North East Clubs 2008 Early Series Event 2 – Aberdeen – 16th February 2008
Report by John Owens (RO) Full results (pdf file)
If there was to be a headline it would be “The Day of the Woodies” with three of the top four places going to wooden hulls sailed by a skipper from each of the NE Scotland clubs – Ali Law from Buchanness, Neil Jardine from Brechin and Steve Taylor from Aberdeen. Brian Robertson was the only plastic boat in the top four. So, to fuel any friendly rivalry between the “plastic” and wooden skippers, the gauntlet has been firmly thrown down for the two events to be held in March !
With a frosty start to the day, fortunately there was no ice on Inchgarth reservoir. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light SW breeze. Thus, as we were on the north shore, we were looking directly into the sun. With a mirror-like surface to the water, this provided an excellent alibi for those who enjoyed the occasional waltz with the marker buoys. Nevertheless, once the observer had reassured the skipper that indeed the buoy had not spontaneously spun just as their boat rounded, penalty turns were take in good humour. The now normal practice of one skipper per race acting as observer (and gaining an automatic 3rd place) worked well. All protests were dealt with on the water which was a mark of the good spirit enjoyed throughout the day.
The wind conditions varied throughout the day changing from light SW in the morning, to almost nothing around midday to light SE after lunch. The race team of John Owens & Steve Taylor (with advice from Ali) tried to make the most of the conditions and to make the day interesting and fun. Thus, the course was varied as was the length and number of laps.
Three skippers with starting advantages sailed the event. It was great to welcome Gordon Milne and Peter Lowe to the NE Travellers. Their starting advantages were adjusted to reflect the conditions and course changes. T he system worked well as all 10 skippers gained at least one top-three finish (besides their observer’s 3rd place!). Following a diffident morning, Mel Percival put in some excellent results in the afternoon to storm up the field to fourth by the end of the day. Peter Lowe, skippering a TS2, not renowned for performing in light airs, put in a commendable effort. If he had sailed the first two races, who knows how far up he might have gone? Colin Deakin, Jimmy Bisset and Shakey Bill had a close tussle with Jimmy just coming out on top having this week missed most of the buoys and kept course side! But the main competition with very close racing was at the top between Neil Jardine and Ali Law. In several races, there were very few boat lengths between them but Ali generally had his nose ahead and it is noteworthy that out of 10 races he recorded 6 wins.
In summary, beautiful day, could have done with a bit more wind, good humour and sportsmanship on & off the water, well done “The Woodies” and a pleasure to participate.
First 3 positions were:
- Ali Law – Buchanness – 11 points
- Neil Jardine – Brechin – 15 points
- Brian Robertson – Buchaness – 28 points