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.
After a very disrupted summer sailing season due to almost every possible reason known, the TVSC looked forward to commencing our Winter handicap racing season with much enthusiasm. Although the forecast was doubtful and constantly changing in the week leading up to, and a clash with Mother’s Day, a dedicated fleet of 13 boats took to the water.
Rigging on the lawn…can you spot the glove?
The river was certainly looking a lot nicer as the Tweed returns to its former glory post-flooding. Due to the harbour being relatively quiet, the decision was made for a beach start of Race 1, being two laps in a steady 12knot SSW breeze. Starting times were calculated by Kate Y using a complex system of mathematical algorithms from past results. Starting at various minute intervals, the aim being that all boats should cross the finish line at the same time.
Whilst some were strategic in their departure plan, others took a more scenic route of the harbour before entering the fresh breeze out on the river. Once out on the water, the fleet was well spread out, and the chase began to try and close the gap on the lead boats.
Alan was very keen to not be left behind.
As is often the case, we were all chasing down John Haywood, sailing a Pacer with Debbie. After returning from Adelaide only a week ago and a sailing drought, they managed to hold the lead for a good part until Dave Robinson took the win in his Impulse, Matchbox. There were various other tussles out on the water and a few capsizes thrown in for good measure. Final results are available here.
Mention must go out to a few new members/sailors; Murielle and her daughters sailing a Pacer. What better way to celebrate mother’s day than a family sail with mum.
How good is sailing!?!
Lex sailed with Julie and gave the club’s latest acquisition a run on its maiden voyage. This new Pacer was recently found and purchased by Mon for our “She Sails” program, bringing the pacer fleet up to five in total.
Craig Foley, always on the lookout for members went on a recruiting drive to find himself a crew for the afternoon racing. This led him to ask random people during a morning surf at Kirra, with promises of glory he brought along Kenny Rodgers. Although Ken had no sailing experience, he was able to contribute with some great country and western out on the water and assist in getting the job done.
Lex checks the jug, a very necessary tool in dinghy sailing.
With the first race complete and time permitting, all attention turned to the second race, all boats off together for a 1 lap sprint. Bryan maneuvered the start boat into position; with an awkwardly placed houseboat and a shifting wind direction, an interesting and challenging start line was on offer. The fleet started circling like a pack of vultures vying for a favourable start as the 3-minute countdown began. As it got down to the final seconds, the fleet resembled a scaled-down version of the famous Sydney to Hobart, very congested and boats sailing in just about every conceivable direction. There was plenty of helpful communication between boats and manoeuvres to avoid any collisions. One such romantic encounter did occur when Kate got hung up on a new bouy, a hansom round orange fellow that marked the other end of the start line. Although a brief meeting, it did leave a lasting impression, with Kates’s rudder blade lifted up which went unnoticed for the majority of the race.
The lap went by with the fleet all finishing quite closely together. Craig did not disappoint, crossing the line first in Gidget and delivering on his promise of victory to Ken. Dave proved the first race was no fluke with a second before deciding to install another inspection port in his hull…might be time to look for a new boat name Dave, perhaps Chopsticks?? Kate sailed into third spot on Bluey, even with a less than desirable start, she is always one to watch.
At the time of the photo, this boat was named matchsticks…chopsticks now?
All in all, everyone had a good time, results were announced at the conclusion of the day and some prizes were awarded from the merchandise department, much to Kate A’s relief to be able to make some room for new stock.
Looks like someone found their glove!
Juniors will return next Sunday on the 15th and racing again on the 22nd. See you then
As the competitors in the 2022 Peel island marathon were listening carefully to the race committee at the briefing inside the Cleveland Yacht club, Peel island disappeared in a rain squall that would have sent any landlubber running back home to watch T.V.
Seven Corsairs from TVSC and one local Corsair made their way out to the start in conditions that had changed dramatically and were bordering on pleasant. Not all boats however made it to the start on time, and only two made it to what had become the favoured pin end of the start line.
Monopoly getting some wave action.
This meant that after a short beat to windward, Monopoly (Matt, Kat and Spike) had a small lead over None the Wiser, which had left the beach with four onboard but arrived at the start line with only two on board with a rescue having been performed on the way and Clare and her daughter Mia were taken back to the beach leaving Justin and his daughter Emily to take on what was to became a very windy and wet afternoon.
