Scottish Optimists - the home of Optimist Sailing in Scotland


Oppie Saltire

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  • Welcome
  • Inlands
  • Selections
  • Scot's Wahague!
  • Traveller's Series 2008
  • Winter Training

    Welcome to the home for Optimist Sailors in Scotland.
    You'll find us scattered around the length and breadth of Scotland - from St Mary's Loch in the south, to Invergordon in the north, via the Clyde and several inland lochs. This is a loose, friendly gathering. If you fancy some new scenery, and a warm welcome, why not join us? Helms should be IOCA / RYA grade 2 or above for traveller's events. Grade 3 is recommended for coastal waters. Events are normally split into a coached regatta fleet for those new to racing, and a main fleet. All the traveller events are Open Events run by the host club, and are typically two day events. Racing is normally Saturday lunchtime to mid afternoon Sunday.
    Main fleet boats are expected to be fully measured and certified: regatta fleet boats do not need formal measurement certificates, but should be seaworthy.
    Although you do not need to be a member of IOCA(UK) to attend the open racing events, you are expected to join to be part of the series. Training sessions are only open to IOCA(UK) members.    		  
     

    News

    Traveller Series - Loch Tummel

    New The next traveller is Helensburgh (21-22 June), followed by Loch Tummel, on 5/6 July. On-line entries for Tummel are now open, at the usual location here. Early registration and payment is requested, to allow the club to manage the logistics.

    Scottish Championship

    New Yes, it IS happening! The Scottish Championship will be held at Largs, on 26-27 July. There will be 2 days of training available beforehand (on Thursday and Friday). Main fleet training is being run by RYA Scotland (thanks, Roy) under the supervision of Robbie Burns. Regatta fleet will also have training.
    The training is ONLY available to those who register and pay in advance. Numbers are limited, but a waiting list will be operated. We will endeavour to obtain sufficient resources to cater for all who wish to try out next years Nationals location - so please register even if the event is full. You will be told if you have a place! Register for the championship here, and the training here. Early registration will earn you a discounted price for the regatta!

    IOCA Inlands

    Here we go again! It's the start of a new season, and the first of the IOCA(UK) major events has taken place. This is the first ranking event of 2008, with a number of the older sailors making this their swan song. As has become the norm, we assembled at Grafham Water expecting one day of sailing, and one day of hanging around. Unexpectedly, this didn't happen: Saturday provided 6 - 10 kts, whilst Sunday provided 12-15kts, gusting to 18kts (according to the committee boat).
    A good showing of Scots amongst the 240 main fleet sailors, and a scattering amongst the Regatta Fleet. We were fortunate to have RYA Scotland support the Squad members by sending Coach Robbie (and RIB). As ever, his wry sense of humour was appreciated by the parents post-racing, whilst the sailors enjoyed the benefit of his expertise both on and off the water.
    Main fleet was split into 4 fights, and all 6 planned races happened. Some good racing - and the results went to those who could interpret the conditions! There was the usual huddle of boats around the committee boat fighting for space. It was pleasing to note that our guys and gals went for the wide open spaces further down the line! Even more gratifying was the fact that the pin end was a much better place to start.
    Star of the results has to be Callum, pulling in 6th place overall. The 'one to watch' must be Alastair Gray - 20th in his first major! Ross has done well to recover from his broken arm to rank 49th

