West Highland Yachting Week - Day 1
by Alison Chadwick 1 Aug 2016 08:25 NZST
30 July - 5 August 2016
A win in class for WHYW Major sponsor Boyd Tunnock CBE made a fitting start to the first day of the Points Series at this year's West Highland Yachting Week (WHYW) that started on July 30 and runs till August 5.
His Moody 38 Lemerac revelled in the good 15 knot breeze to win by just five seconds from closest rival Shadowfax, the Beneteau 31.7 of Steven Forteith.
The 88-strong WHYW fleet enjoyed good opening breezes with close quarters racing for the Craobh Race circumnavigating the Isle of Shuna in Loch Melfort.
Jack Aitken's First 36.7 Animal took the spoils in the Tunnock's spinnaker fleet Class 1 from David Walter's Requiem. Danny Sinclair's Oceanis 45 Kalita was a dominant winner in Argyll Fleet restricted sail Class 2 from the Chalmers family on Sunrise. In white sail class 4 Bruce Johnston's Mystic Sun took the honours from the Sigma 33 Mayrise.
Only ten seconds split the Moody 336's of Craig Anderson and team on Cool Bandit and John Corson's new Salamander XXII in a closely fought Class 7. And the margin was even tighter in restricted sail class 6 with two seconds separating Brian Wiseman's Sorr of Appin and Stephen Owen's Oceanis 361 Halcyon. Clyde-based Murray Caldwell secured Class 8 with a massive margin on corrected time with his Trapper 500 Oystercatcher.
The fleet race from Craobh to Oban is on Monday.
Results:
Class 1
1 Animal
2 Requiem
3 Carmen II
Class 2
1 Kalita
2 Sunrise
3 Ionara
Class 4
1 Mystic Sun
2 Mayrise
3 Valhalla of Ashton
Class 5
1 Lemerac
2 Shadowfax
3 Vaila
Class 6
1 Sorr of Appin
2 Halcyon
3 Reever
Class 7
1 Cool Bandit 2
2 Salamander XXII
3 Piecemaker
Class 9
1 Oystercatcher
2 Marisca
3 Circe
WHYW Feeder races
The Craobh to Oban feeder saw variable conditions for the twenty-five-strong fleet through zephyrs to winds up to 15 knots with the faster boats managing to stay on the breeze for most of the 24 mile passage. Much of the fleet became becalmed off Seil Island and it was a slow and frustrating effort to tack out west to find the wind again. James Hardie's Grand Soleil 40 Taz secured the day's win from David Walter's Arcona 430 Requiem and Gordon Lawson's J122 Moonstruck Too. Nicholas Marshall's J92 Satisfaction won the Gigha to Craobh race from Meka II, the Sigma 33 of Jim Shields and Hamish Jackson's Elan 33 Hoo-Ha.
Full results on www.whyw.co.uk
www.facebook.com/WestHighlandYachtingWeek
West Highland Yachting Week 2016 is sponsored and supported by Tunnock's, Argyll and Bute Council, Tobermory Harbour Association, MalinWaters, Owen Sails, GaelForce Marine Equipment, Dunstaffnage Marina and West Coast Motors.