Gary Richardson Travels From Australia to Win the
British Soling National Championships.
The
British Soling Championships were sailed at Lochaber Yacht Club, Fort William,
on July 17th-18th.
The
race track was on Loch Linnhe, which is a long arm of the sea. The salt water stretches from Oban into the
mountains of the Scottish Hihglands, a bit like a fjord in Norway. This means that the wind is changed by the
hills, like sailing on a lake in Europe; it also means that there is tide to
think about. Loch Linnhe is deep – more
than 100 meters deep – and so the windward/leeward course had to be laid near
the shore. This meant that the beats and
the runs were very one-sided.
It
was also raining.
But
British Soling sailors laugh at rain and nine boats started the first
race. Gary Richardson, who now lives in
Australia, won with his crew from Blackpool and Fleetwood Yacht Club, Stewart
Lee and Karl Sloane. But Derek
Priestley, Chairman of the British Soling Association, won the second race;
then David Fish won races three and four with his son Daniel and Tim
Seddon. The final race of the day was
won by Paul Harkness, William Mitchele and Paul Davis. This crew is new to Soling sailing and one of
them had travelled all the way from Lymington on the south coast.
Lochaber
Yacht Club entertained the fleet on Saturday night, when the weather was
charming, and the sailors assembled again on Sunday morning. It was raining. Gary and his team on GBR155 Buzz won
both Sunday's races narrowly from David Fish's GBR144 Gerda to clinch
the championship by one point. David
Fish was not just runner-up; he also won the Master's Award, at the age of 70,
and the President's Trophy for the fastest boat over twenty-five years
old. Paul Harkness's team in GBR138 Dinnae
Ken came third and Derek Priestley, sailing with son Shaun and Jo Buss,
came fourth; Jo also won the trophy for first woman.
Iain Loudon
|
Place |
Boat Name |
Helm |
Sail No |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
R4 |
R5 |
R6 |
R7 |
Total |
Net |
|
1 |
Buzz |
Gary Richardson |
155 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
10 |
|
2 |
Gerda |
David Fish |
144 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
11 |
|
3 |
Dinnae Ken |
Paul Harkness |
138 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
20 |
16 |
|
4 |
Mr Crusty |
Derek Priestly |
170 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
4 |
34 |
24 |
|
5 |
Just Gonnie No |
Andy McKenna |
157 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
36 |
30 |
|
6 |
Romance |
Iain Loudon |
16+ |
9 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
40 |
31 |
|
7 |
McPs |
Duncan MacPhee |
156 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
50 |
42 |
|
8 |
Solaris |
Hamish Loudon |
161 |
5 |
8 |
5 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
58 |
48 |
|
9 |
Hussoling |
Peter Watt |
104 |
7 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
59 |
49 |