Today’s race was a bit of an anticlimax. Not only were quite a few of the regular starters unable to sail, but also the fickle finger of fate played a part in shaping the outcome of today’s activities.
As far as our regular TY fleet goes, Grey Fox is taking an enforced rest break, Frou Frou is temporarily out of action with a broken mainsheet traveller and Rosstered Off was floating around St Georges Basin and was unable to make it back in time for the race. That left Serenity with Wayne, Richard Lech and Richard Hipsley aboard and Momentum, with Barry, Ray, John and Roy aboard as the only starters for today’s event. You only need two boats for a good race though.
Thanks to Steve Sellers for giving up his time for us today as duty crew.
The wind was consistent at between 15 - 20 knots from the South East when Steve and I headed out to lay the buoys. Things were going very well until we started motoring out into the middle of the lake to position the top and wing marks. The duty boat motor decided to play up. We stopped to check whether something was caught around the propeller. All OK except we could not get the motor started again. It was great having someone like Steve aboard in moments like this. Steve knows stuff about boats and motors, but even his expertise could not get us started again leaving us no option but to call ashore for help.
Both Serenity and Momentum came to our rescue and Momentum was able to throw us a line and tow the “Wal Curry” back to the safety of the launching ramp. Not the easiest thing to do when there is a boisterous southerly wind whipping up waves and making life bumpy. And this in my opinion is another great thing about TYs. TYs are self sufficient. If something goes wrong aboard a TY you can usually get back to safety without the need of outside assistance and without the added risk of putting other boats and crew in danger.
Thanks also to the skipper and crew of Momentum for picking up the buoys already laid and Richard Hipsley for organising and flying the race abandonment flags ashore.
Unexpected things happen in life, so that was the end of our race day, but just because the race was cancelled didn’t mean sailing was cancelled. Momentum and Serenity took this opportunity to go out and do some fine tuning and, despite the fickle finger of fate stuffing up the race, the crews aboard Momentum and Serenity ended up having a great day on the water. And that’s how it should be.
Upcoming events
Just a reminder that the Marley Point Overnight Race is on 12-13 March.
Also the St Georges Basin Sussex Inlet Sailing Club, Basin Chase is on 19 March again this year. It’s a wonderful event and if the majority of TYs participate we can discuss using the results of the race for one of our scheduled club Pointscores/Championship race results.
The end Trev