by Ian Hurrels

With two Class 1 boats on equal points the final day of the Fife Regatta was always going to be exciting.  But there can only be one winner and it was the 1936 Bermudan Yawl Latifa which took the victory over the 1923 Schooner Astor.

This regatta has seen these beautiful yachts race in some of the most challenging conditions.  However today they were sailing in near perfect conditions with wind speeds of around 10 – 15 knots.  Given the weather these crews have had to endure you could almost say today was a day stolen from summer!

Class 1 got off to a safe start from Largs Bay.  From here they raced down to Skelmorlie Bank Buoy, on to Ascog Buoy near Rothesay before they began the beat up to Mount Stuart.  It was in this part that Latifa got the better of Astor and extended her lead.  She dominated today ending up 11 minutes ahead of her Californian rival.

Latifa’s owner Mario Pirri, Skipper Pete Wright, along with Jon Fitzgerald and the rest of the strong Clydebased crew will be celebrating this momentous achievement for days to come.

In Class 2 Mikado clinched victory ahead of local sailor Ross Ryan from Crinan in The Truant.  And in Class 3 Mignon co-owned by Barry Dunning and Bob Fisher, who won every race in her class this week, took first ahead of Coralie.

This year’s Fife Regatta has been an incredible spectacle both on and off the water with these truly beautiful yachts being a real crowd puller wherever they’ve sailed this week.  We look forward to welcoming them back to the Clyde in 2018 for the fifth Fife Regatta.

Results:  Class 1: Latifa (ITA), 2: Astor (USA), 3: Saskia (SCO)

Class 2: Mikado (ENG), 2: The Truant (SCO), 3: Viola (FRA)

Class 3: Mignon (ENG), 2:  Coralie (ENG), 3: Rainbow (ENG)