Monday, 27 January 2020 and a fine sailing breeze for the Sailability Australia Day Regatta – yes, not strictly on Australia Day, but it gave everyone a chance to enjoy the actual day’s activities and then still participate in the regatta the next day.
Seven Hansa 303s were rigged from 8am (…ish) onwards and all boats attended the start line in good time for their 10am warning signal. The Race Committee chose the popular course 2 … the triangle course, and this remained the course for all 3 races.
Pre-start crashes notwithstanding, the first race started at 10:05 with Denis and Ivan on Woody, firmly in the lead, with Ragnhild and Nikki in Ralph Newman, hot on their heels, eventually achieving 2nd place behind the gun Woody crew, with Peter and Juliette on Eli D, 12 seconds behind in 3rd place.
Race 2 was a tightly contested affair with the boats placing 2nd to 6th with only 10 seconds between them – that kept the race committee on their toes! Woody, less than a minute in front of 2nd place took the second bullet. This time Michael and Ros on Alex came 2nd and with only a second between them, Ralph Newman shot across the line next, closely followed by Dolly Wallis, VIN, Eli D and Black Swan. A good effort by Ralph Newman who had a shocking start and was port tacker all along the start line.
The last race saw a drop in the breeze after the start, but still there was some good close racing. Woody finished first, next Emily and Ben in VIN crossing the finish line in front of Michael and Ros in Alex less than a second in it! Emily is a past MYC junior, and this was her first sailing day skippering a Hansa 303 – so, well done.
Woody, with 3 firsts wins the day. Alex on 9 points and Ralph Newman on 11 points are 2nd and 3rd respectively. Fourth place went to VIN on a countback with Eli D on 13 point each, followed by Dolly Wallis and Black Swan.
Most of today’s helpers were also crew for the boats. A huge thank you to Colleen and Betty, who slaved in Colleen’s kitchen for a couple of hours, then brought lunch down to be eaten on the deck after the racing was over. Also to Maz and Grahame, our Race Officers for the day, and our Charlie’s Chariot Crew: Warwick, Malcolm, Ken. Thanks, Ken for the lovely photos. Peter was perfect on the radio.
Boat crews for today were: Denis and Ivan in Woody, Michael and Ros in Alex, David W and Fiona in Black Swan, Peter and Juliette in Eli D., Ragnhild and Nikki in Ralph Newman, Emily and Ben in Vin, Peter and Ollie in Dolly Wallis.
- Boats spread out over the course.
- 1st place getters, Ivan and Denis in Woody
- 2nd place, Michael and Ros in Alex
- 3rd place Ragnhild and Nikki in Ralph Newman.
