With news that Ballina had already cancelled, due to the high winds, it was with trepidation that our briefing went ahead. The wind was averaging 15 knots, but the gusts were climbing to above 22.
In the next hour before race start, the gusts steadily built, so Peter headed out to check the conditions and after two capsizes, came back in.
Peter testing out the sporting conditions.
The breeze picked up to an average of 30 knots with gusts to 46 recorded at the airport, by 1pm…Race postponed to another day.
Sailors getting a birds eye view of the brave few testing out the sporty conditions.
That didn’t stop a few sailors testing out the new Pacers though!
One of the club Pacer’s gets a go in the breeze.
This coming weekend we have SheSails on Saturday and a Race Day on Sunday. See you there!
Tweed Valley Sailing Club conducted Race 7 of its 10th Summer Pointscore series and Race 4 of the Corsair Class championship. Single handed boats competed in race 4 of their yardstick championship. (Race 3 is on this coming weekend, due to it being postponed last year.)
A beautiful Northern Rivers day greeted sailors as they arrived in record numbers, and the weather remained pleasant all day, with sailors remarking later, “it was a great day on the river”.
Sailing in a consistent 10 knot North Easterly breeze with very little tidal flow, twenty four boats lined up for the starters gun, making this the largest fleet in regular competition since the club was founded 10 years ago.
Lex, Mark and Andy round the bottom mark
Joining the race for the first time this year, a group of junior’s sailors raced in 4 Sabots and a Flying Ant.
The starters gun fired shortly after 1pm and boats got away in a tightly bunched group, but jumping away to an immediate lead, ‘super sailor’ Kate Yeomans establish her dominance and was never to be passed. The majority arrived at the top mark at the same time, challenging skippers to get around cleanly, then immediately spinnakers were set on the Corsairs, and the re-organized course allow boats to carry their kites through the triangle, and all the way to the bottom mark, requiring two spinnaker gybes, and making for a very colourful spectacle along the Fingal reach.
There was very close racing for everybody in the settled conditions and nobody got far behind the front boats.
Justin and Craig round the bottom mark.
First to finish was Kate Yeomans in Laser “Bluey”, 4 minutes ahead of 2nd placed NS14 “On & Off” (Dave Robinson & Kynan Luescher) while 3 minutes back in 3rd, family team, Corsair “None the Wiser” (Justin Johnson, Emily Johnson & Eden Johnson). 4th was Corsair “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Maddie Lyons & Amber Benoit de Coignac) edging out 5th place by only 6 seconds, Corsair “Gidget” (Craig Foley, Melissa Le Roux & Calvin Pickers)
In the Summer Pointscore series, (Handicapped) 1st was Corsair “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Dasha Zaitseva & Harriet Raleigh) 2nd was NS14 Zazen (Tom Busbridge & Adam hurt) and 3rd was Corsair “Gidget”.
The big race today was the Corsair Class Championship.
This is a scratch race for “One Design” 3 handed Corsair class skiffs, with a record fleet of 9 boats with 27 crew competing.
None the Wiser and Gidget drop their spinnakers.
Top points today went to ‘None the wiser’, 2nd was Monopoly, 3rd was Gidget.
A mixed fleet of Lasers and Impulse dinghies raced in the Single Handers Yardstick championship. 1st in this division was Laser Bluey, 2nd was Impulse “Splitter” (Lex Branch), and 3rd was Laser, “Lizard Drinking” (Doug Haig)
Junior sailing has restarted and a fleet of 5 juniors hit the starting line. Fastest today was Flying Ant “Ant Eater” sailed by Ari Manu Gorman and Yoshua Mahoney , while fastest Sabot was Feb Miles. It was great seeing the juniors competing on the river and it is hoped junior sailing will become a regular feature of the sailing club.
After long break due to Covid restrictions, junior sailing has restarted at Fingal Head, beginning with a 6-day coaching camp over the school holidays, leading to club boats being allocated to sailors.
