Scottish Optimists - the home of Optimist Sailing in Scotland
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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, the Forth 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.
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22:23 26 Jun 09 by Iain A | Pre-Nationals Training There will be a couple of days training between the Scottish Championships and the Nationals. Robbie will lead, and the Spanish are joining in. Prompt registration is recommended - we will need to arrange additional resource if numbers grow. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10:21 24 Jun 09 by Iain A | Loch Lomond Results ... have now been posted, and included in the series summary. The following has been received from Bill at the club: Although you always look back and see things you could do better, I was absolutely delighted by the way the weekend went. Everyone, club sailors and visitors and club members watching, seem to have had a fantastic time. Just brilliant having 21 boats out and 8 from the club. It has hopefully confirmed to one family that they are right to be looking for an oppie (Craig/Amanda (Lewis) Forbes) and at least one other family (Dawn/David (Thomas) Crowe) who now want an oppie. Real traction and critical mass now. Marvellous. Huge amount of credit/thanks goes to Alec and the young coaches for all their work and also to John and Anne Stanley White for their support at the weekend despite having no direct interest in the sailing. Lovely also to see Iain C's parents around as well. Scottish Oppie inland champs next year?? Just a thought.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:42 18 Jun 09 by Iain A | Beach Banter Since the Scottish blog was pretty much a dead duck, I've changed the link back to the Scottish Forum on the IOCA(UK) website. This puts the complete IOCA(UK) forum inside our website, with Scotland as the starting point. Problems with logging in to the forum should go to the webmaster(at)optimistsailing.org.uk, not to me! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15:03 16 Jun 09 by Iain A | Loch Lomond Traveller Online entry has now closed. Last minute entries on the day. The club are planning on offering a pasta meal on Saturday evening. So that they can get numbers correct, please book meals on-line via the event website - especially if you intend to go, but have not yet booked. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15:08 16 Jun 09 by Iain Calder | Lymington Open Meeting Five Scottish sailors headed South for the Royal Lymington Open Meeting which was also the Southern Area Championships: Callum Airlie, Ross Stanley-Whyte, Jamie Calder, Rachel Mawer and Sophie Taylor. The forecast was for light winds for the weekend of 13th and 14th June and for once the weathermen were right on Saturday. 5-6Kts of breeze for most of the day allowed the race team to get in three races in some very tricky conditions as Lymington is famous for its tide. In the first race it took some of the fleet six and a half minutes to cross the start line against the tide. Many sailors were airing their views about abandoning the race but the race officer held his nerve and let the race go. Callum opened his score sheet with a 9th and Ross a 26th. In the second race Jamie managed a 21st, Rachel a 43rd and Sophie a 69th. In a fleet of 112 boats and a great depth of talent in the fleet these scores were something to be proud of. ,br> After a debrief on Saturday evening about the use of the tide in your race strategy the sailors left the shore on Sunday with a lot to think about. After a short postponment on the water the sea breeze kicked in and gave fabulous sailing in 12Kts of breeze with the highlights of the day Callum finishing the regatta with an 8th and Ross a 12th. All of the sailors put in a big effort in a very difficult venue, and hopefully learnt to appreciate the tide and local conditions. It was great to see our female members of the squad competing well against their southern rivals, getting some good scores over the weekend and I particularly enjoyed Rachel's singing as she crossed the finishing line on Sunday afternoon. Callum had mixed fortunes over the weekend getting some good top ten results and learning more about the tidal influences. Ross put together a consistant series in not his favourite conditions which was great and Jamie enjoyed racing against his rivals from the regatta fleet of last year. All in all a good weekend with hopefully lots of experience learnt to take forward to the next event. Overall results: Callum 18th, Ross 21st, Jamie 51st, Rachel 90th, Sophie 95th. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
