JP Watersports Scottish RS400 open meeting at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club

Canapes on the rescue boat at Dalgety Bay © DBSC Rescue

A star studded Scottish 400 fleet arrived at Dalgety Bay for the final event of the season to a mixed forecast of gusts and rain. UK champs Stewart & Sarah Robertson, Irish champ Rog Carter sans regular crew and harmoniser EinStein Robertson and 2013 Scottish circuit winners Jim Sinclair & Ben Wilcox led a 16 strong fleet into the final 2013 battle.

Lying in wait were local club aces Ian Renilson (skiffer & former Endeavour winner) & Gillian Renilson, RS300 star Ian Baillie with Phil's crew Jules Thorne and former J92 Scottish Series winner Andy Marshall aided by sponsor/supplier JP (Watersports) Pearson, all in borrowed boats and all potential new members for the 2014 season! Would the blown-ins embarrass the old order? Could any of the lesser fleet regulars break into this goldenballs bunch?

The scene was set, the rain held off for rigging and briefing, but the heavens opened as the fleet were launching.

Soaking wet in a light F1-2 the fleet got underway. A short course was set by newbie PRO Peter Taylor with the aim of 5 short sharp races. With the incoming tide the left side of the course was favoured to begin with and the pin end bias made for a couple of very busy starts in the first races, with a number of recalls.

The first race saw a tight start with a number of boats falling by the way side, and the tight course lead to a number of penalty turns, deadly with the fleet so close. It was however team Robertson who pulled through the chaos in familiar fashion to finish in first, with newcomers the Renilsons in second having shown instant boat speed straight off the first start line. Lightweight Roger Carter, sailing with his lightweight other half Rachael Cooke was thankful of the light winds (i.e. fully powered up!) and clawed back to 3rd whilst Bob Yeamans & Nadia McMinn showed that an old 400 is still very competitive securing a fourth in the first race.

Conditions were relatively unchanged for the second race, but the results saw a big shake up as some crews got to grips with the tight course and the demands it was putting on the crews hoisting, gybing and dropping rain soaked spinnakers... Jim Sinclair & Ben Wilcox however pulled ahead to secure their first bullet of the day. Ian & Jules in 877 vintage Pinot Noir claimed second, with Forth locals Andy Marshall & JP close in 3rd.

The rain subsided and the tide began to turn. This meant that the right side became an option for the last three races, opening up a few tacking battles at the front. Jim/Ben stormed races 3 and 4 with Rog & Rach and Stewart & Sarah having tit-for-tat battles for second. 'Perpetual underachiever' Richard Bolton with hungry student Iain Gonzalez Brown confounded the critics with a couple of unlikely fourths to lead the race for the non-medal places.

By race 4 although the tide had turned, a left shift paid up the first beat which took out a few boats who were out right looking for the tide. This added to the already varied fleet results, where one wrong manoeuvre loses multiple places, just showing how competitive this Scottish fleet has become.

The final race saw Jim & Ben too eager to get home to start on the free Stewarts Brewing keg with an OCS, but their previous 3 bullets and a fifth meant that this didn't matter, and even with team Robertson taking the bullet after Rog & Rach were unable to hunt them down, countback left Jim & Ben victorious. In the best of the rest, fourth went to Richard & Iain, with Andy & JP fifth and in sixth an astoundingly improved lone northern star Simon Grey aided by Hannah Robertson the class crew organiser finishing strongly with bursts of speed and two fifth places.

Special mentions for Cameron Still & Louise Greenan of Royal Gourock representing the west coast and newcomers Dan Hall and keelboat ace Niall McLeod. Plus Dane Ralston trying to avoid being seen in a dinghy for fear of excommunication by the Clyde big boat union (your secret's safe with us).

Full results are here [PDF].

Plenty of 'Duckhams' candidates despite the light winds. No swimming but lots of championship standard mark trawling on display.

Keith Bedburugh & Martin McCrew went backwards off the start line in race 1, moored to the pin. Still desperate for attention they went backwards around the windward mark in the 2nd race moored to a lobster pot. UK champs Stu & Sarah got in on the act by towing the start mark away toward the rail bridge but had the sense to do it between races. In the final race "battle of the trawlers" Keith then hit Stewart on the start line, did a 720, thought he was over, went back - and wasn't. Well done Keith, three Duckhams in one afternoon.

That's it then for Scotland 2013 – rest now, ski, cycle, and order a new 400 from Santa. Till next year.