15 trainees from the region quickly learnt the skills and are now competent to sail and join club racing.
4 juniors will race in the Flying Ant class skiff.
Edward Miles sailing NJ “Seaforth”
The Flying Ant (FA) was designed in NZ but has raced in Australia for over 50 years. It is a 3.2m long 2-handed skiff, with a sloop rig, (mainsail, jib and spinnaker), with the crew on trapeze. Its high-performance hull makes it a great boat for young sailors wanting experience the thrills of performance skiff sailing.
The FA has a strong nation-wide class association that runs state and Australian championships every season.
Coming up from the Byron Shire, 9 Y.O. Ari Manu Gorman has taken FA “Ant Eater”, and sailing with 11 Y.O. Will Stovin from Tweed, they demonstrated mastery over this exciting boat. Next week, Will takes over another FA and the two boats will race with the adult fleet.
Will Stovin & Ari Munu Gorman in Sabot “Baranduda”
Meanwhile, also from the Byron shire, 9 Y.O. Edward Miles has been sailing the clubs classic Aussie “Northbridge Junior” (NJ) and has mastered this boat. It is expected he will now move up into the Flying Ant and will sail with Ari.
Sailing is a great sport for kids with boys and girls able to compete equally. Kids can start from as young as 7 years old, but must first be able to swim and be confident in the water.
Contact Tweed Valley sailing club commodore Bill Fenelon 0411 123 405
This week’s big event was heat 3 of the NS14 Class Championship. Other classes competed in the summer handicap Pointscore.
Conditions were very testing and many boats capsized in the gusty Sou-easterly breeze which reached 22 knots. Adding to the problems, the recent rains created a strong current which aligned with the wind, causing the fleet to sail against the wind and the strong tide.
It turned out to be a lovely afternoon on the river. The windy and rainy conditions meant sailors had the river all to themselves. Sailors love windy and rainy!
Two races were held today. Pointscore results are based on handicap. In the Pointscore fleet, there was 4 Lasers and 3 Corsairs & 3 NS14’s. It was hard work for the single-handed Lasers and there were many capsizes
Pointscore Race 1 was won by NS14 “Flight 24” (Adam Hurt & Kate Yeomans) 2nd was NS14 “Impulsive Matt” (Matt Andrews & Melissa La Roux) & 3rd was Laser “Dreadnaught (Peter Fell).
Race 2 was won by Laser “Dreadnaught, 2nd was “Impulsive Matt”, and 3rd was NS14 “On & Off” (Dave Robinson & Kynan Luescher)
The NS14 Class championship was very closely contested. Class Championship races are based on scratch results (no handicap)
Race one of the NS14’s got off to a bad start for top contender “Impulsive Matt” when they mis-read the start signals and got off to a flying start, although one minute early. They were forced to return, finally to start 30 seconds behind the fleet. This cost them the race as “Flight 24” stayed ahead for the remainder and got home for first place.
Race two was a very different story and a 3-way race. “Flight 24” lost time in a capsize and “Impulsive Matt” got the bullet with “On & Off” getting points for second.
The 3 handed Corsairs managed the tough conditions well, and stayed close to the front. Racing was very close fought between the 2 top boats with Corsair “Monopoly” (Andy Lamont, Maddie & John Morgan) getting the bullet in both races only seconds ahead of second Corsair Gidget (Craig Foley, Ella Ekstrom & Patricio Moreno)
Sailing is on again next Sunday (the 17th of Jan) and will feature heat 4 of the NS14 Class Championship.
Sailing is a very enjoyable spectator sport and the club welcomes visitors to watch. Racing can be viewed close up from anywhere along the lower Fingal Reach of the Tweed River.
The club is current in need of a rescue boat driver. Must hold boat license
Tweed sailors travelled to the Clarence River last weekend for the bi-annual sailing regatta at the Big River Sailing Club, Harwood. The BRSC hosted the Bridge to Breakers 2020 Regatta with record numbers in attendance. The 70 strong fleet of mixed classes also enjoyed near perfect sailing conditions with dry warm weather and north east winds. Whilst the incoming tide made for demanding upwind work, the flat water and fresh but manageable wind strength enabled most competitors to complete all four races that made up the series.
Igor with his recently done up Hobie 14. Just needs water!
Tweed sailors were represented in 3 divisions, Cats, Fast Mono hulls, and standard monohulls. Best in the Cats was Hobie 16 “Sledder” (Dave Chester & Isaac Poulsen), scoring 6th place out of 20 boats in the long distance “Bridge to Breakers”
Dave and Isaac trying to be a like a monohull on Sledder.
Fast mono hulls were dominated by Tweed sailors Adam Hurt & Kate Yeomans, teamed up in NS14 “Flight 24”, they scored 3 firsts and one second to easily win this division.
Kate and Adam showing how to keep Flight 24 flat, upwind.
In the standard monohull division, 6 Corsairs from TVSC competed in a mixed fleet of 30 boats, with the TVSC’s best result, 10th place going to Corsair “Monopoly” (Andy Lamont, Maddie Lyons & Amber Bdec) second placed Corsair was “Gidget” (Craig Foley John Morgan & Melissa Le Roux) and 3rd Corsair was “Nimbis (Andy Locke, Brandon Locke, & Dan Broad). Peter Fell placed 3rd in the Lasers on Dreadnought.
Maddie, Ambre and Andy on Monopoly…Andy was looking for his wallet.
It was another very strong turn out from the Tweed Valley sailing club at this regatta. Our sailors love the wide-open waters and stiff breezes of the Clarence river, and have attended every Bridge to Breakers regatta since the Tweed clubs’ beginnings ten years ago. Full results are here.
Waiting for a start.
Next fortnights neap tide will see sailing return to the Lower Tweed as the fleet sets sail at Fingal boat harbour on Sunday the 6th of December. Visitors and spectators are very welcome. Races start at 1pm (NSW)
Peter Fell on Dreadnought
Volunteers to help with rescue boats are always welcome.
Mother Nature brought great winds on for SheSails Saturday- brushing up on the skills learnt recently – fabulous day out with bonus of Dave Chester giving us each a sail on his Hobie – exhilarating in up to 20 knot winds!
Thanks to Bryan and Maddie in safety boat and to Lex for volunteering his time once again to give great instruction.
The Tweed Valley Sailing Club conducted Race 8 of the Summer series on Sunday, with a strong wind forecast, 12 boats turned up to race. The weather kept other river users at home, and the sailors enjoyed a fun and windy afternoon sailing.
(Title photo is from the Saturday Start at Ballina.)
Racing was held over 3 laps of the long course which features “one mile” windward legs. It was hard work in the 20 knot Sou-Sou-Easterly breeze but boats were assisted to windward by a flooding tide.
It was a close 3-way battle for fastest today between 3 different classes, with the win going to Adam Hurt, sailing Impulse dinghy “Rosie”, completing the long course in 1 hour 12 minutes, getting home 1 min 30sec ahead of Kate Yeomans in a Laser and third was NS14 “On & Off” sailed by Dave Robinson & Joe D’Ambrosia a further 1 min 30 sec back.
Summer Handicap series top points today went to Kate Yeomans (Laser), 2nd went to Adam Hurt (Impulse), 3rd went to Craig Foley (Laser) and 4th went to Justin Johnson, Emily Johnson and Eden Johnson in a Corsair.
Class Championships were conducted for the Corsair Class (scratch race) and Single Handers competed in their Yardstick championship.
Winning Corsair, “None the Wiser” sailed by family affair, Justin, Eden and Emily Johnson.
