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2026 MYA Scottish District IOM Traveller 1 at Tayside Radio Sailing Club

by Brian Summers 22 Apr 06:18 BST 18 April 2026

Hosted by Tayside Radio Sailing Club at Forfar Loch, the first MYA Scottish District IOM Travellers event of 2026 was held. Twelve skippers assembled for the event from five clubs all over Scotland and one skipper from the south of England. A range of IOM designs and construction were entered - some were fibre glass (Cheinz 2, Venti, BritPop!), some wooden (Buzz 3, Corbie 6 and Reason) and some 3D printed (Alioth and Proteus).

As the 11.00 start time drew near, was it A or B rig in the westerly breeze? For the first races the fresh westerly breeze was right on the cusp between A and B with lulls favouring the A rig and the downwind gusts favouring the B rig. Following the 10:45am skippers’ briefing by RO Ralph Knowles, it was decision time for the skippers as to which rig to use for the long windward - leeward course. Some chose the A rig and others the smaller B rig with both being right some of the time but of course neither being correct all the time.

The first race was won by Ted Johnson sailing a BritPop! with a B rig. The following three skippers (Gordon Allison, Ian Dundas and John Owens) were all were all using the A rig. Race 2 was won by Ian Dundas followed by Brian Summers and Colin McGinnis all with A rigs. Race 3 saw some gusts which sometimes overpowered those with A rigs on the downwind legs. However, good sailing technique could sometimes help manage the situation. The race was won by Brian Summers followed by John Owens and Ian Dundas.

Race 4 was similar and won by Ian Dundas followed by Brian Summers and Gordon Allison – 3D printed Proteus hulls taking second and third. Race 5 saw more heavy gusts. Ted Johnston and Colin McGinnis came first and third with their B rigs and John Owens was second with his A rig. However, the breeze had clearly strengthened and nearly all the fleet changed to the smaller B rig to manage the wind and the increasing wave size.

As the morning progressed, the wind continued to gradually increase resulting in the whole fleet using B rigs and great sailing conditions. By lunch, with 8 races having been sailed, four skippers had recorded wins, six skippers had secured at least one top three place and nearly every skipper had secured a top half of fleet race position. It was clear that in this competitive fleet, nobody could relax.

An excellent lunch was provided by Forfar Sailing and Watersports Club – choice of home-made soups, savoury rolls and superb home. Following lunch, the race team kept things rolling along at a good pace with only one minor course change needed throughout the day. Regrettably, Malcolm Stewart had to retire from the event soon after lunch. Richard Ennos, with his home designed and built wooden Reason IOM, continued to challenge for places against more established designs. It was good to see David Levision, David Redpath, David Stewart and Bob Wilson continuing to race throughout the day in the very testing conditions recording top half of fleet positions.

As per the morning session, Ian Dundas was consistently recording race wins, podium finishes and did not post a result outside the top half of the fleet. Brian Summers was also sailing consistently well as were John Owens, Ted Johnson and Gordon Allison (who unfortunately missed two races due to a rig failure). Mid-afternoon, a break was held to enjoy even more exceptional catering provided by Forfar Sailing and Watersports Club.

By the end of the event, 15 races were completed and thus just two discards from the total race scores. Ian Dundas was the clear winner from Brian Summers 3D printed Proteus which seemed to have an upwind advantage but Ian used the superior downwind speed of his Australian designed Cheinz 2 to come out on top. John Owens made up the podium sailing into third spot with his Spanish designed Venti. Not to be outdone in a competitive days racing, Ted Johnston, Gordon Allison and Colin McGinnis scored first places.

After the results had been announced, Ian thanked Tayside Radio Sailing Club and their Race Team along with his fellow competitors for contributing towards a great day’s racing. He also thanked Forfar Sailing and Watersports Club for the use of their facilities and the excellent refreshments.

Overall Results:

PosSkipperSail NoBoat DesignClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15Pts
1Ian Dundas38Cheinz 2Buchanness MYC31314214135521127
2Brian Summers07ProteusTayside RSC62125721252942337
3John Owens33VentiBuchanness MYC413282152373153442
4Ted Johnston166BritPop!Paisley MYC16541338546416548
5Gordon Allison62ProteusPaisley MYC2543954541411313249
6Colin McGinnis45Buzz 3cTayside RSC738934638613751164
7Richard Ennos84ReasonLevenhall RYC847576106728764977
8David Levison90BritPop!Tayside RSC51010713138101281010378108
9David Redpath40Corbie 6Kinghorn RSC9991113879101076987108
10David Stewart30Alioth v2Tayside RSC1071166913136131381096114
11Bob Wilson63Buzz 3cTayside RSC1181212101391111991181010129
12Malcolm Stewart129BritPop!Emsworth RSC12116108101379131313131313138

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