RS400 Scottish Tour at Royal Findhorn Yacht Club

by John MacKenzie 8 Jul 2016 08:25 BST 2-3 July 2016

A strong fleet of seventeen RS400s turned up for the latest round of the RS400 Scottish Tour. After a sensational weekend of racing at North Berwick, could Findhorn match that? Indeed it could. The visitors were treated to the now legendary hospitality of Royal Findhorn, and the entire fleet enjoyed close racings with individual contests all through the fleet.

Day one was sailed out in Moray Firth, with the locals deftly working their way through the Findhorn tidal race. Not so locals found themselves wading through the 4-5 knot current. Which was a shock to the system at about 8.45 am. Once out though, the scene was set for glorious racing in a steady force three.

The first race demonstrated how close the racing was going to be, and how important it was not to succumb to the apparently innocent question the night before of "just the one?" Stewart "Grumpy" Robertson couldn't quite figure out if it was that extra pint that did it, or the fact that there was a heavy port bias, and, using his own words "the start was quite important". Bedborough and someone called "Dodger", MacKenzie/Box and Neil McLelland sailing with "Andy" did spot the bias and finished in that order. Local crew of Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris (49er fx supremos) demonstrated their speed (and potential for other open events) by finishing fourth.

The second race was abandoned after a rather sheepish Race Officer confessed to mixing up the individual recall and general recall signals. MacKenzie/Box were eternally grateful...! When restarted the second race saw local crew of Ian and Beverley Ellis battling it out with the Robertsons, MacKenzie/Box and Mclelland/Andy with the Robertsons taking the win, the Ellis's pipping MacKenzie/Box by half a boat length, and McLelland/Andy coming in fourth. The final race of the day was sailed in a fading breeze, with the Robertsons again taking the win, with McLelland/Andy second and the Ellis's third. McLelland/Andy were just a little disappointed as they had led all the way round until the Robertsons got lucky on the last beat.

With the early start due to the tide, the fleet were treated to an early finish. For some there was time for a tactical nap. For others, the nap was a bit longer – pointing no fingers Mr Webley! Many decided that a few drinks at the bar, dinner, watching the Germany v Italy game and then bed at a sensible time was the right tactical move. For others the lure of the clubhouse bar was too much, and the (im)famous Wormit Boat Club choir was apparently in full swing.

Day two dawned grey, cool and windy. A last minute change of mind by the Race Officer meant that racing took place in the bay. Flat water – but big wind shifts and huge gusts. Bedborough/Dodger took the first race win, with the Robertsons finishing back in fifth. See earlier comments about "just the one". The results of races five and six had the Robertsons and Bedborough/Dodger taking first and second respectively, but both races were closely fought. Angus Marshall, sailing with Imogen Barnett, kept the leaders honest, and places were constantly changing through the fleet. With some blasting reaching on flat water, everyone came ashore with a smile of their face. Not smiling thought was Neil McLelland and Andy, who were deprived of a near certain podium position when their boom snapped and ended their racing for the day.

Special mention must go to Helen Cowie who gets a Duckhams nomination for complaining that her kite didn't work on Saturday - only to find she was sailing with a Stratos kite! Robster McLeod also gets one for rigging his kite sheets but forgetting to put them through the blocks. Easy done...

For international travellers next stop is Travemunde for the Eurocup. The next Scottish event is at Stonehaven on 20 and 21 August.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm & Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	1319	S Robertson S Robertson	RForthYC	5	1	1	5	1	1	9
2nd	1432	K Bedborough R Dodger	DBSC	1	5	5	1	2	2	11
3rd	1455	J MacKenzie A Box	DBSC	2	3	4	6	4	3	16
4th	909	I Ellis B Ellis	RFYC	7	2	3	4	18 DNS	4	20
5th	1180	G Munro D Harris	RFYC	4	7	8	2	3	5	21
6th	768	A Marshall I Barnett	DBSC	6	6	6	3	5	9	26
7th	414	M Toynbee K Papapanagiotou	DBSC	8	8	7	7	8	8	38
8th	1129	D Webley F Mulford	WBC	9	12	18 DNC	8	7	6	42
9th	877	P Taylor R McLeod	DBSC	10	9	9	9	6	18 DNC	43
10th	1370	N McEllan Andy	DBSC	3	4	2	18 DNF	18 DNS	18 DNC	45
11th	913	I Underwood S Hermiston	RFYC	12	13	11	10	9	11	53
12th	476	M Booth R Booth	DBSC	11	10	12	12	10	10	53
13th	1018	M Wilson D Henry	CSC	14	15	14	11	12	7	58
14th	447	H Cowie H Dow	RFYC	15	11	10	13	11	18 DNC	60
15th	1389	C Hornsby N Teddy	RFYC	17	16	16	14	13	12	71
16th	1164	R Cowie G Rendall	RFYC	13	14	13	18 DNC	18 DNC	18 DNC	76
17th	1032	D Cowie R Lightowler	RFYC	16	17	15	18 DNF	18 DNC	18 DNC	84