Scottish Traveller 2006 II: Lochaber

Hosted by Lochaber Yacht Club, this was a new location on the traveller circuit. A very picturesque journey, and a beautiful location to sail in. A very hospitable club, with an extremely comfortable and warm clubhouse, complete with wood-burning stove! Ideal for those cold Scottish evenings - yes we did use it, even though it is June! There was enough wind (until late evening) to keep the infamous midges away.
Twenty Oppies turned up at Lochaber Sailing Club with snow lingering on Ben Nevis and tides sucking in and out of Loch Linnhe. All the best sailors were there including Anna Burnet (RNCYC), fresh from the Oppie Selections and her GBR Worlds berth, where she will be only the third Scottish sailor to sail at that level.

Unfortunately the strong headwinds we experienced on the journey up on Friday night did not continue. Although the morning started with a promising wind, by the time the racing had got underway the breeze had dropped.
The first race saw a significant tidal gate at the windward mark of the triangle-sausage course. Some of the more experienced tidal sailors made full use of this - others were caught out. In a light southerly, Race 1, Anna glided into an early lead, with most of the fleet struggling to round the windward mark against the tide. As the wind died, Anna rounded the bottom mark with a narrow lead, but tacked out into the tide while James Logan (CCC) headed for the beach then tacked out to win the race. During the race the wind died to a mere zephyr, leaving the boats struggling to make any progress over the ground.
The appropriate sacrifice must have been made though, as the wind filled in to allow the planned series of three races to be completed. Race two was completed in reasonable conditions, and saw the main fleet split into three distinct groups: each group had their own close-fought battle for position. James started well and won comfortably. Race 3 was a tense affair with the tide turning. Anna had it in the bag until the last few boat lengths when the race officer shortened course as she tacked to cover, languidly. Drew Airlie (St Mary's Loch SC) nipped through to win. James third.
Overnight a classical demonstration of Highland hospitality - brilliant BBQ, keeping midges at bay, then keys to the clubhouse for campers, plus a wood-burning stove. It really could not get better! An excellent effort, much appreciated by everybody, surrounded by an impromptu game of rugby to use up whatever energy was left.

Day two dawned to a clear, still start. Ideal for a picture postcard, with a band of cloudlets sitting half-way up the mountain-side, but not much good for sailing. By the time boats were being rigged, a fresh breeze had arrived - blowing straight up the loch. The near-perfect conditions saw some close fought races.

Classical Oppie racing ensued with 4-5 possible winners per race. James started well in Race 4, controlled the first beat, then sailed away to win. In Race 5 Nathan Forrester (CCC) built up a good lead, but was reeled in by James, Anna and Ross Stanley-Whyte (RNCYC). The second beat was a tense rock-dodging affair as sailors tacked close against the shore to stay out of the tide. James squeezed through to win, with Nathan holding off Anna for a fine second. Final race was dominated initially by Dean Gillespie (CCC). Again the second beat proved decisive and unfortunately Dean and Anna ended up pinned against the windward mark by the tide. James nipped past for his fifth win of the weekend and won the traveller.

In the regatta fleet Andrew Mitchell (CCC) dominated from start to finish with five first places. Jack Gillespie (CCC), who had his eighth birthday party at the recent Inlands, was second. Andrew Davies (CCC), in his first outing at a traveller, trailed round last, but stoically, for most of the weekend. In the final race, teeth gritted, he scored a third - his smile as he crossed the line was a highlight not to be forgotten!

Our thanks to the Commodore and members of Lochaber Yacht Club for their hospitality and efficiency. An excellent galley crew, good race management, and even a helicopter flypast. OK, the helicopter was a medevac flight, and not for our benefit.

Results

Six (6) Races, one discard
Conditions: Dry, overcast, cool. Wind SSW, variable 1 to 9 kts

Main Fleet - overall

Position (Overall)	Gold	Silver	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Points
1	1		5433	J Logan	CCC	1	1	3	1	1	1	5
2	2		5540	A Burnet	Helensburgh	2	3	2	2	3	2	11
3	3		23204	D Airlie	StMLSC	6	2	1	7	5	9	21
4	4		5435	N Forrester	CCC	4	7	5	5	2	5	21
5	5		5454	K Stanley-Whyte	RNCYC	3	6	6	6	4	4	23
6	6		5363	D Gillespie	CCC	5	4	7	10	8	3	27
7	7		5519	R Stanley-Whyte	RNCYC	8	8	10	3	7	7	33
8	8		5518	S Ross	SVSC	9	5	4	8	9	14	35
9		1	5272	T Kemsley	CCC	~~DNS~~	DNS	8	4	6	6	38
10		2	5293	K Clark	RNCYC	7	12	9	12	12	10	50
11	9		4320	E Airlie	StMLSC	~~OCS~~	9	13	11	10	8	51
12		3	4911	A McGowan	CCC	10	10	12	9	11	11	51
13		4	4076	C Airlie	StMLSC	11	11	11	13	13	12	58

Gold Fleet
Posn Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Points
1 5433 J Logan CCC 1 1 3 1 1 1 5
2 5540 A Burnet Helensburgh 2 3 2 2 3 2 11
3 23204 D Airlie StMLSC 6 2 1 6 5 8 20
4 5435 N Forrester CCC 4 7 5 4 2 5 20
5 5454 K Stanley Whyte RNCYC 3 6 6 5 4 4 22
6 5363 D Gillespie CCC 5 4 7 8 7 3 26
7 5518 S Ross SVSC 8 5 4 7 8 9 28
8 5519 R Stanley Whyte RNCYC 7 8 8 3 6 6 30
9 4320 E Airlie StMLSC OCS 9 9 9 9 7 45
Silver Fleet
Posn Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Points
1 5272 T Kemsley CCC DNS DNS 1 1 1 1 9
2 4911 A McGowan CCC 2 1 4 2 2 3 10
3 5293 K Clark RNCYC 1 3 2 3 3 2 11
4 4076 C Airlie StMLSC 3 2 3 4 4 4 16

Regatta Fleet

Posn	Sail	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Points
1	4647	A Mitchell	CCC	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
2	4974	J Gillespie	CCC	2	3	4	2	2	2	11
3	4175	J Borrill	CCC	3	2	3	3	4	5	15
4	7190	A Mawer	CCC	5	4	2	4	3	4	17
5	4865	A Davies	CCC	4	5	5	5	5	3	22

Traveller Series Results