Clydesailing

Hurr-rah! I found the backup after all. As if any of you care that a lot of old photos will be stored here...

Anyway, I have long intended to do an SJ320 page so if you can be bothered have a look. It's a bit of a personal account and isn't finished yet. The link is on the sidebar.

Wouldn't you know it. I was sure that if I rummaged long enough I'd find a CD with all of the old site content on it. Did I? Of course not. That's electronic media for you I suppose. Just move on. But there is a fair bit that is restorable and I hope to resume normal service as soon as possible.

I was browsing the IRC Yearbook which arrived today. According to the adverts the X35 has over 100 orders already. Most impressive. Wonder if the First 34.7 will get near that? It seems paradoxificacious btw that in the USA where they don't have metres it's to be called the Beneteau 10R while in Europe where feet don't exist it's the 34.7 even though it's actually 33.8 feet loa. In the performance 34 foot wars the poor old Bavaria Match 35 which was so widely hyped this time last year seems to have made a disappointing impact.....Sigma 33 replacement - I think not.

Another advert which caught my eye was a full page one for Seaquest yachts no less. Listing the Seaquest 32 (nee the wonderful SJ320) , Prima 38 and Seaquest 36 the address is the sales office on the hamble. Last year's story was that having gone into liquidation they were to be built in Dubai but the old web site hasn't been updated and they have no presence at Excel.

Also in the IRC yearbook is a lot of stuff about the adoption of IRC in the USA. Their existing systems are so rubbish that they are much more into one-design than over here. Now is that really a bad thing? Anyway IRC seems to be happening but I think it'll take them as long to shake off PHRF as it is taking us to shake off CYCA - not that CYCA doesn't have its place. Still, it has to be encouraging for IRC and if you currently race on the Clyde in CYCA why not think about going IRC for 2006? It's not that fancy, you don't have to get your boat weighed and in our opinion it just makes for generally better racing with a bit less opportunity for handicap moaning. Yes it costs more but how much do you spend on beer in a sailing season? But if you're a pothunter and currently have one of those jammy CYCA numbers then you won't want to know

A little bit more on the refurbishment of the site: Please note that the 'contact us' link has been moved to the top of the menu bar and is now entitled 'email Chas!!!' Please use it. It works. We have to use the form thingmy as I can't publish my email address here or I'd be deluged within the week with the usual garbage about viagra and penile enlargement. The latest idea is to try to run this page as a kind of blog thing with the new content at the top. Sort of like the way Sailing Anarchy does only not quite so professionally.

Unfortunately, the scabrous thieving dogs who provide the webspace have taken it upon themselves to delete absolutely all of the previous content which means that at present none of the links work. I do have a backup of most of it somewhere (and there's a lot of it accumulated over the years) and when I find it I'll gradually upload what I can, while doing a bit of an overhaul as the work proceeds. It'sa bit of bummer to say the least. So we're not fans of Brightview.com any more. Please don't contact me just to inform me of broken links. If you find any links that actually work meantime then regard that as a bonus.

A very happy New Year to you and apologies to loyal readers for Clydesailing having been off the air for some weeks. We have been uprooting ourselves to a new location and despite wrangling with BT to get our massive servers - well ok, our humble pc- back online what with one thing and another and several buckets of emulsion paint we have failed to keep up. Now however, having found another shilling for the meter, we are back on and ready for almost anything.

It's that time of year when most of the good sailing is in the southern hemisphere but there will be plenty to look forward to in 2006. We passed on the Kip New Year race (which I'm told was quite well attended with a decent wee breeze too) but will put a Clyde racing calendar up here as soon as one comes our way. We were interested to see that there is a new upper Clyde regatta proposed for IRC yachts and to be held 2 weeks after the Scottish Series. That's usually about when the Cove Regatta is held but any new IRC event is to be welcomed in my opinion. Incidentally the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series is 26-29 May and you can place your entry now.

We had a quite enjoyable 2005 season on Troika. The Scottish Series was pretty mixed for us and after that we ran into problems finding crew at weekends. However we had a lot of wednesday evening fun with an assortment of enthusiasts including some figures from Playing FT$E. and ended up winning Class 1 in the final Fairlie points series at Kip. I was quite pleased to be presented with a musto jaiket as a prize for that but at the annual Fairlie prizegiving we were (in absentio) presented with a weird jug thing and a wee metal boat flying a spinnaker and with a watch embedded in the close hauled mainsail- illustrated below. How cool is that? Speaking of prizes, in case anyone was wondering, we never actually came across the large cash prize we allegedly won for the Tarbert return race after the Scottish Series.