09:06 09 Jun 09 by Iain Calder | North Berwick Traveller The third of the Scottish Oppie Traveller Series kicked off at East Lothian Yacht Club (North Berwick) on 6th/7th June. Saturday started with a postponement ashore due to high winds and a large sea running. After a short while the wind eased and the fleets launched, eight in the main fleet and eight in the regatta fleet. The first race was started in 18Kts gusting 20Kts with the main fleet sailing a trapezoidal course and the regatta fleet a triangular course. Callum Airlie led the main fleet from start to finish, Ali Gray and Ross Stanley-Whyte were second and third respectively for the first round until Jamie Calder passed Ross on the second beat, and then Ali on the last downwind leg to go on to finish second with Ali third. Race two was started in an increasing breeze now gusting 25Kts with some rogue waves at about two metres high. Very exciting sailing with the Oppie fleets showing many other classes how to dominate the conditions. This race saw Ross lead at the windward mark with Callum second and Ali third. Ross and Callum had a great tussle downwind, pushing their boats to the maximum to gain that edge over each other. Callum eventually came through to take the race win and Ali managed to pass Ross upwind to take second. Sunday brought a little less wind and smaller sea state but still enough to get some good surfing in the waves. Ali led the fleet to the windward mark with Callum second, who opted to go lower on the first reach allowing him to get an overlap on Ali at the second mark, which allowed him to take the lead. Close racing continued between the top three with Ross taking the lead on the second beat until he tacked in Callum's water, which meant a two-turns penalty, which in turn let Callum, Ali and Jamie through to finish in that order. Race four again had some close racing with Callum leading from start to finish, Jamie second and Ross third. At this point with one race to go Callum had won the event with a race to spare and Ali and Jamie tied for second and Ross a close third. The GBR squad boys got off to a good start pushing each other all the way. Jamie however had to tack off to clear his wind and go right. This turned out to be the favoured side of the beat and he led the fleet at the windward mark. Callum tried hard but couldn't catch Jamie during the two round race. Ali finished third and Ross fourth. Alasdair Ireland again dominated the Regatta fleet winning all four races while Niccolo Vetta and Hamish Taylor had some great racing to finish second and third respectively. It has to be mentioned how impressive it was to see so many Regatta Fleet sailors out in very challenging open sea conditions and enjoying every minute of it. I look forward to seeing some of them in the main fleet very soon. This goes to show what a great job James and Lynne are doing bringing our young inexperienced sailors on so quickly. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
09:08 09 Jun 09 by Iain A | ELYC Results I have extracted the Optimist results, which are now in the usual place. The series summary so far has also been updated again, in the usual place | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:10 01 Jun 09 by Iain A | Traveller 4 Registration Open The on-line entry for traveller 4 (Loch Lomond SC) is now open at the usual location. Although the crystal ball has been working overtime to estaimte numbers (and hence safety cover and catering requirements), it was a bit hazy. Please register on-line as soon as know you can make the event - or at least, as sure as you can be :-). Thanks. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
09:12 19 May 09 by Iain Calder | Inland Championships Callum Airlie did Scotland proud at the Inland Championships at Grafham Water on 16th/17th May. With a very impressive, consistent, series discarding a 4th place he finished second overall to Annabel Vose by only one point in a fleet of 235 boats. Conditions were extremely difficult with the wind being shifty and gusty. Particularly on Saturday when I recorded 35Kts of breeze during race 2. Saturday broke with 14Kts blowing offshore and gradually built as the day went on. The Regatta fleet of 100 boats did launch but conditions worsened and their racing was abandoned for the day. Not so the Main fleet, where the sailors are expected to race in 25+Kts. Callum got off to a flying start posting a 4th and a 2nd. Ross Stanley Whyte also had a flying start posting an 8th in race one. It was very satisfying to see our squad sailors racing in such windy conditions when so many of the fleet retired, particularly Jamie Calder and Jack Gillespie completing both races on Saturday when many an older and more experienced sailor had retired. Their best results were 37th and 35th respectively. Angus Johnstone had a great debut in the main fleet posting a 54th and 56th. Sunday brought 14Kts of breeze from the East in place of the South from Saturday. Again the breeze became shifty and a major right hand shift led the PRO to abandon race 1 after the leader had rounded the top mark. On a Scottish perspective a bit disappointing as we had most of our sailors in the top 30. Again the breeze started to gust to 20Kts. Callum continued his impressive series with a 4th, 2nd and 2nd. Alistair Gray had a stronger second day posting 19th, 16th and an impressive 5th in the last race. Ross also had a great result in race 4 posting an 18th. The Regatta fleet saw Alasdair Ireland, Iain Sword, Niccolo Vetta and Izzy Milford representing Scotland. Again very difficult conditions to sail in with all sailors posting some impressive results, in particular Alasdair Ireland with a 2nd in race one and would have finished 6th overall had he not nose dived whilst leading race 2. All in all a very successful regatta for Team Scotland from our top dog Callum down to our future potential in the Regatta fleet. Keep training hard all you Oppie sailors and watch your name climb the results sheet......
