It was a good turnout for Race four of the Class Championships this Sunday on the Tweed River. Six Corsairs, five Lasers, five Pacers, three Impulses and two NS14s signed on for one long race of three laps. The weather involved a shifty light breeze of 9-11 knots from the ENE with a runout tide.
The fleet of 20 started with Peter on Mr Plow and Adam on Puddy in the lead, closely followed by Kate on Bluey and Mark on Keenas. It was a rockier start for some. Kate A and her daughter Charlie on Fletcher caught the anchor chain of the start boat during the 5-minute sequence. Once freed, they completed one lap of the course and then decided to withdraw from the race and have a training sail instead, taking turns at the helm.
Mark and crew Marg and Kynan on Keenas received some laser treatment from Kate Y on Bluey coming across on port tack to create contact. Kate Y went on to sail a great course tailing Adam on Puddy and Peter on Mr Plow around the track. Adam and Peter changed leads several times throughout the race, with Peter covering Adam to the final bottom mark, rounding and sailing into 1st place at 1.10.30. Kate Y snuck into 2nd over the line at 1.11.22, closely followed by Adam in 3rd at 1.11.31. Robert, in 1890, was the next boat sailing into 4th over the line at 1.12.15, followed by Dave on Matchbox at 1.14.21.
It was a close race between Laser sailors Monique on Rolling Stone and Lex on Splatter, also changing leads during the race and ultimately finishing with 11 seconds difference. Monique was the 2nd laser and 9th overall at 1.24.33, and Lex was the 3rd laser and 10th overall at 1.24.44. Debbie on Flying Dragon sailed into 4th place for the lasers at 1.27.53. While it’s over-the-line results, Debbie beat Lex and Monique on Yardstick!
Another close race between Corsair crews. Guy and crew Erik and Ryan on Squirtle were a close 2nd and 7th overall at 1.17.17. Only 13 seconds behind Matt on Monopoly, sailing into 1st place for the Corsairs and 6th overall 1.17.04 with his regular crew of three, Aidan, Mia and Posie, including Mia having a go at the helm. Special mention goes to Mia’s artistic talent for drawing our new race track.
It is great to see so many club pacers on the water. The fleet included a range of ages and abilities, with newcomer Griffin seen at the helm of Kennedy with crew Deb and junior sailor Finn at the helm of TSS1 with crew Craig, sailing into 1st for the Pacers at 1.26.07. Brennan completed the course on Jumping Joey with crew Josh and Kerrie sailed with crew Luke on Pacer 6.
This weekend, Justin and Matt are racing in the Formula 15 Nationals in Toronto. We wish them well!
Results are here.
Words by Maddie Lyons