There will be a few days of aches and pains this week for several Port Macquarie Sailing Club members as they recover from a hard day on the water on Sunday with only half of the starters able to complete the fourth Handicap Start Race of the season.
The day featured a fresh 15 knot nor’easter with an extra 5 knots in gusts and chop brought on by the end of the run-out tide to add to the entertainment.
In the catamaran division four entrants made the start with Scott Witchard on Hummer starting first 15 minutes ahead of the scratch boat. Next off was Tony Kuhn on Stella, then Jack Corthals on Crackerjack and Frank O’Rourke on Zero. Stella was the first casualty returning to the beach with a badly bent bow crossbeam. Crackerjack also had to deal with some onboard failures including the loss of the boom vang. Handling the conditions, the failures and counting laps was one task too many, finishing one lap short. In the last lap of the race, Zero made up the 15 minute gap on Hummer to take the win, but even second place must have felt like a win!
In the monohull division, Tony Walker in Deep Purple was first off the mark at 21 minutes, followed by Rob Barwick in Impulsive, Steve Couch in Lazybuoy and Martina Holt in Spellbound – all of whom would soon be headed back to the beach. Terry Howard in Flying Dragon started next at 13 minutes, followed by Steve Bohlsen sailing solo in Interceptor, Simon and Elsa Gandy in Up Beat, and Paul Robertson and Warren Sykes in Flembouyant starting at 6 minutes. Up Beat was able to catch Interceptor and Flying Dragon, but despite starting last, Flembouyant worked up through the (rapidly decreasing) fleet to challenge and pass Up Beat. Final results: Flembouyant, Up Beat, Flying Dragon and Interceptor. Kudos has to go to Flying Dragon as the only single-handed boat to finish and to Interceptor for also sailing without crew in the tough conditions.
Members were also saddened this week to hear of the passing of Brian McCabe, a well-known Port Macquarie resident and sailing club member. For those wishing to attend, there will be a memorial service at 1pm on Thursday December 14th at the Innes Gardens Memorial Park Chapel.
Next Sunday, the club will hold its last race day for 2023: Race 9 of the Spring Series starting 2pm. Frank O’Rourke is rostered on duty. Following the race, a Christmas barbecue will be held at 5pm to relive the highlights of another great year on the water in Port Macquarie.
