone, 6 Thia, DNS Circe