Sailability Scotland SCIO T4 at Loch Earn Sailing Club
by Stephen Thomas Bate 8 Aug 2019 10:38 UTC
3-4 August 2019
Duncan Greenhalgh during the Sailability Scotland SCIO T4 Regatta at Loch Earn © Dianne Donaldson
Sailability Scotland SCIO's fourth Challenger Traveller Regatta took place over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of August, 2019. Seven sailors took part from five different clubs in Scotland.
All sailors had arrived by Friday afternoon. A few stayed up late in the evening and by popular demand, to be entertained by Stephen, singing with his guitar.
Saturday dawned with pleasant sunshine. The forecast F1 never materialised, and the 1st race started with a steady F3, gusting F4. Duncan Greenhalgh was first to the windward mark, closely followed by the other sailors, a lead that he would not relinquish. Coming to the finish line, Stephen Thomas Bate was in 2nd. However, a poor tactical decision caused him to be caught right on the line by Ronnie Cameron and Alex Hodge.
The second race before lunch followed a similar pattern to the first. Stephen had his best finish of the regatta in 3rd. However, he could not catch Alex, who had a tactical and experience advantage to finish 2nd, with Duncan again taking the win.
After lunch, the Race Officer made the decision to take advantage of the favourable conditions, by having two further races, back-to-back. The Sunday forecast was for benign wind. The course was altered slightly, taking out the leeward mark, which was now in a wind shadow. The third race was again won by Duncan, who again, led from the front. Alex finished 2nd, with Ronnie finishing third, following a ding-dong battle with Stephen.
The fourth race followed the same pattern as the previous one, with Duncan, Alex, and Ronnie leading the way, with Dorothy Bennett in 4th.
Sunday dawned to damp conditions. However, overnight rain had not dampened the competitor's enthusiasm. The wind had picked up a little, but still a F4, with some adopting more appropriate sailing attire, in anticipation of wetter conditions.
The RO set a triangular course, presumably to avoid any overlap with club sailing. Duncan again led from the front. However, the surprise was Dorothy's turn of speed, shocking everybody, including Duncan. They had a battle to the windward mark. Duncan reached it just before Dorothy, who kept up with him across to the wing mark. However, on the long run to the leeward mark, Duncan's experience and skill helped him pull away. The race finished with Duncan first, followed by Dorothy, her highest finish at the regatta, with Alex in 3rd.
Overall Results:
1st Duncan Greenhalgh (Bassenthwaite Sailing Club)
2nd Alex Hodge (Clyde Cruising Club)
3rd Ronnie Cameron (Clyde Cruising Club)
4th Dorothy Bennett (Clyde Cruising Club)
5th Stephen Thomas Bate (Annandale Sailing Club)
6th Jim Donaldson (Fife Sailability)
7th Steve Laycock (South West Scotland Sailability)
A special thanks to Loch Earn Sailing Club for hosting a superb event with fantastic facilities. We always receive a warm welcome, with wonderful shore crew aiding the sailors in launching and recovering their Challengers.
If you live in Scotland and would like to know more about the Challenger, or would like to know more about accessible sailing, please contact or visit our website, www.sailabilityscotland.org.uk