It was a small but keen group of sailors that launched on Sunday after a holiday break from sailing that was extended due to heavy rains in the catchment that sent debris down the river and cancelled both the last race of 2020 and the first race of 2021.
A 10 knot breeze, mostly southerly, with some heavier gusts promised a pleasant afternoon of reaching up and down the muddy river to work off those “Christmas Kilos”. Tide was nearing low, but the rush of freshwater kept the run out going until well after the race finished and hinted that the fleet would be dicing with the mud flats to keep out of the current while conditions made it impossible to see the bottom.
With just 4 cats and 5 monohull craft taking part, the planned Handicap start race was changed to a normal race with just the one start.
In the catamaran division, Frank O’Rourke on Dino took the lead early and didn’t look back. Tony Kuhn on Stella finished second followed by Dion Carle on Scaramouche and Dave Winter on Spica.
In the monohull division, the Impulse fleet dominated with Warren Sykes in Runamuck taking the win followed by Martina Holt in Spellbound. The battle for 3rd place resulted in an exciting finish with Roger Shipton in Zazoo capsizing just metres from the finish line, but recovering quickly to scramble to the finish just a second in front of Steve Couch in Lazybuoy. Rounding out the fleet was Stuart Symons sailing solo in Puffin.
Next week will be a double-header with Race 2 of the Summer series starting at 11am and the 4th Club Championship at 2pm. A barbecue lunch will be held in between races. Dave Winter is rostered on duty.
