Scottish District IOM Wooden Hull Championship at Kinghorn Loch
by Sandy Mackay 14 Jun 2016 07:58 BST
11 June 2016
In their second year of sailing, Kinghorn Radio Sailing Club were pleased and honoured to be asked by the Scottish District of the Model Yachting Association to host the Championship affectionately known as 'The Woodies' at their home water, Kinghorn Loch. This venue is a naturally formed "kettle hole" loch approximately 380 metres diameter with an 80 metre south facing pier ideal for radio sailing.
Skippers from three corners of Scotland and one from south of the border (Birkenhead) gathered with their beautifully hand-crafted International One Metre (IOM) wooden yachts to race for the championship quaich. With fourteen yachts the obvious choice for the race officer was a single fleet and after a 15minute delay for an electrical fault with David Stewart's transmitter the first race started at 10.15hrs. The racing conditions were overcast and cold, with a 6 to 8 mph east wind which was ideal for both venue and the largest #1 rigs.
RO Sandy Mackay set a windward-leeward course with a spreader mark at the windward end and a gate at the leeward end of the course. Only minor adjustments were required throughout the day to provide the most skilful and competitive racing yet seen at Kinghorn. Fifteen races were sailed with liberal rest period/time-outs between back to back races allowing skippers ample time to recoup, repair minor breakages, stopping after race eight for a generous one-hour lunch break to enjoy the fare of the "Barn at the Loch" café.
Many of the varying yacht designs showed good speed and when the skippers correctly picked the flams and lifts, some fine sails were recorded. I recall watching two such sails from Richard Ennos and Gordon Allison. Analysis of the score sheet shows the competitiveness. Six different skippers claiming first places and the top skippers sharing ten of the fifteen races.
Scorer Cathy Reid (Buchanness Radio Yacht Club) calculated and verified the results of the first three and then presented the Championship Quaich to winner Ian Dundas, narrowly ahead of Steve Taylor, who was then closely followed by another club mate John Owens giving Aberdeen and Corbie's a clean sweep of the prizes.
Skippers were on their best behaviour when racing and the photographs of the day show the intensity of the competition combined with enjoyment and camaraderie created by the sport. Spectators were treated to a wonderful display of sailing (and entertained by the farm dog who never fails to turn-up when there is someone to throw a stick!).
My sincere thanks to the skippers, and the race team for a successful event.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Skipper | Sail No | Boat Design | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Ian Dundas | 38 | Corbie 4 | Aberdeen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| 2 | Stephen Taylor | 43 | Corbie | Aberdeen | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 29 |
| 3 | John Owens | 33 | Corbie | Aberdeen | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 48 |
| 4 | Ali Law | 68 | Vivid | Buchanness | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 54 |
| 5 | Robert Rooney | 171 | McShee | Paisley | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 68 |
| 6 | Richard Ennos | 184 | Equus | Levenhall | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 76 |
| 7 | David Stewart | 30 | Eco | Tayside | 15 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 94 |
| 8 | Gordon Allison | 62 | VV9 | Ayr Bay | 10 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 96 |
| 9 | Robert Brown | 58 | Vivid | Levenhall | 11 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 100 |
| 10 | Colin Deakin | 93 | Corbie | Birkenhead | 13 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 111 |
| 11 | Ian Thomson | 76 | Tejas | Buchanness | 4 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 114 |
| 12 | Tom Milne | 65 | Zig Zag | Levenhall | 7 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 122 |
| 13 | Mel Percival | 71 | Upfront 1V | Kinghorn | 12 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 149 |
| 14 | Bill Lees | 66 | V8 | Ayr Bay | 8 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 166 |