RS400 Scottish Tour Round 1 at Loch Earn Sailing Club

RS400 Scottish Tour at Loch Earn © Nadia Yeamans

RS400 Scottish Tour at Loch Earn © Nadia Yeamans

Six crews turned up on the Saturday morning to attend the planned training session. There was sun, bacon rolls, but unfortunately someone forgot to tell the wind to show up. In the absence of the key ingredient, Stewart and Sarah Robertson led a classroom session, and helped perform some land drills.

Eventually the wind filled in allowing the squad to get on the water for some starts, tacking and gybing practice. The following debrief, complete with videos, showed us all that what we think we are doing in the boat and what we actually are doing are very different.

As usual with Saturday nights on the tour, the Hoop of Shame was sounded, and drinks were consumed. Thank you to our sponsor Stewart Brewing for laying on the sunshine in which to enjoy their splendid brews.

Sunday's racing commenced with a good lounge around the loch waiting for the wind to fill in. Various positions were favoured, with an early break away for the Lochside jetty. The middle of the fleet went for the traditional picnic benches whilst the rear guard moseyed onto a tartan rug. Lunches were ate. Light-wind rig settings were not adjusted.

In a flurry boats were launched, hooters sounded, the course memorised, and race 1 started. Jon Gay and Amanda Henderson took an early lead casually taking the fleet round an extra mark allowing Bob and Nadia Yeamans (seemingly the only ones for whom the course, a criss-cross quadrilateral, followed by some sort of other polygon, came naturally) to slip into second. Or perhaps they were the bright sparks with a chart of the buoys. The wind freshened some more and Hester Robertson and Richard Hope's kicker parted with a resolute bang on the second upwind leg. Undaunted they continued, clinging onto third. Angus Marshall and Martin Booth introduced their respective crews Brother Marshall, and Olly Miling-Smith to RS400 racing in some rather bold conditions.

Race 2 delivered classic champagne sailing conditions, sorry I meant scrambled eggs. Boats took the opportunity to wash off last year's salt from their sails. Timing of tacks and gybes was crucial: get it right and you were pointing at the mark again but with the sails on the other side of the boat, get it wrong and the spinnaker was getting a wash as well. Jon and Amada led round the first mark, Hester and Richard looked in a good position to nip in front of Bob and Nadia at the leeward mark but passed in favour of cruising off to a mark on a completely different leg. And so, with Angus and Brother having taken an early ride home, the positions of race 1 were repeated.

Thanks to Loch Earn Sailing Club for blowing away the cobwebs.

Overall Results: