Sunshine on Linnhe for a sparkling annual regatta
Lochaber Yacht Club held its annual regatta on Saturday, with six boats taking part in a maritime Tortoise versus Hare event on Loch Linnhe.
The annual event usually takes place over two days in the summer but, like everything, this year was a little different as it was reduced to one day and also became the opening race of the season due to Covid.
Organisers couldn’t have chosen a better day for the weather. Just before the start the breeze increased from a gentle zephyr to a perfect wind for sailing in the sunshine.
The race took the form of a pursuit race where the slowest boat is started first and the faster boats start at a timed distance behind. The faster boats then try to overtake the ‘tortoise’ before the time limit expires.
Two Solings, a small keelboat, a Fireball, a Phantom and a Solo all started at different intervals trying their best to catch up with the speedy tortoise. As the time limit approached it was the Soling Solaris, with LYC Commodore Hamish Loudon at the helm, which just managed to overtake the tortoise, a Solo boat named Cool Dude helmed by Keith Falconer, with Andy McKenna’s Fireball racing machine in hot pursuit.
There were also three club members in kayaks out for a paddle enjoying the summer sunshine and the perfect conditions.
‘It was a long-awaited day and fantastic to see so many boats taking part, getting back to the sport they have missed for so long,’ said Hamish afterwards.
Following the race the galley team had prepared a socially distanced barbecue with lots of tasty treats before the prize giving ceremony took place for the winning sailors with Hamish’s wife Liz presenting the prizes.
‘We had a number of new members taking part this year who have joined the club recently. They got a good insight into what it’s like to sail in the larger Solings after starting their sailing journey learning in dinghies,’ added the commodore. ‘We would like to say a huge thank you to our hard-working group of volunteers who organised the day, the safety boat crew who kept everyone safe on the water, the race officers for monitoring fair play and the galley team for feeding the hungry sailors when they came ashore.’
If you, too, would like to take part in a new, exciting sport then get in touch. LYC consists of a friendly bunch who would love more of the community to experience the joys of messing about on the water.
Club members currently sail on a Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon and can be contacted through their social media channels on Facebook and Instagram, or at the website lochaber-yacht-club.co.uk