Today was all about the planning, and deeply dependant on the weather on the day.

Fortunately, both of these attributes worked perfectly together to create the perfect day. The weather turned on the best possible for our purposes, light steady breeze, a little cloudy so that it was not too hot, the smoke pollution seems to have decreased to manageable. The planning, which began almost 2 months earlier, was a wonderful achievement. We had every boat filled with skippers and crew, with a few spares on a list, in case anyone became ill…this is the essence of planning, and we needed to use the spares at the last minute for this very reason.

Pam and Bruce were our oh so dependable Race Officers, the crew on Charlie’s Chariot was superb, thanks, John, Matt, Gabe, Margaret, and our boat crews all turned up in time for the race.

Denis and Ivan in Woody, Michael and Ros in Ralph Newman, Jackie and Jennie in Alex Martin, Fiona and David W in Black Swan, Ken and Warwick in Eli D, Ian and Kristoff in Vin, Ollie and Helene in Dolly Wallis. David G took Clea on Alan’s behalf, and Judith was faithfully out there in Alan Wood.

As usual, it took some time to set up the course and get all the boats loaded and out there. Once this was done, the races were started.

There was some very serious racing, and some not so serious pranks to make the racing interesting. Photos were taken by a number of people and compiled into one album.

Results of the days racing:

  • 1st Place: Jackie and Jennie in Alex.
  • 2nd Place: Michael and Ros in Ralph Newman.
  • 3rd Place: Denis and Ivan in Woody.

The other places are important only by the amount of fun the crews had over the racing, and the delicious lunch that followed, purchased and compiled by Colleen and Helen, and swiftly transported down to Manly Yacht Club to be consumed while it was still cool. Thanks so much to Ken for organising it all, to our Race Officers, setters up, and to the supporters who turned up. Also to Crosbie, sitting in his lounge room more than a kilometre away, and taking the distance photos, and the camera men out there in Charlie’s Chariot, Matt and Margaret.

  • The boats spread out over the course:
  • Judith in Alan Wood
  • Ros and Michael coming 2nd in Ralph Newman
  • Rounding the first buoy, Michael and Denis already in a tussle.
  • Congratulations to the birthday boy.
  • A yummy lunch, wonderful company, and a race to celebrate.