If you told me three weeks ago that my June bank holiday would consist of the previously cancelled ‘Scottish Series’ I would asking you for your lottery numbers. Even more so if you told me the event would have champagne conditions and the championship would be decided by the last race.
It’s fair to say this year’s trip to Tarbert had a different feel to it than my last trip to the seaside town in 2018.
The sought after and commonly known ‘Scottish Series’ was cancelled just three weeks out for issues unbeknown to the competitors. After some quick movement from the local residents and the competitors the event was eventually reinstated as the ‘Tarbert Regatta’.
Despite the issues, much remand the same… Stiff competition in the form of an 18 strong Hunter 707 fleet, a fantastic social programme with live music and catering, and the faces of Scottish sailing all coming together with great camaraderie all round.
Tarbert also delivered its usual weather. An entire long weekend of sunshine and wind allowed us to complete 10 races - just one short of the full scheduled series.
The event was closely fought with four boats all fighting for the lead. SeaWord, Tata, MadDog and our team Crhu were all vying for the top spot throughout the regatta.
Eventually, the decider came down to the final race of the regatta with the top four all in contention. Just four points apart.
A frustrating third day put us down to fourth place going into the final race.
We were left with a lot to do.
We needed to win the final race with enough of a gap to the other contenders to do enough for the overall win. The team knew it would be a lot to manage in what were tricky and different race conditions.
It was a tight fight between us, overnight leaders SeaWord, Old School, and Partial Pleasure. After lap one we were third with SeaWord one place behind.
It was not enough for the overall win.
Lap three saw some fresh wind on the left side of the course. We positioned ourselves to capitalise on it as best as we could.
The breeze came in and we propelled into the lead with Seaword, Tata and Maddog getting caught up in the mid-fleet.
It was a tense final leg.
After a long and stressful push to the finish we lead over the line with enough of a gap to secure us with the overall win. A stressful race to end on but a satisfying one to say the least.
Tarbert Regatta Champions.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/62873c7b8d88e7461c92bdd1/t/62a863cdb485232247989411/1655202765883/OverallEventResults.pdf