Duncan's Regatta and Scottish Hansa Championship 2025 at Clyde Cruising Club Dinghy Section
by Rory McKinna 23 Jul 16:55 BST
5-6 July 2025
Duncan's Regatta on Bardowie Loch © Val Mellon
The weekend of the 5th-6th of July was set to be a busy one at Clyde Cruising Club Dinghy Section (CCCDS). In a surge of Sailability activity, both the 2025 Duncan's Regatta, the fourth event of the Sailability Scotland Travellers Series, and the inaugural Scottish Hansa Championship were taking to the water at Bardowie Loch.
Originally conceived as an additional fleet within the Duncan's Regatta, it was quickly decided to turn the Hansa racing into a separate event, as it would be the only competition of the class in Scotland this year. By utilising the same venue and weekend for both events, full use could be made of the resources available, not least the abundance of helpful volunteers. This made it far more manageable to rig, launch and recover the five Challengers and five Hansas, despite both classes having very different requirements.
Mimicking last year's Duncan's Regatta, the Challengers were scheduled for eight 20-minute races. On the Hansa front, as the Hansa 303 can be sailed both single and double handed, the decision was made to copy the Belgian Sailability Cup format (which hosts on a comparable size of water) and run the classes at separate times, with ten races each, giving the sailors a chance to compete in both.
Bardowie can produce some tricky winds and this weekend was no exception. So the decision was taken to assign a zig-zag like course around the club's race buoys, with a full length upwind leg for the Challengers, and a shorter upwind leg for the Hansas.
Three Challengers and three Hansas were provided by CCCDS, an additional two Challengers were brought by their sailors, and two Hansas were kindly provided by Castle Semple Activity Centre.
Conditions on Saturday looked hairy to say the least but this was expected and everyone was prepared. The Challenger sailors, naturally, were champing at the bit to get out there, and after a brief check with the Hansa sailors, who represented a broader range of experience, it was agreed we would push on with the schedule.
The 303 doubles launched first, with each sailor paired up with a volunteer crew (most of whom had never set foot in a Hansa), while the Challengers made their final preparations. As it turned out, the wind looked stronger than it was, and conditions were ideal for some fast races. There was still the odd gust that blew through, causing Challengers to disappear behind fountains of bow spray and a couple panicked exclamations from the volunteer crews, who weren't accustomed to the heeling angle of the 303s!
Sunday's conditions were far more sedate and with our baptism of fire out of the way, everything ran more smoothly. There was an unexpected 180 from the wind but, as planned, the solution was just to run the course in reverse! The Challengers managed all of their races, while the 303 singles and doubles had completed eight and nine respectively.
Fittingly, the Duncan's Regatta fleet was led by Duncan Greenhalgh (no relation) who assumed his usual position with a comfortable lead. There was more of a battle for second and third between regular traveller Lynn Stewart and newcomer to the series, Alan Gillman. They were followed by Zoe McPartlin with her partner Keith, on the buddy seat and lending a hand with the ropes.
Coming up in fifth was local sailor Dorothy Bennet who, upon further review of the hull, discovered her boat had been moored up a little too long and could now be classed a site of special scientific interest!
On the 303 doubles front, CCC member Rory McKinna and his crew Paula Roddy, who travelled from Northampton, led the way in all but three of the races. Constantly nipping at their heals was Chi Chian Wu and his crew (who changed between days and included the CCCDS Captain, Stewart Carrie), always looking for an opportunity to inch ahead. With all of the mark roundings involved (both port and starboard) there were plenty of opportunities to sneak up the inside, particularly when the wide Challengers added another dimension to the racing!
Following on was Samuel Anderson from Peterhead and his CCC volunteer crew, Ellen Marie. Despite having never met each other, let alone sailed together, this pair got along fine and had a great time across the weekend. Bringing up the rear of the fleet were the fourth and fifth of the Hansas, manned by a mix of volunteer instructors each day. Everyone got a chance to race.
In the 303 singles class, Rory McKinna was in the lead until the last two races, where he dropped out and helped coach the less experience sailors around the course. Chi Chian Wu was again in close second but had to leave early on Sunday. We thought he couldn't lose second place so awarded him the corresponding prize. However, we had forgotten that Chi Chian had missed a race on Saturday due to his rudder exploding (there's no other way of putting it) and therefore, he actually finished third!
Following in third but soon to be second, Phil Reoch made his return to the competitive scene with a good and consistent performance across the weekend. Paula Roddy also joined us for her first ever singles race in Sunday's calmer conditions. A mix of enthusiastic instructors took turns at racing in the fifth boat, keeping the start line suitably tight.
On the social front, a healthy amount of food was provided each day, and a social dinner organised at the club on the Saturday night. This also allowed us to push the time limit on the water, as we could stumble ashore and straight to the dinner table!
The Duncan's Regatta prizes were handed out at Sunday lunch time to let the Challenger sailors pack up and head home at a decent time, while the Hansas kept racing into the evening. Prizes for the Scottish Hansa Championship were kindly supported by our local distiller, Bardowie Gin while Duncan's Yacht Chandlers maintained their claim of the longest running sport sponsors in Scotland with their support of the Challenger prizes.
The combined events were a great success with all the sailors and volunteers leaving with a smile on their face. The Duncan's Regatta is sure to continue for many more years to come, and the success of the inaugural Scottish Hansa Championship will undoubtedly carry over to a larger event next year, hopefully drawing more sailors up from the south (and maybe even abroad), as well as encouraging our own domestic racers.
Challenger podium:
1st Duncan Greenhalgh
2nd Alan Gillman
3rd Lynn Stewart
Hansa 303 Double podium:
1st Rory McKinna & Paula Roddy
2nd Chi Chian Wu & Stewart Carrie
3rd Samuel Anderson & Ellen Marie
Hansa 303 Single podium:
1st Rory McKinna
2nd Phil Reoch
3rd Chi Chian Wu
Special recognition:
- Paula Roddy for her courage in trying her hand at singles racing.
- Phil Reoch for coming out of racing retirement especially for this event.
- Samuel Anderson for his performance in his first Hansa regatta.
- Angela McKinna for her tireless efforts as cook and shore crew, hauling boats (and sometimes people) about while the pasta boiled.
- Race Officer Peter Edmond for coming to our rescue at less than 24hrs notice.
- And all of the volunteers that made the weekend possible!