The breeze rapidly filled back in from the South East at 20Knts and promptly blew None the Wiser over, who had tried to set a spinnaker and all though they valiantly tried to continue after losing two crew and enduring a blustery capsize; that was pretty much the end of their day. Kat, who clearly was not aware of the ethics of racing against Justin, suggested that they turn back to check on them. Monopoly then sailed off to a distant wrong mark leaving Cyanara with Allan, Doug and Adam aboard to battle it out with the Gidget crew of Craig, Mellisa and Paul for the win.
A short video of the conditions…
Conditions were by any standards wild by this stage, and the sea state on the northeastern corner of Peel island was not to be treated lightly. The island did offer some protection from the waves if crews dared to go close to the reef, but the beat up between North Stradbroke and Peel Island will be remembered amongst those who were there for a long time.
KeenAs, coming into the finish. It’s the boat in the middle in case you’re wondering.
Mark, Hollen and Kynan, who are always Keenas put in a solid performance, and Peter Ross, Kate and Brennan on It’s Academic showed what they were made of and completed the course safely with only one report of a crew member attempting to abandon ship.
After leading for a good portion of the race, Craig and his crew made a small but costly navigational error that handed the Corsair class win to Cyanara. Local sailor, Greg Driver, on his corsair “Moody Blue”, came in third and Keenas surfed over the line for fourth in the class.
The crew from Cyanara ready the boat, well aware of the conditions.
While many other classes of boat failed to make it around the island, and some did not even take to the water because of the weather, the corsair fleet proved their hardiness once again.
Igor just managed to keep the boat under control (in this photo at least).
TVSC member and legend Igor Prada sailed his Hobie cat “naked” (he had clothes on) around the island and came in third in his class. Another great effort from him.
Braden, Tristan and Alistair. Alistair looks forward to finishing a race…one day.
On a day like this though, there is always one story of seamanship that stands out as something special. After breaking the tiller on Haveachat several times and reassembling it several times, each time a little shorter, Alistair, Braeden and Tristan managed to get the boat back to safety using a combination of broken timber, a leatherman, their wits and good humour. It is for this reason they were awarded the first edition of the Andy Lamont seamanship award.
Big River Sailing Club’s Annual Regatta was held on the weekend of the 4th and 5th of March. While 70 boats (and ten Corsairs!) were entered, due to the inclement weather, only half that number attended. (Sensibly)
Igor, flying into the turning mark.
The river colour reflected the volume of water that had already fallen before Friday afternoon with the occasional log rushing downriver. The tide was always running out, it just depended by how much.
Peter, Brandon and Kate heading upriver against the current.
The usual Saturday long race was wisely changed to two short races held outside the club house so that everyone could keep an eye on the boats.
Mark, Andy and Harriet
By Sunday morning, with the deteriorating forecast and heavy rain, it was decided to finish up early and head home…just in time too!
A forecast of strong winds reduced the number of potential starters for the third day of the TVSC’s Summer Race series. At the 12:00pm briefing by race officer Dave, the wind was comfortably under the 23 knots upper limit for racing. Safety boat driver Geoffrey and assistant Aaron loaded up the buoys and set the usual course for a Southerly win: a beat up to near the Golf Club then a run back to the wing mark on the Western shore and down to the leeward mark past the moored yachts, followed by a short upwind leg to the finish. Two races were planned, but the breeze had other ideas.
Dave and Sid coming in after just a couple of swims.
Half an hour before the start time some sailors came out to test the conditions, while Geoffrey anchored the safety boat at the start line. Justin, Doug and Craig in ‘None the Wiser’ managed the conditions well, as did Kate in Laser ‘Bluey’. Dave and Syd on Hobie 16 ‘Sledder’ were greeted by a 30 plus knot gust as they left the sheltered harbour, and went for their first swim of the day. Monique in Laser ‘Rolling Stone’ was the next victim of the strengthening wind, and Geoffrey and Aaron wisely lifted the anchor in case assistance were needed as the rest of the fleet sailed out. Meanwhile Guy, Sharky and Brennan on ‘Squirtie’ and Michael, Ben and Alan on ‘Exhale’ completed the Corsair fleet.
