Sail Training

                                      

Following a fabulous weekend of festivities and racing in Greenock, the Small Ships fleet left Inverclyde on Tuesday 11th August for the start of their Passage Race to Belfast where, on arrival, they joined the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge boats for celebrations celtic style.

Saturday the 8th of August saw a  fleet of 18 Sail Training vessels arrive in Victoria Harbour in the heart of Greenock on the River Clyde.  Over 200 young people from around the UK, Republic of Ireland and Canada were there to compete in the various shore-side and sea-going events organised by Riverside Inverclyde, in Greenock, and the City Council in Belfast, in this jointly funded event.

The opening entertainment that evening was an African drumming workshop, which proved to be a tremendous ice-breaker.  After spending an action-packed Sunday, competing in a range of sports from Curling to 7-a-side football, the crews settled down for a good night’s sleep in preparation for Monday’s Clyde-based local race.

The forecast of very light airs from the west was not what the fleet had hoped for, but following an hour’s delay the race started with just enough wind, around 5 to 7 knots, to allow the fleet to complete one 5 ½ mile circuit. 

Yahtzee, from the Irish Sea Scouts, was first to cross the start line followed by TS Vigilant from the Sea Cadets and Merrilyn from the Rona Sailing Project.  It was great to see the event attracting local interest, despite the light winds.

After a very tactical race Alba Explorer (OYT Scotland) was the first to cross the finish line, putting her in 2nd place for Class C2 on corrected time. 

10th August, Local Race, results. 

The main Passage Race got underway at 1430 the following day (Tuesday, 11th August) from the Royal Gourock Yacht Club line.  The fleet provided an excellent Parade of Sail past the Greenock Esplanade, with a large crowd gathered despite the light rain.  Yet again Yahtzee crossed the start line first followed closely by Vigilant and Alba Explorer third. The wind was forecast to be WSW to Force 4, decreasing later.  The fleet enjoyed a good race with the winds dropping light in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This meant the fleet leaders managed to stay ahead of the weather and arrive in Belfast ahead of the lighter winds.  Alba Explorer took the honours, crossing the line first 8 minutes past midnight, completing the passage in 10 hours 8 minutes and 5 seconds.

The boats further down the fleet faced much slower progress as the winds droped, with the last vessel, Cushag of Mann, crossing the line over 17 hours later.  Cushag, who at 9.2 metres was the smallest vessel in the fleet, arrived at the berthing area to a chorus of cheers and ships’ horns - a true display of the camaraderie evident throughout the week.

The closing event for the series was the Prize Giving and Crew Party, attended by all the participants together with representatives from  both Greenock and Belfast - Councillor David Wilson (Chair of Sail Inverclyde), Bill Nichol (CEO Riverside Inverclyde), Councillor William Humphrey from Belfast and,  from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Phillip Naylor

Greenock to Belfast SSR Race 2009 slideshow.