Bell Lawrie Scottish Series - Press Releases 2006

Bell Lawrie Scottish Series 2006

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Press Release
From The Bell Lawrie Scottish Series.,Tarbert, Loch Fyne, Scotland.

Day Three - Sunday 29th May 2006

With just one day of racing left at The Bell Lawrie Scottish Series on Loch Fyne, past winners of the overall Scottish Series Trophy top four of the 13 classes.

Crews were at full stretch in today's blustery north westerly winds which buffeted down the loch with dark squalls of over 30 knots causing all kinds of problems. "It seemed like a bit of a demolition derby at times." Confirmed three times Scottish Series Trophy winning skipper Jonathan Anderson who sailed to a first and a second today with his crew on the First 47.7 Playing FTSE. They blew up their vang, which holds down their mainsail, and had to drop their spinnaker to gybe. "It certainly cost us time." Said Anderson, "We were just a bit nervous about gybing and so had to be a bit careful. It was pretty windy at times, but the racing in our class has been just great. Probably the best ever."
While FTSE's gear failure cost them time, their nearest rivals were not so fortunate. The new J133 Jaru, which leads the class and is being sailed by a group of mainly English pro sailors, suffered a steering failure while on a fast, hairy reach. They dropped their spinnaker and main smartly and had to return to Tarbert Harbour to make a repair, while FTSE went to on to win.

Jaru was back in action for the second race and helm Jeremy Robinson of North Sails UK steered Jaru to their third win to lead Anderson's Clyde crew by just a single point, setting up an exciting final showdown tomorrow.
Racing between Jaru, FTSE and the defending champion, Tim Costello's Mills 40 Tiamat has been very close throughout the regatta. "We have lost one race by one second and one race by six seconds I think. It is that close. It's great." Anderson reported.

In IRC Class 2 it is the 2005 Scottish Series Trophy champion Anthony O'Leary and his Royal Cork crew on the Irish IRC Championhip winning Antix, a Corby 35, which retains the upper hand over the newer Corby designed 36
footer Rosie which is owned by Howth's Roy Dickson and is being steered by UK Sails John Brinkers. They had an issue with the steering of the boat downwind when the boat is fully powered up and blew out two spinnakers
today. "It was pretty frustrating because we had Antix by a couple of minutes in the morning until we lost the kites and the breeze just go up. When we are reaching under kite we have an issue with the rudder gripping." Said
Rosie's Dave Nixon. "I think that Anthony will be pretty unstoppable at this rate.

In IRC Class 3 the Carrickfergus based Bengal Magic has composed a perfect scoreline to place themselves firmly in contention for the overall top trophy.

They have excelled in the strong winds. "The boat goes well when it's breezy. It's one of those things that the
more successful you are the more you put into, so I guess we are on a bit of roll at the moment. We thought we could do well here because we won a couple of races last year before we had some gear failure problems. But the
racing is great." Explained owner Chris Ferres.

In the 1720 Class it is the local Tarbert hero Graeme and Ruairidh Scott on their King Quick which is dominating. They posted three wins from the three starts in the north of the loch. The Scott crew won the overall Tropy three
years ago.
 

In the Sportsboat class back to back Scottish Series Trophy winner Hamish Mackay and his crew lead with the J80 Jazolo. With a 3,2,4 for the day they should already have the class sewn up thanks to their 20 points margin.
A perfect all-firsts scoreline may be expected of the Flying 15 world champion and multiple Sonata title holder Steve Goacher who is the 1993 Scottish Series Trophy winner. With Volvo Youth Keelboat sailors Andy Tunnicliffe and Gregg Pitt, who usually sail with Goacher on his 1720, in his crew Goacher has also won the class to win with a day to spare.

Press Release

From the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, Tarbert, Loch Fyne

Day Two - Saturday 28th May 2006

With more breeze forecast for day two of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series the fleets were looking forward to a thrilling day on the water, and Loch Fyne certainly delivered plenty of drama. For most of the crews, a testing day on the water was followed by a trip to the sailmakers with damaged sails the order of the day.

