After cancelling the last 2 Wednesday sailings because of very strong winds and rain, we were determined to go ahead with today’s sailing. The forecast was suitable for sailing, depending on the speed of the gusts, which we hoped we could avoid in our sheltered little bay.
Our team for the day was:
Eli as Sailing Coordinator.
Michael as Pontoon Manager.
Warwick as Support Boat driver with observers, Jenny and Brian, photographer, Ken.
Sailors: Ivan, Denis, John, David W., Peter, David Gr.
Extra help on the pontoon: Jim, Malcolm, Marc
Registrar: Helen
Time Keeper; Corey
Extra help up on deck: Tara, Joy, Sheilalease forgive me if I have left you out. The actual registration sheet was blown into the water by one of those huge gusts as we left.
Slideshow of Joy and John, Ivan and Tara, Peter and Malena in Woody,
David and Glen in Alex, Zac In Charlie’s Chariot, Peter and Robert in Woody
Our guests for today were:
Malena, Danny and Emma from Freshwater High. Emma’s comment, after, How did you enjoy today? ‘This was the best day sailing so far.’
Glen, Robert and Jan from Sargood.
Steven Long from up the street.
Zac from the community.
We started the morning with a very steady 10 knot westerly, with sailors, new volunteers and guests enjoying the fresh breeze. As the minutes went by, the gusts became stronger and longer causing most of the sailors to get slightly damp. Most found this fun, as the water is quite warm at this time of the year. By 11.00 a.m., the gusts overtook the steady breeze, making for very uncomfortable conditions, even in the furled boats. So we called it a halt, which our next group completely understood, and had a picnic instead.
