Category Archives: Race Reports ’18

It was an evening of light and changeable air. Race officer Peter Proctor chose one of the shorter courses (to D, north of Clynder, and back) thinking there might be time for two rounds.

The pin end of the starting line was favoured. That led to congestion and some angst as many favoured a start on port tack at the pin whereas Teal reached along the line on starboard and caught some out. Dione and Catriona went for the shore end. Dione getting the better of it. Both soon realised the pin was favoured.

On the windward leg, Catriona and Dione covered each other, each benefiting then suffering from the lifts and headers. Further up the loch Thalia prospered and Teal suffered a little. Halcyone went a long way up before tacking for the shore. It kept her in the mix.

Approaching the mark wind was kind to Catriona so that she round at first and was away before the wind died even more on the Clynder shore. Thalia caught Dione on Starbird and Teal was back on terms.

Some had trouble with spinnaker halyards on the run which
set back their cause

1 Catriona, 2 Thalia, 3 Teal, 4 Dione, 5 Halcyone, 6 Zephyrus, 7 This, 8 Ceres

Halcyone, Dione and Teal all started in a line at the biased Z Mark start. Teal tacked off to clear her air and try for better wind. Dione thought to stay out of the tide down the shore to the moorings but wasn’t getting much wind. Teal, playing some lifts, emerged well on top covering Dione and Halcyone and lead in to the A Mark.

Sadly a dropped and trailing spinnaker sheet let Teal down and Dione’s slicker spinnaker launch got her past for the long run downwind up the loch. Places didn’t change after a beat to C and back to the finish at Y.

1 Dione 2 Teal 3 Thalia 4 Ceres 5 Halcyone 6 Athene

No wind. No race.

The Scottish summer continues and today there was wind too.  It was blowing from the north west so that on the water Race Officer Barrie Choules was able to send us on a long windward leg to the E mark, near Rahane.

Only Teal made a good start.  She opted for the shore end of the line.  A little unfavoured by the bias but avoiding inevitable congestion at the pin.  The rest of us either arrived early and lost time in the turning back or were just late.

Dione started to windward of Catriona but just behind.  An unfavourable position out of which  she was able to climb.  Teal, meanwhile, was well to windward of the fleet and looked secure.  Variability in strength and direction of wind did her no favours.  In particular a large header towards the Clynder shore put Dione on terms.  We all looked for the best route and fortunes changed.  The only constant was that Dione sailed fast in the best of the air.  She was round the E mark first,  Catriona had to give mark room to Teal.  Zephyrus and Thalia were battling for the last of the podium places.

Offwind to Shandon Church, Catriona drew level with Teal and had the benefit of the inside position for the next mark rounding.  Wind from behind brought Zephyrus and Thalia into the mix.  After the gybe at the mark, Thalia took the shore route for the run down the loch to the end of the round.  Zephyrus tempted Teal further out with the threat of passing to windward.  Dione maintained her pace, despite the group behind disturbing her air.

There was time for a second round.  Shorter and beginning by hardening to a spinnaker reach to A, off the club.  Catriona had been obliged to luff Teal to prevent being blanketed and losing mark room.  As a result, the final approach to the mark was by the lee.  Catriona held her boom out but Teal needed to gybe.  She dropped her spinnaker which set her back.  Thalia, meanwhile, had done well in shore but could not break an overlap and so had to give mark room.  On the way to A, she could not live in disturbed air to leeward or make a pass to windward.

The next leg was to windward, this time to D, north of Clynder.  The variability in wind was the same as before and as then, Dione did not put a foot wrong.  Catriona did alright, Teal suffered.  It was all decided before the run to the finish.

1 Dione, 2 Catriona, 3 Zephyrus, 4 Thalia, 5 Teal, 6 Hermes, 7 Thia

A sunny evening of good wind although it was unkind to Stewart Gibb, the Race Officer.  He was obliged to change the course so as to maintain a windward leg.  Those not paying attention (half of the Gareloch fleet) did not notice.  When they realised the error, their going the wrong way was irrecoverable.