Getting points for 1st place in the Corsairs, “None the Wiser” (Justine Johnson, Emily Johnson & Eden Johnson), getting home 5 minutes before 2nd placed “Keenas”( Mark Reynolds, Vicky Von Bernard & Igor Prado) & 3rd placed, a further minute behind, “Minnow” (Frank Bolfava, Andy Locke & Lachlan McMillan) while 4th was “One too many” (Michael Grace, James Hay & Eoin Whatley).
It was a disappointing day for Corsair Class favourite “Monopoly”, after a very quick start and an apparent dominance of the fleet the yacht suffered damage in the rigging and was forced to withdraw without completing its 1st lap.
In the single handers yardstick championship, top points went to Kate Yeomans (Laser) 2nd was Adam Hurt (Impulse), and 3rd was Craig Foley (Laser)
On Saturday, four crews from the Tweed travelled to Ballina to compete in the River marathon race hosted by the Richmond River Sailing Club. Tweed boats performed very well; Corsair “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Maddy Lyons & Clare Southwell) winning fastest corrected time in the mono-hulled Dinghy division, and Laser “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans) getting second place with Mark on Keenas in fourth. (Justin finished…eventually)
TVSC Sailors at Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club 2020 Ivan Bathgate Memorial up river Marathon.
Next fortnight, TVSC will travel to Harwood to compete in the Big River “Bridge to Breakers” regatta. The next sailing event on the Tweed will be on Sunday the 6th of December at Fingal Head.
The Club currently needs Rescue Boat drivers. People with boat licenses are encourage to enquire and all training is provided. Contact club Commodore Bill Fenelon 0411 123 405
Last Sunday the Tweed valley Sailing Club hosted its first race of the Summer series. 18 boats raced on the Fingal Reach on the long Olympic course (3 laps with 1-n.mile windward legs) in lovely clear and sunny weather with a light SSE’ly breeze.
Monique Smith in her Laser “Rolling Stone” wisely opted to avoid the crowded boat end start line and sailed a fast windward leg to be first boat around the top mark. The lead changed a couple of times with eventual winners on scratch being 1st Impulse “Splitter”( Lex Branch), 2nd Laser “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans) and 3rd Corsair “Monopoly” (Andy Lamont, Melissa Le Roux and John Morgan). Lex’s morning training session paid off!
This race was the first heat of 5 for the Laser and Corsair Class Championships.
Fastest today in the Laser Class Championship race was “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans), beating 2nd finisher, “Rolling Stone” (Monique Smith) by 1 minute 30 secs & 3rd was ” Dreadnought” (Peter Fell) only 30 secs behind. This was a great result for Monique and her best ever in a Laser since switching from her Corsair.
In the Corsair Class Championship 8 boats were hustling for a good position on the crowded starting line. In the end, “Monopoly”(Andy Lamont, Melissa Le Roux, and John Morgan) lead all the way, and took the bullet for a convincing win, finishing 3min 30secs ahead of 2nd placed “None the Wiser” (Justin Johnson, Eden Johnson & Emily Johnson) and very close behind, only 15 seconds later, “Nimbis (Debbie Jones, Scott Jones & Renee Cohan). 4th was “Minnow” (Frank Bolfava, Andrew Locke & Brandon Locke) and 5th was “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Marg Walgers & Joe D’Ambrosia.)
The club today welcomed a new Corsair team sailing “Polly” (Greg Edds, Ulana Edds & Tom Edds) who travelled from Brisbane to race with us on the tweed.
The other race was the clubs’ summer Pointscore series, where every race counts, and is based on handicap.
Top points today went to Impulse class “Splitter” (Lex Branch), 2nd was Laser, “Rolling Stone” (Monique Smith) and 3rd was Impulse, “Rosie” (Adam hurt)
Junior sailors were well represented today with 3 teams sailing NS14’s. Todays top junior team was NS14 “Zazen” sailed by Tom Busbridge and Layla Schultz, just edging out on handicap, NS14 “On & Off”(Dave Robinson & Hugh Robinson.) while on NS14 Mantana, Tristen and Isabelle Pofandt, are still working out the rigging of these complexed boats and unfortunately missed the start.
