After a lack of wind last week, a nice 10-12 knot south-westerly on Sunday was a welcome sight for Port Macquarie Sailing Club members as they rigged up for the 9th Handicap Start Race. A runout tide and murky waters suggested that some care would be needed in the shallows on the northern side of the river while working back into the wind and tide.
In the Catamaran Division, Frank O’Rourke on Dino sliced through the fleet to take the win. Scott Witchard on Hummer pushed on in an eventful race to take second place. Jack Corthals on Harpic did not finish.
In the Junior Division, Zoe and Andrew Copeland in Puffin also had a tough race but successfully completed the course for a well-deserved win.
Paul Robertson and Warren Sykes in Flembouyant started as the scratch boat for the monohulls, but successfully carved up the fleet to take the win. Stuart Symons and Kieran Copeland in Elmo crossed the line in second place. Following in quick succession were Roger Shipton in Zazoo, Andrew Richards in Impulsive and Terry Howard in Flying Fish – all three keeping the pressure on each other throughout the entire race. Steve Couch in Lazybuoy crossed next followed by Steve Bohlsen in Interceptor and Martina Holt in Spellbound.
Next week will be the final race of the season: Summer Season Race 7 starting at 12 noon followed by a BBQ and celebratory beverage(s). Simon Gandy is rostered on duty.