An intact mast…
With the start boat back in position, it was almost time to start the flag sequence to get started. More capsizes and the return of some boats back to the harbour meant the list of starters was shrinking as fast as the wind was increasing, and a discussion with the race officer resulted in the races being abandoned. This didn’t stop Dave and Justin from practicing their strong wind sailing, and they stayed out for a while longer. Guy, unfortunately, had a shroud part ways with the spreader, leading to a bent mast, but that was the only boat damaged in a wind that had built to over 30 knots.
A different kind of mast…
All that was left was to retrieve the buoys, a task as wet as actually swimming. Wind against tide in the Tweed River produces some impressive waves, and the safety boat crew were drenched by every one as they picked up the buoys. Hopefully, our next race day on 20th February will be milder.
A classic summer day 25-30c and average 10kts NE, gust and shifty welcomed back all the members for the first race of the Summer Championship 2022.
The fleet of 11 boats with 21 sailors managed to sail out the busy boat ramp and head to the start line. The wind direction swing from NE to E back and forth made the start line set up a hard challenge for Bryan in the safety boat. (Thank you heaps for your help Bryan).
Some of the fleet heading off in the smooth water.
The race started! Shouts of STARBOARD!! WATER !!! Oh, how I’ve missed this lovely place and the TVSC family. Unlike Covid, most of the fleet did not spread out and both races were very close. Leading the fleet were the two Hobie 14 Cat Rigged (without Jib), Naked Again (Yours Truly) followed by Lion from Southport Yacht Club with only a 0.52sec difference across the line. Not too far behind were Laser’s Splatter (Lex Branch) ahead Monique on `Rolling Stone`, then the 2 NS14 only 15 seconds apart Impulsive Matt (Melissa Le Roux, Craig Foley) and No Sweat (Adam Andrewartha and his son.) The first corsair across the line was Cyanara skipped by Doug Haig. If this first race was tight, hang on for what comes next… but before I have to mention how graceful it was to see Craig setting on leeward (opposite side to where the wind is coming from) while Melissa tries to bear away and they almost capsize. Nothing like sailing with someone for the first time.
Is that Igor sailing the wrong way?
BANG !!! The second race started. STARBOARD!!! the start line looks even worse when the wind swings more to the North, however, the gusts coming from the East were stronger and more constant. Once again the Hobie cats reach the top mark first as it should be but with a change in the lead. Now Lion had a great start ahead of Naked Again, some people argue that he had a false start, but no protest had been made to the race committee. Lion kept the lead for the whole race finishing it in 31:11 minutes. Change in the lead also happened in all the other classes. Now focused, No Sweat was 28 seconds ahead of Melissa because Craig was tired of hiking. While on the lasers Rolling Stone was warm and ready to take the lead of Splatter. John Morgan using the laser ConditionZulu for his first time was under 2 minutes behind the other lasers. Well done! Now in the Corsairs Squirtie (Guy Forrester, Erik Naumann and Tom Arnette) took the lead of Cyanara by 29 seconds with Keennas (Mark Reynolds) a few minutes behind.
John’s first time on a Laser and first time sailing in over a year!
Wow! What a great start to the short championship season, smooth sailing, beautiful day, close races, cold beers and annoying powerboats…heaps of them. We also have the results on yardstick thanks to Kate.
On the 4 / 5 December, 5 Corsairs, 15 sailors and various support crew/family/sailing fans threw tents, guitars, keyboards, ukuleles, sailing gloves, zinc and suncream into the back of the vans and trekked north 260 km to Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club for the 2021 Monomasters.
The kids grow up so fast these days! (You should have kept the L on for the racing, Justin!)
Yawn…white vans…again.
Due to border restrictions, only the Queensland based sailors/boats could make the trip.
Monopoly leads Epic and Keenas around the wing mark, with some other miscellaneous traffic getting in the way.
Saturday’s two races were held in 8-12 knots and tested who could play the shifts the best and find a clear track through the 81 boat fleet.
Heading out to the wing mark, again, there seems to be other traffic in the way!?!
Sunday, the wind was a lot stronger. Race three was gusting 16knots, and race four was missed by all the tweed sailors who missed the bit on the sailing instructions about when to break for lunch (or more importantly, when NOT to….)
Jason demonstrates alternatives to wearing your hat on your head.
Hollen isn’t looking that keen…
Race 5 was proper blowy, perhaps gusting to 22knots at times; it was a case of who could hold on and not tip (hint, not Monopoly).
