Extreme rainfall created challenging conditions for competitors at the 2023 Ceilidh Cup / Scottish Student Sailing (SSS) Match Racing Championship.
Rain didn't stop play - but it nearly did! Heavy rain across the west coast of Scotland put a dampener on conditions. Nevertheless a great deal of racing was still able to take place (7-8 October) on the East Patch, off Helensburgh, hosted by the Royal Northern & Clyde YC.
Organisers and competitors were faced by flooded roads in Helensburgh on Saturday morning, making car travel difficult.
Unfortunately, Dundee University's entry were a casualty of the weather and didn't make it in time for the start.
Fortunately, with weigh-in and briefing completed, the remaining six teams were able to head out to get racing under way.
The incessant rain and blustery conditions kept racing tricky, but 13 races were completed by late afternoon, after which competitors adjourned to the RNCYC bar for beer, pizza, rugby and a rules debrief by Chief Umpire Stephen Proctor.
Sunday then dawned slightly brighter but with wind conditions becoming increasingly light, the pressure was on to complete the full race schedule.
The dying breeze finally gave out before the Finals could be held and so the round robin placings were used to decide Calum Bell and his Strathclyde University team as the overall winner of both the Ceilidh Cup and SSS Match Racing Championship.
Winning skipper Calum said: "Our team is thrilled to come away with a win at RNCYC's Ceilidh Cup and Scottish Student Match Racing Championships. Despite the extremely wet weather, our spirits were high and we found the weekend very enjoyable with a near-optimum number of races sailed in the light and shifty conditions. We'd like to thank all the volunteers and race officials for facilitating Scotland's only match racing event - we really appreciate it."
SSS Yachting Rep Nathan Dickson added: "Great to get our season under way with such a solid turnout from SSS teams despite such a busy university schedule. I'd like to thank all the volunteers that made the Ceilidh Cup such a great event again this year, especially Craig Macdonald and the RNCYC team, and hope to be back again with SSS in the summer for some team racing!"
Overall Results:
1. Calum Bell / Strathclyde University
2. Craig Macdonald / RNCYC
3. Jamie MacMillan / St. Andrews University
4. James Gifford / Strathclyde University
5. Fergus Wilson / Dundee University
6. Tristan Tucker / University of Glasgow
7. Jill Reid / Aberdeen University
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