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16:28 12 May 09 by Iain | IOCA(UK) Inland Champiosnhips Folks, The arrival information has been published. i'm sure you've seen the launching issues. I am planning on arriving on Friday - my trailer is already at Grafham with 4 Scottish boats. Can we arrange for all the Scottish boats to park up between slip 1 and slip 2, intending to launch and recover off slip 2? I am numbering from the clubhouse! I'll try and get a 'Lion Rampant' flying off a mast as a muster point... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22:51 12 May 09 by | East Lothian Traveller East Lothian on-line registration is now open | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21:27 09 May 09 by Iain A | Loch Venachar results I've finally found time to extract the Loch Venachar results, and post them. The first series summary sheet has also been posted. As usual, the series summary is available from the menu option: Calendar => 2009 Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:09 08 May 09 by Iain | Online payments Google Checkout is now available for the Scottish Championships. Note that a card handling charge of GBP 1.25 will be added to your entry fee. This covers the Google transaction fees of 20p + 3.5%. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22:15 06 May 09 by Iain A & Iain C | Selections Part 2 Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy was host to the second three day event for the 2009 Selection Trials. Weymouth turned to be challenging: not quite as much wind as the selectors would have liked, but sufficient to be worthwhile. All three days were spent out in the bay - which meant long hard days! The four Scottish sailors were all fired up and raring to go on Saturday. Conditions were a fairly constant 12kts with the occasional 15kt gust. This turned out to be pretty much the wind strength over the three days all be it varying in direction. This was definitely a prime case of getting a clean start and playing the shifts up the middle of the course both upwind and down. Many competitors were caught out going too far to one side of the course or the other, including some well known names in the Optimist fleet. Both Saturday and Sunday had four races per day, each with almost a mile long beat, in Weymouth Bay which gave the sailors a very long sail home after racing. Nine hours on the water on Saturday and seven on Sunday proved the point that this is not only the most competitive Optimist Regatta of the year but also an endurance test. Conditions were challenging: shifty winds meant that the traditional 'bang right/left' approach was doomed to failure. The smart money stayed safe up the middle and played the shifts. Even the experienced hands struggled at times: results from Annabel Vose and Matt Wallis in the 40-50 range is not expected! All our sailors put in a fantastic effort with the highlight of the weekend being Callum winning race twelve and going on to qualify as part of the GBR Team for the European Championships in Slovenia this summer. Ross put a consistant series together and when added to his 10th and 15th last weekend gave him 37th overall, considerably higher than his ranking last year. Ali raised his game with better scores including a 14th which should really have been a 6th had he not been yellow flagged on the run (lesson learned Ali!!). Jamie had a huge learning experience with three results inside the top thirty to encourage him to keep chasing the older boys. Once again a great team spirit from the Scottish sailors and parents/pit crews/shore team/on water support!!! Annabel Vose put a very consistant series together to win the trials by 18 points, although even she managed a 44th on her score sheet. Josh Sparks was second and Scott Wallis third. The circus moves on to Grafham in two weeks for the Inland Champs where hopefully we will have a much bigger contingent from Scotland and hopefully more success on the water.............. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22:21 06 May 09 by Iain A & Iain C | Selections - Summary The Scots have performed well in challenging conditions. Callum managed to achieve every position in the top 5 except 3rd; Ross produced a couple of 10s; Jamie had a good 10 boats behind him. Scottish results summary:
