Port Macquarie Sailing Club members brought home a hat-trick of wins from Queens Lake Sailing Club’s annual Queen of the Lake event on Saturday. Terry Howard in Flying Dragon, was first in Division 3, Paul Robertson and Martina Holt in Flembouyant were first in Division 2 Monohulls, and Frank O’Rourke on Turbo was first in Division 2 Catamarans.

Backing up for a second day’s racing at Port Macquarie on Sunday, several crews also participated in the PMSC Sprint Races with a tricky 8-10 knot southerly with plenty of holes and a few gusts in the low teens. Wind consistency was not helped by the trees and buildings on the southern shore.

In the first one-lap sprint race, Tony Kuhn on Stella just made it around the first mark as wind dropped and the rest of the fleet struggled against the tide to reach the turning point, resulting in a lot of inter-boat discussion and helpful advice on how the duty officer could reposition the buoy. Following Stella across the finish line was Frank O’Rourke on Turbo who was the only other catamaran division entrant.

In the monohull division, Rob Barwick on Impulsive has sorted out the kinks from last week and powered to a strong finish followed across the line by Simon Gandy and Steve Couch in Up Beat, Martina Holt in Spellbound, Mitch Dawson in Impetuous, Stuart Symons and Brian Wehlburg in Elmo, Jeff Walsh in Serenity and Terry Howard in Flying Dragon.

Race 2 was planned as a 2-lap race and Up Beat was so engrossed as to cross the line first – but after only one lap! The ensuing 360 allowed Impulsive to slip past and maintain the lead for the second lap. After Impulsive and Up Beat were Elmo, Spellbound, Serenity, Impetuous and Flying Dragon.

In the catamaran division, Turbo took the win over Stella.

Keen to make amends, Up Beat was caught on the wrong side of the start line for the 3^rd race and was recalled to the start line. Flying Dragon finally found the winning form left behind at Queens Lake and powered home to finish first as the rain came down. Second was Spellbound followed by Up Beat working the way back up through the fleet, but not fast enough. Impulsive was next followed by Serenity, Elmo and Impulsive.

Turbo again won in the catamaran division, but with Stella much closer in this race.

Unfortunately, after lunch, the rains continued and the breeze dwindled, so the final two races of the day were cancelled.

Next weekend, being Easter, will be the Easter Cup for those who are not away. It is planned to be held over two races at 10:30am and 1:00pm, but those in attendance will make up the rules on the day. A volunteer is required for duty.