TOWARD Seasports Club marked a special milestone as members took to the water for the club’s 55th annual sailing regatta.
This year’s regatta was held as a one-day event to accommodate the arrival of the Fife Regatta, which was making its way towards Toward on the Sunday.
The celebrations began on Friday evening with a club BBQ and social event, with members enjoying a great turnout and an evening made even better by the rain and midges staying away.
Saturday brought a strong fleet of both dinghies and keel boats, allowing competitors to race across five different classes.
With a good southerly breeze providing ideal conditions, the course was set and the first two classes headed out around the navigation marks, while the dinghies competed using the club marks.
In the fast keel boat class, Saorsa made a strong start and established a lead which the chasing boats were unable to close.
Meanwhile, in the slow keel boats, Marianna briefly managed to get ahead of Katana before Katana fought back to reclaim the lead.
In the fast handicap dinghies, Painted Warrior took control from the start and remained ahead of the fleet, while the Optimist sailors produced some close racing, with competitors taking turns at the front before Tern eventually crossed the finish line first.
After a well-earned lunch provided by club members, competitors headed back out onto the water for the afternoon session.
However, the conditions soon changed, with the wind dropping shortly after the race began.
As the keel boats found themselves pointing in different directions while attempting to reach the same mark, the Optimists struggled to even reach the start line and began drifting backwards.
After around 45 minutes of waiting for conditions to improve, the decision was made to abandon the race and return ashore.
Competitors then enjoyed one of the club’s popular afternoon teas, complete with sandwiches, home baking and the prize giving ceremony.
The club thanked everyone who helped organise and support the event, making the 55th annual regatta another memorable occasion.
Results
Fast Keel Boats
Saorsa – A Finlay
Still Game – K McDonald
Kraken – M Johnstone
Slow Keel Boats
Katana – F McLean
Marianna – A Kerr
Wild Goose – G Judd
Fast Dinghies
Painted Warrior – N Wilson
Sgadan – K Grant
Slow Dinghies
Topper – T McCrossan
Purple Pixie – K Baird-Dean
Optimists
Tern – S Gaze
Puffin – C Draper