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21:11 28 Apr 09 by Iain Calder | Selections 2009 Pwllheli This years Volvo Musto Optimist Selection Trials kicked off at Pwllheli over three days, 24th - 26th April. It will continue next weekend with a further three day event at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. This year saw four Scottish sailors invited to the event, Callum Airlie, Ali Gray, Ross Stanley-Whyte and Jamie Calder. This is the toughest level of Optimist racing in the UK. Sixteen races scheduled over six days with only the best sailors and one or two youngsters showing potential, invited to take part in the eighty five strong fleet. As usual the Scottish Team spirit came to the fore with the four families staying together and all four boys supporting each other through this high pressure event. Friday dawned with dry conditions and a six to ten knot breeze. Unfortunately it took seven attempts to get the fleet away even with the black flag flying at the four minute. Callum and Ross got off to a great start with an 11th and 37th in race one with Ali 51st and Jamie 56th. Race two started well but unfortunately a huge wind shift and dying breeze caused the PRO to abandon the race after the first three boats had finished. The fleet was sent ashore with only one race to count after having spent six hours on the water. Saturday saw a variety of wind strengths from 5kts to 14kts but relatively stable compared to Friday. This turned into a four race day with Callum posting 4th, 48th, 11th and 2nd. Ross equally had a great day posting a 10th and 15th in races four and five proving that the slightly larger sailors are still competitive in the lighter breeze. Ali was unlucky and was forced up the wrong side of the first beat in a couple of the races which in a fleet with this depth of talent is very hard to recover from. Jamie had his first taste of black flag disqualification in race three. Sunday brought sunshine and no wind. So after a postponment ashore, some beach rugby, ending in one sailor with concussion and others bruised, we eventualy took to the water in 6kts of breeze. One race was all that could be held before the ebbing tide made it impossible to get ribs out of the marina. Callum sailed an impressive race pulling through from 12th at the first mark to sixth at the end of the run and finishing 5th. Jamie had his best result of the weekend rounding the top mark in 28th place and pulled a couple back to finish 26th. Ross and Ali were both rolled on the start line giving them a very difficuilt recovery. Ross did well to get back to 56th. Overall results gave Callum 3rd, Ross 28th, Ali 60th and Jamie 67th. Fantastic result for Callum with all to play for next weekend. Ross lying inside the top thirty, including a 10th and 15th, great result. This was a difficult event for Ali who was not in his usual position but we have all been there before,so move on to Weymouth Ali! Jamie had a wonderfull experience sailing against the best, finishing on a high with a top thirty result. Weymouth this weekend - bring it on!!!!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
09:24 28 Apr 09 by Alec L | Loch Venachar Report Rock stars again on tour, at the Selections, so the field clear for new winners at the second Scottish Optimist Traveller. Lovely Loch Venachar, in the Trossachs National Park, and Saturday dawned with glorious sunshine and a light to moderate NE’ly. Classical highland loch conditions – thirty degree windshifts and treacherous calm patches to punish any lapse in concentration. Race 1 saw Jack Gillespie on the water first and the only sailor to practice sail the first beat. Jack read the considerable starboard end bias correctly, duly nailed the start and sailed off for a deserved win. He repeated the trick Races 2 and 3, to lead overnight with three bullets. Jack Borrell and Rachel Mawer sailed consistently to lie second and third. Sunday light W’ly with drizzle, midges and the mist draped over Ben Venue. But the breeze held and another three races completed. Jack Gillespie over the line first start. Rachel, sailing with trademark tenacity, won Race 4. Jack B almost won Race 5 but pipped on final beat by Jack G who sailed him past the finishing mark and tacked elegantly to win. Angus Johnstone also sailed consistently, and One To Watch at the ET. Race 6 saw Alasdair Logan return from thumb fracture to lead for half the race, but Jack G nailed him on the second beat to win race and Trav. Well done Jack! And what of the Regatta Fleet, ten new sailors? Once again, epic! Very well coached by Lynn Crichton. Alasdair Ireland sailed beautifully and in a ruthless naval fashion with six bullets to win. (Main fleet next time, Alasdair!) Iain Sword arrived on the stage, second, pipping Niccolo Vetta and Izzy Milford but only just. The Tummel, Lomond and Annandale New Wave in good form. Lots of new sailors, and special mentions for Anna Protheroe (Loch Lomond) whose new boat (and nifty crash helmet) wins Prix d’Elegance.