Monopoly was back with a new mast…well the “new” mast’s still older than 2/3rds of the crew.
The top 3 Corsairs were the reverse order from last year; Justin, Emily & Eden Johnson took home the chocolates in None The Wiser (802). Andy, Maddie and Kanisha on Monopoly slipped (tipped) to 3rd, and Craig with Scotty and Kate, always the bridesmaid, never the bride got 2nd for the 2nd year in a row.
The very attractive bridesmaid with crew Scotty and Kate, setting up for the bear away.
The big surprise from the regatta was the vast improvement of the new skipper, Jason who with crew Dasha and Alex, was leading races and just proved that time on water = better performances. He will undoubtedly be pushing for a podium finish next year.
Justin finally lets his kids do something on the boat…
The attractive bridesmaid versus the (much) less attractive bride.
Of course, the end of racing didn’t mean the end of the day’s events with group dinners at the pub and a sing-along after…Friday, Saturday and even Sunday night.
Pick the crew member who went to bed shortly after this photo was taken?
We present…”The Beatles” How it’s meant to be played.
With the Queensland Border set to open early, it will be great for all TVSC Sailors from the North and South of the border to be reunited for the start of racing next year. From the looks of the performances of the Queenslanders at the Monomasters, the southerners will have their work cut out for them!
Most on-water photos are credited to Russell Witt. More photos from the weekend are on his website here.
Happy Holidays!
Words by Justin Johnson. Captions by the very attractive bridesmaid.
Due to the Big River Bridge to Breakers Regatta this weekend, we won’t be running any Juniors or Sunday Afternoon racing at Fingal. We wish those attending the Bridge to Breakers all the best. (Make sure to let them know that the Queensland boats will be there in February!)
Peter Fell represented TVSC at the NSW Impulse State Champs on the weekend at Lake Macquarie.
There is a committee meeting on Saturday at 11 am NSW time. All members are welcome to attend; the meeting location will probably be at the Jack Evans boat harbour.
Some of the Queensland boats, again, will be sailing at Oxenford on Sunday. If you’d like to join in, then please get in touch with Craig on 0413 052 898.
Last weekend members Maddie Lyons, Monique Smith, Kate Ausburn, and Mooloolaba YC member Suzie Harte entered the rescheduled Mooloolaba Women’s Keelboat Regatta. The event was held over three days in Elliot 6’s on the river outside Mooloolaba Yacht Club with eight teams entered.
Friday consisted of a morning training session, where the Tweedledums team met and sailed together for the first time, followed by a series of four practice races in the afternoon for “The Battle of the Bubbles”. The course was set for a windward/leeward configuration with a downwind start, although the ever-shifting conditions of the Mooloolaba River made for downwind, upwind, and reaching starts and finishes. With very close racing, Tweedledums came in 4th, 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd place. The bubbles went to team NQ gals from Townsville Sailing Club. Tweed finished in equal 4th overall.
Saturday was the first official day of the regatta with a breeze of 10-15 knots NE. The round-robin format consisted of ten windward/leeward races. Each team would sail five times with a rotating fleet of four boats. Tweedledums came in 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, and 4th place. The teams were then split into gold and silver fleets for a final afternoon race, which was abandoned due to a storm rolling in. Mon did a great job as timekeeper wearing her two watches.
Sunday was forecast with a strong weather warning, meaning the next day of racing was unlikely to go ahead. At Sunday morning briefing when the breeze was around 16-18 knots SE, race officer Glen Taylor made the final call that racing would go ahead using smaller mainsails to withstand the building breeze. By the time all teams rigged and left the dock, the breeze increased to 28 knots and racing was abandoned for the day. Tweedledums finished in 7th overall.
The team is looking forward to the next annual Women’s Keelboat Regatta.
Two Sabots, a Manly Junior, an X3 and a Laser raced off the beach at Fingal into a light fluctuating, at times frustrating, breeze. However, all sailors sailed well against an adverse tide and were still bunched at the windward mark.
One of our new members, Tarquin, surprised all by rounding first in his first time in a Sabot.
However, on the reach to the beach, Kynan in the Laser overhauled him to touch in first.
We all cooled off for a swim before sailing back to Fingal, for another swim. It was a warm day!
Next week Juniors will start earlier at 8.30 to finish before the afternoon race. Make sure you register for Juniors on the club website.
