Scottish IOM Championship at Castle Semple Sailing Club

by Richard Ennos, Race Officer 8 May 2011 22:47 BST 30 April - 1 May 2011

Scottish District IOM Championship at Castle Semple © Ian Dundas

The second running of the two day Scottish District IOM Championship was held over the weekend of 30th April and 1st May at Castle Semple, south of Glasgow, one of the premier radio yachting venues in the UK. A total of 16 skippers took part representing all of the seven MYA affiliated Scottish clubs. The event was blessed with perfect sailing weather, sunshine throughout together with a north easterly wind blowing straight down the loch that varied in strength over the weekend.

A two fleet format was decided on by the race team to accommodate the spread of abilities and this was vindicated by the scarcity of infringements and lack of protests throughout the event. The first seeding race was won by David Stewart, sailing a wooden Isis, who had wisely decided to opt for second suit while the rest of the fleet struggled with top suit rigs. There was an immediate change to second suit by the rest of the fleet, with Alistair Law, sailing his black Picanto, winning the second seeding race. Correct choice of rigs to suit the varying wind strength remained a critical factor throughout the rest of the regatta.

From the second race onwards it was clear that, barring gear failure, the event would be decided between Alistair Law and Aberdeen skipper Ian Dundas, who was sailing an immaculately home built wooden Evo, a recent Jeff Bryerley design. In the chop of Castle Semple the Evo punched at speed through the waves maintaining a level course, while other designs bounced around in the confused water. However these two did not have it all their own way. There were notable wins for the McShee designs by local skipper Hugh Shields in the hands of both the designer and Patrick Johnston. Also prominent on day one were Steve Taylor with his Robot, and the Lintels of Gordon Allison and Nick Cowern. The heavy conditions took a toll on boats, and in race six Ian Dundas sailed straight on, out of control at the leeward gate, and into the shore. Remarkably Ian managed to replace the whole of his electrics on the lakeside, missing only one race, and resumed where he had left off with a win in the final race of day one and a two point advantage over Alistair Law.

Day two saw Alistair Law in very determined mood, beginning the day with three straight wins. However he was unable to shake off the challenge of Ian Dundas who finished second on each occasion despite a number of infringements at the start. As the wind increased Alistair Law now ran into problems with his second suit which required repair over the lunch break. After a slow start on day two, Colin McGinnis sailing a Widget, finally started to put some results together and apply some pressure on a consistent Steve Taylor who held third spot. The winner of the regatta was not decided until the final race. Ian Dundas took an early lead and at the leeward gate rounded to starboard while Alistair rounded to port. The starboard rounding was the right call, and Ian romped home to win the race and the regatta by three points from Alistair Law.

Overall Results: (top four)