There are some sore heads in Port Macquarie this morning after some tricky wind conditions yesterday during Port Macquarie Sailing Club’s double header consisting of Race 5 of the Spring Season, and the 2^nd Club Championship Race.

Sailors rigged up in a nice 10 knot westerly and launched into a strong outgoing tide. But at the sound of the starters gun, the wind dropped to almost nothing. Jeff Walsh in Serenity had time to return to the beach and effect some mast repairs and get back on the water before the rest of the fleet reached the first mark. Eventually a very patchy wind returned and the race was finished with 8-10 knot puffs in between big holes.

In the monohull division Warren Sykes in Runamuck took the yardstick win just in front of Martina Holt on Spellbound. Simon Gandy and Kieran Copeland were next in Up Beat followed by Terry Howard in Flying Dragon, Steve Couch in Lazybuoy, Jeff Walsh in the hastily repaired Serenity, Stuart Symons and Ariana Silva in Elmo, Jane Cooper in Impetuous, Tony Walker in Deep Purple, Andrew and Zoe Copeland in Big Bang and Steve and Lucy Bohlsen in Interceptor. Returning to the beach with a badly timed gust directly behind, Interceptor suffered some damage and couldn’t compete in the afternoon event. Jim and Sophie Todd in Overture and Adam Pilcher and Gonçalo Pereira in Red Star didn’t finish in the tricky conditions.

In the catamaran division, Tony Kuhn on Stella took the win with Grady McNee on Chilli Pepper and Rob Barwick on Drift following.

During lunch, the wind dropped again as the tide turned and many considered packing up for the day. Luckily, the wind switched direction to ENE and became a more consistent 10-12 knots that strengthened during the afternoon but included with some much bigger gusts that caused the aforementioned headaches. There were several capsizes during the afternoon and two sailors were reminded that the boom is onomatopoeic – the worst of which returned to the beach with blood-soaked hat and face after stubbornly completing the race. Later in the day 4 stitches and a tetanus shot were ordered by the doctor. Thankfully the patient has reported in fit for duty today.

Jim Kerrison and Deb Stening in Death Defying put on a masterclass taking the 2^nd Club Championship win 13 minutes ahead of Runamuck – even with yardsticks applied! The following positions were: Serenity, Lazybuoy, Up Beat, Flying Dragon, Elmo, and Spellbound. Impetuous and Big Bang did not finish.

For the catamaran results, Stella took the win and was the only cat to complete the course. Drift did not finish, and Chilli Pepper didn’t compete in the afternoon race.

Next week will be the Ted Kuhn Cup, held over two races starting at 11am and 1pm. Terry Howard is rostered on duty.