26th January, 2023. Australia Day Regatta

A perfect day for a regatta, blue skies, a mild north westerly breeze, and 10 keen sailors put their names on the list in pairs for a closely run race.
We are getting very competitive at this, and the rigging is done efficiently and carefully to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Warwick and Victoria, Denis and Ivan, Ros and Nola, Ken and Jeremy, Ragnhild and Wolfie, Jonathan and Ben were the riggers, while Jim went across to pick up Charlie’s Chariot, took the race crew, Maz and Graham over to pick up Carlisle, laid the buoys and prepared for the racing, while the crew over at MYC set off for the Race Area.
Maz and Graham had everything ready and Race 1 signals were shown and heard.
This race was fast and furious, with all boats jockeying for the ideal starting position. Vin was first through the start line, and led the race all the way, with Woody in fast pursuit, but they just could not get past.
In the second race, Black Swan was in high contention until, with a loud creak, the mast collapsed. With a broken wing, Jonathan tried to sail home, but this proved impossible, as the sail was by then dragging in the water, pulling the boat out towards the Heads.
Charlie’s Chariot showed its usefulness and towed it home so that the shore crew could help to replace the sail and mast with one of a different colour.
In the meantime, the sailing continued with Jeremy and Ken again taking out a first place, Woody close behind, and then, lo and behold….Alex Martin came in third. This was the first race ever for this crew, and that was an enormous effort.
By this time Black Swan had had the mast replaced, and was back on the start line for the third race, though there was a short postponement.
With very little time wasted, the third race commenced. Again, a similar result for First and Second, with Alex Martin with the replacement main taking out third. What an achievement for all of our sailors and crew this morning, and a huge thanks to Maz and Graham for their patience and efficiency that made the day go so well.