707 Edinburgh Cup

After taking a step back from my sailing campaign to re-focus on my career in communications I thought it fitting to revisit some writing for a competition I raced in at the end of April with team Crhu. 

17 boats hit the water of the Firth of Forth for a seven race shoot out in the 707 Edinburgh Cup over two days.

The weekend was a few degrees off champagne sailing conditions with 15-20 knots of breeze and sunshine all weekend.

Our race area was Inverkiething Bay, a short sail from Port Edgar Marina under the Forth bridges. The first of four races on day one saw us battle at the front of the fleet. It was five time reigning national champions, Seaword, who ultimately came out on top. We finished behind them in second.

Race two was a similar one. This time a battle with both Seaword and Hartlepool based boat, Sharky. Sharky showed their blistering pace in the heavy winds and took a convincing win with us behind in second place. Seaword followed in third.

Race three was made easier for us with the fleet staying timid on the start line. We punched ahead at the start-gun and it payed. We extended for the rest of the race and finished in first place.

Race four was one of the closest of the weekend with the experienced crew of local legends, Mojito showing the fleet some finesse in their upwind sailing style. It came down to the very last leg where we etched even with them. We made a final push at the right moment to take first place by a matter of inches on the line. One to remember and a great way to finish day one. Leading overnight with a nine point cushion.

Day two left three races remaining in yet more sunshine and punchy breeze. Race five saw another two boat battle with Seaword. It was nip and tuck all race and even on the second to last leg. Eventually it was Seaword who took line honours after a well executed, inch perfect cross in front of our bow at the bottom mark. We took second place.

The remaining two races were the windiest of the regatta. A few mistakes in the form of a lost winch handle and a twisted spinnaker made things tough. 

However, the crew managed it well - ultimately keeping us upright in the breeze and our sails intact. The same can’t be said for the rest of the fleet… some seriously impressive wipeouts.

The calm and cautious approach to the two remaining races saw us finish the event with two more race wins. 

A great way to end the event. 

An even better way to start the season.

SCOTTISH SERIES 2018

After a quick trip down south to Stokes Bay for some Laser training I travelled through to Tarbert on the West coast of Scotland for my first time racing at Scottish Series.  What a weekend it was.

The weather was incredible, it was almost perfect sailing conditions everyday. The racing was super tight all weekend and had everybody on their toes.  I was sailing in the 707 fleet, on More T Vicar, with Carl Allen, Andrew Allen, Eddie Batchelor, and Brendan Lynch.  

The racing was pretty wacky to say the least; 180 degree wind shifts were the norm.  The race committee did a sterling job to get a full series of races in.  After 4 days of close racing we finished the event in 3rd overall.  The win was in our grasps going into the last day, but it just didn’t piece together for us unfortunately.  However, a 3rd was great considering the quality of the racing and the toughness of the conditions.  

Big thanks to the guys for having me onboard, I am sailing on More T Vicar again for the 707 Nationals in Burnham in September.  So keep an eye out for that.

Lewis

SCOTTISH KEELBOAT ACADEMY

On the 19th November I drove through to the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club (RNCYC) for the Introduction weekend to the Scottish Keelboat Academy (SKA).  Unfortunately I could not attend the Sunday due to university commitments, but the Saturday was great fun; I learned loads and met some really nice people!

The morning started off with some paper work and a complicated team building exercise which was a good laugh! We spent the rest of the morning in the classroom working on some goal setting; I broke my long term goal down and I now have a great focus on what I want to get out of the SKA weekends.

After a bite to eat we headed out to the boats.  Unfortunately there was not enough wind to sail at first so we did some stationary drills whilst tied to the pontoon.  We were working on spinnaker hoists and drops, both leeward and windward.  I was focusing my attention on the bow position; their individual roles in the manoeuvre and how the other positions work with the bow man.  The picture below is of me in the bow position during a windward hoist, a big thanks to Patrick Condy for all the media posts and photos of the weekend – make sure and check them out on the SKA Facebook page!

After a lot of run throughs on the pontoon some breeze finally filled in and we managed to have a short sail at the end of the session.  We had two boats on the water and had a race downwind, with my team managing to execute a windward hoist in a race scenario, albeit a little haphazardly.  It was a great day on the water and there was lots to be learned!

A big thanks to the coaches for running the training very well and to Patrick for the media updates.  The SKA training would not happen without the support from RYA Scotland, RNCYC and Silvers Marine, so a thank you goes to them too!

On the Saturday evening I attended the Royal Forth Yacht Club annual prize giving back in Edinburgh, check back soon for another post with some exciting news!

Lewis