The final gathering of the Wick Model Yacht Club prior to the Covid lockdown saw the introduction of a new model yacht, Kindling. A build that took five months with a planked hull and handmade fittings, its of a newer design of half the width and half the weight of the other vessels. With only a quick pre-race test our day began. Overcast with a strong gusty wind everyone adopted their smallest sails. The BlueHaze streaked ahead with the Skua in hot pursuit, RestlessWave behind sailing too high, Apollo struggling in the lulls and Kindling moving slowly requiring lots of adjustment on its maiden voyage. On the return leg BlueHaze with a spinnaker fitted on the starboard side followed the short shore where it continued to maintain its lead ahead of the Skua. The RestlessWave somewhat tighter headed initially towards the Chicken rock before crossing over to the short shore. Kindling the last vessel to leave the returning goal was deceivingly quick passing both Apollo and RestlessWave but landed in the Hole, being a difficult location to recover from the RestlessWave regained its former position.

Result: 1. BlueHaze Michael Paterson 30:21, 2. Skua David Sutherland 32:36, 3. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 35:23, 4. Kindling Kevin Paterson 36:08, 5. Apollo Donald McWilliam 36:48

Modifications were made during the interval RestlessWave and Apollo both increasing sail size to their middle suits to overcome the lulls. And Kindling shifted its mast forward in an effort to improve windward performance.

The second race began again with the BlueHaze leading the way but this time with everyones adjustments the fleet were closer together. As the boats tacked back and forth towards the returning goal Kindling was again at the rear of the flotilla. On the return the BlueHaze chased by the Skua tracked the short shore with the RestlessWave and Apollo having their own tussle. Kindling moving quickly initially headed towards the Hole with a quick port side spinnaker swap it continued towards the Point where it obtained the lead just seconds ahead of the BlueHaze.

Result: 1. Kindling Kevin Paterson 29:50, 2. BlueHaze Michael Paterson 31:19, 3. Skua David sutherland 31:56, 4. Apollo Donald McWilliam 35:07, 5. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 36:00

Saturday was a bright day with a strong wind, each model yacht opting for their smallest set of sails. From the startline we headed into the oncoming wind with a long tack towards the shed before turning and progressing to the Chicken rock. The Aurora was leading sailing well with the RestlessWave and Apollo in pursuit. However the Apollo sailing well on one tack was not so good on the other began to fall behind. The BlueHaze and Pioneer someway behind sailing too high, going into irons, which slowed them down. The Skua unfortunately was removed from the race. On the return leg with a small balloon spinnaker attached to the starboard side, the Aurora sailing very consistently extending its lead ahead of the RestlessWave.

Result: 1. Aurora Archie & Fiona Miller 29:22, 2. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 32:31, 3. BlueHaze Kevin & Michael Paterson 33:02, 4. Apollo Donald McWilliam 35:32, 5. Pioneer Peter & Rory Sinclair 40:08

During the interval the wind began to surge, dropping then gusting. A choice was now possible, Do we stay with small sails? or Increase size and use the middle set?. The dilemma was discussed was debated with the conclusion that the wind was going to return to its former strength. So everyone continued with their small sails. The BlueHaze did make an adjustment to its mast position by bringing it forward to prevent going into irons by sailing too high into the wind.

Race two began with the lighter breeze which favoured the modified BlueHaze and it sped ahead of the other vessels who now were slightly undersailed. As the race continued the fleet spread themselves out across the loch each sailing at their own pace. On the return with spinnaker fitted the BlueHaze continued its fast pace crossing the finish line with quite a substantial gap almost two-thirds the length of the loch ahead of the next competitor.

Result: 1. BlueHaze Kevin & Michael Paterson 29:48, 2. Aurora Archie & Fiona Miller 36:18, 3. Apollo Donald McWilliam 40:43, 4. Pioneer Peter & Rory Sinclair 46:46

Saturday the 7th of March is the least windy day we have endured so far, each model yacht fitted with top suits.

From the startline there was a long tack towards the Chicken rock before crossing to the short side then another long tack towards the goal. The Aurora led the fleet to the returning goal with a quick attachment of a balloon spinnaker to the port side it was released as the RestlessWave and Apollo crossed the line. On the return the RestlessWave began to close the gap to the leading Aurora for a very exciting finish just nipping ahead at the finishline.

