Savills Kip Regatta at the Royal Western Yacht Club
by Ewan Mackay 12 May 2009 08:50 BST
9-10 May 2009
A couple of the Sonars brave the conditions at the Kip Regatta © Neill Ross
With the forecast set for a wet and windy Kip Regatta, only a couple of the Sonars braved the conditions and used Kip regatta as the traditional training session/warm up for the Brewin Dolpin Scottish Series. However as part of the Sportsboat Class we hoped for a reasonable turn out and some good racing. Saturday dawned with a good breeze blowing with some very wet showers coming through.
Race 1 started with a good breeze blowing; however with some major shifts up the first beat the Sonars where well ahead by the first windward mark. With ASBOat leading Haggis, however ASBOat’s decision to carry the Spinnaker round the gybe mark, allowed Haggis to make up some ground and by the bottom mark Haggis had the inside line and the lead. That was the way it would remain for the rest of the race, with Haggis finishing first, ASBOat second and The Young Pretender 3rd.
The second race of the day was a race officers nightmare with the with shifting around ensured that there was a long delay between races, however when the wind finally settled the Second Race of the day got underway, however the wind decided another major shift was required and the course was turned into a speedway track as the top mark could be laid from the Bottom mark by even the boats with the worst tacking angles. These conditions were well suited to the SB3 who disappeared off into the distance, however they where unable to shake off Haggis who was second over the water however winning on corrected time just piping the SB3, and ASBOat came in third. After a long wet and cold day it was time to retreat to the Bar, where a good party was had with excellent entertainment at the Chartroom.
Sunday dawned with a few sore heads and promises of never again (least not until next week). However with very light shifting breezes and a postponed start this allowed the hangovers to clear.
The racing got underway eventually, but another 180 degree wind shift during the start sequence, the sportsboats started under spinnakers, however finished the same leg beating, generally making it a bit of a lottery for all the classes. At the end of the race Water Tiger had a good lead with The Young Pretender second on the water, ASBOat third and Haggis fourth. However on corrected time both ASBOat and Haggis had beaten the Young Pretender. Leaving the Haggis the overall winner of the Sportsboat class and the Sonar fleet with ASBOat Second and the Young Pretender Third.
The Clyde Sonar Association would like to thank the Royal Western Yacht Club, Kip Marina and Savills for organising/sponsoring the event.
Overall Results:
1st Haggis (Sonar) – E.Mackay
2nd ASBOat (Sonar)– G.Whyte
3rd The Young Pretender (Laser SB3) – C.Calder
4th Water Tiger (Cork 1720)– C.MacDonald
5th The Wildebeest (Hunter 707)– C. Latimer