After a working week of rain, overcast and blustery conditions, it was a beautiful sight to see the blue sky and friendlier winds on Sunday for Port Macquarie Sailing Club’s first double-header of the season consisting of Race 4 of the Spring Season and the 1st Club Championship race.

Sailors rigged in a 10-12 knot westerly and took to the water for the start of the first race in the run-out tide only to find the wind ease and drop to almost nothing as the race started. The cats made it around the first mark, but starting 3 minutes later the rest of the fleet struggled in the conditions with several crossing the start line multiple times before the patchy breeze improved and settled in as an easterly for the rest of the afternoon.

Rohan Nosworthy in Beat took the monohull win on yardstick followed by Martina Holt in Spellbound, Warren Sykes in Runamuck, Terry Howard in Flying Dragon, Jeff Walsh in Serenity, Tony Waker in Deep Purple, Jane Cooper in Impetuous, and Stuart Symons and Andrew Barrtrop in Elmo. Andrew Richards in Impulsive was a casualty of wind’s “intermission” and did not finish. With handicaps applied, there was a slight shuffling of positions: Beat, Spellbound, Impetuous, Elmo, Runamuck, Deep Purple, Serenity, and Flying Dragon.

In the catamaran division, Frank O’Rourke on Turbo and Jack Corthals on Cracker Jack had played a game of cat-and-mouse with Turbo in front at the end of the race. Tony Kuhn on Stella was 3^rd playing it safe on his injury. Kneecap results - oops, I mean Handicap results - were: Stella, Turbo, Cracker Jack.

Charlie and Aiden Nosworthy took the junior division yardstick win in their Flying 11 now with a name: “Up To No Good” followed by Mick Todd in Overture. With handicaps applied, the results were reversed.

After lunch, the 1^st Club Championship - together with the improved wind - attracted a few more competitors onto the water.

Jim Kerrison and Deb Stenning in Death Defying led the monohull fleet around the extended course with their brilliant red spinnaker making a treat for spectators. The following group of Impulse racers put on an entertaining match with Beat breaking the start and having to return and working back through the field. Final yardstick results: Death Defying, Beat, Runamuck, Spellbound, Flying Dragon, and Serenity. Steve Bohlsen finished next sailing solo in Interceptor and even taking a few nervous attempts on the trapeze single-handed. Next were: Impetuous, Roger Shipton in Zazoo, Elmo, and Adam Pilcher and Gonzalo in Red Star. Handicap results will come after 3 races in the club championship series.

In the Catamaran division results were: Turbo, Stella, Cracker Jack and Dave Winter who enjoyed a great afternoon’s sail on Spica.

Elsa Gandy also arrived for the afternoon race in the junior division sailing single-handed in Sail Fish. Up To No Good was a well-oiled machine after the morning race and took the win followed by Sail Fish and Overture, now with Jim Todd at the helm and Sophie Todd doing all the hard work up front.

There is a club meeting tonight (Tuesday 19^th) at 6:30pm. Next Sunday will be race 3 of the Handicap start series starting 1:30pm. Jeff Walsh is rostered on duty. A reminder also, that the following weekend will be Queen of the Lake at QLSC on Saturday with the PMSC Marathon on Sunday, so you may want to bring your trailers on Sunday to prepare for the following weekend.

Steve Couch – Publicity Officer

0417 667 879

publicityofficerpmsc@gmail.com