Last weekend on the water
Published 07:46 on 31 May 2022
This season is continuing to challenge our Race Officers as the normally reliable winds in the Harbour play games with our sailors. The photo above was taken by Chris Gorton as the Class 2 fleet all set off on the Navigators Race.
Saturday's Rusty Sailors-3 and Early Points-6
The crews rigging up early on Saturday morning felt a fresh Force 4 northerly blew across the Hard and those who prefer these conditions were looking forward to a fast and exciting sail. However, by the time boats were assembling near Fenner for the 11am start the wind was already dropping and fluctuating in direction. Race Officers John & Theresa Gregory sent the Class 1 fleet up to Itchenor and as the winds there dropped even more we all had plenty of time to enjoy the views! This continued with the wind totally disappearing for periods of the long run back to East Head with helms looking back in alarm at boats further back seemed to be creeping up while they were nearly stationary. In Class 1 Peter McKerchar's Lightning took another comfortable win with Kevan Watkins and Jeremy Haynes 2nd and 3rd in Radials. In Class 2 Roger Bird finished 1st around 30 seconds ahead of Jac Mavity who, in what is proving to be a fascinating battle, beat husband Roger into 3rd place. Many thanks to Tony and Jan Gillon our Safety Boat volunteers.
The 6 Rusty Sailors had a much gentler sail than expected and were grateful that Anna Turner and Finn Western were around to help them back when needed against the ebb tide from the Creek.
Sundays' Navigators Race and Oppie & Topper Club-3
On Sunday Adrian & Nikki Edwards assisted by Kevan Watkins devised an excellent course to test the skills of the 21 boats competing for the Navigators Trophy. With long legs spanning the main part of the Harbour, keeping your bearings was all important and it was great to see how well our 8 junior Toppers dealt with the challenge - so very different from the Sprints courses they had previously sailed. In the end Peter McKerchar took first place from Guy Russell and Clare Collett's 2000 in 2nd, and Roger Mavity's Scow 3rd, perhaps relieved that for this race Jac was assisting Jeremy Haynes on the Safety Boat duty!
It was a record turn out for Oppie & Topper Club with Senior Instructor Alex Anderson reporting real improvement during the session which included a mini race with good use of the port/starboard rule.
Last updated 11:01 on 28 March 2024