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North East Clubs 2009 Late Series Event 2 - Aberdeen - 14th November 2009 |
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Report by Ian Dundas |
Results NE Clubs Series summary page |
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The second event in the North East Scotland IOM Winter Series was due to be held at Aberdeen but unusually low levels at Inchgarth Reservoir meant the venue was changed to
Peterhead.
A poor weather forecast and the extra distance to drive up to Peterhead put off a few skippers but the seven participating skippers were rewarded with a perfect day – that is if you like sailing in steady 25mph (No 3 rig conditions) and a steep chop. Whilst much of the UK suffered torrential rain, Peterhead remained dry all day and even enjoyed a few sunny spells. A traditional large windward / leeward “Buchanness” course was set into the stiff southerly wind. The main issue for skippers was the extent of the waves that were forming around the start line area due to the long fetch down the reservoir. Another challenge was that although the wind appeared to be steady there were subtle shifts and in the first few races it became clear that the same side of the course was not always favoured as top skippers were often seen rounding the windward mark well down the fleet. Boat set up also influenced early results as some skippers who had not used their No 3 Rig took a while to find the right tune. Skippers also suffered gear failure, John Owens was first to go with radio transmission problems. Despite making a lakeside repair to a broken wire before the start of the event, this packed up at lunchtime forcing John to retire. Ali Law also retired after Race 10 with water ingress into his receiver and the strong wind found weak points on other boats - broken forestay, jib swivel, sheet lines etc. Racing was close through out the day with Brian Robertson going into lunch as the early leader. He was first to master the conditions with his Topiko but was being pushed hard by the Widgets of Ian Dundas and Ali Law. In the afternoon, Ian found the tune that was missing in the morning and with very consistent results over the day went on to win the event. Brian continued to sail well and finished second overall just ahead of Bill Reid who had started the day with a 20second Starting Advantage. After this dropped off, as a result of scoring 3 times in the top 3, he still went on to score top three results sailing off Scratch. Colin Deakin had a win in Race 7 showing how much he has improved recently. Other results were unfortunately affected by gear failure. The last event in the Early Winter Series will be held at Buchanness on 12 December 2009. All skippers welcome! |
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