Zhik Scottish WASZP Championships at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club
by Andy Hutchinson 3 Sep 06:06 BST
24-26 August 2019
A festival atmosphere for the WASZP Scottish Championship at Dalgety Bay © Iain Calder
A Bank Holiday Weekend, sunshine, camper vans, cold beers, a BBQ and one of Scotland best dinghy sailing clubs.
All the ingredients were in place for a weekend of champagne sailing as Waszps from all over the UK descended on Dalgety Bay Sailing Club to compete in the Zhik Scottish Championship.
Unfortunately, no one told the wind that this was a big weekend, so after a short postponement the still enthusiastic fleet launched into a gentle 5 mph breeze for the first race on Saturday.
Principal Race Office Iain Calder made the best of the conditions and set a windward leeward course against the backdrop of the majestic Forth bridges.
Up the first beat the fleet split left and right with those heading out into the main channel getting the best of the breeze and coming out on top.
Jamie Calder started as he meant to go on rounding ahead and sailing into the lead. The visitors were well up with Victoria Payne making the trip from the south coast well worth it and Class President Max Todd going well until he decided to start hitting marks.
By the final lap Jamie had a comfortable lead with Andy Hutch and Dunc Hepplewhite having a close battle for second which was won by Dunc.
Race two and despite the low riding conditions the racing was tight throughout the fleet. Going down the final run much of the fleet were overlapped with half a dozen boats vying for the lead. Jamie pulled out another win with Max coming through to second and Dunc putting in another counter in third.
With the wind fading the fleet retired to the sailing club, with Sailing Fast kindly providing cold beers for competitors as they came off the water. Some of the more enthusiastic stayed on the water for some wakeboarding and water skiing and entertained the rest of the fleet with flybys.
Maybe it was the knowledge that the forecast for Sunday was very light winds, perhaps it was the rare sight of Sunshine on Leith as everyone enjoyed a BBQ overlooking the Firth of Forth, but the fleet seemed to go particularly large on Saturday night with the Waszp band playing well into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Gatecrashing a local birthday party and getting the dancing going the birthday girl was happy to welcome the sailors.
Alas the forecast for Sunday was unfortunately accurate and racing was canned, but thanks to Dalgety Bay and Zhik for another great weekend of Waszping
So, Jamie Calder was crowned the well-deserved Scottish Champion having shown a slight boat speed advantage over the rest of the fleet and a cool head when it mattered, with Dunc and Andy filling the remaining spots on the podium.
Whilst we weren't blessed with champagne conditions, the closeness of the lowriding racing adds a different dimension to the thrill of foiling, and the class continues to show a culture of inclusiveness with everyone helping each other and offering tips and assistance.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | WASZP 2521 | Jamie Calder | Dalgety Bay Sailing Club | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | WASZP 2515 | Duncan Hepplewhite | Loch Lomond SC | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 3rd | WASZP 2333 | Andy Hutchinson | Loch Earn SC | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 4th | WASZP 2231 | Maxwellius Maximus Todius | Wales SC | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| 5th | WASZP 2294 | Ewan McLellan | Loch Earn SC | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 6th | WASZP 2525 | John MacKenzie | Dalgety Bay Sailing Club | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 7th | WASZP 2400 | Keith Bedborough | Dalgety Bay Sailing Club | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| 8th | WASZP 2380 | Victoria Payne | Hayling Island SC | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 9th | WASZP 2156 | Phil Ewart | Derwent Reservoir SC | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| 10th | WASZP 2022 | Matt Toynbee | Dalgety Bay Sailing Club | DNF | DNF | 22 |