The first race of the Port Macquarie Sailing Club spring season was gifted a spectacular sunny Sunday afternoon for members to dust off their rigs and plant some new kinks into muscles grown slack over winter.
A 10 knot southerly with a few larger gusts was a gentle way to ease back into the rhythm of sailing, although at times, the trees and buildings on the southern shore caused the wind to come from unpredictable directions.
Four laps of a fairly short course was planned with a comfortable reach between two points.
It was great to see Dave Winter back on Spica after announcing he was hanging up the life jacket at the end of last season. Spica was the only catamaran entrant for the day, and enjoyed the great conditions and the win.
In the monohull division, Paul Robinson and newcomer Chris Lloyd got off to a great start in Flembouyant, closely followed by Simon and Elsa Gandy celebrating Father’s Day in Up Beat. During the third lap, a training mishap saw team Flembouyant taking a swim and then shivering their way back to the beach without attempting the last lap.
In the middle of the field, Steve Couch in Lazybuoy followed Up Beat for the first lap before Terry Howard in Flying Dragon found another gear and sped past. Martina Holt in Spellbound sailed a tug-of-war with Lazybuoy and eventually sailed past in the last lap then closed in on Flying Dragon but didn’t get there before the finish line.
Jeff Walsh’s freshly painted Serenity sparkled on the water, but didn’t seem as fast as last year.
Steve and Lucy Bohlsen were another father-daughter team to celebrate Father’s Day on the water. Sailing in Interceptor, the team had a great day although the reach course didn’t suit the spinnaker. Tony Walker in Deep Purple took part but withdrew after 3 laps.
Results on elapsed time were: Up Beat, Flying Dragon, Spellbound, Lazybuoy, Interceptor and Serenity.
Next Sunday is a double-header consisting of Spring Season Race 2, starting 11am, followed by the 1st Club Championship Race starting at 1pm. A barbecue lunch will be available in between races. Rob Barwick is rostered on duty.
