An afternoon of sun and good wind. Direction was variable but you cannot have everything. Blowing (mostly) from the east, an offwind start was required. On the water Race Officer John Blackie set a course to D, north of Clynder, with a Boinard start. It should have been a run on starboard to start but wind changing direction caused some to gybe, with the spinnaker pole now on the wrong side. Anyway, it settled down to a starboard leg with Circe and Catriona leading. Everyone changing places in the variable air.
Back across the loch to G, off Gully bridge, Catriona lost her lead and was fifth from Dione, Arke, Circe and Ceres on the fetch to the starting area for another round. Arke got to windward of Dione on the reach and pulled clear to lead at the end of the round. Which meant that Dione had no mark room and her subsequent bail out and rounding cost her places.
However the fleet had not read their sailing instructions, and set off back towards D, returning the lead to Catriona for the downwind leg to B. Which used to be off Silvers but is now alarmingly close to the port hand channel buoy. Catriona and Circe, back in second, gybed their spinnakers for the reach to C, off Clynder. It became a little fine with strengthening wind. All but Catriona dropped their spinnakers. She would have been no slower if she had done the same.
Meanwhile Athene suffered failure of the turning block on the spinnaker guy. A strong gust with wind already fine. She lost her competitive position in the sorting out.
For the beat back to the finish, with wind shifts to frustrate or delight depending on your tack, Catriona covered Circe and kept her at bay. Dione, meanwhile, went further out into the loch earlier and found better wind. On the approach to the finish she was just ahead of starboard tack Catriona but could not cross. Having tacked, she was rolled.
Thalia took a place from Ceres, benefitting from a gust which gave boatspeed right at the end.
1 Catriona, 2 Dione, 3 Circe, 4 Arke, 5 Thalia, 6 Ceres, 7 Hermes, 8 Halcyone, 9 Athene
