Stewart Brewing RS400 Scottish Tour at Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club

RS400 Scottish Tour at Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club © Rona Rose

RS400 Scottish Tour at Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club © Rona Rose

The Aberdeen and Stonehaven Yacht Club annual regatta saw five RS400s attending for the fourth and penultimate event of the Stewart Brewing RS400 Scottish Tour. The forecast promised a light Saturday, and lighter Sunday - contrary to Stonehaven's typical wind and waves...

But as the fleet headed out for the first race on Saturday, the sun broke through and the breeze flirted with double-digit speeds. A clean first start saw the dream team of tour stalwart Angus Marshall and Graduate National Championships silver medallist Brendan Lynch heading inshore to avoid the worst tide and coming out on top at the first mark. They held the lead until the run on lap 3, when Stewart and Sarah Robertson executed a textbook jump at the gybe to take first at the finish. In the midfleet Jason Bird and David Frank met disaster when their jib track pulled out of the deck on lap 1, bringing their weekend in the 400 to an untimely end.

Race 2 began with the same pin bias, and right-handed course, but Lynch/Marshall had traded roles looking for a competitive advantage. Determined not to be over advantaged, Brendan immediately shortened the tiller extension upon reaching the rear of the RS400. Alas, such tricks were not enough to hold off team Robertson, who executed the exact same gybe overtake against Lynch/Marshall to take another bullet.

The local fleet had now dialled in their starts for Race 3, with the 4 remaining RS400s side-by-side off the line and Matthew Park and Daniel Clarkson sat on the Marshall/Lynch hip up the beat. But it was again team Robertson who reached the first mark ahead and kept themselves in front all the way to the finish.

With the light forecast for Sunday the PRO shrewdly opted for a 4th race on Saturday. This exceeded the Robertson 3-race rule, so Stewart and Sarah bowed out leaving the field open for a shake-up in the finish order. With a left shift heavily favouring the pin, only MacFarlane/Massey opted for a starboard tack start only to be staring down a port-tack stack of Lynch/Marshall, Park/Clarkson, and a rather bemused D-Zero who was about 6 minutes early. Lynch/Marshall worked the shifts well on the first lap to establish their lead and bring home their first race win of the event. In the fight for second and third, Park/Clarkson managed to stay ahead of MacFarlane/Massey by (only just) picking a route through the D-Zeros fighting their way upwind.

Saturday night then saw the customary Stonehaven BBQ, and the hotly anticipated awarding of the 'Pintles of Shame' ™, the shortlist for which was comprehensively locked out by the D-Zeros and the Graduate sailors!

Sunday dawned with the expected millpond conditions, giving the fleet time to ponder all the mysteries of life; the universe; and rig tension. Marshall/Lynch contemplated the precise number of threads that should be showing on the spreader adjusters for a period that, to all bystanders, seemed interminable, before Angus admitted they were rusted solid and splinted the tiller extension instead.

But as morning turned to afternoon, the PRO spotted a zephyr on the course and got everyone afloat in time to capitalise on the meagre puff. Race 5 started on a patchy course that promised to confound even the most astute sailors. Confound it did, as team Robertson fell out of phase with the shifts on the first beat allowing Marshall/Lynch to lead - closely followed by Park/Clarkson, then MacFarlane/Massey - and escorted up the beat by a pod of dolphins. The omen came good as, despite the Robertson's best efforts to land the same gybe overtake for a third time, Neptune smiled on Marshall/Lynch all the way to their second bullet.

RS400 Scottish Tour at Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club - photo © Rona Rose

Into the last race of the weekend, it was all to play for - if Lynch/Marshall could pip team Robertson one last time (perhaps even overtake with an early gybe?) the event would be theirs. Alas, Stewart and Sarah must have had an extra 2mm of spreader deflection, as they held off the fleet to the first mark and kept in front all the way to the finish and the event win.

Congratulations to Stewart and Sarah Robertson on taking first place, closely followed by Angus Marshall and Brendan Lynch in second place, with Matthew Park and Daniel Clarkson rounding out the podium in third. Many thanks to Stewart Brewing for their sponsorship of the series, and to ASYC for putting on an excellent weekend.

Now the fleet's collective attention turns towards Dalgety Bay Sailing Club (27th/28th September) for the final event of the RS400 Scottish Tour: the Scottish Championships. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the tour are spread by a single point.

Scores will be settled.

Corners will be banged.

Teammates turned rivals will face off on the line.

The RS400 Scottish Champions will be decided for 2025 (at least).

We look forward to seeing everyone there, and if you would like to join in, but don't have an RS400, please get in touch. The RS400 Demo boat will be available for any who would like to get involved in the action.

Overall Results: