BEACHCOMBERS in Musselburgh are being asked to help find a rudder and tiller which were lost when a dinghy capsized during the annual Fisherrow Regatta at the weekend.

Fisherrow Yacht Club, who organised the event, has put up a £20 reward for the safe return of the equipment.

Although strong winds led to the yacht racing on Saturday being postponed until next Saturday (September 14), the dinghy regatta went ahead as planned on Sunday.

Three races took place in testing conditions with a start of 14 dinghies of various classes. Five retired without completing the first race due to the strength of the wind.

Race officer Mike Wilkinson carried out his duties from yacht Swirley owned by David Banks. Two rescue power boats were on the water and kept busy as nearly all the dinghies in the fleet suffered a capsize and some had several but all crews returned to the beach without injury.

There was one casualty of the event which was the loss, after capsize, of a rudder and tiller belonging to the club’s own RS Vision. Two club members, Max Blinkhorn and Gordon McInnes, scoured the mud banks at low water in search of the missing parts but failed to find them.

An appeal has been made to mud walkers and beachcombers on the beaches from Fisherrow towards the lagoons to try to help find these “essential parts” which are expensive to replace and of no use to anyone unless they own a dinghy.

Mr Blinkhorn, the club’s sailing school principal, said: “It’s a mystery where they have gone as they are so obviously off a boat. We have scoured across the beach and the mussel beds and around the Esk estuary and have not found them. Their most likely area of drift would be towards Port Seton.

Replacement costs are around £300 and, as the boat was purchased through grant from Edinburgh Airport Community Fund, we would like to ensure that the continued shared use of this valuable asset is not impeded by the loss of these essential parts.”

The club now has an overall winner’s trophy and three regatta trophies which take into account the sailing experience of the helms. The competition is divided into Greenhorn for beginners, Silverhorn for intermediate and Longhorn for experienced racing sailors.

The Longhorn winner and overall winner was Mark McClelland, former commodore of the club, racing a single handed Solo.

Ben Saunders in his Dart 15 catamaran was victorious in the Silverhorn. The Greenhorn was won by new member Arjan Dexters in one of the club’s shared use Lasers.

The postponed yacht racing next weekend will coincide with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue training event at which a simulated exercise on the rescue of large sea mammals, featuring life size replica whales, will be held.