In the gusty conditions there were a number of retirements, with masts tumbling on the Impala 28 ‘Bambi’ and the J/92 ‘Nijinsky’.

Racing kicked off for big boats on the Graham Technology course in 16 knots of breeze and the sun came out to play in between some gusty showers which kept the crews on their toes. The breeze built through the day so by the time of the second race the gusts of up to 40 knots saw even the top boats struggling.

Leading the charge off the startline in Class 1 was Richard Loftus’ ‘Hotel California’, but last year’s winner, Tim Costello’s ‘Tiamat’ sailed a great race to finish first ahead of ‘Playing FTSE’ followed by yesterday’s winner, the new J133 ‘Jaru’. In the second race ‘Jaru’ made the best of the conditions to retain her overall lead ahead of ‘Playing FTSE’.

In Class 2 Anthony O’Leary and his crew on the Corby 35 ‘Antix’ had been looking forward to the breeze, although they were sailing fast, a man overboard incident cost them the lead in the first race which was won by another Corby design, Roy Dickson’s 36-foot ‘Rosie’. However, in the second race O’Leary and his Irish crew finished two minutes ahead of ‘Rosie’, which lost valuable time when they broached on the final run. Peter O’Leary described the second race as ‘Full on,’ adding, ‘There are a few tired bodies after today.’

Chris Ferres’ J/35 ‘Bengal Magic’, helmed by 26-year-old David Taylor from Carrickfergus continued to dominate Class 3. The young amateur crew are used to smaller, livelier boats, their starts were spot on and their slick crew work was an impressive sight. Crewmember Dillan Lyness explained. ‘Most of the people are dinghy sailors. We’ve been sailing together now for a while and we’ve just got the boat up and trucking. We had to hike hard today — we could have done with extra crew on the rail, but so could everyone!’

On the Talisker fleet, all eyes were on the Sonatas, where the Series winner from 1993 Steve Goacher was dominating with ‘Eric the Boat’. Goacher won the first two races of the day, but was denied a clean score by ‘Scruples’.  In the 1720s Ruairidh Scott’s ‘King Quick’ was flying and took the first two races of the day, however a damaged spinnaker meant he had to settle for second in the third race, which leaves him topping the class by four points from ‘Buddy White’. The 24-boat Sportsboat class is shaping up into a battle between the Sonar ‘Carpe Diem’ and Hamish MacKay’s J/80 ‘Jazolino’. MacKay had the better day, posting two firsts and a third, while ‘Carpe Diem’ suffered in the afternoon’s bigger breeze.

Press Release

Day One Friday 26 May 2006

On the opening day of the 2006 Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, the 191-boat entry was greeted by a brisk 15-20 knot south-easterly breeze and an unwelcome drenching of rain. But it’s the racing that attracts some of Europe’s top raceboats to Tarbert, and the conditions were ideal for a morning of tight competition.

The first starts were scheduled for 1030, and a steady breeze ensured the fleets got away on time. For the big boats on the Graham Technology course it was Richard Loftus’ sleek ‘Hotel California’ which made the best of  the starboard-biased line to lead Class 1, closely followed by Graham Hutchinson’s new J/133 ‘Jaru’. By the windward mark the order of the fleet was pretty settled with ‘Hotel California’ holding a slim lead from ‘Jaru’. However the race was ‘Jaru’s’, and at the finish she was over three minutes ahead of Jonathan Anderson’s ‘Playing FTSE’, with last year’s overall winner ‘Tiamat’ third.

North Sails’ Jeremy Robinson was calling tactics on ‘Jaru’, which notched up a victory in its first outing in the Kip Regatta earlier this month. That was a light wind affair, so the team was pleased to see the boat could perform in more breeze. ‘We’ve done a bit of work on the rig to get a bit more out of it,’ explained Robinson.

