D-Zeros at the Aberdeen and Stonehaven Yacht Club Annual Regatta
by Niel Ritchie 17 Aug 2018 17:11 AEST
11-12 August 2018
D-Zeros at the Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club Regatta © Genevieve Leaper /
www.genevieveleaper.co.uk
Two visiting D-Zeros joined the local boat at the annual ASYC regatta on the 11th & 12th of August. The event was attended by 42 boats with starts for RS400, Laser, Laser Radial, D-Zero, Blaze, Solo & Handicap racing.
Due to the fleet size the 3 D-Zeros were combined with the 5 Blazes into a single start, which worked well with the close PY numbers of both boats making them well matched to start together.
On the Saturday, a light southerly breeze appeared in time for the first race. Race one saw Niel Ritchie take the early advantage by going into the shore with using what he thought was his local knowledge of the tide, only to find he got his tide timings wrong and it was the rare occasion of banging a corner actually paying off. Jon Bassett showed great boat speed to slowly hunt down Niel and pass him on the final lap to take the first bullet of the weekend.
Race two saw Martin Latimer first out the blocks but his navigational error of heading to Norway and over standing the first mark, saw Jon pull through. Staying clear of traffic and getting a clear lane was the name of the game in the building breeze and Jon got tangled up in traffic only to see Niel pass and take the bullet in race 2.
Race three saw normal serviced resume for Jon who was fast off the start and lead the race from start to finish.
A barbecue was held after racing on the Saturday evening with a great atmosphere in the bar and plenty of banter around the day's proceedings. There was much interest in the Zero over the weekend with some of the other fleets trying the boat after racing on Saturday and we hope to have more Scottish converts soon.
Overnight the breeze had filled in and Sunday looked like being a livelier affair, as had been promised to the visiting boats! As the fleet launched the breeze dropped and left a short swell with a strong rising tide. Three races were held with quick turnarounds to ensure the six-race series was completed, making the best of the conditions. Jon took all three bullets on the Sunday, with the fleet having good close racing in the light shifty breeze.
Overall Results:
1. Jon Bassett (Largs SC)
2. Niel Ritchie (Aberdeen & Stonehaven YC)
3. Martin Latimer (Largs SC)
Huge thanks to the visiting boats for making the journey North, for a fun social event that I hope will become a regularly feature on the Scottish circuit for the Zeros.