HELENSBURGH Sailing Club enjoyed another busy weekend with two dinghy sailing events and over 30 boats on the water.

The RYA Scotland Topper fleet returned on Saturday for the last of the winter Training Academy events before the start of the competitive regatta season.

Children from all over Scotland attended the weekend, and whilst they received expert coaching on the water in the freezing conditions, their parents enjoyed the warmth and comfort of the clubhouse.

Sunday afternoon saw the last set of races in the four day HSC Winter Series. The first and third days on February 3 and March 3 had to be abandoned so it was an eager set of 11 dinghy crews that took to the water on Sunday. Race officer Andy Clegg set a windward-leeward course across the loch to take advantage of the north-easterly winds.

In the fast handicap fleet, the local team of Andrew Homer and Neil Manderson in the Odyssey Water Laser 4000, who were the leaders on points from the first races on 17 February, sealed a victory with a win in the first race. Cameron Still and Louise Greenan from Royal Gourock YC took the second race in their RS400, but it was not enough to overtake Homer and Manderson, and they finished in second. Local father and son James and Jake Miller were third in their Laser 4000.

In the slow handicap fleet, Stuart Gibson from Bardowie Loch sailed his solo dinghy to three wins and a second place in the four races of the series, to emphatically take the title.

The runner-up places were there to be fought over however, and it was Michael Lidwell from Cove SC, also in a Solo dinghy, who emerged to take second place. Two boats ended up on equal points in third place - Ewen Paterson from Loch Tay in a Laser dinghy, and local team Mike Heath and Iain Symonds in a Laser 2000.

There being no other entries for either the catamaran fleet or the Junior fleet, Derek Gibb from Largo Bay took the former, and James Forsyth from Helensburgh the latter.