At this stage I'm not at all sure what our programme will be in 2006. It all depends on what the crew situation is. Hopefully we'll find people to do the main Clyde events with us and with the right crew on board I think we can do quite well. In 2005 we've learned a lot about making Troika go and when we can avoid the awful mess-ups we usually find we are up there or thereabouts. A couple of big folk 12 stone plus make a huge difference on the rail and if you are one of those and know a bit about sailing we would particularly like to hear from you.

We don't have plans to visit the Excel London Boat Show this year. The stand-out newcomer of interest to us is the Beneteau 34.7. I think this is a boat which would be well suited to the Clyde but I believe that most of the 2006 production has been snapped up already and that few if any will be seen up here in 2006. However if any of you are there and would be willing to send in some words or pics then please do so.

Here's a nice picture with a bit of sunshine to relieve the winter gloom. It's the start of the Sydney-Hobart which as you probably know by now was won by the 98 foot Maxi 'Wild Oats' setting a new record. You can click on the photo for greater effect. Dream on.

Others don't have to dream. We see that Ken Grant has had Tigh Solius shipped over to the US for Key West Race Week which starts Jan 16th. This is the only Scottish entry to what looks, as usual, like a fantastic race week. The entry list is amazing: Ok at 287 entries the Scottish is similar but look at the quality- 8 TP52s, 25 Farr 40s, 16 Swan 45s, 29 J105s etc etc - very nearly two thirds of the entry is one design and there are many top names in there. The TP52 looks pretty good. We think Jonathon Anderson should buy one to replace that big bendytoy barge.