The first leg, downwind of necessity, was across the loch to Clynder.  Dione and Teal led some to the left, Thalia, Athene and Thia looked strong on the right.  Boats in the middle found a hole in the wind.

Thalia led around the leeward mark and was helped by several of the pursuers arriving at the mark together.  She sailed the best windward leg and did not need to worry about being blanketed on the run back to Clynder for the start of the second round.  Dione and Teal were fighting it out with Teal unable to find a way past.

Constant attention was needed to the changeable strength and direction of wind.  On the leg to the finish, Dione was challenging Thalia.  Near to the line, Thalia luffed to protect her position as Dione caught a puff and so dropped a place.  Hermes kept a charging Thia at bay.

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

A sunny afternoon.  Wind was in short supply.  The breeze forecast to arrive at 2pm was late.  It filled in after we finished.

On the water Race Officer Carol Rowe sent us on a course down and up the Shandon shore, beginning with a windward leg to A, off the club.  Catriona thought the inner end of the start line favoured, both for bias and tide.  She was wrong.  Dione and Teal started at the pin end and prospered in better air.  Thalia further down the line.  She was never on terms with the leading two but passed Hermes shortly after the start and was never challenged by Catriona.

The occasional error of spinnaker handling on Dione brought Teal closer than they would have liked but there was never any real danger.

We finished after one round.

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

Many years ago (the Gareloch Class goes back a long way) there used to be adventurous races down the river.  There are tales of emergency caulking with chewing gum at Hunters Quay.  As the ladies got older, racing became confined to home waters.  Maintenance has improved and the boats are in better condition.  In 2014 Eric Boinard, the owner of Zephyrus, had been reading accounts of the old races written for the Glasgow Herald by the incomparable George Findlay and proposed we resurrected the passage race.  We all seized on the idea and the first was to Rothesay.  On Saturday, we took it easy and raced to the Royal Gourock Yacht Club for lunch.

Tim Henderson’s Blue Iris started us from Rhu Narrows on a downwind leg, first visiting the cardinal mark guarding the sugar boat.  Catriona got away well by virtue of launching her spinnaker early.  Athene and Halcyone close by.  Off the Rosneath Caravan Park, Catriona had to decide who to cover.  Many were going close inshore where wind can be fickle, Dione futher out in better air.  There was a frustrating time of constant adjustments to sails and a gust which brought the fleet up but did not reach the leader.  Past Perch Rock, wind was steady and Dione was in a strong second place with Dewy Babbington on the helm, her owner being away.

We all hardened up for the long windward leg down the river.  The combination of variable wind, tide and waves over a large area of water can lead to big changes in fortune.  Dione continued to the Gourock shore so Catriona covered.  Teal thought to try the Kilcreggan shore.  Kilcreggan was not a disaster, but it did not pay.  Later, Teal trended towards the Gourock shore whilst most of the rest headed for the pier at Kilcreggan.  Again, Teal’s lot was not cast with a white bean.  The order changed as boats benefited from flatter water, then were slowed by waves.  Were lifted by the wind, then headed.

Carol Rowe showed her skill to have Hermes in front of the rest at the last rounding mark, off the Kilcreggan shore.  It was a reach to the finish at the Royal Gourock so that there was little opportunity for further changes of order.  Jamie Grant’s Kelana, in the charge of John Simpson, was our finish boat.  Wonderful

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

This was the first race of a new series.  People were naturally keen.  On the water Race Officer Peter Proctor wanted to send us on a course beginning with a windward leg to B, off Silvers.  He was perturbed to find that storm Hector had brought the B mark across the loch to the starting area.  The pragmatic solution was to select a navigation mark instead.

Wind as we were leaving the moorings was strong enough to dip the side decks underwater.  It eased through the race.

Catriona, closely followed by Dione got the best of the start.  Dione eased ahead, in particular going well on port tack across the loch.  On the approach to the windward mark, Catriona found better air, prevented Dione tacking and rounded first.  She dropped her spinnaker too late at the end of the downwind leg and the consequent poor mark rounding put Dione back into contention, by the next windward mark she was ahead.  A lead she kept although it was close at the end.

