RS300 Scottish traveller event at Chanonry Sailing Club
by Ben Yeats 8 Aug 2007 23:32 BST
4 August 2007
The RS300’s Scottish traveller event was at Chanonry Sailing Club as part of the Caley Marina sponsored regatta. Unfortunately Saturday was blown off with gusts reaching 35 knots, leaving participants to sample the local Black Isle ale and tasty food laid on by the club!
Sunday brought variable conditions with the first race kicking-off in a fresh Force 3. The competitive band of RS300 sailors joined in with the fast handicap fleet. In Race 1, Ian Baillie (Dalgety) shot out of the starting blocks, beating all the fastest trapeze boats to the windward mark. Baillie extended his lead to the finish line, while Yeats overhauled Henman for 2nd.
Gavin Marshall (St Mary’s Loch) controlled Race 2 from a fine pin-end start and demonstrated good speed throughout to lead Yeats and Baillie all the way to the finish line. In race 3, Yeats and Baillie battled for first place only for Henman to make significant inroads and snatch the lead. A shortened course led to a close finish with Henman taking the win from Yeats.
In the final race any one of four sailors could win the event by taking the last race. Baillie and Yeats pulled off a risky port tack flier and arrived at the windward mark together. Yeats pulled out a lead on the first reach which he maintained to finish to take the event overall. A close battle ensued for second place overall with Marshall overtaking Baillie just before the finish line.
The event highlighted the competitive nature of the RS300. A special word of thanks goes to the race officer Shane Rankin and his team who managed to pull off all four races just before the wind totally evaporated!
Results:
1st Ben Yeats 5 points
2nd Gavin Marshall 7 points
3rd Ian Baillie 7 points
4th Mark Henmanc 8 points
5th Ron Beaton 15 points