Summary Second Race Day
Day 2
Come to Scotland we said....it's always sunny and a nice steady breeze! Except in August it seems! It appears we ordered a little bit too much on the wind front!
As we all headed down in the morning for the start of day 2 there was a lot of slightly concerned faces as they rigged up there small Genoas and got out their most waterproof jackets. We all started by having a nice coffee until Starling Burgess decided that the wind was no match for them so we all had to follow suit into the chaos!
Race three began in a steady 18kts of wind with some slightly stronger than that gusts.... The first beat saw Yequem having a great start and creeping away up into a strong bullet by the windward mark. Battling it out behind was Spirit, Vision and Starling Burgess all rounding the mark together with some excellent spinnaker hoists showing superb control in the high winds from Starling Burgess. Spirit took an unusual tactic for the spreader mark by jamming their genoa round the winch with a lovely riding turn, definitely not causing the crew any extra stress and making it very easy for the helm to turn I'm sure!
Meanwhile Falcon was spotting some other locals to the Clyde. Whilst the foredeck and kite trim were battling away with the spinnaker, the helm and main trim were having a lovely time surfing down the waves with some dolphins 'within touching distance' off the stern! Beautiful! But also slightly distracting and causing them to swing down a wave, very nearly into a broach, from then on the helm was banned from watching the local wildlife! Starling Burgess also commented on surfing down the waves with dolphins by their side! Hopefully they'll come back and visit us again tomorrow!
The 2nd beat felt the wind continue to build throughout. We had a nice chance to check everyone's keels in the gusts with an impressive angle being achieved with some boats!
A 2nd kite run saw 3 boats deciding the big winds were a bit too spicy for kites, which might have been the best decision as Spirit's kite managed to almost cross the finish line before completely blowing out just managing to take 2nd place. Vision showed how impressive the Neptune class boats can be and came roaring through into 3rd, the Italians showing some impressive skill and keeping pressure on the moderns!
Sadly with the building forecast the 4th race was cancelled and everyone headed back to the bar to dry off with some free beer courtesy of Speyside Brewery and some well needed shelter in the beer tent! Tonight the seafood extravaganza is on to start off the evening celebrations...once everyone has managed to dry off!