    In regatta fleet Jamie Calder achieved a very creditable 12th place, Alasdair Logan at 34, with Rachel Mawer following at 66. In a fleet of 79 boats, they could return home knowing they had done well in their first major of 2008.
    Main Fleet Scottish Results
     Series PlaceSail No Overseas Helm M/F Prize Age Club Ribbon Series Points 1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B 4A 4B 5A 5B 6A 6B
    6GBR5737 N Callum AIRLIE M 13 St Marys Loch SC Blue 29 6     11   4   3 5   41  
    20GBR5301 N Alistair GRAY M 13 Helensburgh Blue 60 18     2   8   5 27   48  
    49GBR5781 N Ross STANLEY-WHYTE M 13 HSC / RNCYC Yellow 133 30   47   38     19   2   44
    70GBR5699 N George THOMPSON M 15 GYC / Invergordon B C Blue 173 25     30   44   35 39   75  
    118GBR5540 N Jack BORRILL M 13 Clyde CruisingC White 264   76   55 27   70   36     81
    139GBR5293 N Kae CLARK F 12 Helensburgh SC Yellow 312 88   77   93     12   42   94
    154GBR5726 N Drew AIRLIE M 15 St Marys Loch SC White 335   64   84 92   82   43     62
    156GBR5085 N Clementine THOMPSON F 11 GYC / Invergordon B C Red 338   81 69     87 64     65 59  
    177GBR4974 N Jack GILLESPIE M 11 Royal Gourock Yellow 400 111   78   71     102   77   72
    181GBR5650 N Erin KEMSLEY F 13 Clyde Cruisingc Red 408   94 80     83 94     88 63  
    193GBR5708 N Andrew MITCHELL M 12 Helensburgh Red 437   107 72     81 93     101 90  
    228GBR5363 N Andrew MAWER M 13 Clyde Cruisingc Red 535   113 101     97 117     115 109  
    239GBR5153 N Alasdair GIBSON M 12 Clyde Cruisingc White 588   119   119 115   114   NYF121     NYF121

    Selections pt II

    NewThe usual suspects assembled at Weymouth for the second part of the selection trials. The forecast was the opposite of Pwllheli - Weymouth was going to be a light-wind affair! Plenty of hanging about waiting for wind, and a first in my memories of Oppies at Weymouth: the fleet went outside the harbour! Some good racing, and challenging conditions meant that those who could read the weather and conditions triumphed. Those who relied on rote got caught out!
    The racing followed the same pattern for each race: a group of 7 or 8 at the front, with a group of about a dozen following on, and then the rest. The interesting bit comes when you look at the results: although the format remains pretty constant, the membership of each tranche doesn't. All the races were hard fought - and the conditions provided some surprises. I hear that the
    All the participating Scots performed honourably: Callum squeezed a 2nd out of the final race, to end up 18th overall (and a place in the Swiss team); Drew knocked nearly 30 places off his ranking, whilst Ross managed to only drop 20 places. Bear in mind that he has had two months off with a broken arm, and two of his four 'on-the-water' sessions since have been selection trials!

    Travellers NoR

    New The Notices of Race for     Dalgety Bay and North Berwick have been published. Both are available from the event website - links from the venue names. Please register on-line if you can!

    Traveller 1 - Loch Venachar

    Blowing a hooley on Saturday. Flat calm on Sunday. Inland location: with that description it has to be Grafham Water, doesn't it? Wrong! This was Loch Venachar! 20kts plus on Saturday gave all the classes something to think about. The red/black/blue jackets should be used to these conditions after winter training. It was definitely challenging for the less experienced sailors. PRO Ian Young set out a generous triangle - sausage course, and got race 1 under way. Some good racing was seen. Although the leading three were the expected trio, one who should (and did) know better managed to sail the wrong course. Gates are there to go though, not skirt around!

    Rachel was the only regatta fleet sailor to complete the course - well done! A short pause whilst the course was relaid (made a bit smaller) and the regatta fleet (both Oppies and Toppers) was kept ashore. Another two good races left Drew leading Oppie Main overnight. The morning dawned fine - but with insufficient breeze to sail. Much sunbathing and muttering ensued. Racing was abandoned at lunch time.
    As ever, our grateful thanks to the Loch Venachar team, especially the caterers, who coped with 72 boats!

    Selections pt I

    A frustrating first day at the selections - too much wind. Average speeds of 21kts, with speeds from 10kts gusting to 32kts meant the boats all stayed ashore. The initial 3 hour postponement saw the met. office issue an imminent gale warning. Gusts hitting 50kts at lunch-time meant hopes of sailing today were abandoned. Spirits (and the competitive edge) were maintained with an impromptu visit to the local karting/bowling venue, where Scottish honour was maintained.

