Sailability Scotland Challenger Travellers at Castle Semple Sailing Club
by Richard Toulson 17 Apr 2018 09:55 BST
14-15 April 2018
Sailability Scotland Challenger Travellers at Castle Semple © Richard Toulson
Round one of six saw this years opening regatta at Castle Semple Sailing Club start with some new faces, some not so new and some old hands getting to grips with the ever increasing wind. It was a great regatta to kick off the Traveller Series and many thanks goes to Commodore Dawn Kyne and her team at Castle Semple Sailing Club.
The weekend started off slowly with racing delayed due to the lack of wind. But after short delay, nine Challengers from four different clubs took to the water and the first race of the season got underway. The old hands or Gold fleet soon got to the front of the pack and were leading the way round. Craig Moffett (Loch Earn SC) and Jessica Campbell (Southwest Scotland Sailability) were having a race of their own out front and in more than one race the winning margin was less than a coiled rope. This remained a theme through the whole of the weekend.
Day two saw a change in wind strength and direction which really suited the Challengers. A different course was laid out due to the wind shift and that made for exciting racing. Surprisingly the weekend stayed dry for racing but the rains came, as promised, at the end of packing the boats away.
In between races Castle Semple Sailng Club put on a lovely spread including soup, fresh sandwiches and the homemade cake was particularly lovely. They also had the BBQ going so that was another first this year and it was all very much appreciated.
Jessica Campbell won Gold fleet and the Silver fleet winner was Stephen Laycock and both sailors are from Southwest Scotland Sailability. The Bronze fleet winner was David Telfer and buddy Jon Hasler from Castle Semple SC. It was Dave's first time competing in a regatta and he actually beat a silver fleet sailor.
Sailability Scotland SCIO supports disabled sailing in Scotland. Having a disability is not required to sail Challengers but a love of sailing really helps. Many clubs around Scotland have Challengers, including Castle Semple Sailing Club, and you would be welcome to take part in our traveller series. Please visit www.sailabilityscotland.org.uk for more information.