AFTER Wednesday’s racing fell victim to a complete lack of wind, with some suggesting nobody had remembered to put a shilling in the meter, Holy Loch Sailing Club enjoyed much-improved, if still fickle, conditions on Sunday for its annual Crew Races in the morning and competition for the Strone and Tresta Cups in the afternoon.
Members also enjoyed an excellent lunch and plenty of chat between races before returning to the water for another afternoon of close competition.
The morning Parker Trophy produced plenty of early excitement when Talyn Shaw, taking the helm of Leander, attempted an ambitious port-tack start across the bows of the ten-boat fleet approaching on starboard. After completing the required penalty turns, Shaw quickly recovered with some excellent tactical sailing and handled the light, shifting breeze with remarkable confidence to claim his first trophy, assisted by Jim Campbell and James Hegarty.
The afternoon Strone Cup saw Billie Piper, with Iain Hurrel, Lorn Campbell and Cat Craig aboard, produce an excellent start in the stronger breeze to establish an early lead. Although Leander remained in close pursuit, the wind gradually faded once more, allowing Billie Piper to drift serenely across the finish line of the shortened course for a deserved victory.
The Flying Fifteen fleet enjoyed two entertaining races in testing light-air conditions.
The morning crews’ race saw helms and crews swap roles, adding an extra challenge. An incident involving More Mischieff at the start initially handed the advantage to Trigger, but Marion Bowen recovered impressively to regain the lead by the first mark before extending her advantage on the run home. With the breeze remaining light, the race committee shortened the course after one lap, leaving More Mischieff to take victory ahead of Trigger, with Efficacious in third.
In the afternoon, regular helms resumed their normal positions as More Mischieff once again judged the shifting conditions perfectly to establish an early lead that was never relinquished. Behind them, Trigger, Efficacious and Good Moaning produced the closest racing of the day, exchanging places repeatedly before Trigger secured second place. Efficacious edged Good Moaning for third after the handicap calculations.
The White Sail crews’ race belonged to Mike Honcho, with Tormod Doherty taking the helm. A superb start and an inspired move towards the Kilmun shore, where slightly more breeze was available, proved decisive as the J24 led throughout to record a convincing win.
Andrew Leech guided Judicious into second place after a consistent performance, while Moonlight endured a frustrating race after becoming trapped in a patch of almost windless water early on.
With crews returning to their customary positions for the afternoon race, Judicious turned the tables. Jim Hoey and Andrew Leech sailed confidently to lead from the first mark and gradually pulled clear to take victory.
Mike Honcho finished second after being unable to find enough breeze to mount a challenge, while Moonlight again suffered at the mercy of the fickle conditions, spending long periods becalmed before eventually finishing third.
Elsewhere, the dinghy fleet’s scheduled crews’ race was unfortunately uncontested.
In the afternoon’s Strone and Tresta race, Neil and Clare Towart claimed victory aboard their ISO dinghy Stubborn Tart, rounding off another enjoyable day of racing in what proved to be demanding but rewarding light-wind conditions on the Holy Loch.
Full results
Parker Trophy: 1, – Leander (Talyn Shaw, Jim Campbell, James Hegarty); 2, – Billie Piper (Lorn Campbell, Iain Hurrel, Cat Craig); 3, – Staypuff (Caroline Clarke, Charmaine Boyd, Rob Towart); 4, – Tamarind (David Bonnar, Andy Love, Graeme Noble).
Strone Cup: 1, – Billie Piper (Iain Hurrel, Cat Craig, Lorn Campbell); 2, – Tom Piper (Duncan Munroe, Ali Gordon, Stuart Brown)
Tamarind – Andy Love, Graeme Noble, David Bonnar
Leander – Jim Campbell, James Hegarty, Talyn Shaw
Staypuff – Rob Towart, Caroline Clarke, Charmaine Boyd
Talisker – Neil McLaren, Alice and Jenny
Crews’ Race: 1, – Mike Honcho J24 (Tormod Doherty, Finn Hurrel, Ivor); 2, – Judicious J30 (Andrew Leech, Jim Hoey); 3, – Moonlight (Sonata) (Chris Wilson, Nigel Scriven, Derek Webber).
Strone and Tresta Cup: 1, – Judicious (J30) (Jim Hoey, Andrew Leech); 2, – Mike Honcho (J24) (Finn Hurrel, Tormod Doherty, Ivor); 3, – Moonlight (Sonata) (Nigel Scriven, Chris Wilson, Derek Webber).
