As our new routine demands, our Thursday competition team arrived, rigged, listened to the Race Briefing, added some warm, stay-dry clothes to our outfits, and took off across the bay. The wind was gusting to 18 knots, so it seemed inevitable that everyone would get a little wet.
Teams were:
Denis and John P in Woody, John W and Nola in Eli D, Kieran and Warwick in Black Swan, Michael and Eileen in Dolly Wallis, Nikki and Sarah in Alex, Eli and Finn in Ralph Newman.
There were 3 races; the first to go around the course, the second to add a bit of fun and excitement with a stand up or no hands component, and the last…the serious stuff, like going as fast as you can and beating the others.
Much too wet for photos, and very serious racing, it was fun to join in with the Bics and do some ‘real’ sailing. This definitely will teach our team how to remain in control of the boats in all conditions, and just wrest that extra second or so out of the boats. Finn tried to do it by paddling around the last buoy in the first race, but got caught out by umpire, Santo, and had to throw in a 360. Some of the Bics found it difficult to stay upright in the strong gusts, but everyone managed to make it around the course with no drop outs this week.
It is wonderful to race in this manner and many, many thanks to Manly Sailing for hosting us, we are all having so much fun and excitement, and creating wonderful stories, least of all the speed we are managing to get those boats rigged before sailing, and put away after sailing. The results are not the most important thing, but if you are interested can be found on the Manly Sailing website: manlysailing.com/manly-sailing-cup.