I noticed that Digger went to the trouble of rigged Grey Fox but did not sail on Saturday. I am not sure of the reason. If it was gear failure or the like that could not be repaired in time then that is a bit out of our control. If it was because of lack of crew then that is a great shame. If Digger was keen to sail then we surely could have facilitated the acquisition of suitable crew so Grey Fox could get on the water and enjoy the day. It’s an area of communication that we as TY sailors have an opportunity to remedy. So if one of us notices a crew shortage then please let Jim Curry or me know so it can be announced at the briefing. Given the amount of effort and commitment it takes for boat owners to organise a TY sailing day it would be a shame to be thwarted by lack of crew.
We were lucky enough to have Momentum, with Barry, John and Ray aboard for the second week in a row, and Rosstered Off with Jim (back from grey nomad duties), Dave, Shaun and Richard L. aboard for the second half of the season. And with a relaxed north easterly averaging about 10 knots it set us up for an interesting afternoon of racing. The start was well contested with Out of exile Rosstered Off and Momentum electing to start at the boat end and Frou Frou, thinking the wind was gong east, electing to start at the pin end. Soon after, the big boats tacked to port to cover each other and the race was on. Nearing the windward mark Frou Frou was looking fabulous until a few tactical errors had her rounding last behind Out of Exile, Rosstered Off and Momentum. And that’s how positions stayed for the first third of the race with the fleet relatively close together. Then something changed. Momentum shifted gears, overtaking Rosstered Off and showing us all a clean pair of heals and maintained this pace to the finish. I am sure that the loss of a spinnaker pole topping lift aboard Rosstered Off and mast bend problems aboard Out of Exile would have contributed somewhat to the changing fortunes but should not in any way diminish the great performance put in by Momentum on the day.
Final positions for both PBH and CBH were Momuentum first, Frou Frou second, Rosstered Off third and Out of Exile forth.
Upcoming events and changes to the sailing program
Just a reminder that next weekend is the St Georges Basin Regatta. Many of us will be travelling to the event so drive safely and look forward to catching up during the weekend.
The Saturday of 18 February scheduled for the youth regatta at Oak Flats will be a normal sailing day at PKSC for all divisions including TY’s, so don’t forget to turn up.