What a difference a week makes. From blowing dogs off chains last Saturday to a light drifter for this Saturday’s race. Last week the start was delayed because of the need for the duty crew to assist a capsized sailor. This week the start was delayed because of the shifty winds resulting in the need to reset a fair course.
The light shifty wind made what I think was the biggest course setting challenge for perhaps any duty crew so far this season. Thanks to Oscar and Richard for holding their nerve and taking the time to move marks and give us a more or less windward start to the first mark.
This week we welcomed Lachlan and Tim Edwards and Matt Rummery the crew of a new TY starter “Day 7” to PKSC. We are very pleased to have Laclan, Tim and Matt join us and hopefully our club members made the crew of “Day 7” all feel at home.
Today’s TY starters were Day 7 with Lachlan, Tim and Matt aboard, Momentum with Barry Ray Bruce and Phil aboard, The Blonde with John Amber and Harry aboard, Blue Hart with Harry and Frank aboard and Frou Frou with Rebecca, Alan, Peter and me aboard.
For me the starts are a favourite point of the race and today’s start was made even more interesting with The Blonde making the very brave move to start at the pin end of the line on a port tack in the light and shifty winds. I think it was to test the mettle of Harry the new crew and boyfriend of Amber, John’s daughter.
During that first windward work the wind disappeared and changed direction about 90 degrees. Momentum rounded first, ahead of Frou Frou, making it another work to the wing mark. Then a tight reach to the next mark before a more or less square run and then a jibe around what use to be the bottom/start mark for a spinnaker reach back up to the top mark. Momentum rounded a good distance ahead of Frou Frou and decided to take the risk of jibing around to try and hold a spinnaker reach back to the bottom mark. Sounded good in theory but in practice the shifty winds conspired against them and the spinnaker did all sorts of things except propel Momentum in the right direction. Frou Frou slipped past into the lead, briefly. While all this was going on the three short course boats were doing their best in the light winds.
We didn’t get to see much of the smaller boats today except for noticing that the Blonde had recovered from a not so pretty start to sailed her way ahead of Blue Hart and Day 7. Apologies to the smaller boats, they deserve more words, as no doubt they had exciting moments worth sharing.
Mercifully the duty crew at this point shortened the course and directed us all to the x mark and finish.
Well sailed and first across the line was Momentum, followed by Frou Frou, The Blonde, Blu Hart and Day 7.
Final places for Pointscore 17 on corrected time are:
First Momentum 79.00
Second Frou Frou 79.08
Third The Blonde 85.50
Fourth Blu Hart 87.37
Fifth Day 7 89.52
Remember that next weekend the Illawarra Yacht Club are running the Lord Mayor’s Regatta. PKSC TYs will be supporting the event by joining in for the Saturday race with a starting time of 1 pm.