SCOTTISH SERIES SUCCESS IN TARBERT

North Boats Take Top Position In Five Classes

The 2019 Scottish Series was a great success all round, with North Sails clients taking the overall Class Win in five of the classes and the "Boat of the Week" prize for Andrew Craig and his Team on the J-109 Chimaera. Our own Maurice O'Connell was calling tactics on board, managing to navigate his way through a tricky six race RC 35 series to win by a very comfortable eight point margin. Well done to the crew for a fantastic result in a very tough 14 boat fleet. Andrew sent us this lovely note as soon as the regatta had finished: "We had the full range of conditions and our new North 3Di J1 and J2 set beautifully on the light moderate days. The J3 came into its own in day three in 18 to 28 knots. We have a beautiful A2 SuperKote for very deep running and could get lower and faster than all the other A sail boats. Our big A4 was used in the heavier winds. It was great to have Prof with us and we kept working the sail and boat trim. It was a real nine man team effort with our North wardrobe as a great tenth man!"

''We have a beautiful A2 SuperKote for very deep running and could get lower and faster than all the other A sail boats''.

The full North Sails Ireland squad was in attendance at the regatta as well as Kevin Aitken from North Sails Scotland sailing the very rapid Beneteau 36.7, Animal. Powered by 3Di, Animal was the overall winner of the Kip Regatta the previous week, but on this occasion, the winds were just too strong for Kevin and his team to shine. We talked to One Design Expert and founder of North Sails Ireland, Nigel Young who was on trim and rig setup on board Harmony: What was really evident as soon as we hit the water on Friday morning was the impressive number of North Sails powered boats at the regatta. 3Di is really proving to be the product of choice if you want a taste of success... performance and longevity are hard things to ignore.

3Di is really proving to be the product of choice if you want a taste of success... performance and longevity are hard things to ignore.

In a smaller-than-normal Class One, it was Jay Coville's First 40, Forty Licks, that took the top prize with Jonathan Anderson's J-122e El Gran Senor following just two points behind after a continuous battle between these two teams throughout the weekend. The beautiful Corby 37 Aurora finished a very close third. I have very fond memories of a Scottish Series win in 2007 on that boat when she was named Blondie and owned by Eamon Rohan. It is fantastic to see her still going strong and in great hands. The RC 35 Class was perhaps the toughest class this year, with 14 boats fresh from Kip Regatta all looking for the top prize in a very narrow rating band. As previously mentioned, it was the J-109 Chimaera taking top place by a comfy margin, followed by the Ker32 Hijacker. This is an example of another boat powered by North Sails, sailing with some relatively old 3Di sails, proving that high quality race sails can last. The Kelly Family were third sailing their J-109 Storm completing the 1,2,3 podium places for North Sails clients - congratulations to all! A battle between Harmony and Mata took place in Class Three; both Half Tonner's from Howth Yacht Club sailing with North Sails 3Di. With J-92's making up the bulk of the fleet, Harmony came out on top by a small margin, proving how competitive the smaller classes can be. Congratulations to Darren and Michael Wright for putting together such a nice boat and for a great performance on their first outing. The 2019 Scottish Series will be remembered for some great races, lots of rain, some hanging about waiting to sail and big breeze Sunday. Congratulations again to all the North clients who did so well at this regatta, it makes us very proud to see the blue badge at the front of the fleet. Hero, 1175 and Excaliber, IRL953 © Marc Turner