They say the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. Well, rain must be different here in Australia – because it falls pretty much everywhere….

It was another sodden day on the sodden grass on the sodden rigging area. And to add insult to injury, the forecast 10 knot Sou’Easter didn’t bother to show up. In fact, the only thing that showed up was more rain.

For sure it was disappointing to not get a race in – but on the other hand – it was an enjoyable day nonetheless with plenty of keen small and large cat sailors despite the weather. Not to mention a whole gaggle of Weta Trimarans bent on getting some practise prior to the World Master Games in NZ.

As it was we all drifted out optimistically to a start line that was set equally optimistically by Richard Hipsley and crew David. We then bobbed around and soaked up the atmosphere so to speak. I did say to Richard he should be selling umbrellas. He would have made a fortune.

Surprisingly, Les managed to get Wilbur, his foiling A Class, completely airborne before the wind decided to completely evacuate – so it wasn’t a total loss. Paul English and I came to sail our respective hearts out in an effort to win the coveted Pointscore but instead we were forced to keep our powder dry (as best we could) for the last two races of the season.

Thanks to the TY guys for towing us all home when the race was inevitably abandoned. That act of kindness will not go unforgotten.

So, there are no results to speak of this week.

I must add that a broken beam bolt was discovered on my boat Symphony pre-race. We decided to risk it in the light winds. On the Sunday, Lois and I drilled out and removed the sheared bolt and to our amazement found both 5/16” bolts on the starboard hull were sheared and the only thing holding the hull to the main beam was Silastic adhesive and a large amount of good fortune!!  Les Porter very kindly dropped around lending support, advice and tools to get the job done. Thank you Les! I’m picking up some high tensile bolts today (Monday) so we should be back in business for next weekend.

Next week is PS23 and CC8 - WillyWeather predicts a light sou’ Easter. Be sure to come and join in. Only two races left for the season!

Regards, Ross Boyd

Soggy grass was the order of the day on arrival in the rigging area. Those with 4WD vehicles drove in fearlessly but not this little black duck. We parked outside near the TY’s and rigged there. A few minutes later, Paul English rang with a tale of woe and trailer tyre delamination. His left tyre had shredded on the Princes Hwy exit ramp. Luckily, the event occurred very close to a local tyre repairer who had a suitable tyre in stock. Paul managed to get his foot in the door just as the shutters came down at 11:30am. How good was that!?

Paul’s good fortune meant the size of the Large Cat fleet DOUBLED. Now there were two of us! Les Porter SMS’d that he had work commitments and was unable to come out and play.

The day was overcast with a 10-18 knot SE blowing. Occasional rain squalls came through but overall it wasn’t that bad. The water was murky with a lot of sediment from the storms and there were warnings at the briefing to “Beware of the Logs”. I saw a few submerged branches near the starting area and was happy to miss them.

Brad, Todd and Hayden were on response duty and set a great course for the scheduled round-the-lake race. Start line was out in front of the club, 1st mark at Primbee, 2nd near Coonawarra, 3rd just west of Mt Warrigal, back to Coonawarra, then Warilla and an exciting reach down to the reef markers and finally X mark and finish. By the way, don’t miss the great video footage they posted on the PKSC Facebook page.  Thanks guys!

All classes got away without a hitch with navigation being the main challenge especially with the limited visibility due to the occasional patches of rain. A Lightweight Sharpie led the way until halfway to Mount Warrigal and then the Large Cats took over. I was relieved to see the response boat head to the Mt Warrigal buoy and show us where that mark was.

The highlight was the reach from Windang to the reef. Some surprisingly strong puffs were coming through on the eastern side which made it interesting to say the least.

In the post-race chat, Paul mentioned he’d almost missed the reef rounding by heading straight to the X mark from Windang. Fortunately, he realised before it was too late although it did cost him a lot of time.  

Here are the Large Cat results on progressive handicap….

Next week is PS22 and the long-range forecast (courtesy of WillyWeather) is for a light sou’ easter. With only 3 races left till the end of the season - be sure to come and sail. The winter cometh…
Regards, Ross Boyd

Light winds were the order of the day with the afternoon SE breeze nudging 8 knots. Kurt Griffiths took some convincing that it was actually worth going out. With Les and Bob Porter both away at State Titles we needed everyone on deck.

Bob and Johnny Porter headed north to Trial Bay to defend their State Title and achieved 4th place overall. On recent form I’d have picked them to win it – there must have been some very strong competition. Uncle Les sailed in the Victorian A Class State Titles at Westernport Yacht Club and managed 9th place overall despite not competing in the first and last races.

Well done guys!

A highlight of the day was Ross Fyfe celebrating his 80th out on the water in wind conditions that he loves. Congratulations Ross! It’s inspiring for us ‘youngsters’ to see that sailing promotes such physical longevity.

On duty was another club stalwart and septuagenarian Billy Ledger ably assisted by Leo Mavromattis. They set a great port course with top mark towards Primbee and wing mark off the point. The bottom mark was just south of Gooseberry Island. Thank you Bill and Leo!

On the start line there was Paul English on Playtime (16Sq), Kurt Griffiths on Wreckless (16Sq) and me on Symphony (A Class). We all started cleanly on starboard tack with Playtime quick to tack for clear air and head for more pressure on the right side – which certainly paid off!  Symphony arrived first at the top mark but was closely followed by Playtime and Wreckless. On the reach we picked our way through the Small Cat fleet. It was there that Kurt with his flat head main was able to slip past Paul. Kurt and Paul were equal on progressive yardstick so line honours would decide their result.

The wind direction was fluctuating a lot and tacking on a knock didn’t always pay off as the wind would often shift back immediately. It was tricky.

At the finish Symphony led by 18 minutes, but the yardstick honours went to Kurt who sailed very well. There were no losers in the large cats, we all finished on the podium. (ha ha!)

Next week is PS21 and Junior Camp. Forecast is for 12knot ESE which should be perfect. Hopefully without the rain! See you all there!
Ross Boyd

It took more than a bit of rain to dampen the enthusiasm of the Cat fleets. We had 5 large and 5 small cats on the day. The rigging area was already sodden but for the most part the rain held off and limited itself to some patches of light drizzle. The wind was a patchy southerly – much less than the forecast 24 knots – at most hitting 12 knots or so. It was quite pleasant.

Thanks to Ian Richardson and Michael Marzano for doing duty honours this week. Poor guys set the line and then the wind swung to the East about 20 degrees.  We watched the Small Cats all start on port at the pin end, and decided to do likewise. This week the Large Cats opted for the standard triangle course - just to be different.

Bob and Johnny on 5.8 Road Apple showed blistering upwind speed to lead the fleet to the first mark followed by Les on foiling A Wilbur and me on Symphony. There followed Paul English (Playtime) and Kurt Griffiths (Wreckless) having a good tussle on the Nacra 16Sq’s. The reach to the IYC channel was an enjoyable blast and Kurt was very quick on this leg, managing to slip past Paul.

Weed was a problem for everyone. It wasn’t normal garden variety weed, it was more like a mermaid’s necklace complete with beads and ribbons. Les caught some on the first run and that allowed me to get past him. It’s amazing that just a few bits of weed will stop an A Class in its tracks.

This week Kurt did well with his flat head main - Paul on the other hand was happy with his upwind speed on the day but had trouble matching Kurt’s speed off the breeze.

Across the line, Road Apple won by 3 minutes from Symphony, then Wilbur, Wreckless and Playtime. On corrected times it was a different story - Championship placings went to Road Apple, Wreckless and Playtime in that order. A podium clean sweep for the Nacras!!

That wraps up the Club Championship result with a perfect score for Road Apple regardless of CC race 8. They were super quick on every leg of the course. I’m sure Bob and Johnny will take quiet confidence to the State Titles next week. Good luck guys!

There are only 5 races till the end of the season.  Here are the current standings.:

Hope to see you all there next week!
Regards, Ross Boyd