Results / Open Loch Lomond SC - 10/09/2016

Thirteen RS200s were greeted by sunshine, a decent breeze and the smell of bacon rolls and coffee at Loch Lomond SC last weekend. Travellers from Largs, Helensburgh and Aberdeen & Stonehaven, were joined by 5 local boats for the fifth round of the JP Watersports Scottish Tour.

With a SW breeze blowing through the gap between the islands, the race committee set a generous course for the day's racing. Despite the favourable wind direction, it was all about getting the shifts right and finding the gusts as they came through. Local heroes Roger/Rachael showed us all how it's done, winning the first two races followed closely by Josh/Fen (recently back from the Nationals) Chris/Kirsty and Martin/Bill. Chris/Kirsty made the most of the dropping breeze to take the third race, leaving it all to play for on the Sunday.

Loch Lomond surpassed themselves with the Saturday evening social. Charlie's 17th birthday, an amazing BBQ, a boat shed bar and a willing accordion player set the scene. An impromptu ceilidh was the highlight of the evening, where the 200 sailors were definitely shown up by the children. Once everyone had eaten their body weight in cheese, some settled down for the night, while others partied on.

The weather forecasts were correct and the breeze came in and built throughout Sunday. Chris/Kirsty and Roger/Rachael shared the first two wins, with close racing and many place changes throughout the rest of the fleet as well. Josh/Fen's jib track pulled out of the deck in R5, unfortunately dropping them back into the pack. They managed to bodge it enough to finish the day and took third in the last, and windiest, race of the weekend, securing them third overall. The breeze had really got up in the last race, making for exciting downwind legs. Chris/Kirsty split from Roger/Rachael on the first downwind leg, catching a mega gust and giving them the lead, which they held until the end of the race. This gave them the overall win by the smallest of margins. Martin/Bill rounded off the prizes in fourth place.

A huge thanks needs to go to Loch Lomond SC for an excellent event, both on the water and on shore. They really made everyone feel welcome and it was an event well worth travelling to. Hopefully the 200 fleet will meet again next year on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond... But for now, we're all looking forward to the final event of the season - sprints and the AGM at Helensburgh in October.

Chris and Kirsty Perry

Photos courtesy of Stephen Couch