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Scottish Championships at Chanonry SC 2007 |
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Chanonry 4th - 5th August
2007 With Saturday's racing blown off by a 30 knot wind and Sunday providing only a light and fickle breeze, the Scottish Championship was a disappointing event, despite the attractive location at Chanonry Sailing Club on the Black Isle north of Inverness. Only Brian Finnie from Forfar and Ted Stroud from nearby Findhorn had travelled to the event and the low turnout meant that the Europes were placed in the slow handicap class of the club regatta, and so limited to an inshore course as the club tried to make up for Saturday's lost time. However, the race management was good and despite the shore based start line having an inevitable bias, the Race Officer made sure that marks were placed and moved between races to give a competitive course for each race. Courses were all starboard hand triangles. Race 1 With the tide still ebbing and a light westerly wind, Ted chose to start at the harbour end to go left into the shallow water, but the pronounced line bias made this a bad decision. Brian made a near perfect start at the port end of the line and by the windward mark had opened out an unbeatable lead. Although Ted continued to make up lost ground on each downwind leg and pulled out from beneath the slower handicap boats, it was not enough to get within reach of Brian before the finish. Race 2 With the wind shifting round to the south, the windward and wing marks were moved left to maintain a windward first leg. This time, with the line bias more extreme, both Europes started near the port end but then took some time to get clear of the accompanying pack of slower boats. After crossing tacks with Ted a few times it was Brian first at the windward mark by a nose but downwind Ted pulled ahead to a three boats length lead at the leeward mark, only to lose it all in the first short tack up the windward leg as Brian caught a helpful shift. From then on Brian kept Ted under loose cover to get well clear by the second windward mark, sufficiently ahead to keep Ted behind until the finish. Race 3 After a short break, the marks for the third race were moved in to shorten the course further as the wind started to drop. Brian started at the pin with Ted a little further to windward. Ted tacked off right for clear air and this paid at first until Brian squeezed past ahead just as the wind dropped almost completely. Ted summoned up skills honed at his tidal home club to find some zephyrs in the tide to slip towards the mark and the new breeze, which arrived just in time for Ted to fetch the mark and disappear down the reaching leg as Brian and the rest of the fleet were still adjusting to the new wind direction. Ted was safely out in front when the Race Officer shortened the race at the end of a single lap. Race 4 Once again at the start Ted went right towards the shore while the fleet went left out into the now flooding tide. Brian chickened out and tacked back to keep Ted within sight but it was soon obvious that the tidal route was by far the better and Brian then stayed out to round the mark well ahead of Ted, although by now behind the leading handicap boats in the rest of the fleet, which had stood out towards the main channel. In a final gesture the wind again died as the leading boats rounded the leeward mark, whereupon the Race Officer again shortened course. As the fleet struggled slowly to the line Brian overtook the two handicap boats which had gained the earlier advantage to win the Regatta class overall and clinch his victory over Ted to retain the Europe Scottish Championship trophy for another year. Overall Results
Brian Finnie GBR315 |
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