RS400 Scottish Tour at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club

RS400 Scottish Tour at Dalgety Bay © Stuart Greenough

DA light breeze brought the Scottish RS400 fleet to Dalgety Bay and, following a complicated briefing on how to avoid the temporary underwater construction works on the way out, they launched. Other fleets may have been intimidated by the gargantuan crane barge that formed part of the departure obstacle course but not the 400s, they had seen bigger committee boats.

Once out, the breeze refused to stay put, trying out various compass angles and dying out completely during the first beat to the relief of the back of the fleet. A hiatus ensued during which the fleet managed to get the measure of the torrent of seaweed that was, no doubt, a consequence of whatever the barge was up to. The persevering race committee then reeled off 3 races in quick succession, with the fleet so eager on the third a black flag was brought into play. Some say the results reflected the amount of seaweed one had collected around one's centre board. 1463, with three 1st places, did have a seaweed clearing technique so thorough that the unsuspecting helm, Stewart Robertson, went for a swim; I'll leave you to reach your own conclusions.

With the club bar open and a curry ordered the evening proved to be a 400 classic.

Sunday morning was postponed to Sunday afternoon. The 400 sailors were all present and correct, but the wind had forgotten to turn up. Numbers started to dwindle as sailors decided they would be better off engaged in other pursuits, but with the support of a keen race committee three sprint style races were quickly rattled out in the afternoon giving the fleet the chance to dust off their light wind roll tacks and downwind breathing techniques.

Thank you to our fleet sponsors Stewart Brewing whose refreshments were very welcome after a long day in the Scottish sun and through which we signalled our appreciation to the volunteer race committee and rescue crew.

If you think you might want to join in with some of the thrills and spills of 400 racing, then you should borrow the Demo Boat - currently residing at Largs. Contact the Scottish RS400 class association's Facebook page or use this contact form.

Overall Results: