Clyde "Offshore" Fantasy Racing

Change is the only constant over time and it was a bit of a shame that good things came to an end - I dare say that thirty five years odd ago, people bemoaned the demise of the 'etappe' (stage race) Tomatin race just as much as some of us bemoaned the loss of the overnight to Tarbert which befell its' replacement.

There are still offshore, overnight races like round Ailsa Craig and distance races like Round Bute or the Scottish Two Handed. And for the sceptical Solent or North Sea Sailor,  yes I do think that roon the curlin' stane is offshore enough, having bumped around in the lower clyde with wind agin' tide and a three meter swell a good few times. However the majority of racing miles we saw under the keel in the 1970s have been turned on their head from 'offshore' to 'roon the cans'.

Cynics who like a weekend with salt spray and a rum ration going round the rail and 'pit, often say that the CCC and CYCA were pussified by certain individuals who used 'market research' to fulfill their own ends and also reduce the burden of insurance cost on the system. Well yes you can of course bend market research by slightly biased,loaded or leading questionnaires to fix the direction of the results and take 'agree a little bit' into being a "Yes" and then ignore neutral replies to show that negativity is in the smallest minority. The only one of these questionnaires I ever saw myself was for Cove regatta which had previously a rather nice distraction from roon the cans in the course being  round the west patch's nav' bouys and not least the infamous Strone Hole. It seemed pretty straight forward in fact, although the round the west patch was hardly a long offshore race in the first place, the majmority according to cove wanted to move away from that format. Back then in the 1990s people wanted more starts, more chances to get a good average result or a single win, and more time at the bar.

As far as Scottish Series went, the overnight 'had to go' apparently. Insurance, liabilkity and risk. Wishes of the 'majority'. With its' demise I believe that there also exited a lot of the spirit of adventure and seamanship which this race provided as a focal point for clyde sailors and visiting boats though the 80s and 90s.  Due to the decline and disappearance of Clyde Week from its heydays post war to the 1970s, Tarbert "week" as it became known when it ran Thursday night to Tuesday eve', became the premiere event -for handicap racing at least-  on the Clyde, with West Highland Week being the next biggie, while many OD nationals filled in the gap left by Clyde Week in July or on the back of Cork Week for some years.

I had the pleasure of the last rather meloncholy overnight on an Impala of all things, in a CYCA class iirc, and we bumped down wind against tide to somewhere off the ayrshire coast to then dive up Loch Fyne in a long and rather damp tight reach. The weather in the 80s and 90s for the late May bank holiday was often characterised by high pressure, and either squeezed gradient breeze or sea breezes developing from a coolish sea and warm mainland. There was the great heath fire of 1993, allegedly started by a stolen parachute flare, when there was quite little wind some days and then too much for the fire volunteers's comfort as the flames whipped up to over 30 feet high. It was only their efforts and a lucky wind direction that kept it away from any hooses in the wee toon. At that time in my sailing career, I too felt that maybe the overnight had had its tea and more round the cans are preferable.

The finance crisis is really the biggest thing to blame for the decline of Scottish Series - which once ran with over 200 entries. However I think it lost much of its allure when the overnight went, and many tell me that the split between Portavadie and the North Side pontoons in Tarbert have killed some of the spirit. Also the Vic' hotel became more interested in higher margin food than ales, although with literally maybe 500 folk congregating there in the good old days, I fail to see how twelve tables sipping perrier with their soup could actually be as profitable as sloshing out pints by the thousands per hour.

Tarbert has in fact never been a perfect place for racing because the winds there are quite variable, often cross the Loch and it is difficult to set and more over, shift marks for good windward leeward courses. Way back when they tried triangles and even I think some quadratic courses, which usually ended in farce as the weather set in for the latter part of the day. Like Cork Week too, the locals had become far too greedy in exacting a high fee for an old mattress and a 'beiled egg' wi corn flakes. Heavens above, one year with no sponsor it may have been called off. Troon was mentioned, as the outerharbour was little used and rather massive. The thought of sailing in true wind and good seas appeals to me, but many said it would kill the atmosphere of Tarbert's golden weekend. Well now high B&B prices, Portavadie and Food at the Vic' have done just that and to many it seems a bit of a trekk and a bit of a high price all in for going round the cans.

I would say these days judging by entries that Largs / Cumbraes "Week" vies for the position as premier event in Scotchlandshire, given years without say the Fife regatta or a major One Design nationals. Anyway, the Clyde definetly needs something in July, even if that does 'compete' with other traditional events elsewhere. I think an upper clyde week with a big party tent somewhere would be a very good event, with all the day boats and local ODs out in force. What though of changing tastes these days?

Well the finance crisis is behind us and the result of the last ten years of raw yet subsidised capitalism is that the rich have gotten richer and the middle class are living in 'single ends'. Educated  Gentlemen and syndicates are more likely to be sub 30 foot today than  for twenty years hence, when equity release meant folk would be up in the high thirties of footage. Fewer are even able to scrape together enough for a wee poking palace or even Piper or Snotty, as they save up for deposits to put an honest roof over their heads. Them with bundles of dosh have even more, off the backs of property investment most often, and these days it seems 40 feet is small beer to them.

So things have changed and we see a bit of a schism between small day boats and 40 foot plussers. Also you have very much faster boats these days at this type of formerly immodestly long waterline. Obviously the 'white bait' sub 25 foot day boats have no place in offshore racing, but surely these big boys then would like to try their skills at more than endless windward-leeward three quarter mile courses? They are competent platforms for bashing round the Clyde at night in almost all weathers we get in the summer there, while giving the added challenge of tidal and whole weather system management of a weekend? 

A lot of this depends on the perceived challenge and prestige, to see if visting big IRC or other types like say 12mR or even some J class would want to bang around the walls of the clyde or even through the North Channel. There is always the down side of coming in on a Sunday afternoon after a weekend of doing just this, to now not even be able to down a single pint and drive home. So I would say, yep keep some weekend races for the die hards, but make a series over the course of a long weekend or week which comprises of courses so devised as to get the fleets into the bar by saturday 7pmn latest.

Fantasy Clyde  Racing

How about then a Tomatin like race series run in the course of a 'week' format in July?

My first fantasy is then to have a kick off from the Royal Gourock of an early evening with a long max 24 hour race, with courses for all and sundry down to the Sonatas. Destination - Tarbert for one night only with no concessions for Portavadie. Class zero to class 2 or 3 IRC and CYCA would be sent off down round Ailsa Craig and maybe off up the Kilbrennan sound, which features little in racing sailors itineray since the demise of the Tomatin. Smaller boats would have the fun of Hamilton Rock near Lamlash and out again to Inchmarnock sound or a 'trip mark' near Ostell bay. Some flexibility in course would be needed to allow for light- or big- winds, and tidal gates in lighter weather but forty five footers and sporty 35ers will be able to bang round the Craig and up passed Arran in a day otherwise. Shortening to Holy Island and finishes off Lamlash as a resort from the pain of all night nae wind.  A north channel start from Bangor or the like would be worth while to attract boats up from south of the Clyde and giver more western based boats a shorter delivery distance.

Day 'three'  would be of restful nature with a passage race down to Campbelltown, starting early afternoon and perhaps sending the bigger boats off round Sanda to gather the fleet arrival into something worth turning up for at Davaar Island. 

Day four would be then, given a full week of racing, a tide dependent bang around the Islands, with Sanda, Ailsa Craig and Holy Isle on the list with dare I suggest the Sound of Pladda as a wee challenge, or is that too risky ? Destination perhaps Tarbert, back to Campbelltown or given a tent can be flung up at Troon, then I am up for using it!

Day  five would need to be round Arran with possible finish at the above ports mentioned. Round the fine Isle will always give challenges - beating, running, reaching and navigating the tide and wind forecast. Say no more, scenic and a long day's racing.

Day six would be from said port up and Round Bute with some slighly more torturous bounces for the bigger boats and collecting marks for the other fleets to give them some proper beats etc before entering the kyles in what is as ordered a westerly push on a flood tide. Final night at Rothesay which gives options for collecting everyone under one roof, canvass or esplanade,  plus many boozers and eateries to lessen the logisitcal load for food.

This would all feel like a bit of a marathon to crews and helms, and righly so. Is there not also plenty more to talk about and more time to savour scenery and put pics up on FB, Insta' , Snap' and Wordpress? I think it would give a real feeling of achievement and the Clyde is pretty much as beautiful as the reaches of West Highland Week when you have time to go round the good stuff.

No stomach for distance racing? Well we already see a very substantial entry for Round Mull, a peach of a stage race to sail in heaven for eternity, and also boats in their dozens gathering at Benbecula for the truely offshore race to St. Kilda. Also the clyde is stuffed full of 42 foot caravans which are used for cruising and these days, damn wide, fitted with big assymetrics and damn fast. The CCC has its very origins and growth from the kind of movement from cruising to cruiser-racing. Banging round the cans with light, family crew followed by elbowing your way to the bar between rowdy twenty somethings every night is not for many cruisers, and they have few options these days bar round bute, the Tob Race and following West Highland Week.

Like many things, start small, perhaps a double round the isles cruiser race/ Bute first, Arran with overnight second of a long weekend. Then maybe attract some interesting boats like the 12mR or the Js for that sake to make  the whole thing a bit of a big old  spectacle. Once a name is had with the big, North of Wicklow IRC fleets then you start to get larger numbers of crew at least talking up, or down, the event and offer an alternative to the usual July up and down the nautical mile regattas, which are expensive to do and some would say rather anonymous.

Market research is one of those things that the CCC/CYCA committee would like kill off such suggestions, while in fact the JOG and RORC still shove boats in quite big numbers off out down the (yawn) channel approaches on 24 to 48 hour races and everyone seems very happy. Better to make a stand, perhaps with a CORC or NBORC, and take a small beginnging, then expand to  the classic Tarbert overnight while then ecompassing several harbours who want to 'bid' for the profile and spending bucks the fleet would provide.