Jacob VII ends the RC35 season with another regatta victory but it's still not enough to unseat reigning champions Animal from securing back to back Scottish RC35 Championships writes Robin Young.

The RC35 fleet, racing in the final round of the 2019 RC35 Championship, were treated to a wild and windy weekend Clyde Cruising Club GSS North Clyde Regatta. A solid 25-knot south-westerly, with gusts closer to 30, greeted the 9 boat fleet on Saturday morning. The race committee did a fantastic job to get two races away before the winds increased even further. The strong winds saw Tangaroa going like a train and pushing Jacob VII all the way in Race 1. In the second race Jacob VII again made a break from the pack and kept clear of the trouble on the eventful downwind legs. A selection of spectacular broaches and Chinese gybes lead to a few breakages, busy nights for the local sailmakers and some promising positions being lost. The first day ended with Jacob VII leading convincingly with 2 points, followed by Jings and No Worries both on 7 points. The J109s obviously enjoying the windy conditions.

The committee was keen to get the maximum three races on Sunday, after Saturday was disrupted by the weather, and it was looking promising on Sunday morning. Still a pretty fresh 15 to 20 knots from the west. The first race saw Triple Elf heading hard left on the second beat and managing to extend on the run for the victory. Jacob followed in second further strengthening their position. Unfortunately, No Worries had a breakage which lead to them not finishing the first race and having to retire from what was looking like a promising regatta.

Jings got the best of the second start holding out a couple of boats at the CV end of the line. Banshee got clear of the pack but was chased hard by Tangaroa and Jings and couldn’t make their time on handicap. Jings pipped Tangaroa to the victory on handicap. With Jacob never recovering from the start and finishing in 6th, could Jings pinch the regatta victory in the final race?

Some errors at the corners from Jacob and Tangaroa saw Animal and Jings break away from the fleet and have a good match race on the final two legs. Animal managed to stretch just enough on the final downwind leg to take the victory by 13 seconds on corrected time.

The table ended with Jacob and Jings on equal points but Jacob won on countback with 2 victories to 1. Triple Elf rounded out the podium after consistent results all weekend. The RC35 season ended with Animal retaining their crown, Jacob VII in second after a great year including two regatta victories. Banshee got their nose into 3rd on countback from Triple Elf.

The CCC scoresheet

“Another great year of close competitive racing that never seems to disappoint”, commented the RC35 Committee. “Congratulations to the podium of Debbie and Kevin Aitken (Animal), John Stamp (Jacob VII) and Charlie Frize (Banshee).”