We quickly found out that sailing the boat had become a lot easier and the boat was now nicely balanced. We could gradually bring on the back edge with out stalling the keel and on flat water in about 10 to 12 kts achieve better numbers than the VPP. As with all short-overlapped headsail boats the halyard and sheet tension become more critical. The reason for this as with short chord length keels when the airflow going across the sail becomes unattached it has no time to re-establish before reaching the leech. Dirty air is a prime example the boat speed tumbles straight away when approaching any dirt at all.
The new carbon mast although not dramatically lighter than the alloy mast was a little stiffer and allowed us to transmit more load down the forestay than before. This was very useful when pushing the light jib to its maximum allowing us not to change headsails when the wind was dancing around the 13kts.
Our score was a 3,1,3,3,5,1,BFD,4. 2nd overall in class
An enjoyable series in a rewarding boat to sail with a group of guys which got along well together and made it a pleasure to sail.
Ian & Graham Thomson with the team on "Sloop John T" put in some good results with 2 firsts and a couple of seconds and finished 4th in class. They showed real pace upwind using their new Medium No1 and with Ramsey Dunlop doing tactics they were all ways a threat.
Class 3
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In Class 3 John Corson's Elan 333 "Salamander 16" is always well prepared and a good all rounder. John had new rudder bearings fitted just before the series; these helped to transmit a little more feel through the helm at the lower wind speeds. We made a new kevlar mainsail and No1 for the series which were slightly tweaked from last years shapes to help the boat speed up quicker through the powering up stage.
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John's regular team of Stephen, Richard, Derek, Stevie A and Big Dave handle the boat superbly in all conditions. They were all motivated to winning the class after coming second in class for the last 2 years. Third time lucky had nothing to do with there win overall. They sailed the boat well showed real pace all round the course and put in a consistent set of results.
Salamanders score 1,1,9,3,4,1,5,2. 1st overall in class
Also in class 3 was Raymond Killops with "Eauvation Bleau" from Strangford loch. Raymond changed boats last year from his Arcadia "Eauvation" (Dave Clarks old boat) to the Elan333. Their team is now starting to get to grips with the boat and got a 1,2,3 placing during the series.
Class 4
Dave Clark and his crew with "Eauvation" now a First 33.7 had their work cut out with the conditions against the lighter yachts but still put in a creditable performance with a score of 4,5,2,4,4,2,5,9 to finish fifth in class.
Class 5
This CYCA class saw some very close racing with finishing times often down to seconds. Gordon Aikman with "Scanne" showed that he had the speed, consistency and ability even when conditions did not suit the boat to still put in the results. The "Scanne" team insured there victory of the class on the last day from "Swedish Lady" making sure that its result would not be better than third.
Scannes score 1,2,1,1,3,6. 1st overall in class
Class 6
Another CYCA class that saw some results with finishing times down to a few seconds which ensured good racing for that class. Wilson Malone and team sailed "Ailish 2" a S+S 34 to a convincing victory, beating another veteran class the swan 36 "Valhalla".
Ailish scores 1,1,2,1,2,1. 1st overall in class
"Trillian" and "Lindisfarne 2" also put in some results with a 2,3 and a 2 respectively. "Lidisfarne 2" a Moody 33 doing well to finish fourth in class considering the moderate breeze we had for the series.
Class 7
That perennial "Upstart" a Highlander 28 under new ownership to Elizabeth Thomas showed it still has the speed with Elizabeth and her team showing little signs of weakness by dominating this class.
Upstart's score 1,1,2,1,1,1. 1st overall in class
Another consistent performer is Colin Davidson with "Sula" a Maxi 84 from Girvan he managed some places with 2,3,2, and finished third in class.
Class 8
This restricted sail class had a variety of yachts and rigs racing in it however it was John & Hilary Connelly sailing "Aztec" their Sunfast 40 which dominated. Martin Broadbent and crew in "Sea-Quin" a Fantasi 44ph came second with 2,2,2,2,1,3 using their new kevlar taffeta reefing Genoa showed good performance for 16 ton yacht. "Blue Squirrel" a Sun Magic 44 using a new Dacron Genoa was the first in mast reefing mainsail boat and sailed well to finish fourth considering the light moderate conditions.