    Scot's Wahague

    First there were three, then there were two, now there are three again! Confused? Not half as much as we were! Ross, Tom and Callum were invited to be part of the GBR team going to Braassemermeer this Easter. Ross had to drop out after he broke his arm. Injuries and illness amongst the remainder ended up with Drew getting an invite as a last minute substitute. A report appears under Calendar>Results 2008>Braassemermeer
    Iain

    Palamos

    Callum, Drew and Ross travelled out to Palamos to take part in the clinic and the 3rd International KABB regatta. Along with George and Clem (Guernsey) and Sarah they made up the British contingent, supported by coach Laurie. Despite conditions being lighter than expected, they had a good week (14 hour days!) and achieved respectable results in the regatta.
    287 sailors meant 6 flights, and 98 boats on the start line. Day 1 provided 6kts of South-Easterly breeze - a bit light for the heavy-weights. Callum had obviously taken his secret weapon with him, coming in 22nd. A significant number of sailors were timed out! Callum managed to finish day 1 as top Brit. Day 2 provided a better breeze (NE force 4), allowing 4 more races to be run. This allowed the discard to kick in. Day 3 was variable again and only another 2 races were completed. Black Flags were expensive mistakes in this level of competition!
    The eagle-eyed will spot that one of our boats is missing from the results: an accident with some monkey bars meant that 'cheeky monkey' is now 'mostly armless'. Ross managed to break his arm on Thursday night, and so missed the regatta. Some choice words are understood to have been muttered: thanks go to the Team GBR medical experts, who ensured that A&E was as 'painless' as possible. Heal fast, Ross!
    British Results:
    OverallCountrySail NumberCrewPointsR1R2R3R4R5R6R7
    62GBRGBR 5740Annabel Vose15728183726294119
    63GBRGBR 5556Josh Sparks1594532960272926
    91GBRGBR 5789Tarra Gill-Taylor1886093167302229
    111GBRGBR 5588Melissa Hamilton21773194389401725
    115GBRGBR 5661Tom Britz223BFD17709426BFD
    148GBRGBR 5409Charlie Cox2617949439524563
    165GBRGBR 4948Callum Airlie281225462BFD814022
    183GBRGBR 5596Craig Dibb311BFD565541584358
    195GBRGBR 5663Edward Riley336786360543447BFD
    198GBRGBR 5454Drew Airlie339663859296978BFD
    200GBRGBR 5665Jamie Diamond342835954643BFDBFD
    203GBRGBR 5699George Thompson342BFD519049535940
    209GBRGBR 5589Sophie Hamilton350762242BFD626364
    210GBRGBR 5673Sarah Alton35282428935597262
    243GBRGBR 5669James Poyner416806166796350BFD
    251GBRGBR 5662Tim Riley42783676577867062
    273GBRGBR 5085Clementine Thompson47392718984917464

    The Traveller Series has just about been tied down. The dates are now on the calendar. I have generated a vcal file for those of you who want to import the dates into your desktop calendar. ScotOppTravlr.vcal. A similar file for the IOCA(UK) major events is also available: ioca_major.vcs.

    Winter Training...
    ... is now upon us. IOCA membership renewal is now open (you really should join before attending a training session!) on the IOCA site, and the calendar is filling up! Another three Scots with those snazzy red jackets, some new faces for the ferry to Cumbrae.

    For those dropping boats off for Cumbrae that haven't done it before: you can ignore the 'no trailer' sign on the car-park to the north of the ferry slip (by the amusements). RYA Scotland and N Ayrshire Council have agreed that cars with boats on trailers can use this car-park for drop-off and collection. It has been known for a local jobs-worth to object to our trailers: they should be (politely) referred to the council for an update! The car park costs £2 to get out again. CalMac will charge an Optimist as a small trailer: this should be around the £8 mark. Again, depending on the ticket clerk, they have been known to try charging at the higher rate: an Oppie is 2.4m, and so qualifies as a small trailer. Toppers are bigger, and don't.

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