Sailing a 35 foot J109 in the highly competitive IRC Class 3, Biggs and crew won by a single from two past winners of the overall trophy.
Winning with a stock production boat named Christie Cancer Care to publicise the Manchester centre of excellence which cared for Biggs' late father, it was a poignant and appropriate year for the crew to get their hands on the top award. The nine strong team endured a tough final pair of races today when they started prematurely in the final race of the series and were hampered by slower boats in the first race to post a second and third, their weakest scores of the regatta.
While Cheshire based Biggs cut his teeth as a racing helmsman as a member of the Scottish 470 Olympic class squad in the mid 1990's, the crew came together originally at Scottish Series as the core team on Welsh based 38
and 40 footers before racing a 25 foot Beneteau Sportsboat when the Checkmate Sailing Team won their class for the first time.
"I've been to the prize giving so many times and been disappointed and so I really was not expecting to win, so I am pretty much lost for words. It is fantastic to win at last." Said Biggs,"Our philosophy has always been to sail hard, to try and win but with friends and to have a good time doing so."
Conditions for the final day were typical of one of less pleasing faces of Loch Fyne: wet, grey and a mix of light winds peppered with periods of difficult gusty breezes.
Other contenders for the top award, which is appointed by an executive representing sponsors and the organising club, the Clyde Cruising Club, included the IRC Class 1 winning King 40 Argie Bargie, a King 40 owned and skippered by Allan Hogg and the IRC Class 2 victor Impetuous, a Corby 37 from Wales which scored six individual race wins with South Queensferry's Hamish Mackay serving as tactician.
"This has been another excellent regatta which I really feel brought the event back to the heart of the village of Tarbert." Commented Jamie Matheson of Brewin Dolphin.
Irish Designer Mark Mills adds: Alan Hogg’s Argie Bargie (below) won Scotland’s Premier event, the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series 2009 run by the Clyde Cruising Club. Discarding a race marred by a broken main halyard she scored all podium placings to win IRC 1 in an event notable for strong breeze, in other classes of the 160-entry event three boats lost their rigs over the 4 day series.
IRC Class 1: 1 Argie Bargie (A Hogg) 12pts, 2 Playing FTSE (J Anderson) 14pts, 3 Local Hero (G Howison) 16pts, IRC Class 2: 1 Impetuous (R Fildes) 10pts, 2 Bateleur 97 (C Bonar) 16pts, 3 Tan It (P & R Harris) 23pts, IRC
Class 3: 1 Christie Cancer Care (Hyland/Biggs) 10pts, 2 Salamander XX (J Corson) 11pts, 3 A-Crewed Interest (K Lord) 25pts, IRC Class 4: 1 niJinsky (R Yates) 12pts, 2 Movistar-Bleu (R Killops) 15pts, 3 Hops (Bolton/Robertson) 18pts, IRC Class 5: 1 Shadowfax (B & S Fortieth) 14pts, 2 Antix (J Allen) 14pts, 3 Chia Chia (P & Eagleston) 22pts, CYCA Class 6: 1 Aquasmart (C Davis) 6pts, 2 Skywalker (I Laidlaw) 12pts, 3 Celtic Spirit (B Robertson) 16pts, CYCA Class 7: 1 Bambi (P Doig) 6pts, 2 Tangle O'The Isles (J & V Gough) 8pts, 3 Piecemaker (S Hamilton) 10pts, CYCA Class 8: 1 Hesperus (A McVey) 5pts, 2 What's New Pussykate (S Scott) 6pts, 3 Déjà Vu (A O'Donovan) 14pts, CYCA Class 9: 1 Xanadu (A Knowles) 5pts, 2 Lady Rhona (I Cameron) 7pts, 3 Scary…the Boat (S Andrews) 10pts, CYCA Class 10: 1 Finesse (D Walter) 4pts, 2 Poppy (J Roberts) 7pts, RS Elite: 1 Elite (D MacLean) 19pts, 2 Fullmarks (M Brien) 22pts, 3 E'Tu (S Powell) 26pts, Sportsboat Class 1: 1 Tabula Rasa (C Frize) 11pts 2 Water Tiger (C MacDonald) 22pts, 3 Filska (M Smith) 33pts, Sportsboat Class 2: 1 Prelude (Manuel/Bourke) 16pts, 2 Haggis (E Mackay) 23pts.