Thanks to our support team who make racing possible; Race Officer Craig Foley, Geoff Colwill on our rescue boat and Time keeper Suzanne Blatcher, who was helped by Jack Tarrent who came down and volunteered for the day.
The clubs next event will be 3 short course races held on the Fingal reach on the 25th of October starting at 13:00 NSW time. The big race this day will be our premier contempory development class, the Australian NS14, racing the first 3 heats of their Club championship and concurrently the 4th heat of the summer point score. Crew positions are often available but this is on spec. Licensed and competent boat drivers are welcome to help by driving our rescue boats. Spectators can view racing close up from the river bank along the Fingal reach. All visitors are very welcome.
Tweed Valley Sailing club kicked of its 10th Summer Sailing series on Sunday with 14 boats sailed by 22 crew, in a perfect sunny afternoon on the Fingal reach of the Tweed River with a gentle 10 knot breeze.
This season represents a milestone and a big occasion for the club; conceived by a small group of totally inexperienced enthusiasts, with the dream of creating a sailing club on a River where the sport had been inactive for nearly 20 years since the demise of the very popular Tweed Aquatic club in the early 90’s.
Re-starting local sailing in humble circumstances, 3 boats competed in the first race at the end of 2010, and we didn’t know if it would survive a second year, but the sailing club prospered and flourished to become a vibrant and active sport alternative for the local community, conducting regular racing all year round in an unbroken run through to this Sundays Race. Of the people who founded the club and sailed that day back in 2010, 4 were sailing this Sunday, and many have stayed with the club throughout its years.
The TVSC has a unique racing fleet of mostly Australian designed, multi crewed single hulled sailing dinghies. The 3 handed Corsair class is a sixteen-foot, three handed sailing dinghy. The boat was designed by Australian designer Alan Payne who is famous for designing Sir Frank Packer’s America’s Cup challenge yachts Gretel and Gretel II. Some of these boats are now over 50 years old, but are ideally suited to the shallow Tweed River. They have flourished in our club since being introduced by original club member, Alison Blatcher, in our first year. Local sailors recognised its merits and our club adopted the class. We now have the largest fleet of Corsairs in Australia, we also have the top 3 Corsair sailors in the country including current Australian Champion Arron Hunt.
Another class raced is the Australian NS14 (Northbridge Senior); 14 feet in length, the class was designed in 1960, older than Corsairs, but being a development class, it has evolved into a modern contemporary racing skiff, raced by some of Australia’s best sailors. These are a very popular and nationwide class, with development in the early years happening right here in the Tweed, the class is raced in all the Northern Rivers. But TVSC has the largest fleet in country NSW.
Some members like to sail single handed, and the club also has a very competitive fleet of the Olympic Class Laser.
For a little club, existing only in a shipping container, we have been very successful and can boast some of our countries top racing sailors. We recently had a visit from Olympic 470 Gold Medallists’ Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan, accompanied by sailing legend Ian Murray. These guys normally hang out in the biggest European Yacht clubs, but they loved our little container in the bushes beside the Fingal boat Harbour and the crystal-clear waters of the Lower Tweed.
Race One of the 2020 Summer series included three short races. The fleet included 5 Lasers, 4 Corsairs and 3 NS14’s.
Making their senior sailing debut on NS14 Zazen, junior team, Tom Busbridge and Layla Shultz, raced as a team for the first time, and put in a great performance completing the races, but found the step up into adult racing a challenge, however they will only get better very quickly. Tom was ecstatic about getting over the line in front of Capers in race 2, beating fellow Junior Kynan Leuscher.
The next race will be Sunday the 11th of October. Briefing is at 12 noon and the race starts at 13:00 There may be several crew positions available, phone Commodore Bill Fenelon for details
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.