Superb event – well done Loch Venachar SC, again!
Medical notes – no children sent to hospital this weekend for a change. Two fractures ongoing (not sailing related), one that will require further rehab. Parents are reminded that safest place for your sailor between events is a tea chest, swaddled in whatever. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:44 27 Apr 09 by Iain | Selections - End of Part 1 Saturday: We managed the fit four races (maximum allowed by SI) in on Saturday. Respectable results from all of our sailors, with the more experienced Callum and Ross settling down as the day progressed. As usual, consistancy is the key - and a good start is vital. Sunday: A frustrating start to the day, wiht windguru forecasting not enough wind. Race Management decided that the sensible thing was to get the fleet tallied, and ready on the beach, in cas the wind did fill sufficiently to allow a fair race. This led to a frustrating wait until the last miute: there was finally sufficient steady breeze to launch the fleet at midday. Stogg's patience was rewarded with enough widn to run a sensible 6th race - thus providing a series. We know now that the emergency third weekend will not be required!
James Lavery provided a blog service from the results office: this can be found by following this link. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:51 25 Apr 09 by Iain A | Selections Day 1 A very frustrating first day. Although the fleet launched in promising conditions, it took seven attempts to get the fleet away. Oscillating winds made the PRO rather frustrated.... Race 2 had to be abandoned as the leaders started to finish in conditions that had gradually deteriorated. There was insufficient wind for the race to be considered fair - even the first boat across the line agreed that it should have been abandoned. An early start for Saturday - first warning 09:55 - and the first race has been completed in around 13kts.
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10:13 23 Apr 09 by Iain | Loch Venachar Traveller The Notice of Race for this weekend is here: http://venachar.org.uk/events/docs/nor_spr_2009_v3.doc On-line Entry closes at midnight tonight! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14:41 22 Apr 09 by Iain A | Scottish Championships - Preliminary Notice We anticipate having the Notice of Race and on-line entry ready for 1st May 2009. All entries made (and paid for) prior to 1st July will enjoy a discounted entry fee - thus allowing the bill-payer to have sufficient funds for some of Nardini's excellent gelati! Note that we will be restricting numbers initially, and a waiting list will operate. We will endeavour to find sufficent safety cover (etc) to allow all who wish to attend this event to take part. On-line entry will close at midnight, Saturday 25th July. Main Fleet and Regatta Fleet will be offered. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
09:21 21 Apr 09 by Iain A | Regatta Fleet Coaches for the Nationals Any of our ex-oppies that are interested in helping with Regatta Fleet at the Nationals should contact me in the first instance, and I'll pass the list on to Fiona, Mike and Dai. I am sure there will be some discussions in Pwllheli (Selections) this weekend - so if you are available and interested I need to know now. Thanks, Iain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11:23 20 Apr 09 by Iain A | Gallery The gallery is now largely dynamic, and self-building. This means that pictures from events will appear as soon as I have uploaded them - so it should be quicker! The 'news' pictures are randomly chosen from our expanding collection! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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14:51 16 Apr 09 by Alec | Trav 1, Annandale Scottish Oppie Traveller 1 Annandale Sailing Club 18 Oppies assembled for the first Scottish Oppie traveller of the season. Heady times for Scottish junior racing, especially for Oppies, where numbers have quadrupled over the winter to over 40 boats at 16 clubs. Our rock-stars were on their AngloDutchItalian GBR tour, but new shiny helms and boats debuted.
Annandale a perfect early season venue, a ruined Robert the Bruce castle in a copse at one end of the loch, and a Bronze Age crannog at the other. A club pulling out all the stops, and everyone joining in.