ps - There is a new web site for the ever more affordable 1720 sportsboat

Clydesailing is back..almost
Sailing and yacht racing on the Clyde and West Coast of Scotland
email Chas !!! Discussion *2005 Event calendar* Race Reports SJ320 -New!! At Kip Marina Picture gallery Weather Club guide The Clyde Obsolete Features Trappers Dinghies 1720 Links Non sailing stuff holiday cottage	Hurr-rah! I found the backup after all. As if any of you care that a lot of old photos will be stored here... Anyway, I have long intended to do an SJ320 page so if you can be bothered have a look. It's a bit of a personal account and isn't finished yet. The link is on the sidebar. Wouldn't you know it. I was sure that if I rummaged long enough I'd find a CD with all of the old site content on it. Did I? Of course not. That's electronic media for you I suppose. Just move on. But there is a fair bit that is restorable and I hope to resume normal service as soon as possible. I was browsing the IRC Yearbook which arrived today. According to the adverts the X35 has over 100 orders already. Most impressive. Wonder if the First 34.7 will get near that? It seems paradoxificacious btw that in the USA where they don't have metres it's to be called the Beneteau 10R while in Europe where feet don't exist it's the 34.7 even though it's actually 33.8 feet loa. In the performance 34 foot wars the poor old Bavaria Match 35 which was so widely hyped this time last year seems to have made a disappointing impact.....Sigma 33 replacement - I think not. Another advert which caught my eye was a full page one for Seaquest yachts no less. Listing the Seaquest 32 (nee the wonderful SJ320) , Prima 38 and Seaquest 36 the address is the sales office on the hamble. Last year's story was that having gone into liquidation they were to be built in Dubai but the old web site hasn't been updated and they have no presence at Excel. Also in the IRC yearbook is a lot of stuff about the adoption of IRC in the USA. Their existing systems are so rubbish that they are much more into one-design than over here. Now is that really a bad thing? Anyway IRC seems to be happening but I think it'll take them as long to shake off PHRF as it is taking us to shake off CYCA - not that CYCA doesn't have its place. Still, it has to be encouraging for IRC and if you currently race on the Clyde in CYCA why not think about going IRC for 2006? It's not that fancy, you don't have to get your boat weighed and in our opinion it just makes for generally better racing with a bit less opportunity for handicap moaning. Yes it costs more but how much do you spend on beer in a sailing season? But if you're a pothunter and currently have one of those jammy CYCA numbers then you won't want to know A little bit more on the refurbishment of the site: Please note that the 'contact us' link has been moved to the top of the menu bar and is now entitled 'email Chas!!!' Please use it. It works. We have to use the form thingmy as I can't publish my email address here or I'd be deluged within the week with the usual garbage about viagra and penile enlargement. The latest idea is to try to run this page as a kind of blog thing with the new content at the top. Sort of like the way Sailing Anarchy does only not quite so professionally. Unfortunately, the scabrous thieving dogs who provide the webspace have taken it upon themselves to delete absolutely all of the previous content which means that at present none of the links work. I do have a backup of most of it somewhere (and there's a lot of it accumulated over the years) and when I find it I'll gradually upload what I can, while doing a bit of an overhaul as the work proceeds. It'sa bit of bummer to say the least. So we're not fans of Brightview.com any more. Please don't contact me just to inform me of broken links. If you find any links that actually work meantime then regard that as a bonus. A very happy New Year to you and apologies to loyal readers for Clydesailing having been off the air for some weeks. We have been uprooting ourselves to a new location and despite wrangling with BT to get our massive servers - well ok, our humble pc- back online what with one thing and another and several buckets of emulsion paint we have failed to keep up. Now however, having found another shilling for the meter, we are back on and ready for almost anything. It's that time of year when most of the good sailing is in the southern hemisphere but there will be plenty to look forward to in 2006. We passed on the Kip New Year race (which I'm told was quite well attended with a decent wee breeze too) but will put a Clyde racing calendar up here as soon as one comes our way. We were interested to see that there is a new upper Clyde regatta proposed for IRC yachts and to be held 2 weeks after the Scottish Series. That's usually about when the Cove Regatta is held but any new IRC event is to be welcomed in my opinion. Incidentally the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series is 26-29 May and you can place your entry now. We had a quite enjoyable 2005 season on Troika. The Scottish Series was pretty mixed for us and after that we ran into problems finding crew at weekends. However we had a lot of wednesday evening fun with an assortment of enthusiasts including some figures from Playing FT$E. and ended up winning Class 1 in the final Fairlie points series at Kip. I was quite pleased to be presented with a musto jaiket as a prize for that but at the annual Fairlie prizegiving we were (in absentio) presented with a weird jug thing and a wee metal boat flying a spinnaker and with a watch embedded in the close hauled mainsail- illustrated below. How cool is that? Speaking of prizes, in case anyone was wondering, we never actually came across the large cash prize we allegedly won for the Tarbert return race after the Scottish Series. At this stage I'm not at all sure what our programme will be in 2006. It all depends on what the crew situation is. Hopefully we'll find people to do the main Clyde events with us and with the right crew on board I think we can do quite well. In 2005 we've learned a lot about making Troika go and when we can avoid the awful mess-ups we usually find we are up there or thereabouts. A couple of big folk 12 stone plus make a huge difference on the rail and if you are one of those and know a bit about sailing we would particularly like to hear from you. We don't have plans to visit the Excel London Boat Show this year. The stand-out newcomer of interest to us is the Beneteau 34.7. I think this is a boat which would be well suited to the Clyde but I believe that most of the 2006 production has been snapped up already and that few if any will be seen up here in 2006. However if any of you are there and would be willing to send in some words or pics then please do so. Here's a nice picture with a bit of sunshine to relieve the winter gloom. It's the start of the Sydney-Hobart which as you probably know by now was won by the 98 foot Maxi 'Wild Oats' setting a new record. You can click on the photo for greater effect. Dream on. Others don't have to dream. We see that Ken Grant has had Tigh Solius shipped over to the US for Key West Race Week which starts Jan 16th. This is the only Scottish entry to what looks, as usual, like a fantastic race week. The entry list is amazing: Ok at 287 entries the Scottish is similar but look at the quality- 8 TP52s, 25 Farr 40s, 16 Swan 45s, 29 J105s etc etc - very nearly two thirds of the entry is one design and there are many top names in there. The TP52 looks pretty good. We think Jonathon Anderson should buy one to replace that big bendytoy barge. ps - There is a new web site for the ever more affordable 1720 sportsboat Old 2005 pages Jan 2005 Feb 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 05 June 2005 July 2005
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	Our Clydesailing discussion board remains an excellent place to share sailing opinions, lies and fantasies. We are also extremely keen to include any news, reports or pictures which you think might be of interest and if you have any retrospective stories or pictures of your 2004 season please send them to us and they'll definitely be used.
Chas, the author of this site, is owner of Troika (ex Little Bear) an SJ320 which along with his family and mates he races and cruises from the Clyde. Previously he was the owner of Troy. I'd be interested in any comments on the site and will respond to any questions. If you are new to sailing on the Clyde and have any questions or interest please email me. I'll either try to answer them myself or point you to someone who can. You can use the reply page to email me.