Some of the spinnaker legs were a bit fine and gybes at the C mark on the second round (from a reach to a reach) needed care.  Hermes did not set her third sail and so avoided the spinnaker troubles which afflicted some of the others.  She led the rest home, having previously had a windward/leeward stuchie with Thalia which is subject to protest.

On the final leg to the finish, in ever lightening air, Athene kept her spinnaker better filled than Thalia and took a place close to the line.

1 Dione, 2 Catriona, 3 Hermes, 4 Athene, 5 Thalia, 6 Zephyrus.  Ceres DNF.

A stunning summer evening – the last of a month of perfect weather – with sun, warmth and good wind. And also the last race of the spring Tue series with a good turn-out. It is a reflection of the competitiveness of the class that, with the arrival of Dione, there were three boats all in with a chance of taking the series. Whichever boat won tonight (or at least won out of the three) would also win the series! Not that Teal was entirely aware of that…. 

NNW wind and RO Linda Pender picked a classic course with a good initial beat to the D mark well up the Clynder shore. Also featuring the classic biased start-line that ends in the shore! Catriona’s tendency to ‘lead in’ to win the start is getting more risky as the class gets more competitive and aggressive. And so it proved with Ceres (helmed by Richard Reeves) chasing along the line, Thalia and Teal approaching from below (with Thalia herself having to bear off to avoid being ‘hooked’ by Teal). Catriona had nowhere to run and was OCS with no easy way back; Ceres was flirting with the line and being pushed by Teal; and Thalia, perhaps running out of water, attempted to tack and demand rights over Teal (but perhaps should re-read the rules!). Teal nailed the start, tacked on to starboard and was away across the loch with other boats nicely below. Halcyone and Dione the best in second and third after avoiding the starting fracas.

A cracking beat now up to D. Dione tacked away, Teal tacked to cover and Halcyone followed heading up the loch. Meanwhile Hermes followed by Catriona – having returned to the start-line – attempted to do something different and headed up the Shandon shore. Catriona abandoned this early. Despite crossing most sterns, Catriona tacked back on to port further left than most and managed to overhaul most of the fleet to complete a masterful recovery (albeit one aided by a failure of any of the class to cover her). Teal and Dione held on to lead in to the D mark. Teal tacked in too early and had to give room – and the lead – to a charging Dione coming in on starboard with good wind. Teal round next, Catriona following to the G mark. Teal managed to overhaul Dione due to faster spinnaker launching, but Dione kept inside rights over Catriona at the mark for the run back to the start-line. The order did not change as we passed the line for the second round to A and beat back to D. Spinnakers stayed up to an out-of-position A mark. 

Dione and Catriona now both tacked to head up the Shandon shore, so Teal was obliged to tack and cover. The rest of the fleet followed! Catriona eventually tacked to try and break cover by Dione. Dione and Teal tacked to cover. Teal’s tack had the effect of covering Dione most and she tacked off again leaving Teal covering Catriona. It didn’t pay for Dione and Teal led Catriona then Dione in to D (where she did not make the mistake of going in too early!).

Downwind back to the finish, Teal now managed to find a fairly calm hole in the middle and watched aghast as Catriona and Dione caught up to leeward in a nice streak of pressure. At this point two things saved Teal’s bacon (can you make ham from a duck…?): firstly the wind steadied, and secondly Teal would hit the closer shore end of the line first. Not quite a photo finish but Teal then Catriona then Dione crossed for a very very tight finish to a classic race. Later in the bar we discovered that Ceres was OCS. And after discussions on getting in the way of Halycone while returning to the start Catriona, despite a lack of formal protest, did the sporting thing and retired.

1 Teal, 2 Dione, 3 Halcyone, 4 Thalia 5 Hermes 6 Thia – OCS Ceres, DNF Athene, RTD Catriona

(Guest report from Teal)