Scottish Solo Travellers at Helensburgh Sailing Club
by Scottish Solo Association 19 Aug 2014 11:31 BST
16 August 2014
The latest round of the SailingFast.co.uk sponsored travellers circuit for the Scottish Solos took place at Helensburgh on Saturday 16th. Despite the dire forecast of rain and lots of wind, the fleet was keen to get racing and was rigged and ready to go at the top of the slipway as soon as the race officer gave the all clear.
Race 1 got off promptly in a shifty force 3 to 4 and it was recently crowned Scottish Champion Stuart Gibson from Bardowie who popped out ahead at the windward mark. Andy Hutchinson from Perth gave chase down the run and managed to gain a small lead by the leeward mark. These two sailors had a close tussle for the rest of the race with some close covering up the final beat allowing Kevan Gibb of Largo Bay to close the gap in third. With plenty of gusts coming through on the final downwind the racing was extremely close with Andy eventually taking the gun just ahead of Stuart and Kevan coming in third.
The wind had dropped a little for the second race, but with 30 degree shifts coming through there was no time to relax with places changing all the time throughout the fleet. Andy Hutchinson emerged from the committee boat end of a pretty congested start line and held a comfortable lead for the first couple of laps. As the race went on the wind increased, and the final run saw plenty of gybing and jockeying for position as the gusts came through and boats split left and right to try and gain an advantage. Andy held onto the lead to secure the travellers with Kevan and Stuart a close second and third.
Race 3 saw another keenly contested start. Kevan Gibb nailed it and had a comfortable lead at the first mark followed by Sandy Day from Bardowie showing good speed. Kev and Sandy sailed off to take a comfortable one- two with Andy clawing back to third having been over the line at the start.
Despite the forecast, the Gareloch delivered some great racing and thanks to the host club for putting on the event and our sponsors SailingFast.co.uk for their continued support of Scotland's premier adult singlehanded class. The windward – leeward courses provided great tactical racing in the shifty breeze keeping the racing tight throughout the fleet. Next stop for the Scottish Solos is the stunning setting of Loch Lomond on 6th and 7th September.
Top 3 results:
1st Andy Hutchinson, Perth Sailing Club
2nd Kevan Gibb, Largo Bay Sailing Club
3rd Stuart Gibson, Bardowie CCC