Rally Report by Malcolm Higgs

The Rally that was not going to be: and was!

I said that I was not going to organise a rally at Holy Loch this year because the poor response in 2008 made it not worth the effort of arranging the use of the sailing club and, booking and then cancelling arrangements at Holy Loch Inn. Someone (was it Robin?) must have had different thoughts. I had telephone calls and emails asking for the date of the rally, some from members of long standing but mainly from new members who wished to sail with and talk to people with experience of sailing boats with Junk Rigs.

I knew that I was unlikely to get more than three boats together at once. The date had to be one that could get them all in one place at the same time. CABER had gone cruising weeks earlier and was now on the Irish coast which left ORCA, FLORENCE LOUISA II and BUMPER, all Virgo Voyagers.

The date had to be 4th July 2009 which was not suitable for everyone, but was the only one on which the boats were available. On the day we had an attendance of nine. Five regular boats crew, three from the Edinburgh area and one from the Oban area. We met at Holy Loch Marina, the weather was excellent. We took the boats out and had a very pleasant sail across to The Royal Gourock Y.C. in light winds, and plenty of sun before returning to the berths. It is doubtful if we could have had a day more suitable for demonstrating and trying out Junk Rig sailing techniques. The contrast between this weather and that of a few weeks previous when I had first met Martin Palmer and taken him out in what I told him was a Force 4 (but which he later checked up on and found to be nearer F6) with two to four panels reefed down could not have been greater.

A gathering then took place on the jetty where tea and biscuits helped lubricate the vocal chords and boats and fittings and slightly different rigs and layouts were examined and commented on. Afterwards we returned to the Holy Loch Inn where they once again provided us with an excellent meal.

On Sunday only two boats were available in the morning but with some members having had to return home on Saturday night it was sufficient, and once again the day proved to be ideal.

The overall opinion is that this weekend was on of, if not the best, we have had due largely to the weather but also because of the real interest shown by the new members in finding out how the rig worked.

Following on from this the three boats spent three days sailing in company before ORCA had the return to Girvan, and the other two did a little independent sailing before meeting up at Girvan on the Friday. On the Saturday, FLORENCE LOUISA II left harbour early with the intention of eventually rounding The Mull of Kintyre and spending some time on the West Coast. We, in BUMPER, spent another three days sailing before once again picking up the home mooring The Holy Loch. Whilst conditions were not ideal every day, it was generally warm and sunny, often hot, and if the forecasters failed to get the wind direction and strength correct, then we had to forgive them and turn on the engine.

Some news on GRAYDALE. This boat is still on The Clyde now being owned by Douglas Houston and based at Cardwell Bay, Gourock. It has also been in the news recently having ended up aground, lying on its side in West Bay, Dunoon, after being moored to a visitors mooring that gave way. The good news is that the vessel was re-floated successfully and appears to have suffered little or no damage. This is a reminder to all that visitors moorings (and others that are vacant) may not be maintained and should be treated with caution.

This rally report was taken
from the Junk Rig Association Newsletter 53.