HD Sails Solo Scottish Area Series at Loch Tummel Sailing Club
by Ian Baillie 16 Sep 07:30 BST
12 September 2026
HD Sails Solo Scottish Area Series at Loch Tummel Sailing Club © Amanda Storer
The penultimate round of the HD Sails sponsored Solo Scottish Area Series was held at the very beautiful Loch Tummel Sailing Club on Saturday 12th September and attracted 10 entrants.
The rain had cleared by the time the competitors were arriving and the wind was filling in nicely with a varied forecast in store. Race Officer Graham Logan set a trapezoid course for both the Solos and Streakers and off we went for Race 1.
After catching the edge of a rain squall, the wind was a bit up and down by the start and the fleet, although keen, was away cleanly, with the left side favouring Willie Todd and Malcolm Worsley who had a nice lead by the first mark. The bulk of the fleet were very closely bunched and were left to fight out the minor placings as Willie and Malcolm showed us how to sail up the tricky shifts, finishing in that order. Ross Watson won the bun fight for third, with Kevan Gibb recovering from a poor first beat in fourth. Alastair Stevenson had an excellent race in his new boat until he forgot to pass through the finish line at the end of lap 2.
By Race 2, the wind had steadied down a bit and had increased significantly to near 20 knots. Ian Baillie, after a poor first race, showed he was much happier in lots of wind and quickly got to the front by the top mark. Willie Todd was next with Kevan Gibb chasing ahead of Ross Watson. There was a bit of carnage as the fleet tore round the marks, as Ian continued to build up an impressive lead, even passing the leading Streakers, who had started 3 minutes earlier by the finish. Willie was second ahead of Kevan and Ross.
There were some very keen starters in Race 3, which was not quite as windy as the previous one and the OCS flag was raised for four boats. This gave Ian, Malcolm and Alastair Stevenson a clear run to the first mark, with Ian edging Alastair at the top mark. Ian proceeded to build another impressive lead to the finish, Alastair broke his toe straps and fell in, with Malcolm taking second. Kevan continued his consistency with another third, Ross fourth and Roddy Henry having his best race to finish fifth.
The series now moves to the final event at Dalgety Bay on the 3rd October, where good numbers and a competitive fleet will be expected.
Overall Results: (three races, 1 discard)
1 Ian Baillie, Dalgety Bay, 2pts
2 Willie Todd, Largs, 3pts
3 Malcolm Worsley, Royal Tay, 4pts
4 Kevan Gibb, Largo Bay, 6pts
5 Ross Watson, East Lothian, 7pts
6 Roddy Henry, Chanonry, 12pts
7 Chris Holman, Helensburgh, 12pts
8 Bruce Birrell, Largo Bay, 15pts
9 Alastair Stevenson, CCC, 19pts
10 Jon Bailey, Chanonry, 26pts