Result: 1. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 29:07, 2. Aurora Archie & Fiona Miller 29:10, 3. Skua David Sutherland & Innes Scollay 34:11, 4. Apollo Donald McWilliam 35:09, 5. BlueHaze Michael, Alexa & Reuben Paterson 42:08

The second race began again with the Aurora leading the way closely followed by the Apollo with the BlueHaze and RestlessWave in pursuit. With a quick turnaround the Aurora continued its lead. The BlueHaze and RestlessWave leaving the half way point together bringing up the rear, but the RestlessWave with a full spinnaker found speed and pulled away from the BlueHaze passing the Apollo to again compete with the Aurora. With increased wind speed they both veered away from the Hole, there original heading, where the RestlessWave lost out as it clipped the shoreline allowing the Aurora to sail across the finishline.

Result: 1. Aurora Archie & Fiona miller 30:51, 2. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 30:55, 3. BlueHaze Michael, Alexa & Reuben Paterson 31:39, 4. Apollo Donald McWilliam 34:26

After a week of heavy rain Sarclet lochs water level was very high and compared to the previous week the wind was favourable for a pleasant stroll around the loch. Mid-sized sails fitted from the onset, we began with a long tack towards the long side. A couple more tacks were required to reach the goal at the far end. On the return leg the vessels were fitted with spinnakers on their port side.

The Apollo began stretching a small lead from the startline ahead of the RestlessWave and BlueHaze but over the lochs length the wind began to pick up and the RestlessWave overtook the Apollo. On the return with spinnakers the RestlessWave continued to extend its lead initially heading towards the Hole but with a gust of wind it returned to the short shore where Adam manouvered it around the Point to the finish.

Result: 1. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 29:23, 2. BlueHaze Kevin Paterson 32:54, 3. Apollo Donald McWilliam & Peter Sinclair 33:18

The second event was almost a repeat of the earlier race but all the vessels this time were much closer however the RestlessWave dominated steadily maintaining the gap from the others.

Result: 1. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 28:39, 2. BlueHaze Kevin & Michael Paterson 29:28, 3. Apollo Donald McWilliam & Peter Sinclair 30:59, 4. Skua David Sutherland & Innes Scollay 33:51

The Wick Model Yacht Club has begun its 2020 season on a very blustery day, the type of day that can cause breakages. The afternoon was bright, the water of the loch was brown as it was stirred by the fairly large waves and the spray from the breaking wave tops were being whipped up blowing across to the far side of the loch.

The off beam wind was blowing from a south westerly direction, so from the startline we were sailing into the wind and if everything went correctly it would only require one tack to reach the opposing goal. On the return small balloon spinnakers were fitted again hogging the short shore a single tack could be possible.

Starting the first race the Apollo quickly took the lead forging its way through the waves. Followed by the RestlessWave and the slower BlueHaze sailing slightly higher. As we all passed the Chicken rock the Apollo and RestlessWave required several adjustments to get off the long side as the wind kept pushing them back. The BlueHaze passed them both with a tweak just outside the returning goal to cross the line where it was turned with spinnaker fitted for the return leg. The Apollo & RestlessWave followed suit. A couple of adjustments and we crossed the finish line.

Result: 1. BlueHaze Kevin Paterson 25:19, 2. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 26:10, 3. Apollo Donald McWilliam 31:40

For the second race heading into the wind the Apollo changed tactics attempting to follow the short shore by tightening its sails, however the downside of this was it needed numerous adjustments losing time. The BlueHaze sailing down the middle of the loch was moving quickly and pulled away from the following RestlessWave. As the first race it required a minor adjustment outside the returning goal. The Apollo and RestlessWave also repeated their previous race manoeuvres. The return leg was fast as the BlueHaze continued to stretch its lead until it collided with the short shore where it sat until its sailor caught up. The RestlessWave also following the short shore passed the floundering BlueHaze. Once recovered, slackened and released it again set off at pace. Heading out towards the middle of the loch it began closing the gap to the leading RestlessWave. As they both approached the finishline the RestlessWave had to negotiate the Point losing valuable time allowing the BlueHaze to pass.

Result: 1. BlueHaze Kevin & Michael Paterson 18:49, 2. RestlessWave Graham & Adam Robertson 19:47, 3. Apollo Donald McWilliam 25:29