Scotts of Greenock (IOM) Open
by John Taylor 20 May 2019 17:06 BST
18 May 2019
The main challenge throughout the day for the established local and across the border skippers was the wind "speed" stubbornly remaining between 0-4mph throughout.
Racing began with arguably the best of the wind during the morning session. After the first five races Robert Rooney, sailing a 'Corbie', was leading the fleet with some very consistent sailing.
Two wins and two seconds gave Robert a very strong start. Richard Rowan sailing his 'Alternative' was tied to second place with Damian Ackroyd, sailing his home made design 'Maiden'.
The next set of five races saw the wind begin to fall and by the lunch break the boats were drifting around the shortened course. However, after a terrible start to the regatta John Taylor sailing a 'Rubix' won five races in a row which began his chase towards the regatta leaders.
The afternoon session was delayed through no wind on the course. There was talk of finishing the regatta early because of the weather conditions but luckily a light breeze filled in enough to complete the event.
Richard Rowan, Damian Ackroyd and John Taylor all won races during the afternoon. Robert Rooney sailed consistently but unfortunately in one race he managed to get his boat caught up with a mark of the course. This meant he was now carrying higher scores which would ultimately end his challenge.
After 16 races in somewhat frustrating wind conditions, the results were:
1st John Taylor 23 pts
2nd Robert Rooney 33 pts
3rd Damian Ackroyd 35 pts
Many thanks go to the Greenock Club for hosting the event including the Race Officer Gordon Rae and his team. Despite the challenging wind conditions there was some very close and competitive sailing.