In class two eyes were rightly trained on 2004 Bell Lawrie Scottish Series winner Anthony O’Leary, sailing his Corby 36 ‘Antix’ with a crew which includes his two sons. ‘Antix’ had to work hard following a poor start, ‘We had to dig ourselves out of a hole,’ explained Anthony’s eldest son, Peter. ‘We carried a lot of breeze down one of the runs which meant we managed to claw back a couple of minutes on the guys in front. In the breezy stuff we’ve always felt she was quick.’

The distinctive red Corby 36 ‘Rosie’ of Roy Dickson sailed well to take second ahead of Chris Bonar’s former Series winner ‘Bateleur 97’.

In Class 3 ‘’Bengal Magic’ from Bangor sailed an almost perfect race to take the gun some four minutes ahead of second-placed ‘Equinox’. ‘We worked out which way to go at the start and just kept on pulling away from everybody,’ commented owner Chris Ferres. Third was last year’s Class 3 winner Howard Morrison’s Sigma 38 ‘Enigma’.

After a lengthy wait as the breeze dropped and became rather shifty, a second race was started at 1500hrs, but abandoned as the lead boats rounded the windward mark and the breeze dropped completely and then swung through 180 degrees.

Meanwhile the Talisker fleet had a full day of racing. The Sportsboat class was dominated by Sonars, which took the top two places in the first race and the top five places in race two. ‘Grouse’ won the first two races, but was pushed down to fifth in race three, which was won by Hamish MacKay’s ‘Jazolino’

The Sonata class saw the return of Steve Goacher in ‘Eric the Boat’ who dominated to win all three races of the day. Steve has won the series in a Sonata before, but that was back in 1993.

The 1720s also managed three races, with former Series winner Ruairidh Scott on ‘King Quick taking the first race by over a minute, and also notched up a win in race three. However Scott, who originally hails from Tarbert, didn’t have things all his own way as he was forced to settle for second in race two behind Charles Frize in ‘Buddy White’.

Further details or enquiries should be directed to the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series Press Office: Sue McKichan
Tel: 07802 685454
Email: s.mckichan@btopenworld.com

Plans for this year’s Bell Lawrie Scottish Series are well under way with a number of new initiatives both on the water and ashore. This year’s event takes place from Friday 26th May to Monday 29th May 2006.

The newly appointed Commodore of the Clyde Cruising Club, Jim McIlraith, who takes over from Clive Scott, announced the following developments at the Sail Scotland Press Reception on Friday 6th January 2006 at the London International Boat Show.

Tunnock’s Trophy
Tunnock’s, who have been a course sponsor at the Scottish Series for the past 20 years, have donated the Tunnock’s Trophy, which will be presented to the winning yacht in the feeder race from Bangor, Northern Ireland, to Tarbert. This passage race will take place on Wednesday 24th May 2006 and is being run in conjunction with the Royal Ulster Yacht Club.

Tarbert Shield
This trophy will be presented to the winning yacht in the Kip to Tarbert feeder race, which will take place on Thursday 25th May and is being organised with assistance from the Royal Gourock Yacht Club and Kip Marina.

The Scottish Series Race Committee has listened to competitor feedback from last year’s event and both these feeder races will be treated as ‘stand alone races’, and will not count towards the overall points score for the Scottish Series. The ‘Tarbert Outbound’ Races to both Kip and Bangor will be run again this year, leaving Tarbert on Tuesday 30th May.

RYA Scotland Sailing in The City
As always, there’s an exciting shore-side activity programme running alongside the sailing in Loch Fyne. This year for the first time, RYA Scotland is going to bring their ‘Sailing in the City’ initiative to Tarbert. The scheme aims to offer local and accessible sailing to young people all over Scotland and has proved really popular in its first two years of operation. Youngsters between the ages of 8-14 will get the chance to learn the basics of sailing. Pre-bookable taster sailing sessions will take place in Tarbert harbour, covering the first elements of the RYA Youth Sailing scheme, with the emphasis on safety and having fun.

Early International Entries
Philip Watson from Howth, County Dublin was quick off the mark with his entry for this year’s Scottish Series. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to compete last year – sailing across the Irish Sea en route to Tarbert in May this year, his Hanse 371, ‘Megawat’ sank following a catastrophic rudder stock failure. Luckily friends on a nearby yacht ‘Quite Correct’ rescued him and his crew. Race organisers offered to refund his entry fee, but he generously announced that the Clyde Cruising Club should enter him immediately for the 2006 event and he fully intends to be on the start line with ‘Hansebacker’, his brand new Hanse 371.

French sailor, Géry Trentesaux, who has raced at the Scottish Series in previous years has intimated he is keen to race in this year’ event aboard his yacht ‘Courrier’ and is keen to encourage other French yachts to compete in this year’s Bell Lawrie Scottish Series.

Scottish exile David Cullen now living in Hong Kong, who skippered the Farr 45, ‘Team Struan’ last year, hopes to return to compete this year, commenting: “We all had a great time last year, with some really competitive racing in Class 1. Hopefully we’ll be back in 2006 – the fantastic racing in such stunning surroundings on Loch Fyne, plus the lively social programme in the evenings means it’s an event we’re all keen to return to.”

1720 Scottish National Championships 2006 and 2007
The 1720 Class association has announced that the 1720 Scottish National Championships for 2006 and 2007 will be held as part of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series. Class secretary Becci Eplett said “We hope that by upgrading the event to a National Championship we may be able to encourage a higher entry from the Class”

Kip Marina is offering a special rate for any boats wishing to race in Clyde regattas during May and June. Contact Heath Gairns, at Kip Marina on Tel: 01475 521485 for further details.

Commenting on their seventh year of sponsorship, Fraser Gardiner, Director of investment managers, Bell Lawrie said, “We’re delighted to continue to support the Scottish Series. It has proved itself a valuable platform for us over the years and is a great event to be connected with; we work hard with the Clyde Cruising Club and other sponsors to make it an event to remember.”

In addition to Tunnock’s, the other Course Sponsors Graham Technology and Talisker are set to return. Volvo has agreed to support the press office, as well as provide a range of vehicles for event support. New sponsors Tiso Outdoor are supporting the results service and new computer equipment has been ordered. Shore-side entertainment and activities organised by Tarbert Enterprise Company are also fully sponsored with financial support from Argyll & Bute Council, Argyll & Islands Enterprise, McEwans and Shanks Waste Solutions. An economic impact study commissioned by Argyll & Islands Enterprise following the 2005 event indicated that it was worth almost £700,000 directly to the village of Tarbert alone.

The Scottish Series attracts around 200 visiting yachts to the picturesque West Coast village of Tarbert, plus over 1,200 crew who truly bring the normally quiet village to life over the racing weekend.

Further details and Race entry forms for this year’s Bell Lawrie Scottish Series are available now from the Clyde Cruising Club website: www.clyde.org

Notes for Editors:
Clyde Cruising Club was established in 1909 and is the largest sailing club in Scotland with over 2,000 members. The club runs a full cruising, racing and social programme and has been organising the Scottish Series for 32 years since inception.

For further information about entering the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, please contact: Hazel Watson, Clyde Cruising Club, Tel: 0141 221 2774; email: hazel@clyde.org

RYA Scotland Sailing in the City
For further information on Sailing in the City, please contact: Jane Scott, RYA Scotland, email: jane.scott@rya-online.net

1720 Class
Becci Eplett Key Yachting Tel: 02380 455669 web: www.j-uk.com

Media enquiries to:
Sue McKichan Tel: 07802 685454 email: s.mckichan@btinternet.com

Leading brands pledge continued support to Scotland's premier yacht race series

The Clyde Cruising Club, organisers of Scotland's biggest yacht racing event, the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, has received a massive boost with confirmation of major sponsors that will enhance investment managers Bell Lawrie's title sponsorship to guarantee a bigger and better event.

Outdoor specialists Tiso have confirmed that they are delighted to be coming aboard as Results Sponsors at the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series in 2006. As a direct response from the demand of their customers for sailing clothing and equipment, they have created dedicated sailing departments in several of their stores, which they are committed to developing over the coming years. Tiso¹s involvement with one of the most prestigious keelboat regattas in Scotland, plus their recent sponsorship of aspiring Helensburgh sailor, Charlotte Dobson, reinforces this commitment.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Chris Tiso, Chief Executive, said: 'Being involved in the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series is an exciting move forward for us, as we believe the time is right to reach a discerning and targeted sailing audience. The professional organisation of this event, combined with the fantastic attendance from all over the country, makes the association a natural one for Tiso. We also hope to have a Tiso crew participating over the weekend!'

The Clyde Cruising Club is also pleased to welcome back the three longstanding course sponsors: Talisker, Graham Technology and Tunnocks.

Graham Technology has supported the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series since 1998. The firm¹s founder and CEO, Iain Graham, is himself a keen yachtsman, and has been competing in recent BLSS events in his new X-43, 'Seanachaidh'.

His daughter, Mairi McLellan, General Manager of Graham Technology says: 'It¹s fantastic to be able to support such a great event for Scotland. Our sponsorship has proved to be great exposure for the company, with the event¹s profile and popularity increasing annually. Because we're keen sailors, we're glad that we can help support such a fantastic event and ensure it is as successful as possible.'

Talisker single malt, the only malt whisky produced on the Island of Skye, is also once again supporting the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, Scotland's premier yacht racing event and now a major fixture in the UK yachting calendar. In addition to sponsoring a race course, Talisker host a popular 'dramming' session during the Scottish Series weekend, enabling crews to taste the smooth island malt after a hard day's racing in Loch Fyne.

Nick Morgan, Global Marketing Director for Diageo's Premium Malt Whiskies, said: 'I know that yachtsmen and women have always loved Talisker's distinctively warming and intense experience. There is a natural affinity between this famous maritime whisky and the challenging spirit of the Bell Lawrie Series. Year by year, both are growing in renown and success. Long may it continue!'

Tunnocks has a long association with the Scottish Series, with Boyd Tunnock having raced in almost every Series, since the 1970s. This year was no exception with Boyd taking the helm of his Moody 38, Lemarac (caramel spelt backwards!) As well as being a course sponsor, Tunnocks provide some of their delicious products for the crews throughout the weekend.

Volvo is the official car supplier to next year's Series and is also in negotiations with the Clyde Cruising Club to extend their sponsorship. Other sponsors supporting next year's Scottish Series, which runs from 26th to 29th May 2006 include B&G, Ocean World, McEwans and Argyll and Islands Enterprise and Argyll and Bute Council.

Investment Managers Bell Lawrie have renewed their title sponsorship of the Scottish Series for a further two years, taking them through until 2007.

Fraser Gardiner, Director of Bell Lawrie commented: 'The Scottish Series has proved itself a valuable platform for us over the years and we are looking forward to our continued involvement with this great event.'

Clive Scott, Commodore of Clyde Cruising Club, the event organisers, said: ¹We are delighted with Bell Lawrie's decision to continue their title sponsorship after six years of terrific support. The stability that this brings means we can get down to detailed planning for 2006 and beyond in earnest.¹

The Bell Lawrie Scottish Series is the largest keelboat regatta in Scotland regularly attracting around 200 boats and high profile crews from as far away as Hong Kong and Dubai. The event comprises four days of intensive racing in the stunning setting of Loch Fyne off the Argyll coast. The series dates for next year are Friday 25th through to Monday 29th May. Feeder and Homebound races are also being planned. Further information about the Scottish Series is available on the club website: www.clyde.org

For further press information on the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series,
please contact: Sue McKichan, Tel: 07802 685454
email: s.mckichan@btinternet.com