East Coast Sailing Week with BP
by Liz Tulloch 25 Jul 2007 12:04 BST
20-23 July 2007
East Coast Sailing Week ended in a blaze of glory as the Mediterranean came to the Firth of Forth.
After 3 days of thundery, overcast skies and variable winds, the sun broke through and the final races were sailed in ideal conditions.
75 yachts from Forth, Tay and Northumbria sailed into Granton Harbour for this event This year a new format was launched, with racing taking place over 4 days and the fleets divided into Racer Cruisers and Cruiser Racers, then sorted again by handicap into divisions plus a Sonata Class and a Restricted Sail Class. This proved a very successful formula.
Racing was inaugurated on Day 1 with a brilliant water display from the Hound Point BP Tug fleet which jetted out wings of water while the fleets assembled off Inch Mickery.
‘Round the Cans’ racing was the order of the day and a blustery grey easterly took the fleets down the Forth. Right away the giants of the local Fast Class got into the action. First blood went to Jezebel (P& S Howell, PEYC) with clubmates, Ruby (Terry Kirchin) and Absolutely 2 (Bramall, Kelly & Plummer) all heading fighting for the lead. The names were the same, only the places changed in Race 2 with Absolutely 2 taking the gold in Race 2.
Fast cruisers were dominated by Misty Blue in both Friday events while Hopscotch and Sieglinde, both from Royal Forth divided the Slow Handicap between them.
It soon became obvious that the Sonata Class was the one to watch with local champ, Neil McLure duelling with Sunderland’s Dave Boatman in Blue Tack. They finished 1 all.
Saturday’s racing began with a smart, but lumpy north-easterly providing the helmsman with a challenging beat to Inchkeith. The fleets stormed through the start.
Unfortunately on the spinnaker run back the wind tailed away to nothing and only the two Racer/Cruiser Classes completed their courses.
Sunday brought bright sunshine and a brisk westerly to see the yachts off on their long passage race to the Dysart Wreck Buoy.
First leg was a quick beat for all classes then as they flew the kites on the downwind leg to pass Inchkeith, the breeze became fickle and they came together for a nailbiting finale.
While Ruby asserted her authority in the Fast Racers, Charlie Hussey brought the Impala Blue Streak to a win in the Slow Division displacing Robin Brownlie who, nevertheless remained in control on points.
The two top Sonatas remained locked in combat at 6 points all but Stewart Shearer (DBSC) seized the chance to bring Razamataz to a great win.
Wins too for L’Arc en Ciel, Auberge and Hummingbird.
Monday brought the final stages, bright warm sunshine and brilliant racing although there was a long wait before the easterly breeze filled in. This was a tense time for Race Officer Tom Wilson and his team but they kept their nerve and waited for the best conditions with great results. Ruby fought off the challenge of all comers and at the prize-giving was named ‘Boat of the Week.’
This was a great sailing event for the Forth both on the water and ashore and the Regatta Committee thank all sponsors and congratulate all competitors.
Overall Results:
Racer/Cruiser Fast Class:
1 Ruby, T Kirchin (PEYC)
2 Absolutely 2, Messrs Bramall, Kelly and Plummer (PEYC)
3 Jezebel, P & S Howell (PEYC)
Racer/Cruiser Slow Handicap:
1 Hopscotch, R Brownlie (RFYC)
2 Bluestreak, C Hussey (PEYC)
3 Sieglinde, H Boyd (RFYC)
Sonata Class:
1 Blue Tack, D Boatman (SYC)
2 So, N McLure (DBSC)
3 Sonic, A Stephenson (SYC)
Cruiser/Racer Fast Handicap:
1 L Arc en Ciel, Neil Wood (PEYC)
2 Misty Blue, B Pennycook & E North (FCYC)
3 NFI (DBSC)
Cruiser/Racer Slow Handicap:
1 Auberge, D Dickson (PEYC)
2 Exisle, A Walker (CBC)
3 Ommadawn, P Heneghan (ABC)
Restricted Sail:
1 Hummingbird, B Kinloch (PEYC)
2 Katie Mor, W Simpson (FCC)
3 Les Beez Neez, J Allan S Birrell (DBSC)