Fisherrow Yacht Club Regatta 2020
Day one
“Light winds forecast, beginner friendly weather” read the email. The Firth of Forth however had other ideas sending a Force 4 plus local wind racing across the river whipping up large breaking seas on the beach.
Our mark layers were struggling with the conditions and the start was postponed, the last thing our struggling sailors wanted, capsizes and breakages followed and by the time the start sequence finally began, all the dinghies were back on the beach and packing up for the day, muttering darkly about the Race Officer. All except for Ben Saunders in his Sprint 15 catamaran which was whizzing around flying the windward hull and splicing through the waves.
photo:David Wilkie
Three yachts, each carrying one reef in the main had 3 very close races, punching to windward with grins on their faces and ending the day all square on points, each counting a 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Ben in the dinghies only had himself to beat and nearly managed it, starting with the yachts by accident with an excellent port end flyer, five minutes before he was meant to. He did remark later that he was wondering what all the extra horns and flags were for! Luckily for him he flew round the course fast enough to start properly on his second lap within the specified ten minutes and thus avoided being marked OCS (on course side). A broken batten put an end to his fun after the first race and he joined the others on the beach.
Day two dawned with a few tentative texts enquiring whether the forecast of "flat seas and light winds" was to be believed today. Once again it proved wrong, with significantly more wind turning up than forecast, luckily this saved the day turning a floater into a perfect force 3 /4 with much smaller swell than the Saturday. The sun was out again, our RIB crews dropped the course very efficiently and we found ourselves sitting ready on the committee boat with 20 minutes to spare.
Racing was again tight in the yacht fleet, with excellent starts, the hours spent virtual racing against each other during lockdown paying off on the water. There was drama when Deantoun and Sulumar, having sparred on the line the previous day in a port / starboard stand off, once again tangled in race 2, ending up with Deantoun being forced around the wrong side of the committee boat.
Swirley proved unstoppable starting cleanly, staying out of trouble and chalking up three bullets to take the top prize. The leader in the overall season championship, Sulumar, sailing solo on day 2, just edged out Deantoun to take second place by one point.
photo:Mark McClelland
The dinghies had three races to decide the regatta, all three to count. Ben, the only dinghy counting a race from Saturday, was unable to capitalise on his advantage, finding the lighter conditions didn’t suit his boat and struggling to shake the slower boats off. Mr & Mrs Commodore and the other Longhorns in the fleet Colin & Stephanie Robertson enjoyed the day, starting well and keeping out of trouble, they returned three wins to take the overall prize.
photo:Mark McClelland
They were pushed hard by the two lasers helmed by Eric Parks and Dave Morrissey who jostled for second place, ending up tied on points, with Eric winning second place on count back and topping the Silverhorn fleet. Dave took third place with enough points to stay in the lead in the overall season Silverhorn championship.
Notable mentions for Alan Thompson & Linda Sheridan in their 2000 Woose who had a great second race. Alison Holstead for splitting the lasers in race 3 and Simon Talbot for getting back on the water after an eventful Saturday with breakages and a rescue required.
And finally congratulations to brand new member Thoren Ferguson who won a tussle with Chirs Askham to win the Greenhorn prize on his first day on the water at the club.
The results can be seen at the following links.
The regatta was run following the current covid 19 regulations with no socialising or prize giving off the water. Big thanks are due to the committee boat and safety boat crews who worked hard and performed well in difficult circumstances and allowed the regatta to go ahead.
Onwards and upwards for next season!
Mark McClelland
Race Officer
photo:Mark McClelland