Author: TVSC

Race 6 of the winter series required a mixed group of boats, including corsairs, NS14s, Lasers, Pacers and a catamaran, to challenge the notion that sailing requires wind. A fitful breeze coupled with an adverse ebbing tide made even getting across the start line hard
work at times, with one intrepid sailor advising that they had downgraded their original goal of completing the race to a new goal of simply crossing the starting line.

Michael Grace and crew on Exhale managed to find some breeze and got off well in the pursuit start, but getting to the windward mark proved challenging for many of the fleet, with the mangrove region on the Northern bank becoming a Bermuda triangle for some.

Craig Foley on his new paper tiger catamaran, Soggy Frog, and Guy Forrester and crew on their corsair, Squirtle, proved to be the exceptions to the rule, with Soggy Frog first around the windward mark on lap 1 , closely followed by Squirtle. Adam Hurt and Kate Yeomans on Flight 24, also negotiated the conditions well, being the next boat to round the windward mark.

The current helped to pick up the pace on the downward leg with Squirtle overtaking Soggy Frog, before the lead changed again on the northern bank leg, followed by Flight 24. Flying Dragon, Dreadnought, No Sweat, Rolling Stone and Exhale made up the next group to round the green buoy.

The northern bank leg then provided some interesting sights with boats locked at 45 degree plus angles to the white marker buoy, as they attempted to compensate for little wind and an ebbing tide pushing them down river – two hulls must have helped here as Craig seemed to negotiate this leg better than most.

However, with the breeze dropping further during the second lap it became difficult for boats to get to the final mark. The race to the finish line then became a slow motion battle between Soggy Frog and Squirtle. Craig rounded the last mark first closely followed by Guy, before both became becalmed on the last leg. The water police then decided to join the contest by stopping their boat nearby, but it was hard to tell whether their wake was helping or hindering proceedings. With Squirtle closing in, Soggy Frog crossed the line first, with Squirtle second and Flight 24 coming through a few minutes later for third.

With Brennan increasingly busy on the safety boat helping becalmed boats back to the harbour it was decided to then stop the race. Congratulations to all who competed in difficult conditions. A special mention for Pancho for showing great perseverance and resolve in one of his first races.

Words by Peter Ross

Race 2 Winter Handicap Series

With race day approaching, the social media pages started to light up Saturday evening, all eyes were on the forecast which was predicted to be wet and windy. Come Sunday morning, a few sailors were coming up with all sorts of excuses to avoid the day and stay dry under blankets wearing their Ugg boots and sipping green tea. Those who showed up were pleasantly surprised, a steady ESE breeze with no rain. Though the rigging lawn was extremely damp and muddy in places. One unsuspecting driver decided to go 4WDing and needed some assistance after becoming slightly bogged.

A total of seven boats were all prepped and ready to go so the decision was made to start racing early. One race of three laps on our usual Southerly course, a handicapped beach start with 31 minutes between the first and last boat. Lex and Julie led the fleet out in the still-unnamed Pacer and Peter Fell as tail-end Charlie had his work cut out to chase down the pack. By the time Pete left the harbour, Lex had already completed the first lap. On the second lap Mon in her trusty Laser “Rolling Stone”, was about to mow down Lex when she performed an unscheduled dry capsize walk over. This all looked very impressive, without getting wet but cost enough time to allow Mark in “Keenas” and Kate in “Bluey” to pass her and battle for second position. Guy sailed nice and steady in “Squitle” opting not to fly the kite today. Peter was making ground quickly at the end of the second lap running his full rig Laser when the wobbles got the better of him sending him for a swim.

The final lap was going to be the decider with the handicap coming into effect, compressing the fleet. With the majority of boats beating upwind to the top mark, the conditions started to find top gear and turn ugly as a squall came over. The wind gusts became very shifty, heading towards the 20knot mark. This appeared to cost Lex his strong lead and sent Mon for a Tweed River temperature check. Around this time, another boat was spotted upside down Miss Jane, up towards the top mark. Due to the distance, the shore crew could not make out which craft it was. Until it was righted, and they recognised the easily recognisable sail. (More on this later)

By the time most were at the bottom of the course on the last lap the wind started to behave itself allowing for an easy finish. “Bluey” in first, closely followed by “Keenas” and “Rolling Stone” third, all receiving applause from the shore. Mon enjoyed her sail so much she could be heard talking it up all the way to the ramp. The final boat crossed 9 minutes after the first, which isn’t bad for a 90-minute race, well done, Kate for crunching the numbers. Also, a big shout out to Bryan for manning the safety boat in miserable conditions at times, if you weren’t sailing that is.

Post-race and pack up, results and prizes were shared along with excuses and stories.

Now in the words of the skipper from the mystery capsize, “it would’ve been hard to believe that it was me that had gone over”. The crew of “Gidget” were blaming the skipper; the skipper was blaming the crew. This would require further investigation and has been sent to the video ref. via social media, if you haven’t seen the video, do yourself a favour and make up your own mind. Another fun day had by all. Back in 2 weeks with sunshine guaranteed.

Words by Adam Andrewartha

In the middle of May in Mooloolaba, a team from Tweed took on the best of the best at the Mooloolaba Yacht Club Women’s Keelboat Regatta. Maddie Lyons, Emily Johnson, Debbie Jones and Catherine Davies (RQYS) battled teams from Townsville to Newcastle as well as unseasonably wet weather and a flooded river over 2 days of all-female, short course river racing. TVSC sailor, Phoebe Reedman also competed but helped make up another team.

The format features windward / leeward racing close to shore with crowds lining the river adding a gladiatorial vibe to the sailors as they race. Each race is usually about 10 minutes duration and features 4 boats at a time.

On Saturday a mixed fleet faced 20 knots of squally windy cold conditions, but the racing was red hot. Spinnakers were banned and the mains were reefed but the sailors who could best manage the flooding tide and bullet gusts better tended to find themselves in front.

Sunday saw a change in the weather with wet tropical still moist air and about 3 knots finding crews stripping out of wet gear and sailing under a blue sky in t-shirts and shorts. The fleet was split into Gold and Silver fleets to better match the competition. The Sunday racing often came down to who could pick the shifts downwind the best.

The Tweed team finished 8th for the regatta, but that result undersold their performance. Having often led races at times they showed that they are a future force to be reckoned with. Tweed also showed the way by including Emily Johnson, who at 13 years of age was the youngest competitor in the fleet.