Scottish Solo Travellers at Montrose Sailing Club
by Gordon Tosh 5 Jun 2008 04:53 PDT
31 May 2008
18 Solos for the Scottish travellers event at Montrose © Gordon Tosh
Saturday 31st of May saw 18 Solos arrive at a dull Montrose basin with no wind and no water! By the start of the first race the tide had come in and the sun had come out.
A short start line was set by race officer Craig Moffett giving the highly competitive fleet a tight and tactical start. The wind had still to arrive but first off the line was Richard Davies followed by Gordon Tosh and Don Jamie. Within minutes the wind had come up to a very pleasant force 3. First to the windward mark was Geoff Henstridge followed by David Sword and Gordon Tosh. Geoff led to the finish but the next 6 places were hard fought over with Nigel Orkney finishing 2nd, Robert Signer 3rd and Graham Keir 4th.
Race 2 saw the start line moved and a new course set. The force 3 now included some nice gusts that caught out the unwary! Once again Geoff Henstridge led the fleet round the course coping well with the gusts and the interesting tide. Derek Gibb started to enjoy himself with a good second place. There was a close fight up the last beat for third place between David Sword and Gordon Tosh with David just creeping through yards from the line.
Craig Moffett moved the start line again and set a new course for the third race, keeping most of the competitors on their toes! Once again Geoff showed he’s going to be a hard man to beat this season, leading the fleet but closely followed by Derek Gibb, David Sword and Nigel Orkney. By this time the wind had increased to force 4 with a few tasty gusts. Lap 2 saw the leading pack head for the wrong mark leaving Gordon Tosh as the leading Solo for a few brief minutes before Kevan Gibb reached in below him to take the lead. The stronger wind saw those who took the wrong course join the fight again but were unable to catch Kevan who held the lead to the end. Derek Gibb came back strongly after taking the wrong course to finish in a well deserved second place followed by Nigel Orkney once again showing his strength in the bigger winds.
This was another super day out for the very competitive Scottish Solo fleet. The racing was close and it was great fun for all those taking part.
Overall Results:
1st Geoff Henstridge
2nd Derek Gibb
3rd Nigel Orkney
4th Kevan Gibb
5th David Sword
6th Robert Signer