Scottish WASZP Championship at Loch Lomond Sailing Club
by Tom Mitchell 7 Sep 2022 22:48 NZST
3-4 September 2022
Windward mark rounding during the WASZP Scottish Championship at Loch Lomond © Duncan & Emma Hepplewhite
On the 4th and 5th of September, the Scottish WASZP Championship was held at Loch Lomond Sailing Club. The WASZP event was part of the annual Loch Lomond Dinghy Weekend, so there were loads of boats from a variety of classes on the water.
Three of us WASZP helms arrived early on the Friday to go for a practice sail, the conditions were perfect for foiling, big gusts, and flat water! After a few hours blasting around and once we had sorted out a few things, we headed ashore. Sailingfast had kindly arranged pizzas and beers for the evening, greatly appreciated, it all went down well!
The remainder of the fleet arrived on the Saturday morning to be met with a rather windy Loch Lomond. After a briefing, we launched on time and had a spectacular blast downwind to our racecourse with lots of crashes and wipe outs!
Only half of the fleet made it to the racecourse for the first race; it was going to be a case of who could sail safe and steadily the whole way round and avoid capsizes! Both Steven Forteith and Andy Hutchinson made this look easy, with Andy scoring 3 out of 5 race wins on the Saturday. Craig Hepplewhite also won a race, securing the first race before his sail clew blew out later in the day. Steven won the last race of the day.
On Saturday evening the club put on a fantastic BBQ with over 70 people enjoying the tasty spread. After this the club had music on in their lively bar!
The forecast for Sunday was slightly lighter, that we were all pleased to hear! We were met with a breeze similar to Friday, which was perfect! The whole fleet made it to the start line, which made for close racing. The breeze was a lot more inconsistent, so it was really important to make sure you were in the gusts!
Steven won the first race of the day, with Andy second. The whole way up the first beats, the racing was extremely tight, and nothing was final until you were across the finish line as there were still a few crashes and failed gybes across the fleet! Steven carried on his winning streak to score a further 3 firsts and a second, to win overall with Andy second and myself third.
Overall, it was a really good weekend of racing, extremely well run by Loch Lomond Sailing Club. It was a great event for picking up tips from the guys who had been sailing the boat longer. Thanks to all!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2794 | Steven Forteith | Oban | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 2nd | 2972 | Andy Hutchison | Dalgetty Bay | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 3rd | 2524 | Tom Mitchell | Royal Tay | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | (DNF) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 |
| 4th | 2019 | Craig Hepplewhite | Loch Lomond | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | (DNC) | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 33 |
| 5th | Eyemouth | Roo Purvis | East Lothian | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 46 |
| 6th | 2607 | lan Fitzgerald | Dalgetty Bay | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 5 | DNF | 4 | 6 | 4 | 64 |
| 7th | 2156 | Ben Miller | Oban | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 68 |
| 8th | 2022 | Glenn Halstead | Dalgetty Bay | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 74 |