What of the regatta fleet? Saturday challenging though one race completed and won by Alasdair Ireland (Toward SC). On Sunday regatta fleet had the broadest smiles on the water. Alasdair-One-To-Watch won all three races, closely pursued by Nicolo Vetta (Annandale), second overall. Hamish Taylor (CCC), first event, racing the far-famed Tickety Boo, took third. Well done to Christopher Crokett (Loch Lomond SC), narrowly pipped for third, Rebecca Bryant (Annandale) who completed her first race, as did Drew Mitchell (Annandale), sailing a borrowed fibreglass racing Oppie for the first time. The Oppie, Drew, is the junior racing platform of choice, n’est ce pas?
(No thanks to Scottish Oppie Official Pointer Puppy, Sally, who chased oystercatchers all day, which is fine, but who chewed through the camcorder charging lead, not so good. Regatta sailors are invited to suggest ways in which Sally can be both chastised and re-educated. Here comes Wikipedia!)
Results
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08:55 16 Apr 09 by Iain A | Garda - Finale With 7 qualifying races completed, the last day saw Callum achieve Gold fleet for the finals. Although originally scheduled for the same course he had been sailing on all regatta, a last minute change by the race committee saw Gold fleet shifted onto the A course. Not a good move for Callum: a just in time tow to the new race area meant no time to gather any information on the wind patterns. As anybody who has been to Lake Garda knows, the topography provides amazingly different wind patterns all over the lake. Not surprisingly, he used the same technique that had worked on course B - but found the wind pattersn favoured the opposite side, resulting in a first race fininsh of 117. Race 2 was better, but the GBR team were targeted by the Italians and Swiss - resulting in a 77th. Still a good result in a fleet of 162 boats! He finished 108 overall, in the middle of the official GBR team, having been the last of the 12 qualifiers. Overall, a very satisfying regatta. Two top 5 placings, one top 10, one top 20 and two yellow flags. For GBR, some excellent results: David Pain managed a 2nd; Callum, Scott and Sophie all managed a 3rd; Annabel and Craig 4th; Toby 5th Full report coming soon! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20:33 13 Apr 09 by JSW | Brass Postcript Ali finshed 4th overall in the Silver fleet today, a good performance in a strong fleet. Ross lifted his spirits with a much better first race. Both can be pleased that they kept going at a really tough light wind event - well done guys. Hopefully much more wind for the selections - whatever bring it on. P.S. Enjoyed sending this from mid-channel on the ferry - how cool is that! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11:30 13 Apr 09 by JSW | Brass Final Day Once again light winds below 8kts dominated all of Sunday's racing. Ali and Ross both in Silver fleet for GSB racing today. Ali lying third as points carried forward from first part of regatta. First GSB race this morning held in a slightly better breeze, but still less than 10 kts just a bit steadier across the course than previously. Provisional results looking like Ross early teens and Ali not far behind. Despite the light winds it has been a very good event and great experience with several top teams here. USA sent their top 10 to the IODA South American champs and then 11-30 are here. It is also part of the Dutch world team selections and the Portuguese sent their top 10 and the Irish here in strength as well. A mad dash for a N.Sea and channel crossing awaits. Ali and Ross can't wait to blow the light winds away at Largs later in the week (forecast looks good!) Final report later if I can fit it in. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13:36 12 Apr 09 by JSW | Braassemermeer Ali and Ross arrived last Tuesday ready to start training on the Wednesday. The first day was cold and wet with a stiff breeze across the polder. We could have stayed at home for this we thought! Brave parents retreated for coffee and apple cake. Thursday proved a much warmer affair but with less wind. Friday, the first day of racing, started with a decent 12kts or so across the course. Both boys started just fine although Ali did better when he sailed the correct course! The second day dawned with little or no wind. The PRO decided to press on after a couple of hours tanning time. With less than 5kts across the track this was brave. Straight to Black flag after one general recall, the first flight got away, with Ross looking for any wind to keep moving. Ali was in the second flight and was fortunately not one of the 29 black flags! However, even the PRO lost faith and postponed the second and third flight starts at that point. The first flight managed slowly around a shortened course. All ashore for a late lunch, more tan time and international water fights in 22 celcius. Eventually a steady force 2 filled in and Ali was back out to conclude his day with a great 6th place. Third day underway again in wonderful spring sunshine (good)and limited wind (bad). For future reference as we know some will follow from Alec's recruits this is a great regatta to aim to be selected for, when you are we can recommend the Koningshof campsite about 20 minutes drive away - it even has an indoor pool to relax those post race muscles. Before any of you think we have all flipped neither the Grays or SWs are under canvass, but in relatively comfortable chalets.....oh and not a dog in sight! More GBR team reports on IOCA(UK) home page and results at http://www.braassemermeer.