Tarbert 2009
Class Championships 2009
Tarbert, Loch Fyne
This year’s class championships took place in Loch Fyne, a more stunning venue it would be hard to find. The beautiful harbour of East Tarbert became home for the three day event which was held as an independent championship within the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series.
Seven windward/leeward races were held over three days of the May Bank holiday. Day 1 and ‘Fickle Fyne’ lived up to its reputation with light winds proving impossible for even the locals to read as holes appeared randomly over the course. After the first two races it was Northern Irish boat Mithril that led the 15 boat fleet with a 3rd and a 1st. In second place was Donald McLaren in Helensburgh based Sigmatic who won the first race but only managed sixth in the second. However, a 13th in the third race put Ross Boyd’s Mithril back in the pack and allowed Sigmatic in 4th place to share the overall lead at the end of the first day with Northern Irish Class Captain Robin Armstrong in Signet whose 1st in the last place put him first equal on points.
With sun and temperatures in the 70s we could be forgiven for thinking we had arrived in heaven. But the locals were convinced that we had been lucky enough to witness the Scottish Summer and quite right they turned out to be as we awoke on Saturday to grey skies and strong gusting winds.
Prolonged spells of 30 knots produced broken masts and shredded sails all over the Loch but the 33s came through the day unscathed despite Tim Goodbody’s best attempts to sink his boat with the most spectacular Chinese gybe. White Mischief, last years Class Champion, survived the moment and a sound 3rd and 4th on Saturday meant an outside chance of retaining the crown even after two poor results the previous day..
Four of five races into a championship a pattern usually starts to emerge. Not here – such was the standard of racing that relatively minor mistakes proved very costly and positions changed with monotonous regularity. Making Waves chartered by Scott Chalmers won the first race but it was Sigmatic which registered its second win of the series in race 5 to consolidate his first place in the series who was beginning to look like the boat to beat. Another northern irish boat Fandango who, with a brace of second places on day 2 had slipped in under the radar to threaten compatriot Signet in second place overall.
Three races on Sunday to complete the championships and one bad slip from Sigmatic would leave the door open for one of the Northern Irish boats to steal the event. But it wasn’t to be – a 2nd 4th and another 1st meant an outstanding series performance and the class championship for Sigmatic.
Fandango’s 4th and 2nd on the last day was enough to give Terence Fair and Paul Prentice second place with Signet taking third.
Special mention of Allan Fraser’s Prospero of Hamble who with help from various BBC colleagues had sailed the boat from the Solent to take part. He managed a creditable 8th for his efforts but, most importantly, along with Class chairman Jeff Worboys in chartered boat The White Tub, gave the event a Solent presence.
Dinner and prizegiving took place in a packed Anchor Hotel. The Commodore of the Clyde Cruising Club thanked the class for choosing to hold its championship as part of the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series and Jeff Worboys in turn thanked the CCC for its smooth running of the event and made special mention of race officer, Ian Thompson, for coping with the near impossible task of laying marks in 180 metres of water. There was also a big thank you to Roy Summers for his efforts on behalf of the Class in making all the arrangements to enable the 2009 championships to be staged in Scotland.
Donald McLaren will wear the crown as Class Champion 2009 and we hope to see him defend it in next year’s class championships scheduled for Cowes Week 2010.