The UFG night race to Rothesay started in near-perfect conditions at 21:30 on the evening of Friday 3rd July, however with 35kt+ gusts and torrential rain forecast for 02:00 the direct short course option was happily snapped up by crews of Green Kestrel and Hydra…

Sunset on Hydra

A good easterly breeze and flat seas gave both boats a storming spinnaker run at 7-8kts until just south of the Cumbraes.

After a good start and some un-gentlemanly defensive manoeuvring Hydra was able to hold the lead until Irvine, after which Green Kestrel’s extra boatspeed allowed her to pull steadily clear.

With darkness having fallen and the predicted strong gusts beginning to fill in, Hydra’s spinnaker was dropped mid-wipeout in less than textbook fashion, before an exciting close reach to the finish saw both boats finished by 1am.

Green Kestrel closing in..

This thankfully allowed the crews to be warm, dry, and most of the way through Stuart’s whisky collection before the weather got really bad.

After three and a half hours of racing Hydra managed to scrape the win by only 21 seconds on corrected time, yet another in a season of close finishes, going to show that handicap racing can be competitive, exciting and most of all great fun on a budget…