Scottish Skiff Open at Chanonry Sailing Club

The fourth open of the Trident-uk Scottish Skiff Grand Prix was held on the 5th/6th of August at Chanonry sailing club, just half an our from Inverness.

A challenging breeze and big waves greeted the sailors on Saturday. Trotter managed to keep his boat upright throughout the first race to win. The Urquhart brothers showed excellent heavy weather technique to take 2nd followed by Naula Black and Alisdair Tannock in their 29er.

In the second race Ian Renilson showed great form in the difficult conditions to take first, closely followed by the laser 4000 taking 2nd. Having recovered from the bad luck in the first race Martin Wilkie and Iain McCafferty took 3rd.

In the third race Fergus and Tom Holland managed to avoid the boat troubles they had in the first 2 races gaining them a first. The laser 4000 showed fantastic consistency to earn another 2nd. Other skiffs were finding the wind and waves too much at the bottom mark, Renilson managed to recover from his swim quickest to finish in 3rd.

Sunday presented the competitors with lighter winds and smaller waves than the previous day, which allowed more tactical racing. After the start of the fourth race there was a big wind shift, which allowed the 49er sailed by Stewart and Ben Robertson to gybe around the windward mark and sail straight to the next where others had to drop kites to make the mark. They kept up their speed and took the first followed by the Holland brothers in 2nd and Trotter in 3rd.

In the fifth race Trotter managed to clinch first from the 49er leaving them close 2nd and the Holland brothers 3rd. This left Ian only 1 point clear of Fergus and Tom so it was all down to the last race.

Race six started with the fleet splitting left and right. Right paid and left the people who went left to fight back what positions they could. Trotter managed to take the win with Renilson 2nd and the Robertsons 3rd. This left trotter the clear winner.

We eagerly anticipate the Scottish skiff championships in Largs on the 30th September & 1st October which is bound to be an excellent event.

Many thanks to our sponsors Trident-UK.

Overall Results: