SSS Women's Championships 2018

It's so cold, but we need team pictures - Photography by Ciaran McMonagle

The GUSC women started the official SSS events this year by competing in the Women’s championships a fortnight ago, in Oban.

The weekend started in the usual manner, with our ladies (and our lovely driver Ciaran) setting off on the Friday night to the Highlands! Once they arrived, our sailors discovered that Oban was a wee bit colder and wetter than they had packed for. A “short walk” is also apparently a lot longer the more north that you go, and after a hike to the first pub, they proceeded to do a marathon across the pier on their pub crawl. We made a lot of new friends that night and reminded everyone how sporty the Glasgow sailors are by ordering taxis home rather than fighting our way back through the blizzard!

Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful but wasn’t quite as calm as a hurricane (slight over-exaggeration?)! Glasgow's second team - named Smash for a reason - were sent out as “sacrificial lambs” only to have all but one of their boats capsize before reaching the third mark. After this apparently very entertaining display, and without the wind calming down, the sailors went home to don their ceilidh outfits for a real highland ceilidh at “the best club in Oban”. Our sailors warmed up from the cold weather by flinging each other across the dance floor and becoming very dizzy during the ceilidh. The resulting exhaustion causing the majority of our group to fall asleep by 11.30, and so our sailors woke up much more bushy tailed than is usual for day two at a sailing event.

A wee bit tired from all the ceilidh dancing - Photography Isla MacVicar

Well-deserved break - Photograph by Isla MacVicar

The skies were bright and the wind had calmed down by the Sunday morning, and so our two teams went sailing, as our driver had a well deserved nap on the bus.

Our Smash team surprised themselves by obtaining a 1-2-3, which left them very excited for the rest of the day and helped them take 7th place overall. Our Bash team, of course, sailed well throughout, winning multiple races and coming in at 6th.

Shattered but elated, our teams packed up and made it half way back to Glasgow before the AA had to be called. It wasn’t all doom and gloom however, as we all watched the Incredibles, ate fish and chips and watched the fireworks in Tyndrum.

Sailors are very resourceful people.

Safe to say it was an interesting and very enjoyable event hosted by UHI. Thanks for having us!