Saturday was sunny and hot and windier than predicated at about 15 plus knots more north than east. This Saturday is not usually scheduled for a race day as people are usually recovering from the Australia Day holiday and preparing for school going back after the holidays. It was a surprised to see so many sailors turning up for today’s race and lots of junior sailors and their parents. It sure made the club feel vibrant and a happy place to be.
The three TYs starting today were Momentum with Barry, Ray John and Greg aboard, Magella with Richard Lech, Pier, Leo and Aaron aboard and Froufrou with Jess, Patrick and me aboard.
Thanks to Sam and Kevin for covering the duty boat roster and looking out for us on the water. They had a tough job today as it was windier and puffier than anticipated out on the water. Its always very deceptive looking south over the lake when the north easterly is blowing, things appear so much calmer from the comfort of the clubhouse.
As such TYs went conservative today choosing smaller working sails and with Momentum the only boat brave enough to hoist a spinnaker. Froufrou was a little underweight today to keep us upright for the conditions, with crew of Patrick at about 35 kg and Jess at around 60kg, and me at 65 kg. What she lacked in weight she made up for in raw tallent (Ha!Ha!).
Momentum started well on port at the pin end of the line and gained an immediate advantage over Magella and Froufrou, a very good move. Froufrou and Magella tacked to port as soon as they were clear of the line to get clear air.
I feel it important to mentioning how beautifully Magella looked with her new sails setting perfectly held up by an immaculate rig. Everything on her appeared to be working as it should be in this wind strength and no doubt she also benefiting from the expert crew of Aaron, Leo and Pier with Richard skippering. It almost makes you want to get out and do some maintenance on your own boat to bring her up to the same standard.
The race progressed in an orderly fashion after the start with good crew work observed all round. On days like this finishing times are almost irrelevant as it’s a privilege and a pleasure to be out sailing that makes you a winner. Still there must be a first place in a sailing race, and well deserved first place it was.
Results for Pointscore 15
Boat name Corrected Time PBH Place PBH Corrected Time CBH Place CBH
Momentum 82.647 2 82.495 1
Magella 78.500 1 83.066 2
Froufrou 84.261 3 84.261 3
Reminder of Upcoming events
St Georges Basin 3-4 February. Make the effort and come along to this great event. Its all about participation and giving it your best shot. We will of course be made very welcome by the St Georges Basin Sussex inlet Sailing Club.
The End Trev