Highland games

Numbers were down again at the Scottish Series this year. We must not lose this endearing regatta says Ed Gorman

Racing wise, the debut for the brand new Ed Dubois-designed IRC thoroughbred Azure owned by Bob and Bairbre Stewart from Dublin was the talking-point in Class 1, as she took her chances against the Corby-designed 38, Gloves Off. Dubois has been busy with luxury cruisers in recent years, so there was keen anticipation of his first foray into the CHS/IRC arena especially since his last effort, Victric 4, proved so successful.

As is often the case, the newest boat in the class was barely ready to race and arrived with a lot of issues still to be sorted and a crew who were
still trying to get to grips with the boat. At 40ft she is three foot longer than Victric4 and has a deeper hull with a narrower waterline. She also sports a proportionately bigger rig than her smaller sister, all the better to power her in the mainly medium wind conditions of Dublin Bay where she will do most of her racing.

In all but two races she was beaten by the one-year-old 38-foot Gloves Off owned by Colm Barrington with a crew including Eddie Warden Owen in the
afterguard. But both Dubois and Azure's helmsman Peter Wilson, were far from disatisfied by Azure's first outing and believe the new boat will do
well once the rig and other teething problems are sorted. Dubois himself will skipper Azure at Cowes Week later this summer where a better assessment will be possible.

While Gloves Off took the honours in Class 1, it is fair to say the most competitive racing among the 11 classes on show, was to be had in the 1720 fleet. It was close until the end when Stewart Hawthorn on yachtsandyachting.com secured the title after fending off the challenge by David Maguire on Martin Reilly Motors who missed out by one point. Steve Goacher, who did not have one of his best weeks on Loch Fyne, had to settle for third place in Goacher Sails.

Sharing the same course with them, and suffering the consequences in the penultimate race when three boats were damaged in collision with 1720s, were the Sigma 33s. In this class Alan Milton's Pepsi is becoming almost boringly successful. With a semi-pro skipper on board in the form of John Fitzgerald and a boat preparation programme to rival an Admiral's Cupper, Pepsi duly ran away with the class for the third year in a row. This time she managed six wins and one second place in nine starts on the inshore courses and her only failure came in race five on Sunday when the wind died and she was dumped out of it in 10th.

The boat is beautifully sailed and Fitzgerald is a master of the fickle winds of the Loch, but you could almost hear the cheers across the fleet when Pepsi dropped in her one double-figured finish. Fitzgerald, himself, makes no apologies for their dominance, arguing that the class gets tougher year-on-year and that is why he and Milton keep coming back for more. But, from an outsider's perspective, it looks too easy and - horror of horrors - perhaps it's time for them to try their luck elsewhere.