Port Edgar Watersports 707 Sprints Slam at Port Edgar Yacht Club

Port Edgar Watersports 707 Sprints Slam © Stuart Sly Photography

Twenty boats entered the 2019 edition of the Port Edgar Watersports 707 Sprints Slam event, which takes the increasingly popular short course sprint format, with a 3-2-1 start sequence and 20 minute races. The format really emphasises boat handling and close quarter racing, with little or no waiting around between races.

Fourteen races were sailed in total, with six of the boats winning races and the overall lead constantly changing hands. With so many races sailed, we'll just report on the notable events of the weekend.

Murray MacDonald and his boat Autism on the Water were joined by special guests David Witt and some of the crew of VOR Team Scallywag. AOTW was professionally tuned and set up by the crew and helmed by Murray managed to finish an amazing fourth, including four first places in individual races.

Murray said: "I have learnt so much this weekend thanks to Scallywag and the 707 Fleet. I hope David and gang will be back in Scotland in 2020 for more 707 action!". It was great to see Murray enjoy such a successful regatta, and make sure to follow his campaign on Facebook to see more of the great work he does in raising Autism awareness!

It was great to see Eastlander battling away in the middle of the fleet and picking up some positive results. We welcomed Eastlander to the fleet at Port Edgar at the start of this season, and the Polish crew are always enthusiastic and have big smiles at the end of a day's racing. It was great to see their hard work throughout the season starting to pay off meaning that they becoming more competitive, ably assisted by guest helm Mhari Orr who stepped up at the last minute.

We also welcomed a new boat to the fleet in Scotland, Swordfish, who took second overall on their debut. The new, but vastly experienced team were always in the mix and this boat has shown great promise. We expect them to be troubling the established leading boats from now on! Great to add another competitive boat to the already ultra-competitive fleet in Scotland.

Congratulations to Mad Dog for taking the overall victory at the event. The sleek looking boat and its crew have been honing their skills on the West Coast over the season, and returned to one design racing with great success. Well done to Dan Chalis and crew!

Thanks as always to the great race committee team from Port Edgar YC for another great event. Thanks also to our sponsors Port Edgar Watersports and Haggis Motorhomes, who put on a hog roast for competitors on the Saturday evening, and Benromach Whiskey who organised a whiskey tasting. The final event on the 707 calendar for this year is The Coast to Coast Rigging Scottish Championships, which will take place at Port Edgar YC on 19-20th October.

Overall Results: