SPKA Race Day 2
Report on the 6th of December 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews, Fife
Unusually the forecast had been perfect at times, however the night before the forecast was saying rain and strong winds, luckily the forecasts were once again incorrect, the sky was bright and clear in places, but with very little wind. Everyone sat on the beach and chilled out, and the wind began to pick up slowly, meaning that there was enough for most to get around the course set out. Alan Payne took his position as race officer for the fun introductory race, the results of which were as follows:
1st: Kev Arlott
2nd: Stephen Pirie
3rd: Michael Walters
4th: Bob Mitchell
During the race and shortly after the wind gathered momentum and it was time for kites between 5m and 7.5m's. The second race was run by Bob Mitchell and consisted of a 3 mark (+ start line) course which saw newcomer Michael stomp through to 2nd place on a Frenzy and in a Flexi buggy. With the wind building still and the tide moving in the course was simplified to 2 mark (+ start line) route.
Overall the beach conditions were surprisingly favourable, with rock hard sand which only had a thin film of water in places (drying up by the time it came to race) and some wet potholes in places meaning a good line was essential to a good position.
Well done to Michael Walters, who took part in his first races, and took the 16" wheel prize for the day.
Thanks must of course be said to Alan, Anne, Bill, Bob, Joyce, Leah and Tom for carrying out the duties which are essential for the event to run.
Click here for the series race results to date: SPKA Annual Buggy Racing Series 2009/10 Results.
SPKA St. Andrews Kite Festival 2009
Report on the 29th of November 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews, Fife
Once again the St. Andrews Kite Festival exceeded previous attendence numbers. The homecoming year festival was forcast with smooth 18mph North Easterlies right up until the night before, however Sunday dawned and although mostly dry as forcast the wind was substantially stronger than anticipated, some flying, buggying and boarding took place in the arena, however the wind was just too strong to put on any form of real show for the spectators.
Strong winds also meant that the try a fly sessions were not able to go ahead.
Thanks to all those who attended and helped out throughout the day, it was good to see representatives from Extreme Zone, Kite Club of Scotland, Kitehighland, Marionville Models, St. Andrews Traction Kites, Synergy Kitesports and Tractionkiting all supporting the event and promoting the sport to the public.
Some photos can be found on the SPKA gallery in the St. Andrews Kite Festival 2009 Album
SPKA Race Day
Report on the 8th of November 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews, Fife
Unfortunately the wind was not favouring us on Sunday, light cross offshore winds meant that it was a struggle to get going for many, but a small fun course was put out and everyone had a go at improving their light wind big kite skills once again.
Long distance aerobie and nerf throws, as well as some amatuer boules games were played for the majority of the day, and at around 2pm the event was called off with no wind in sight.
Thanks to Roger, Joyce, Callum, Anne, Leah and Paul for their assistance at the event, and to all those who attended, hopeful of some wind and racing.
SPKA Freestyle Day 1
Report on the 24th of October 2009 - Stevenston, N. Ayrshire
Stevenston is argueably the best venue in Scotland for Freestyle and so what better place to hold an event? Unfortunately the wind and weather gods did not agree. Rain saw the end of the Freestyle Day before it could begin unfortunately, hopefully St. Andrews in March will provide more favourable conditions.
SPKA Race Days
Report on the 10th/11th of October 2009 - Sands of Luce, Nr. Stranraer
With visitors from down south, locals and the usual crowd from Scotland the first race days of the 2009/2010 series looked promising and with clear and moderate temperatures it was hoped that Saturday would bring some racing, however with clear skies comes light winds which meant that all that could be run was a fun race for those who wanted to struggle around the course. The only pilots completing a lap must be given credit, in order: Stephen Pirie, Alan Payne and a few marks for a slightly dehydrated Davie Strachan managing to get 3/4 of the way around.
Sunday began much more promisingly, even though the wind was offshore the winds were managable enough to race although variable in both speed and direction at times. To begin with a large course was set out and some locals joined in for a quick introductory race, the results of which were as follows:
1st: Alan Payne, 2nd: James Armour, 3rd: Anne Downs, 4th: Tom Arlott, 5th: Iain King, 6th: Drew Smith, 7th: Robert Mitchell, 8th: Chris Barker.
At the end of the introductory race one 30minute race and one 20minute race followed starting off the seasons series races. With changeable wind there were times when changing down a size was a requirement for many flyers which added another element to an already exciting race.
Well done to Iain King, who took the 16" wheel class award for the weekend.
Click here for the series race results to date: SPKA Annual Buggy Racing Series 2009/10 Results.
SPKA Summer Fly
Report on the 12th of July 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews
With heavy rain overnight and forecasts for the morning gloomy the wind and the weather was surprisingly good during the morning, the BBQ was lit for lunch and prize giving took place before the weather started to turn, short sharp showers and variable winds meant that flying was mixed in with running for cover from the rain, however the beach seems to have recovered some of its cleanliness and hard packed sand, it just remains lumpy in places so hopefully it will continue to improve over the summer.
Celtic Challenge Irish Round
Report on the 23rd/24th of May 2009 - Benone, N. Ireland
Everyone was hopeful that this years Irish round at Benone would bring perfect racing conditions compared to the last 2 years washouts. Unfortunately the old 'third time lucky' mentality was hopeless and although the wind was suitable for some buggying and flying, it was too gusty and dangerous to have 20+ pilots next to each other competing against each other and the wind itself.
Luckily the Saturday evening meal at Cooleys more than made up for the bad weather and saw a dance off between Scotland and Ireland, with our own Stephen P. battling it out with Rob F. from Ireland, the triumph was most definately Stephens and since Rob already bet the Celtic Quaich on the outcome we thought we had it wrapped up to make it Scotland 2 - Ireland 1, but again those sneaky Irish disowned him and so they now hold the Celtic Challenge winners title for 2009.
The results for the Scottish round and hence the whole challenge can be found here: Celtic Challenge 2009 Results
Roll on next year!
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
Celtic Challenge Scottish Round
Report on the 2nd/3rd of May 2009 - Sands of Luce, Dumfries and Galloway
Saturday morning appeared and with a great procession (and just a little bit too much fuss) the Irish headed for the beach from the campsite. The beach widened out and the wind increased throughout the day and a large course of around 1.5-2miles was set out. A race breifing was held and in the cross shore winds flyers from 3 countries raced for 40mins until lunch.
After the short break there were 2 more short and sharp 30min races around the course involving small water splashes, some soft banks and some hard packed speed runs.
On Saturday evening a meal was organised by Joyce at a local restaurant which went down well with the 30 attendees, and afterwards many retired to the campsite bar to finish off the evening.
Sunday morning started off wet but soon dried out and the strong offshore winds swung around to become more crossshore by the time the racing got underway, a lot of broad reaches meant fast laps and some very close racing from the top to the bottom of the fleet during the 2 x 30min races over the 1.5mile course.
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
Thanks to Jim P. for being race master throughout the weekend, and thanks to Roger B., Joyce S., Keith H., Gary R. and Anne D. for scoring and marshalling once again.
Results are available here: Celtic Challenge 2009 Results
Photos available here: Celtic Challenge 2009 Scottish Round Album
SPKA Fun Race Day
Report on the 12th of April 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews
Winds were light upon arrival at the beach, however they soon picked up and a nice onshore breeze providing some fun for those who attended, a small course was set up and everyone got lots of practice in.
Unfortunately many spent longer at the beach than intended, long queues on the beach road saw some people waiting over 40mins to get out of St. Andrews.
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
SPKA Race Day 6
Report on the 15th of March 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews
Well the 2008/09 Series has now been rounded off with a superb day of racing, 4 x 20minute races were completed between 10.30am and 2.30pm, the beach contained its usual variety of terrain however spirits were high and racing was fast in 15-25mph variable winds. A Course with 4 marks, mostly broad or relatively close reaches meant that speed was the key rather than precision.
Congratulations to Stuart McGougan, Scottish Number 1 for 2008/09!!! Not to mention the rest of the fleet, everyone appears to have progressed significantly over the season. Those who made top 10 have qualified for the European Championships later in the year and may now run their respective position as their number eg: 6th may run SCO 6
Thanks to Joyce and Kevin for scoring and marshalling every race and also to Anne, Alan, Bob and Kev who each took their turn at Race Master and scorer.
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race in the Scottish series then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
Series results are available here: SPKA Annual Buggy Racing Series 2008/09 Results
SPKA Race Day 5
Report on the 15th of February 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews
On arrival to the beach the winds were light, however everyone was in high spirits due to the (relatively) warm weather and large beach available.
After a course was set out it was decided to run a fun race around 4 marks to get flyers out while the wind was still low. The results of this race can be found below.
Shortly after the fun race the wind began to increase and the race was on, there was fierce but fun competition throughout the fleet with everyone finding someone to challenge. The race was completed with some getting 11 laps over the fast course.
A 30min break for lunch and then back onto the beach, one mark was removed and so a simple 3 point course allowed those who excelled at speed to produce some good results, the first lap saw fierce competition between the first 4 pilots at every corner with some very skillful flying and avoidance skills displayed. The tide began to rise and the racing was ended for the day.
Thanks to Jim, Joyce, Anne and Owain for scoring and marshalling throughout the day and for the encouragement during the races.
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race in the Scottish series then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
Series results are available here: SPKA Annual Buggy Racing Series 2008/09 Results
The fun race results were:
1st: Kev Arlott
2nd: Stuart McGougan
3rd: Stephen Pirie
4th: Jim Wallis
5th: Alan Payne
6th: Stuart Walker
7th: Bob Mitchell
SPKA Race Day 4
Report on the 18th of January 2009 - West Sands, St. Andrews
Even though the forecast was appalling there was still a good turn out at the event, and pilots enjoyed navigating a 5 point course on the rock solid and relatively smooth beach at St. Andrews, with very close racing throughout the fleet in both races.
Thanks to Joyce, Bill, Keith, Tom and Stuart for scoring and marshalling throughout the day, without their commitment racing would be impossible.
If you are interested in attaining a licence to race in the Scottish series then please take a look at the SPKA Buggy Licencing Page and get in touch at
Results are now available: SPKA Annual Buggy Racing Series 2008/09 Results
