2008 Regatta Reports
The Stromness vs Holm interclub event took place on Sunday the 7th September in Stromness. Five snipes from each club took part, cumulative points from all competitors were used to determine the winning club.
Stromness
Holm
Stromness Regatta was held on Saturday, 23 August 2008. The main dinghy results are given below.
Smyril won both the allcomers and mixed centreboards races. Wild Goose did well to win out of a twelve boat snipe fleet.
Snipe
Mixed Centreboards
Allcomers
There was a strong cold Northerly wind on Saturday 12th July. The breeze gave flat water with gusty shifty conditions for the boats racing in the inaugural Holm Yachts and Singlehanders Regatta.
Yachts:
Five yachts took part, having a passage race from Houton to the St. Mary's pier. The boats had a fast broad reach all the way to St. Mary´s Bay, where they had a break for lunch before setting off for a long race in Scapa Flow. Due to the strong wind there was some concern as to whether the yachts had actually set off from Houton. The tops of the masts were spotted over behind the headland at about 12:45. It was a spectacular sight for the small crowd gathered at the end of the pier, watching the deeply reefed yachts race to the finish. Shiant, skippered by Bob Farrer, won both races on handicap.
Dinghies:
Four lasers took part in the first race, two of which retired shortly after the start. Ian Rushbrook and Andrew Leslie were having close racing, changing places at times. Ian Rushbrook was leading in Solitaire when disaster struck; his mast folded while sailing downwind. This left Warspite the only competitor to complete the race.
A Topper (Kirsten Napier) and three Picos (Robbie Stevenson, Malcolm Gordon, Pete Tipler) started a morning race, but retired due to the strong wind.
Due to the difficult conditions it was decided to break after the first race till after lunch, in the hope that the wind would abate. The breeze didn't change much, nevertheless four boats took to the water. Warspite went out for more punishment, along with two picos and a topper. Warspite was the first to cross the finish line, but was beaten on handicap by Malcolm Gordon in a pico. Kirsten Napier from Shetland finished a creditable third in her topper, with it´s small 4.2m2 sail.
The sailing conditions were quite tough for the competitors, with boats going over regularly. The safety boats did a great job to ensure the event proceeded safely. Many thanks to all those who helped make the event a success, including Orkney Sailing Club for lending Picos for the day.
Saturday´s light Easterly breeze provided tricky racing conditions for the boats taking part in Longhope´s annual regatta. There was a good turn out of 27 boats, including local Fireballs, an Enterprise and a Merlin Rocket. Dominating the dinghy fleet were the eight Snipes, which travelled from Holm and Stromness Sailing Clubs to compete.
A figure of eight course was raced, providing a beat to the first mark as well as to the finish. An excellent course for the weather conditions.
Class races were held in the morning, followed by an Allcomers race in the afternoon after a break for lunch. Longhope Sailing Club put on lots of children's activities on the pier which added to the festival atmosphere of the event.
In the snipe class race the fleet split in two, the front four boats changing places almost each tack on the last leg. In the end Neil Foubister´s Fiddlesticks came out on top, finishing just ahead of Andrew Leslie in Moonstone. Malcolm Tipler sailing Go Quickly Red finished third.
In the Allcomers race Moonstone got ahead of the fleet in the first beat and managed to retain his lead throughout the race. Go Quickly Red finished second, with Fiddlesticks third.
