Dates for your diary

Dates for your Diary

Autumn Muster 7th / 8th September 2019 at Port Bannatyne Marina on Bute.  There will be a relatively short race from Kip marina starting at 10am on Saturday morning and finishing at the Ardyne buoy.  Here is a course reminder:

COURSE:   Start, CPA X (yellow) P , Hun 1 (yellow) S , Ascog Patches S , Toward Bank No35  (green) P,   to Finish - Ardyne (green) P ,  (approx 14.5nm)

 FINISH:     Passing the Ardyne buoy to Port with the breakwater of Port Bannatyne Marina bearing 250 deg M.  No committee boat is expected to be on station. Yachts should note their time with accuracy to the nearest second and their finishing position

  

Port Bannatyne marina is a new venue for the club. It will be busy as Fairlie Yacht club are having their own race there from Largs.  We will be dining at the Victoria Hotel in

Rothesay. The race is likely to be from Kip to Ardyne via Cumbrae. The club
dinner will be in Rothesay at the Victoria Hotel.  Come and check it out.

Frostbite Race Sat 5th October 2019. This race round the Cumbraes from Largs is a fun event and a suitable contest for our closing muster.

Annual Dinner and Prize giving Sat 7th December 2019 The venue will once again be the Art Club.

Croabh Muster

The barbecue on the Saturday night was well attended with 40 guests. The food provision and cooking was highly organised in the experienced hands of Marcusand Jackie Stone who worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone was well cateredfor. Many thanks to them and all who helped make the evening the success it was, including DJ Stewart Toy who provided the music for dancing and Steve Pickles who donated a crate of wine. Thanks also to the Craobh marina staff for

making the club so welcome once again.

 Sunday was a delightfully sunny morning and thankfully a light but useable breeze developed allowing Tom to set that most unusual of course namely and anticlockwise one. This permitted a good beat towards the islands before turning southwards west of Shuna. Given the shallow water in the starting area there was quite a busy procession toward the Committee boat end of the start line resulting in one memorable very near miss but thankfully the only things shattered were nerves. 

 Tradition got the better of Martyn who proceeded in the time honoured clockwise fashion and saw no need to change when the error became apparent. Ithas been calculated that had his clockwise time been allowed he would have won on handicap but here at least we must follow the rules.  Congratulations to Tom Hutchinson in the near unbeatable Aquaholic who hauled the committee boat anchor and followed the other competitors to a convincing win on corrected time  

 The round Shuna race results were as follows :-
Corrected time
1st AQUAHOLIC 1hr 26 mins
2nd TROKKA 1hr 28 mins
3rd KATYA 1hr 32 mins
4th EXODY 1hr 39 mins (16 secs)
5th PONDSKATER 1hr 39 mins (46 secs
6th SHENAVAL 1hr 40 mins
7th SILVERJACK 1hr 41 mins
 

Portavadie Muster

Our June Muster to Portavadie saw a fair turnout of 6 boats with five racing. Thanks to our Commodore Don, and Marje for starting the race at Rothesay and sending the fleet south to leave Bute to starboard. The light wind conditions made for a particularly challenging race, with each crew striving to maintain progress in the light airs. Clearly the trick was to avoid the holes. Nobody did. Each boat took a turn of becoming becalmed and the order of positions changed several times spreading delight and frustration in equal measures.

Close racing between Pondskater, Emma Louise and Spirit

The race was shortened just past Garroch Head with Black Pepper on station to take everyone’s times. In the event, Katya took line honours and won overall. Only a minute separated 2nd 3rd & 4th places on corrected time. We were delighted to welcome Spirit back with Crispin and Chris in good form. Following the race, Katya hosted a lively party on board where crews could catch up and discuss plans for summer cruising. Most folk dined ashore at the Marina restaurant at Portavadie in tables of half a dozen.

 Katya romps home to the finish line

                Portavadie Race results                 Corrected time  (minutes)

1st  Katya                  Stewart Toy           153.41

2nd Emma Louise     Séamus Lalor        162.18

3rd  Spirit                  Crispin Best           163.14

4th  Silverjack           Graham Gillies       163.27

5th  Pondskater        Martin Yuill             177.61

Neil MacDougall

Neil McDougall

          

   26th January 1945 - 26th March 2019

Neil joined the Serpent Yacht Club in its founding years and rarely missed a Club event in four decades. He was a committee member for many years and served as Race Secretary and Commodore.

  

His extrovert personality and generous nature drew a wide circle of friends. He was a people person, a gifted raconteur, compassionate and always made time for folk. He managed to combine his passion for sailing with a busy career as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. 

Neil was something of a legend in sailing circles. His first boat, ‘Trebor’, was a 24 ft wooden yacht (Clyde 19-24 class) built 1897, in which he cruised from the mooring at Clynder to Skye with Marie, without an engine or a loo.

In 1981, they bought Lola, another elderly classic yacht. Many will remember the exploits of this 1925,12 tonne wooden Ketch, in which he raced with family and friends on many offshore passages, cruising widely from Spain to Scapa Flow. In four hectic summers, 1984 – 1987, Lola won the CCC blue water race to La Trinité France; returned to Benodet the following year; sailed from the Clyde to La Coruña in 1986 and to Orkney in 1987. His fondness for Lola never left him.

By 1989, a young family necessitated a larger and drier boat, so Neil reluctantly embraced GRP in the purchase of Corsair. He continued to sail extensively and enjoyed many family adventures with Ali and Eilidh, often in company. He was fond of barbecues and had an affinity for less sheltered anchorages – Pladda was a favourite.

Despite serious health challenges, he remained energetic and enthusiastic. In 2010, he purchased Camus Bosta, a 42 foot Southerly, and in recent years he achieved two long held ambitions: to visit St Kilda and to sail round Ireland. The Irish trip was completed two-handed with his son, Ali.

Neil was always passionate and enthusiastic about everything he tackled. His passion overflowed – sometimes to excess.

He was loved by many and will be sorely missed.

Don Gillies