Too calm for St Kilda yacht race
14 June 2016
After 100 nautical miles and almost exactly 23 hours at sea, Queensferry-
Organised by North Uist’s Comann Na Mara, the challenge brought together 27 yachts from all corners of the UK.
It had been expected that the yachts would face some perilous seas and howling wind.
Instead, the weather was too good. Light breezes and an unpleasant swell saw crews toiling from fatigue, occasional seasickness and slow progress.
“Sailing in conditions like that is much harder than racing hard in heavy weather,” said race officer John Readman.
“It is very hard work to keep morale up and attention span lively when you are wallowing in the sea like that with barely a breath of air and no real sign of any to come.”
Comann Na Mara chairman Gus MacAulay said: “We are exhausted but thrilled. The intention is to make this a biennial event, so we will start planning for 2018 shortly."
He added: “There was great camaraderie among the sailors and a tremendous buzz on North Uist. We simply could not have asked for more and I would like to thank all those who helped and collaborated to make it happen.”