JP Watersports RS400 Scottish Tour Round 4 at Prestwick Sailing Club
by Bob Yeamans 28 Jun 2018 15:18 AEST
23 June 2018
JP Watersports RS400 Scottish Tour at Prestwick © Alan Henderson
Saturday the 23rd of June heralded the fourth round of the Scottish tour, a one day regatta being hosted by Prestwick Sailing Club. The eight intrepid crews were tempted by the thought of five quick fire races in a nice steady force 4 westerly. Oh how we can be fooled.
Race 1 got away nicely with the fleet splitting left and right to make sense of the tide. The top 4 at the windward mark proving little to be gained or lost either way. Jon and Amanda led the race from start to finish, with Bob and Nadia getting just ahead of Ben and Jenny to finish second.
During the starting sequence to race 2, the wind died away to a zephyr, allowing a very slow beat to the mark upwind against the tide and chop. The race officer sensibly shortening the course to 1 lap allowing Jon and Amanda to take the win. Ben and Jenny followed with Bob and Nadia in third.
For the start of the third race, again the breeze had not settled, and remained quite light. Jon and Amanda found themselves in difficulty, resulting in getting squeezed out at the committee boat end. Martin and Alan, made a good start to lead the fleet in the early part of the first beat, until the wind swung allowing those who went right, to make full benefit of the advantage. Ben and Jenny managed to make best use of the advantage to take home the win, followed by a resilient Jon and Amanda then Hester and Richard.
Race 4, and the breeze had picked up again, allowing for a bit more jostling on the start line. Jon and Amanda continued to show the way, with Ben and Jenny again in second. Bob and Nadia made full use of a shift on the last beat to slip past Hester and Richard, and sneak the last podium spot. This race demonstrated how tight the racing is, with places 4 to 7 being covered by only 10 seconds at the finish.
The last race of the event started with the wind having swung more to the west, forcing the committee to re-position the windward mark. Jon and Amanda led all the way round again, showing their mastery of the days difficult conditions. Ben and Jenny completed the now familiar 1-2, and Hester and Richard exacted their revenge on Bob and Nadia to sneak past and claim 3rd.
Overall Jon and Amanda won with a near perfect scoreline, with Ben and Jenny 2nd and Bob and Nadia 3rd.
With the slightly smaller fleet and some of the more regulars of the tour missing there was a distinct lack of duckham nominations. The stand-ins from Wormit have a lot to live up to. The only near miss was just that, with Martin expertly knowing the height of his van when tackling the restriction bar at the car park entrance.
Many thanks to Neil at Prestwick for organising the event. Next stop on tour is up to the Moray coast, where the home fleet should boost the travelling numbers.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 874 | Jon Gay | Amanda Henderson | Lochaber | 1 | 1 | (2) | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 1319 | Ben Robertson | Jenny Douglas | Dalgety Bay | (3) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 1124 | Bob Yeamans | Nadia Yeamans | Aberdeen & Stonehaven | 2 | 3 | (4) | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | 1148 | Hester Robertson | Richard Hope | Dalgety Bay | (6) | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | 1073 | Peter McLaren | Neil McLaren | HLSC / LLSC | 5 | (6) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
| 6 | 691 | Rory Angus | Robin Angus | Wormit | (8) | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
| 7 | 370 | Martin Booth | Alan McLean | Dalgety Bay | 4 | (8) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 24 |
| 8 | 1294 | Mike Grant | Alan Birse | Largs | 7 | 7 | 8 | (9) | 8 | 30 |