clydesailing jan 2010

Since shes's been in the job for 25 years and has even been celebrated on the forum here's a picture of Jen, the defender of IRC and rating office make-it-happen person.

And while on the subject, those of you who don't pay the fees and don't get the IRC yearbook sent to you can read it here.

Also you can read the US version here.

Interesting stuff in both of them.

If you go handicap racing remotely seriously and haven't tried IRC then you should. So there.

When out for a bike ride on Bute the other day we passed Port Bannatyne and stopped to look at the marina. Here it is. I hadn't seen it before but it's definitely open for business.

HSC's winter series kicked off on a grey and bitterly cold Sunday with a good fleet of 20 dinghies 'enjoying' the light to moderate South Easterly. A prompt start at 12:30 allowed us to complete 2 races and get ashore for the Rugby - we should have stayed afloat. The conditions suited the slower boats and lighter sailors; Loch Earn SC's Graham McCubbin - a model of consistency as always leads the series overall in his Europe. With the air temp at about 4degC some interesting head gear was worn by the competitors to keep warm, Chris Laverty's GIMP hat was the pick of the day but too disturbing to capture on camera!

Standing at 421 feet high this Super-Wing designed in Glasgow, Scotland (the unlucky neighbours of the South Coast Shandies on the Solent) is nearly twice the height of USA-17s much vaunted rig. Unlike Uncle Larry's wing though this one is mounted on a monohull design that harks back to the original 1947 design (www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk) and is thus in keeping with "Designed In Country" (DICk) (that Ernie seems to think counts) and constructed in country (CIC) rules as set out in the deed of gift (that Ernie does not seem to think counts). As you can see this latest design also makes use of the change in Rules that Ernie and Brad have brought about and has an engine in it, thus requiring the funnels to let out the steam generated by Larry and Ernie who have kindly agreed to run around on the super large hamster wheels hidden in the depths of the sleek hull and help rotate the wing in the correct orientation for optimum speed.
The "yacht" that leaves tonight from Prestwick international airport on a specially chartered Antonov 225 is sailing under the Burgee of the Woyal Pootang Yacht club with a sail number of GBR69. She will be christened on Sunday afternoon in the Darsena, Valencia by Messrs Billy Wallace and Bonnie Prince Charlie Windsor; she will be known as "Glasvegas Baby!!!" altho there are some legal wrangles over whether she should be called "Discharge of Rhu" or "Weegie scum" in honour of some venerable Clyde yachts of the past.

Dane Ralston is to blame for this one. I'm not sure I understand all
the references but then I don't understand AC33 at all.

The press release begins: "TOBERMORY Single Malt Scotch Whisky is delighted to announce its sponsorship support of West Highland Yachting Week 2010. This year's event marks 63 years of this historic, prestigious and popular regatta and takes place between 30th of July and 6th August. It is Scotland's second largest yachting event and is a unique 'moving regatta' based around Craobh, Oban and Tobermory. West Highland Yachting Week also receives sponsorship from Tunnocks, Argyll and Bute Council and Caledonian MacBrayne. West Coast Motors provide transport during the event." And so on. Sponsorship is not easy to come by so this is good news.

We note with interest that the Tobermory distillery itself is to be the location for some of the social events. The crew of Troikka have a fondness for the Tobermory single malt and if we can't win a bottle we'll be buying one as usual. As everyone knows, Tobermory is where WHYW's best events are to be found -in the Mishnish usually. Also we are pleased to see 2 IRC classes - Class 1a is CYCA <10.75 Class 1b IRC>1.027 Class 3a is CYCA 11-13.75 and 3b is IRC<1.027. I know it's meant to be a 'fun' regatta but I think inclusion of IRC makes a lot of sense and is a welcome addition to the event. Read all about it on the whyw home page

Andy Malcolm asks for the following to be displayed. It looks a bit like a free ad but I'm hoping to do a day with Troikka if we can manage and if we do you'll hear all about it here with pictures. The cost might be a bit of an obstacle for some but I guess there are plenty of us out there who could conceivably benefit from that sort of experience.

This is designed for owners and crew to start the season running and eliminating most of the early season niggles. The day is as follows:
1) Brief with crew and skipper and general inspection of rig and sailplan along with a crew strengths and weakness focus
2) On water ASAP for rig and sail set up. This will focus on sail trim and getting the rig set up to suit the sails and your style of sailing to be explained in detail to all onboard whilst afloat and done in conjunction with Quantum Sail Analysis Software that will be brought onboard with camera and laptop.
3) Break for lunch and debrief.
4) The afternoon is based on crew training on all aspects of sailing -including a general focus of the morning's rig tune and sail trim exercises ensuring trimmers and crew know how to change gear.
5) Debrief and general chat on the days sailing. All sail and rig info will be downloaded and emailed to the owner for future reference and sail / rig monitoring.

The cost is £250 + vat per day. The format can be changed if the owner wishes and also we can do it at a regatta event if you wish: the cost would be adjusted accordingly to include daily expenses. For more details info call Andy Malcolm on 07717278812 or email: amyachting@supanet.com

As one of the most popular one-design small keelboats in the world, the Flying Fifteen is proving to be very popular at many clubs throughout Scotland. With the fleet numbers expanding every year, a travellers series was proposed for the 2010 season with the main aim of encouraging club sailors, who tend to only sail at their own clubs, to travel to similar events elsewhere and to feel welcomed. The Scottish Travellers Series with Saturn Sails and Henri Lloyd as principal sponsors provides everything from standard 4 race weekends to passage racing in the spectacular scenery of the west coast of Scotland.
Five events are to be held with four of them counting towards overall results along with additional prizes of "Furthest travelled" and "Most Improved" amongst others. The Travellers Series is going to be very attractive for club sailors in Scotland, northern England and hopefully Ireland. What will make this a unique series is the great locations. One event has had the fleet surfing through the Dorus Mhor, which anyone who is used to sailing only on lochs or lakes should definitely experience! A warm welcome, great prizes and an unrivalled social scene should make this a series that Flying Fifteen owners shouldn't miss in 2010. The dates are:

Monklands Sailing Club Open Regatta 10th 11th April
Glencoe Boat Club Annual Regatta 25th 26th June
Clyde Corinthian Yacht Club Round Shuna Weekend 28th 29th August
Holy Loch Sailing Club Polaris Regatta 11th 12th September
Loch Lomond Sailing Club Keelboat Weekend 2nd 3rd October