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Bright but windless day at Forfar Loch |
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Written by Graeme Knox
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Tuesday, 04 November 2008 |
The first Sunday in November was bright and cheerful and, untypically for such a winters day, not particularly cold. The down side of this for sailors was the lack of wind,
although this has been the norm for most of the season! Nonetheless seven boats took part in the races including the Laser of Malcolm Heron and the Solo of Sally Pearce, both finally having an opportunity to sail after a lengthy absence.
The first leg of the first race was a tortuous fetch to the west taking a seeming age to cover the short distance. The Laser pair of Malcolm Heron and Graeme Knox thought they had the correct line but were foiled by Jim Green (Solo) who rounded the mark first ahead of them. Garry Rucklidge in his Merlin Rocket was only a few boat lengths back with Sally Pearce (Solo), John Main (Mirror Miracle) and Duncan Brown in Garry’s Firefly just behind when the leading trio caught a puff which took them well clear of the rest. The Lasers jostled for position and eventually overtook Jim on the eastbound run and, as they did so, a light breeze filled in briefly from the west pushing Sally back amongst the leaders. Graeme slipped over the line first a few seconds ahead of Malcolm, but the Solo pair were just behind and on handicap Jim took first, Sally second, Graeme third. Malcolm was fourth followed by Garry, John and Duncan.
In the second race there was no wind and Sally, sensibly many would argue, decided there was no fun to be had and retired. Garry got the best start and in relative comfort stayed just ahead of Jim in a slightly less comfortable Solo and the anything-but-comfortable Lasers while John stretched his legs out across his Mirror Miracle and kept pace without getting cramp. However, Duncan and his crew in the Firefly may have preferred a more roomy cockpit and also retired. Whenever Malcolm and Graeme are in close proximity something inevitably happens and whilst sailing alongside each other on opposite tacks (usually an impossible situation) they collided. Graeme was at fault, pulled slightly clear and rolled through a two-turn penalty only to find himself back alongside and having to avoid colliding again with Malcolm. The boats crawled along the final leg with all their sails trimmed differently and all moving at the same speed!! The Merlin and Lasers were going to be close as to who was first across the line when Jim Green caught a puff and gained enough momentum that he would surely have been first across. However, a huge wind shift allowed the leading trio to tack and finish but because of his course Jim was immediately stalled, unable to tack quickly out of trouble. He found himself becalmed and going backwards away from the line. Like Jim, John too was becalmed for several minutes. Garry won convincingly on handicap followed by Malcolm, Graeme and John. Tony Cook leads the series but needs one more good result to secure the trophy while Graeme and Garry are second on level points.
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