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=162 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21:39 11 Apr 09 by Iain A | European Tour part G day 3 An early start, since Red & Blue fleets managed one more race than Green & Yellow. Since Callum is in Green, we had an extra race to fit in - with an 08:30 start signal. This meant sailing in the Peler rather than the Ora - which blows in the opposite direction until around 10. A good start saw Callum achieve a 15th place - whilst the tail end charlies struggled to cross the finish line in the dying breeze. Ashore for lunch and reflighting, then two races in the afternoon to provide the final part of the qualifying series. A 9th and 67th (apparently the Italians only understand 'Starboard' when they use it) sees Callum going into the finals placed 74th overall - 8th Brit - and comfortably in Gold fleet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21:27 10 Apr 09 by Iain A | European Tour part G day 2 Another frustrating day. The Ora kicked in at 12:00, as expected. Unfortunately it signed out at 15:00, possibly due to the overcast. Red and Blue fleets managed two races: green/yellow only one (although Callum managed a 5th in that). So Green/Yellow have their second race tomorrow morning with an 08:30 start gun... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10:36 10 Apr 09 by Iain A | European Tour part G day 1 An odd day for the start of racing on Lake Garda: not what we were led to expect! Although the Ora kicked in on time at around midday, it died fairly early with a fog bank sweeping up from the south. Mixed result for the British team(s): 3 OCS; a raft of yellow flags; some good results. Callum managed to reduce a leading position to fourth due to over-enthusiastic efforts downwind: still a good result. Race 3 saw him retire due to another yellow flag - for body-pumping on the beat! Lessons learnt today: don't wear a white hat with black roosters; nail the start; be very careful with the technique on the beat - if you use a circular body movement do not let the leech flick! GBR results extracted on the IOCA forum - International Events. Callum currently lying at 288/639, with 59, 3, dnf. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22:40 30 Mar 09 by Iain A | Racing Begins It is the end of March and the Racing Season starts this weekend. Annandale are waiting expectantly for a good turnout. Please enter on-line - you are too late for the discounted price, but registering through the web-site allows the catering and safety to be optimised! Regatta fleet will be coached - so don't be nervous! These first two events are ideal for the beginners who worked so hard at Strathclyde Loch. This event (and the next, at Loch Venachar) will be without the benefit of the Scottish Red Jacket brigade, as both events clash with GBR commitments. Ali and Ross are off to Brassemermeer, whilst Callum is off to Garda: all three are competing as part of the British Team at these regular Easter events. Updates on their progress will appear here (and on the IOCA(UK) site) if time and access permits. Loch Venachar clashes with the first weekend of the GBR Team Selection Trials - so Callum, Ali, Ross and Jamie will be off to Pwllheli to compete for a place! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22:17 02 Mar 09 by dumbledore | Content Management The news is now held in our database, so it is easier for the site to be managed. This also means you don't need to know html to be able to enter articles, although it helps! The 'new' icon indicates articles created (or edited) within the last week. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12:13 28 Jan 09 by Iain | Winter Training So we've been to Loch Venachar, and sailed in the snow. Next Open Training is (hopefully) at Largs, where we can practise in some tide and waves! Provisional at the moment, as we haven't got confirmation from the club yet... The eagle-eyed will spot a new icon appearing in their browser for the Scottish Oppie site! I've re-jigged Judith's thistle (hope you don't mind, Judith) so that we have a little more id. For those that haven't worked it out, it is an International Optimist sail insignia (in green) with a purple hat to make a thistle! |
