Loch Ness Monster

The first Loch Ness Monster took place on Saturday 28 August. There were three Spitfires and two Stealths in the 31 boat entry although none did particularly well. There's a good report on the event available here http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/default2.asp?section=11&article=14582 and a pretty disappointing video available at www.caledoniatv.com (you need broadband to see this).

Loch Ness is a beautiful place. The loch is nearly 25 miles long but never more that 1.5 miles wide with steep hills all around. The loch is over 700 feet deep and has more water in it than all the lakes in England and Wales put together. It is around 5C all year round. Because of the hills the wind tends to blow up the loch from the SW or down from the NE - the ultimate windward leeward perhaps?

I didn't have a very successful day. We were sailing a Stealth. Saturday morning was really wild, a Force 5 (at least!) driving waves onto a steep, stony beach made launching exciting. My crew Alistair isn't that tall - if he held the bows of the boat far enough out to keep the stern off the beach his feet didn't touch the bottom when the waves came through! We did manage to launch though - thanks to someone for managing to push a rudder down as we went past! A few crews decided that discretion was the better part of valour and didn't race. We got a few miles down the loch before we capsized. Got the boat up easily enough but we decided that enough was enough and headed back to the beach. Twenty boats finished out of 27 that started. The only Tornado Sport entered won on handicap as well as finishing miles in front of everyone else.

Damn good fun. The plan is to run the race again in 2006 - I'll be back I think...