A fleet of 21 boats made a great spectacle on the Hastings River on Sunday for five quick races in Port Macquarie Sailing Club's Sprint Series.

Tricky conditions kept sailors on their toes with large swings in wind direction and several "holes" in the otherwise pleasant 10-12 knot breeze. Overall, racing was very competitive with boats in each class sticking close together making for some fierce battles as well as great photos and spectating.

Two quick single-lap races were held before lunch, followed by two more, and finally a two-lap race capped off the day's fun.

In race 1, in the monohull division, Terry Howard on Ratz won on yardstick, followed by Steve Couch on Lazybuoy, Martina Holt on Spellbound, Roger Shipton on Zazoo, Simon Gandy, Andrew and Kieran Copeland on Voyager, Max Hachtmann on Gift, Steve Bohlsen on Interceptor, and Ryan and Finn Savage on Cutlass. Handicap results saw Lazybuoy in front of Ratz, Spellbound, Zazoo, Gift, Voyager, Interceptor, and Cutlass.

In the catamaran division, Frank O'Rourke on Dino won on yardstick, followed by Rob Barwick on Drift, Tony Kuhn on Stella, Grady and Alice McNee on Captain Jack and Riley McNee on Taipan. On Handicap, Stella took the win followed by Dino, Drift, Captain Jack and Taipan.

It was great to see four entries compete in the junior division. Aiden Nosworthy on Red Herring took the win in front of Oliver Houghton on Yang, Drake Houghton on Yin and Elsa Gandy and Zoe Copeland on Sailfish. On handicap, Yin took the win from Yang, Red Herring and Sailfish.

Race 2 was won on yardstick by Voyager, closely followed by Cutlass, Interceptor, Gift, Zazoo, Spellbound, Tony Walker on Deep Purple, and then Adam Pilcher and Warwick Morrow on Red Star. Voyager also took the win on handicap with Cutlass, Interceptor, Gift, Zazoo, Spellbound, Deep Purple, Red Star and Ratz following.

In the catamaran division, Dino led Drift, Captain Jack, Stella and Taipan on yardstick. But on handicap, Taipan won in front of Captain Jack, Drift, Dino and Stella.

Red Herring won in the junior division on yardstick followed by Sailfish, Yang and Yin. On handicap, Yang took the lead in front of Red Herring, Yin and Sailfish.

There was a lot of confusion at the start of the second race. With the fleet divided in to three separate starts, it was hard to tell which countdown was for which group. So, after lunch the old flags were dusted off and displayed next to the clock during the countdown and the afternoon race starts were much improved. Also, another buoy was laid out to provide a longer course for the catamaran division which resulted in the cats finishing at the same time as the single-handed monohull start which added some pressure both on the water and in the scorers box.

In race 3 Cutlass won on yardstick, just in front of Jim Kerrison and Deb Stening on Death Defying, Ratz, Spellbound, Zazoo, Voyager (now with Kate Copeland as crew), Lazybuoy, Gift, and Stuart Symonds and Kieran Copeland on Elmo. Cutlass also won on handicap followed by Interceptor, Ratz, Zazoo, Spellbound, Death Defying, Elmo Voyager, Lazybuoy and Gift.

Dino led Drift, Stella, Captain Jack and Taipan on yardstick. With handicaps applied, Captain Jack won followed by Taipan, Stella, Drift and Dino.

Sailfish won on yardstick with Red Herring, Yang and Yin following. Handicap results also saw Sailfish in front of Red Herring, Yin and Yang.

Race 4 was won on yardstick by Death Defying, followed by Voyager, Spellbound, Zazoo, Ratz, Lazybuoy, Elmo, Interceptor, Red Star, Cutlass and Gift. On handicap, the win remained with Death Defying, followed by Elmo, Voyager, Zazoo, Spellbound, Ratz, Lazybuoy, Interceptor, Red Star, Cutlass and Gift.

Dino continued to dominate on yardstick with Stella, Drift, Captain Jack and Taipan following. On handicap, Stella took the win in front of Captain Jack, Dino, Drift and Taipan.

Red Herring won on yardstick followed by Sailfish, Yin and Yang. The handicap win also went to Red Herring in front of Yin, Sailfish and Yang.

Race 5 saw Rohan and Charley Nosworthy on Water Rat take the win from Cutlass, Death Defying, Spellbound, Voyager, Ratz, Zazoo, Interceptor, Lazybuoy, Gift, Elmo and Red Star. With handicaps, Cutlass finished just in front of Water Rat, then Elmo, Spellbound, Voyager, Death Defying, Zazoo, Ratz, Gift, interceptor, Lazybuoy and Red Star.

Dino won on yardstick in front of Drift, Stella, Captain Jack and Taipan. Dino also won on handicap followed by Drift, Taipan, Captain Jack and Stella.

In the last juniors race Sailfish won on yardstick followed by Red Herring, Yin and then Yang. The handicap win also went to Sailfish, in front of Yin, Red Herring and Yang.

With 21 entrants sailing from three different start times across five races, a huge congratulations and thanks needs to go to the officials scoring from the club house! (Sorry for the extra grey hairs Norm and Andrew.)

Next week is a double-header featuring Race 5 of the Spring Series starting at 11am and 3^rd Club Championship starting at 2pm. Note that there will be a barbeque lunch, with some slight adjustments to meet COVID requirements. Scott Witchard is rostered on duty.

Steve Couch - Publicity Officer

0417 667 879

publicityofficerpmsc@gmail.com