A perfect day with a north-easterly wind of 10 to 14 knots made a great day for sailing for Race 3 of the Class Championships, on the beautiful waters of the Tweed River, with a high tide at 12 pm. To show the Xmas spirit, our sailors wore Santa Hats, with Kate losing hers during the race (let’s blame MONOPOLY for this).
Fourteen (14) dinghies started – 4 corsairs, 4 impulses, 4 lasers, 1 hobie and 1 pacer, with a starboard start to the left of the start boat which was the preferred start.
First to the top mark were the Impulses, Adam on his new dinghy PUDDY and Dave on MATCHBOX. Peter on MR PLOW tried a port tack entry with Debbie on FLYING DRAGON, which didn’t turn out well, leaving him well back in the fleet.
A bit of ruckus for the first rounding at the top mark initially – a few apologies between sailors, with Mark on KEENAS coming in on port to Monique on ROLLING STONE (who was on starboard), with ROLLING STONE having to change course to avert a collision – an apology from KEENAS, and then heading down to the next marker, Mon asking Mark politely to get out of her air, which he kindly did! Such chivalry!!
An unfortunate day for Michael and crew, sailing corsair EXHALE, with the block and fibreglass being ripped out of the hull!! EXHALE had to retire, but will be back in 2023 once repairs are completed. Michael’s son, Charlie, rigged an X3 and enjoyed a great time on the water, improving his sailing skills.
Meanwhile, the Impulses were fighting it out with PUDDY in the lead. MR PLOW overtook MATCHBOX in the 2nd run and was level with PUDDY by the end of the 3rd run, with Adam on PUDDY taking an unscheduled swim near the bottom mark, leaving Peter and Dave to come 1st and 2nd respectively.
Lex sailed his laser and had mechanical issues with his mainsheet. Debbie on FLYING DRAGON thought he was waiting for her at one stage, but he sailed off again, chasing after Mon and Kate (with Kate in the lead and being overall Laser winner).
Matt and his 3 minions, Aidan, Mia and Posie, on MONOPOLY, had a great start, having great fun playing tactics with Kate on BLUEY during the race, with MONOPOLY finishing ahead of BLUEY.
MONOPOLY won outright in the Corsair Class, with Mark and crew, Kynan and Luke, on KEENAS placing 2nd, and Guy and crew on SQUIRTLE placing 3rd. Corsair owner Jason Benny-Morris sailed MIDNIGHT MAGIC with his crew Josiah and Debbie against the strong competition of other corsair sailors.
Christian and Aimee sailed their hobie MLC, and had a comfortable and fun race. Aimee had just completed the club Learn to Sail course that day. John Hayward and Sasha (who also just finished the Learn to Sail course), sailed the club pacer. Sasha loved the experience and is excited to race again.
The Xmas Party followed afterwards with a sausage sizzle to celebrate the end of the sailing year for us all. Family, friends and club juniors attended, with all sharing their experience on their most excellent sailing day.
Special thanks to Bryan, Commodore, for being on the safety and starter boat, Duty Officer Doug, who didn’t sail so he could assist Bryan on the safety boat (and became photographer too), John as race officer, Ashlie and Travis (club junior) who gave up their Sunday afternoon to do the important role of timekeeping, and Muriel (Byan’s wife) for cooking the BBQ for the hungry hoards.
We wish you all a very Merry Xmas and look forward to racing again in 2023.
For full results: https://www.halsail.com/Result/Public/67776
