Another hot day with only light breezes greeted Port Macquarie Sailing Club members for the summer season’s first double header consisting of Race 2 and the 4^th Club Championship Race.

Given the light conditions, only 2 laps were planned for monos and 3 for cats in the first race which started at the top of the high tide with about 6-8 knots from the northeast. Starting first, the cats were only halfway to the first mark as the monohulls started. Jeff Walsh in Serenity set himself up for a good start until a puff just before the gun pushed him onto the course side of the start line and he had to restart. It didn’t seem to matter though as he managed to work his way back to the fleet and just nudged ahead of Terry Howard in Flying Dragon for a second place on yardstick. Warren Sykes in Runamuck worked hard to get the most out of every puff and diced with the mud flats to keep out of the tide and simply could not be caught. The main fleet seemed to stick together unable to get a break from each other’s wake.

Yardstick results were: Runamuck, Serenity, Flying Dragon followed by Andrew Richards in Impulsive, Martina Holt in Spellbound, Steve Couch in Lazybuoy, Tony Walker in Deep Purple, Roger Shipton in Zazoo, Simon Gandy, Chris and Cameron Bullock in Up Beat, Stuart Symons and Ariana Silva in Elmo, Adam Pilcher and Gonçalo Pereira in Red Star, Steve and Lucy Bohlsen in Interceptor, and prospective new member Mitchell Dawson rapidly improving in Impetuous. There are no handicap results until after 3 races in the series.

In the catamaran division Frank O’Rourke on Turbo – just home from his 19^th Arrow Nationals win – finished in front of Dave Winter on Spica.

While most members took advantage of the club BBQ, Zazoo’s skipper and family dined in elegance at Banks Café. Apparently, it is to be recommended - both for the food and for spectating the Sunday sailing. While sailors refuelled, the wind turned more easterly and increased a couple knots making it possible to extend the course and add an extra lap for the Club Championship race.

Up Beat, now with Elsa Gandy as crew seemed to revel in the conditions and led from the start. Despite the line honours, yardsticks pushed the team back down the results. Towards the end of the first lap, Flying Dragon slowed and headed back to the beach to discover some tangled debris was hindering performance. Zazoo and Spellbound had quite the duel with every trick in the book played as the lead exchanged throughout the race. Eventually, Spellbound was in front at the finish line, although again the yardsticks will make things look worse for Zazoo. Just behind that battle and unable to catch up, Impulsive and Lazybuoy were also closely matched, but it was Lazybuoy that got to watch Impulsive cross the line first.

Yardstick results: Runamuck, Spellbound, Impulsive, Lazybuoy, Up Beat, Zazoo, Serenity, Elmo, and Impetuous. Flying Dragon did not finish. With Handicaps applied, the result shuffled: Spellbound, Up Beat, Elmo, Lazybuoy, Zazoo, Impulsive, Runamuck, Serenity, and Impetuous.

The catamaran division was joined by Jack Corthals on Crackerjack for the Club Championship race. With extra competition Turbo put the pedal to the metal. Across the line it was Turbo, Crackerjack and Spica. With handicaps applied, Crackerjack edged in front followed by Turbo and Spica.

Next week is the Harold Dick Marathon starting at 12 noon. Jeff Walsh is rostered on duty.