Last Sunday, 14 boats with 28 crew sailed the longest course on the Tweed River, starting at Condong and finishing at Fingal Head. Traffic travelling along Tweed Valley Way would have been surprised to see a sailing race right beside the highway.
It was a perfect spring day, early light rain developing into a sunny day, but the fleet had to sail against a contrary wind.
Starting at 11am at Condong in 10knots of breeze, Kate Yeomans, sailing a Laser, quickly moved to the front and would lead the entire passage, arriving at Fingal Head in 3hours and 33 minutes. It was a dominant display from Kate, sailing with perfect power to weight ratio, beating 2nd place by 19 minutes.
The main group followed in a tight bunch, initially headed by Monique Smith, also in a Laser. Monique held a strong grip on 2nd until the Tumbulgum bridge. Winds swirling around the bridge pylons held her back, and in short time, three Corsairs slipped in front. Difficult winds are always a feature of this race, and although this year the wind was generally steady, there are sections of the river that have zero wind.
By the time the fleet arrived on the Fingal reach, six boats were closely bunched and finished within 8 minutes of each other after beating straight into the wind all the way from Condong.
Scratch; 1st Laser 179414 “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans), 2nd Corsair 848 “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Craig Foley & John Morgan) & 3rd Corsair 396 “Nimbis” (Debbie Jones & Scott Jones), 4th Laser 207817 “Rolling” Stone (Monique Smith)
Yardstick (Corrected) ; 1st Laser 179414 “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans), 2nd Corsair 848 “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Craig Foley & John Morgan) 3rd 125 class “Paper Plane” (Matt Andrews & Melissa Le Roux) 4th Corsair 396 “Nimbis” (Debbie Jones & Scott Jones),
Many other crews sailed this race for the first time. All deserve congratulations to mange to finish this difficult race.
The TVSC is commencing its Summer series next Sunday. All races start with a briefing at 12 noon. Race start is at 1pm (NSW Time).