Nd Yachting Week
another first out of the bag from Grand Cru and Ajax in Class 4 while in Class 6 the mighty Glenafton was back to winning form from Valhalla of Ashton and Mystic Sun. Malindi of Lorne again won from Judy Orr’s Eureka and Alistair Gay’s Orwell Lass.
Andrew McKeown’s 707 Partial Pressure won Class 7’s first race with Respectable, the Mustang 30 of Tony Wright taking first over Partial Pressure and Sorr of Appin second time round.
Popcorn won both races in Class 8 with Gigha and Lady Ex, the Extrovert 22 of Ben Shelley and family finishing second and third respectively in Race 1. Scintilla of the Sea took second in Race 2 and Hot Toddy squeezed out Lady Ex for third in the second race by just four seconds
Tobermory to Oban
Forecast light winds for the final race from Tobermory to Oban sponsored by Thomas Tunnock Ltd did not bode well but from the spinnaker start in Tobermory Bay the fleet never lost the breeze, albeit at stages, patchy. Close fetching with kites was the way to go for the Tunnock’s Fleet with those in the Tunnock’s Fleet who managed to fly spinnakers till Fuinary making great gains. All apart from the Argyll Fleet spinnakers set kites for the run to the finish off Lismore. Aurora sealed the win in Class 1 finishing first over Satisfaction and Blue Jay. Jammin was second in the points series overall with Aunt Jessie third.
Reflection similarly pulled out another first to secure their class and subsequent overall title win.
Murray Findlay’s Boxcar was second on the final day’s racing in Class 3 and Carmen II third. On points Carmen II finished second overall with Lucky Ned Pepper third.
In Class 2 Golden Fox won from Sunrise and Anne and Andrew Campbell’s Ajax but this wasn’t enough to eclipse the Chalmers family of another class win on only eight points. Golden Fox finished second overall with Firestarter third in the class points series.
Magdaleyne took the trophy from Tobermory to Oban in Class 5 from Sea-Pie of Cultra and Leaky Roof II. On points overall however it was to be Leaky Roof II’s day winning the class from Sea-Pie of Cultra and Magdaleyne.
And the win in Class 6 for Tangle o’ the Isles was enough to secure overall class victory on only nine points. Valhalla of Ashton was second overall in class with St Bridget third.
Craig Corson’s team on Salamander XXII pulled a flyer to win the final race by over two minutes from the 707 Rammie of Mike Fleming with Cool Bandit 2 in third. This win secured class victory for Salamander. It was certainly to be victory roll for the Moody 336s with Cool Bandit 2 and Stuart Hamilton’s Piecemaker finishing second and third to Salamander overall.
It was also to be Popcorn’s day from Hot Toddy and Lady Ex and this reflected the points series in class with Popcorn first overall.
Malindi of Lorne also took a first from Eureka and Kelana on the final day but it was to be Kelana lifting the Class 9 silverware from Orwell Lass and Cantata II. This was a close called class with all three yachts finishing within one point of each other.
Special trophies
Aurora was presented with the MacBrayne Centenary Challenge Cup for the yacht making the fastest passage in the Craobh to Oban Race. Salamander lifted the Oban Bicentenary Trophy for the best corrected time in this race and also the Angus Meldrum Trophy for the best corrected time for the Oban to Tobermory race. Salamander also won the Iona Shop Trophy for the fastest corrected time over the three passage races.
Reflection took The British Waterways Trophy for the best corrected time for the Tobermory to Oban race. Hot Toddy won the John G Maxwell Trophy for the best points in Class 8 sailed by a member of Royal Highland Yacht Club. The West Highland Week Family Trophy for the best family yacht was awarded to White Lady – this was the family’s first regatta and first racing together as a family. The top prize of The Peter Cocks Trophy went to Reflection for the best overall performance throughout the series.
The final prize-giving barbecue and dance was hosted by Dunstaffnage Marina. The extensive social programme included a raft of entertainment, music and food at the Lord of the Isles at Craobh, the Oban Sailing Club barbecue and music and food at the Grand Kerrera Party at Oban Marina. The Wide Mouthed Frog put on a special WHYW menu during the week. Family swimming at Atlantis Leisure Centre was also on offer.
The midweek prize-giving took place in the Argyllshire Gathering Halls with dancing to the Stillwater rock’n’roll band and in Tobermory the Mad Ferrets played to a packed Mishnish each night.
A new initiative this year was to invite competitors to write a blog of their day’s racing. This proved successful with posts on the WHYW Facebook site accompanied by photos from Yachting Images.
Joint regatta committee chairman Beppo BuchananSmith said: ‘WHYW remains a unique combination of yacht racing in stunning scenery and family participation. It’s been a year for Clyde-based boats with Aurora taking the Class 1 trophy, Salamander the Class 5 win and the Iona Shop Trophy for the passage races as well as Reflection winning both class and the Peter Cocks Memorial Trophy.
‘However, local boats were to the fore as well with Tangle o’ the Isles and Popcorn winning their respective classes. But it’s not just about the racing. The sight of a white inflatable unicorn being towed round Tobermory Bay to much hilarity and snorkelling with otters in Craobh will be lasting memories, as will White Lady collecting the Family Trophy for their first regatta.’
Beppo added: ‘The generous support from Tunnock’s as the principal sponsor ensures the fleet can compete with full committee boat cover and safety support and we are delighted to be joined by Scottish Sea Farms, Tobermory Harbour, West Coast Motors, Argyll and Bute Council, Dunstaffnage Marina and Owen Sails. Without such support, we would struggle to put on such an event.’
Dates for the 2019 event are July 26 to August 2. Full results on www.whyw.co.uk and reports on Facebook.