Series serves up drama for sailors on Loch Fyne

TWO contrasting days on the waters of Loch Fyne produced a heady mix of drama and close racing at the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series.

On Saturday two boats had their masts snapped by the blustery winds and the South Queensferry-based J92S niJinsky had to come to the rescue of a crewman who fell overboard from another competing boat.

The Port Edgar crew transferred Hugh Brown, who fell from the Elan 333Good Craic, to a rescue boat, but he was none the worse for his experience.

"We rolled and I had nowhere else to go but in the water and I could see it was happening. It was pretty cold and took me a while to warm up afterwards. It's the first in all the years I've been sailing that it has happened to me."

Yesterday's racing was not quite as testing physically, but it was still hard going in the shifty breezes. To the north of the loch the winds were slightly lighter as the Sigma 33 Class completed three races to conclude what was effectively the championship of Europe, Ireland and the UK all rolled into one.

The Clyde's Donald McLaren and his crew of Sigmatic remained consistent to the end to win the title for the first time in 19 years of racing Sigmas and 29 years of racing at the Scottish Series. With a core crew who have raced together with him for ten or 12 years, McLaren won the Class Championship by a comfortable margin from a trio of Irish contenders.

Top challenger for the overall Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series Trophy now has to be Nigel Biggs' J109 Christie Cancer Care which now leads IRC Class 3 by two points ahead of John Corson's Corby 33 Salamander XX.

Cheshire-based Biggs has sailed at the Scottish Series for more than 20 years and won his class six times in different boats but has yet to win the overall title.

"The first half of the first race was very close with Salamander and they are sailing exceptionally well. But on handicap they owe us just a little bit of time and so we really have to concentrate on staying on the same bit of water as them and not letting them get away. When the breeze is up a little then we are able to do that," said Biggs.

After winning the class last year on Loch Fyne, Helensburgh's McLaren had set his sights on the Class Championship, the title which unites both the UK and Ireland.

"If experience leads to good starts and consistent tactics, good crew work then you can put it down to experience, but even now after all these years I don't think you ever learn or really can know what is going to happen next on Loch Fyne," said McLaren.

"It's been a great regatta so far. I think the atmosphere is really good and the race officers have really got it spot on most of the time."