2026 MYA Scottish District IOM Travellers 1 – Forfar Loch, 18th April 2026
Hosted by Tayside RSC at Forfar Loch, the first MYA Scottish District IOM Travellers event of 2026 was held. Twelve skippers assembled from five clubs all over Scotland plus one skipper from the south of England. A range of IOM designs and construction types were entered – some were fibre glass (Cheinz 2, Venti, BritPop!), some wooden (Buzz 3, Corbie 6 and Reason) and some 3D printed (Alioth and Proteus).
As the 11.00 start time drew near, was it A or B rig in the fresh westerly breeze which was right on the cusp between A and B with lulls favouring the A rig and the downwind gusts favouring the B rig on the long windward – leeward course. Some chose the A rig and others the smaller B rig with both being right some of the time but of course neither being correct all the time. By the middle of the morning session, all the boats were on B rigs to cope with the increasing wind and waves.
By the end of the event, 15 races were completed and thus just two discards from the total race scores. Ian Dundas was the clear winner from Brian Summers’ 3D printed Proteus which seemed to have an upwind advantage but Ian used the superior downwind speed of his Australian designed Cheinz 2 to come out on top. John Owens made up the podium sailing into third spot with his Spanish designed Venti. Not to be outdone in a competitive days racing, Ted Johnston, Gordon Allison and Colin McGinnis scored all first places in individual races.
A big thank you to Tayside RSC for hosting the event and to Forfar Sailing and Watersports Club for the excellent catering!
Photos (copyright John Carmichael)
