The Gareloch Championship – aka the Gareloch Worlds – was held last weekend. Although not entirely blessed by the strongest of wind. Sometimes you just don’t want beautiful warm calm summer weather!
After the lift-off party at Rhu Marina on Friday evening, we were welcomed by a glassy Gareloch on Saturday morning. Somehow Race Officer Robin Young got a race away. Which lasted anything from about an hour to 2 and half hours depending on how well boats managed the light air and then dying light air and turning tide! Arke taking the win ahead of Catriona, and with Circe snatching third from Dione. Detailed report below.
The class went ashore and the RO wisely gave it some time before abandoning racing for the day. A cracking BBQ hosted by the Mucklow family in Rhu on a warm and almost midge free evening rounded off the day. Many thanks to Barrie and Wendy for all the organisation.
Sunday didn’t look promising. At all.
The crews all decided to head out to the their boats just in case so as to be ready in case any wind did fill in. The odd zephyr did appear to tease us but quickly went again. The RO decided to give it until 11am before abandoning. As the time approached, there were signs of more wind outside the Gareloch and Catriona cast off. She even headed out toward the narrows and radioed suggesting we head out to try racing in Rhu Bay. Forgetting until reminded that the SIs her skipper had written specifically note the racing area is the Gareloch and using fixed Gareloch racing marks!! So sadly the hour arrived and the RO hooted three times to signal racing abandoned. And that was the Championship decided on a single key race! No minimum number of races for it to stand…
Many thanks to RO Robin Young assisted by Marjorie MacLeod McWhirr and Jean MacKay.
Race 1 detailed report
The RO set up by the H mark with a fairly short, slightly committee boat biased line – which made for an interesting tricky start given limited room between the committee boat and the shore! Dione hit the middle of the line on time, with Catriona behind but higher and close to the committee boat. Arke followed Catriona through. Thia – helmed by Chris Ings – the best of the rest.
Dione and Catriona in good positions sailed on the wind and attempting to point and lay the mark. Arke – reckoning a/ that following would achieve nothing, b/ that the wind might be better further left out of the shadow of the shore, c/ that the outgoing tide would be better further out too and finally d/ that sailing freer in the light air would be faster (VMG!) – footed and sailed freer, heading below Catriona and Dione.
Dione and Catriona reached the zone first but with Arke tacking back across just behind. In time to watch the stramash: Dione wasn’t quite laying it – tantalisingly close which was why her skipper hadn’t tacked earlier – and had to tack right to get to the lay line. Crossing Catriona. She tacked back – from port on to starboard (NB rule 18!) – just ahead of Catriona. But had to give Catriona room if she had an overlap. Which she got. Contact ensued. Protesting ensued! None of this helped the two leading boats make good turns or made them particularly fast with their spinnaker launches. And Arke happily took advantage – rounding inside both – and the lead. Dione’s turns in the light air compounded her issues, but she still maintained third place.
Back down to H and with the light air just about holding and, this possibly being our only race given the forecast, the RO didn’t shorten the course. Catriona got some good air from behind and managed a good pass over Arke to grab the inside just before the mark. Even clear ahead. Arke rounded well though and tacked off to repeat her first round’s approach (sailing free and heading left). Catriona tacked slightly later and repeated hers (aiming to lay the upwind mark).
It paid for Arke: while the last of the tide might not have been strong, the wind was definitely better further left out of the shadow of the shore and she sailed free, under and clear ahead of Catriona. Meanwhile the committee boat sensed the lightening (dying!) air and moved the finish line up to the upwind mark. When Arke tacked to head right to it she crossed Catriona by many lengths. Arke finished almost bang on an hour with Catriona another 5 minutes after. As Catriona finished she did so almost on low tide. The rest of the fleet now had to contend with both lightening – almost negligible – wind AND a building adverse incoming tide! Dione woes were compounded when Circe (possible less tide now by keeping in?) got ahead to take third.
The early finishers now enjoyed the sun and bobbed about feeling grateful they were finished.
Thalia – in her first Worlds under the new ownership of Peter Alias sailing with experienced sailor Alan Isaac – finished an excellent 5th. At the back of the fleet Halcyone snatched it from poor Thia after some two and a half hours racing!
Results (with times – rounded to nearest minute – to indicate just how trying and long the race was for those boats who finished after the tide turned!):
1 Arke (approx 1 hour @ 11:31), 2 Catriona (11:35), 3 Circe (11:52), 4 Dione (11:56), 5 Thalia (12:25), 6 Hermes (12:32), 7 Zephyrus (12:34.40), 8 Ceres (12:35.10), 9 Athene (12:41), 10 Halcyone (13:00), 11 Thia (13:01)
