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With moderate breeze the fleet cast off for the last race of the Fife Regatta 2013. With glistening seas they executed a race format known as the Kings Course dating back to 1891. This is when the development of yachts in Scotland was gaining worldwide recognition and such prestigious yachts as Latifa, Astor and Kentra are fine examples of the William Fife legacy. Watching boats such as Tringa, built in 1904 sailing a course which unknown to us her predecessors may have done is moving. The small class 3 boats took the inner diagonal loop of the course while class 1 and 2 did an outer square starting and finishing in Largs Bay. First boat across the water taking line honours was Mignon, 1898, co owned by Barry Dunning and Bob Fisher. This was a great achievement along with her five wins in the series.
This seven day regatta with 5 race days has been a wonderful collection of heritage and fine sailing and the Kings Course was appropriate to close the racing programme. Event Director Fiona Houston commented “ It has exceeded our expectations and has been a privilege to have been involved in assisting these yachts return to Scotland. For those fortunate enough to own or sail a Fife yacht it is super that they choose to accept our invitation to our event.”
The final scores convey the close racing in class 1 with a single point separating winners Latifa (ITA), 8pts, and second position Astor (USA), 9pts. In third place was Saskia (SCO), 11pts, who had dominated in the early part of the week and despite having to leave in order to attend another event she remains on the podium.
Class 2 was won by Mikado (ENG) finishing on 4 pts followed by The Truant (SCO), 11pts and Viola (FRA), 11 pts.
Class 3 winner was Mignon (ENG), 4 pts, with Coralie (ENG),8pts and Rainbow (ENG),13pts.
The event concludes with a prizegiving party and we wait another five years when the Fifes may return once again to Fairlie.