IOM Scottish Travellers Event 3 – Brechin – 12th July 2008

Report by Ian Dundas    Score Sheet

The steady increase in participation at IOM Scottish Travellers continued with 22 skippers from all of the 6 clubs in the Scottish District turning up to sail at Brechin in the third event of the series. This easily beats the previous record of 18 boats.

Boyd Baird who was a late substitute for Race Officer had his work cut out to contend with organising the large entry into heats and to deal with an awkward wind that was forecast as strong from the north but was in fact shifty and from the south.

Racing started with seeding races using the starting advantage system developed over the past couple of years giving 10 of the less experienced skippers a 20 second advantage at the start. It became clear from the outset that the fickle wind would have a bearing on results with leading boats often getting stuck in holes and congestion at mark rounding meant boats could pick up or lose several places.

Richard Costigan sailing his newly acquired Lintel was delighted to win the first seeding race and Steve Taylor sailing his self built Zig Zag continued his recent form to win the other.

Racing continued over the morning with skippers gradually getting to grips with the wind and the topography of the Brechin lake. Racing was very competitive which meant there were often close calls or bumps at the start and at the windward marks. Scratch sailors were finding it hard to catch those with starting advantages.

Hugh Shields sailing his own Wee McShee design got off to a good start with enough top three finishes to lose his starting advantage. He went into the lunch break in the lead followed by Steve Taylor, Colin McGinnis, Ian Dundas, John Matheson and Richard Costigan. Several skippers were struggling in the conditions and posted some high scores which they hoped they could drop when the discards came in.

After the usual excellent lunch in the Brechin Castle Centre the wind strengthened and swung back to a Northerly direction requiring the course to be reversed. Like the wind there was a reversal of fortunes as some of the early leaders dropped back and others found their form.

In the end Ian Dundas with his Widget won the event posting a very consistent run of results. John Matheson came second and then with only 2 points separating the next 3 positions, Ali Law came third, Robert Rooney fourth and Steve Taylor fifth. The spread of only 7 points between second and fifth demonstrated how close the racing had been.

Prizes were awarded to Dick McBride and Jimmy Rodgers for their improved performance combined with good sportsmanship.

Thanks were given to the race team of Boyd Baird, Ian Hodgsen, Albert Ireland and Andrew Haxton who adapted to the large fleet and kept the racing running. The conditions and the small lake at Brechin meant there were more on the water incidents than normal showing the importance of good race observers and early communication between skippers.

Top placings were: