Category: Sailing Reports

Detailed reports of the latest races

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A Long Race Start to the Championship Series

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.

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Day 1 of the 2020 Summer Series

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.

Full Results

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

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The 7th annual Tweed River Passage Race.

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.

Results

Scratch; 1st Laser 179414 “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans), 2nd Corsair 848 “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Craig Foley & John Morgan) & 3rd Corsair 396 “Nimbis” (Debbie Jones & Scott Jones), 4th Laser 207817 “Rolling” Stone (Monique Smith)

Yardstick (Corrected) ; 1st Laser 179414 “Bluey” (Kate Yeomans), 2nd Corsair 848 “Monopoly” (Andrew Lamont, Craig Foley & John Morgan)   3rd 125 class “Paper Plane” (Matt Andrews & Melissa Le Roux) 4th Corsair 396 “Nimbis” (Debbie Jones & Scott Jones), 

Many other crews sailed this race for the first time. All deserve congratulations to mange to finish this difficult race.

The TVSC is commencing its Summer series next Sunday. All races start with a briefing at 12 noon. Race start is at 1pm (NSW Time).

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Sailing Two Sunday’s in a Row

Tweed Valley Sailing Club will host its annual Tweed River Passage Race next Sunday

Another big fleet of 15 boats raced on the Fingal reach of the Tweed River on Sunday as teams prepared for the clubs biggest single event, the annual Tweed River Passage Race, starting at Condong and finishing at Fingal Head.

Fastest around the buoys was Maurie Meyer in a Laser, putting in an outstanding effort, 2nd place was taken by Igor Prado from Brazil, racing his NS14 Blu Tack. It was Igor’s best performance with the club and the best result ever for Blu Tack.

Full results are here.

Next Sunday, expect to see the Tweed River light up as sailing boats race the entire length of the river, (not blocked by low bridges.)  It is an awesome spectator event and the Tweed Sailing club hopes locals and tourist will come down and watch the fleet sail. The race will start at Condong boat Ramp at 11:00 and will probably finish at Fingal at about 3pm.

The River passage race was developed by long time club stalwart Alison Blatcher 8 years ago and has become an immensely popular annual event.

The race can be viewed from anywhere along the Tweed River bank, and even as you drive along Tweed Valley Highway you will see the fleet proceeding downstream, but we recommend you should watch where you are driving and not the action on the river. Stop any where and take in the action of this spectacular event.

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Sailing on Sunday

Sailing returned to the Tweed River last Sunday as the Tweed Valley sailing club hosted a group of members and visitors to a pleasant afternoon of racing on the lower river.
This is the first race the club has conducted since easing of Covid restrictions earlier this month.

Impulsive Matt being closely followed by Casper

A 15-boat mixed fleet, consisting 2 Corsairs, 4 Lasers, 2 NS14’s, 5 X3’s, an RS100 and an Int. 420, sailing in a light to moderate Northerly breeze, competed in 3 short races.

Matt and Igor on Impulsive Matt

The fastest boat was NS14 “Impulsive Matt” expertly sailed by top crew Matt Andrews and Igor Prada, finishing first in two races, While RS100 “Casper” sailed by Duncan Dey scored 1st place in the final race.

Scott and Debbie on Nimbus

Close racing was experienced in the Corsairs, now sailing 2 handed to allow social distancing, with Corsair “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds and Marg Walgers), winning 2 races and Corsair “Nimbus” (Scott Jones and Debbie Jones) winning the third.

Mark and Marg on Keenas

In the single-handed Lasers, the finishing positions were unchanged for all 3 races, with 1st place going to Peter Fell, 2nd Kate Yeomans, 3rd Craig Foley and 4th Tristan Pofandt. This was Tristen’s first race in a Laser and at 14 years of age he has stepped into this highly competitive Olympic Class.

Craig on Condition Zulu.

Also sailing a single Hander, and visiting the Tweed from the Richmond River Sailing Club, we welcomed former Byron Shire Councillor Duncan Dey, from Main Arm. Duncan sailed his high performance RS100, a difficult but fast single-handed boat which features a spinnaker.

Duncan rounding the bottom mark.

Duncan is a very competitive sailor and pushed the front of the fleet to score a win in the final race.

In the X3’s, TVSC Junior Sailor, Kynan Luescher from Fingal Head won all 3 races.

John and Melissa having a quick chat?

Earlier this week a number of TVSC members travelled to Brisbane and sailed on the Tallship, Sail Training Schooner, “South Passage”.

The Sail training association vessel has been forced to abandon its regular annual program travelling North for the winter, and is giving local people an opportunity to enjoy sailing on this magnificent tall ship on Morton Bay.

The Tweed Valley Sailing Club is now open and conducted casual racing.

Our next sailing day will be Sunday the 26th of July.

We are observing the NSW public Health Order (COVID19). Attendance at events must be registered and we request intending participants to book.

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Tweed Sailors Win Corsair National Titles

Last weekend five Corsair yachts and 15 members of the Tweed Valley Sailing Club headed south to the NSW Central Coast to compete amongst 18 Corsairs entered in the 44th Australian National Championships. Held at Budgewoi Sailing Club, this would be their final “Calling All Skippers”, with the club having now unfortunately shut down. Sixty boats attended the Regatta, making for a great final farewell.

Runners up, Bayonet.

The Corsair is a 16-foot (4.8 metre) fibreglass sailing dinghy, fully rigged with jib and spinnaker, which offers excellent close, one design racing, with a crew of three and in addition is a comfortable cruising boat. Designed by Alan Payne (who also designed 3 America’s Cup yachts including Gretel and G2), the Corsair is an all-round performance centre boarder ideal for Australian conditions. First sailed in 1966, the class has spread across the nation with approximately 500 boats being built.

Waiting for the breeze to come in on Sunday.

TVSC has adopted this class as it is ideally suited to conditions on the Tweed River.  The Club has regular racing with up to 15 boats. As the boat requires a 3-person crew, there is ample room for beginners to join in without needing to own a boat.

Conditions on the first day of the competition were tough, with winds gusting to 25 knots with a short steep chop, but all boats made it through the 4 races without serious incident. Day two was a little more relaxed and everybody enjoyed a pleasant morning sailing on the lake.

Everyone’s relaxed before the start of racing…or are they?

Current champions, Aaron Hunt, Ryan Arkinstall and Liam Buckley, sailing “Tenacious”, took the title, getting the bullet in four of the six races proving their dominance of the fleet. 2nd place went to Budgewoi local and previous Australian Champion, Geoff Beauchamp, daughter Ruby Beauchamp and Dorren Vandersteen on “Bayonet”. Third place went to Tweed Corsair “Charlotte” sailed by Justin Johnson, daughter Emily Johnson and Hollingsword Wolul (all the way from Vanuatu!).

Holen, Emily and a Big Banana in front of a bigger banana.

Holen is in Australia, due to recently being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. If you’re interested in reading more about his situation and perhaps giving a donation, then please see here.

Aaron has sailed Corsairs since the ‘70s and has won 8 Corsair National Titles. His recent arrival at TVSC has lifted the local fleet. He is a major sponsor and supporter of the club through his chandlery business Boating and RV. 

Monohulls on the upwind leg, multihulls sailing the angles down.

Tweed boats placed 1st “Tenacious”, 3rd “Charlotte”, 6th “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Craig Foley and Harriette Raleigh), 7th Swell Lady (Monique Smith, Matt Andrews and Deborah Flannery), 8th “Minnow” (Bill Fenelon, Courtney Tiller and Alicia Szlawski).

Keenas at the Bottom Mark, turning for a quick run to the finish.

It was a great weekend of sailing and close competition with the entire fleet finishing each race only minutes apart. It was a fantastic result for Tweed Valley Sailing Club, for the first time since its foundation in 2011, winning an Australian Championship. TVSC teams supported each other and enjoying their sport.  To compete in the Corsair Nationals was a great way to start 2020 for our club.

Commodore Bill with the Traveller’s Trophy, awarded to TVSC for the distance travelled.

The next sailing event on the Tweed River will be on the 16th of February, Race 4 of the NS14 and Laser Class Championship. The next Corsair Class Championship race will be Heat 4 on the 1st of March. Racing is on the Fingal Reach and can be viewed at close range from anywhere along the riverbank.

There’s no need to rush down to Budgewoi!

The Tweed Valley Sailing Club always welcomes new members and no experience (or boat) is needed.

Cheers!
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Sailing on Sunday

Last Sunday the Tweed Valley Sailing Club hosted its penultimate race for the year, Race 5 of the summer Pointscore Series and heat 3 of the Corsair Class Championship.

11 boats competed including five “3 handed” Corsairs, joined by a mixed fleet , an NS14, a Laser, a Int.470 a Hobie 16 and 2 X3’s

Conditions were variable; wind SE 16 to 24 knots, and an ebbing tide combined made for long beats to windward, favouring the NS14s but hard work for the Corsairs.

Fastest by a long way, Dave Chester and Sid Willis on Hobie 16 “Sledder”, lapped most of the fleet, redeeming Dave for the day he was beaten by a Corsair.

NS14 On & Off Dave & Cooper Robinson , first mono hull finishers

First mono hull to finish today, 20 minutes behind the Hobie, NS14 “On & Off”, sailed by father/son team Dave and Cooper Robinson.  These guys won the start and established a strong early lead, getting home first and beating the first Corsair by nine minutes.

Second to finish, one minute astern was Laser “Siesta” sailed by “Great Grand Master” Gary McCrohan. Gary always sails well in these conditions and was 7 minutes ahead of the first Corsair.

The big race today was the 3rd heat of the Northern Rivers Corsair Championship, contested by 5 boats and 15 crew.

Student Doctors, Alicia Szwalski and Sophie Todd sailed with Commodore Bill Fenelon on Corsair “Minnow”

Current champion crew “Team Swell Lady” Monique Smith, Matt Andrews & Deb Flannery, had to win today, to retain their title, but needed to enlist a “ring in” boat and 3rd crew, as Monique was away and her boat is still being repaired from damage suffered while sailing on the Clarence River. Matt Andrews took the helm of “Fine Cotton” with Courtney Tiller taking the 3rd seat. All went to plan; Team Swell Lady got the points for 1st place, wrapping up the championship for the 4th year in a row! (Aren’t there two more races yet to go and results are tied between Keenas and Swell Lady? – ed)

Second place was hard fought out by “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Marg Walgers & Harriet Raleigh) and “Nimbis” (Scott Jones, Deb Jones & Lex Branch). In the end “Nimbis” got the points, getting home 4 minutes behind Swell Lady and 6 minutes ahead of Keenas.

Student Doctors filling the ranks in the Corsairs! L to R Courtney Tiller, Sophie Todd, Manisha Siriwardena, & Alicia Szwalski

Racing was close throughout the fleet up until the final lap, and the battle to avoid last place was also hard fought; positions at the rear changed continually throughout the afternoon but in the end, Team “Fairlight” (Alison Blatcher, Rachael O’Hagan & Manisha Siriwardena) got home 2 minutes ahead of Team “Minnow”(Bill Fenelon, Ali Szwalski & Sophie Todd).

A stand out performance on the river today came from the clubs International 470 “La Spina”. Sailed by Gunner Scholtz, Leyla Scholtz and Tom Busbridge. Team 470 finished just behind the 2nd Corsair, scoring its’ best result with the club.

This season, Murwillumbah Student doctors discovered sailing and just can’t stay away. We love having them as part of the club and we couldn’t get more enthusiastic sailors. This week they brought more fellow students to join the sailing ranks – travelling from Mudgee to have a break from the drought.

4 of the 5 Corsairs competing in the class championship this week had doctors on board.  Courtney Tiller from Murwillumbah hospital was thrilled to be on the winning boat. Alicia Szwalski and Sophie Todd sailed with Commodore Bill Fenelon, Harriet Raleigh based in Grafton sailed on 3rd placed Corsair Keenas and Manisha Siriwardena had her taste of dinghy sailing with Alison Blatcher on Corsair Fairlight. 

Student Doctor Manisha Siriwardena & Rachael O’Hagan on Corsair “Fairlight”

We look forward to welcoming them all back after their summer break for another 6 months of fun on the river. Next Sunday the sailing club will conduct its last event of the year, 3 short course sprint races, starting early at 10am from Fingal Head

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Gusty Conditions for Heat 4

Strong gusty conditions challenged sailors contesting heat 4 of the Tweed Sailing Clubs’ Summer Pointscore Series. Winds increased rapidly after the start with a strong ebbing tide raising choppy conditions. Many boats capsized or had an early retirement.

Today’s fleet of 11 boats included 5 single handers, 6 two handers, & 3 Corsairs sailing 4 handed. Two juniors’ teams competed, both sailing Flying Ants.

Carnage began early with many capsizes. Corsair Capers was capsized and filled with water and struggled to return to the Harbour. Both Flying Ants retired early, but the remainder continued and completed the course.  

3 NS ‘s contested heat 2 of the Tweed River NS14 Class Championship in conditions that favoured boat handling skills, old hand Adam; last year’s class champions, Adam Hurt and Tom Busbridge, had the skills, getting home a solid 4 minutes ahead of Current class leaders Matt Andrews & Igor Prada.

These two teams are now placed equal first in the 2019-2020 summer championship series with 2 races remaining.

The single handers contested their class Yardstick series. First finisher today was Great Grand Master Gary McCrohan who showed true grit to stay on the course and finish, getting a rare win ahead of Kate Yeomans who finished closed behind.

Many sailors were backing up from last weekends’  “Clarence River Bridge to Breakers” Race. Conditions on the Clarence were as rough as usual, with winds reaching 30 knots against a strong running ebb tide.  Tweed River had 5 boats competing in the Standard Mono-hulls division. Local sailor Kate Yeomans won the division in her Laser, against very strong competition,  and “Team Swell Lady”, with an all-male crew, Matt Andrews, Craig Foley And Mark Reynolds scored an impressive 3rd place, well ahead of the rest of the fleet.

Sailing is on again this Sunday at Fingal Head, with racing starting at 1pm. A big fleet is expected for the 3rd heat of the Corsair Class Championship.

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11 Boats at the Start

11 boats sailed with the Tweed Valley Sailing Club, on Sunday, as the club conducted Race 10 of its Summer Series.

It was a very pleasant afternoon on the river with a falling tide and North Easterly breeze, sailing was easy and fast. The racing was very close, and many boats used spinnakers.

Fastest today was Kate Yeomans; Laser “Bluey”; Kate dominated today, in what’s becoming a regular pattern, she excelled in the conditions, leaving 2nd place 3 minutes behind.

Second finisher was Laser “Silent Partner” “(John Heywood) and 3rd, Laser, Siesta (Gary McCrohan).

The premier event today was the 2nd Heat of the Northern Rivers Corsair Class Championship.  

6 crews contested heat 2, the teams being slightly mixed this week; “gun” sheet hand Matt Andrews, joining “Team Blatcher” on Alisons hot new boat “Fairlight”. Matt seems to gravitate towards the fastest boat so this could be a sign for Alison, trialing her new boat today for the first time.

Current North Coast Champion, Swell Lady sailed with an all-female crew this week, and were definitely out to stun. And did !

Meanwhile on “Keena as” Mark had his regular crew, Craig Foley as sheet hand, & Marg Walgers up front, these guys were meaning business and would to be very hard to beat.

Getting top points today in the Corsairs was “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Craig Foley and Marg Walgers). This win puts Keenas in first place after two races, for the Corsair Class Championship.

Although Keenas got away very quickly from the start and built a strong early lead, they had to fight for it, with second placed “Fairlight” (Blatcher, Andrews & Bernet) only a minute back and closing with a determined effort.

The next 3 Corsairs finished within 30 seconds after a very close race, 3rd went to “Nimbis”, 4th “Swell Lady, and 5th Epic.

Last to finish in Melita 3 was commodore Bill Fenelon, destroying any chance in this year’s championship, came in 20 minutes behind the first finisher. Obviously enjoying the view from a sailing dinghy.  

Juniors sailing is becoming established on the tweed, and this afternoon we had 3 junior crews racing their own boats. These sailors are becoming skilled at the sport and are now using spinnaker’s

The club is supporting a Juniors team at the “Manly Junior” National Championships this summer. We also have several good racing Manly Juniors available to interested junior sailors.  

There will be no organized sailing at Fingal next Sunday, as the club heads south to visit “Big River Sailing Club” at Harwood, to enjoy 2 days sailing on the Clarence.

Our next event in Fingal Head will be on Sunday the 1st of December.

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Waiting for the Wind & a Slice of Club History

At the Helm with Alison Blatcher

18 hopeful skippers came early to the boat ramp last Sunday morning, sniffing around for any sign of wind . The fishing community were out at sparrows fart making the most of the calm weather and the boat ramp at Fingal was overflowing.

The race start was delayed an hour and patience was rewarded –  the forecast was proved wrong. An unusually steady 12-16 knot breeze came up and the fishing boats started to head back in while the river started to fill with sails.

It was the Laser & NS14 Championships week. The NS14 fleet was missing Commodore Bill Fenelon on Tornado so just 4 boats competed in this class. Last years champs Adam Hurt & Tom Busbridge on Flight XXIV fought hard to keep up with Matthew Andrews & Igor Prado on Impulsive Matt but Matt & Igor took this one with a 4 minute lead. Dave & son Hugh Robinson on On & Off took 3rd with Robert Preston and Kynan Luescher Pura Vida not far behind.

Only Deborah Flannery was missing from the Laser fleet this week  – after a full day on the water the day before for the inaugural event in our She Sails program, a day spectating from the timekeepers tent was a good option. The  Lasers did have a new competitor – Andrew Chillingman Jaggers was back this week to give the club Laser a go making 6 boats competing. Kate Cant catch me Yeomans was ahead of the whole TVSC fleet at the finish line –  5 minutes in front of the next Laser – John Hayward, with Gary Macca McCrohon seconds behind. Macca was obviously missing his Murwillumbah cheer squad this week.

Craig Foley on Woodcraft was the winner of the Impulse class champ – he just needs some other Impulses to compete against to make it a more impressive title!

Two juniors boats also sailed today – Morgan & Miles Bushnell on Manly Junior M&M are looking really good. They’ve been training hard for the MJ Nationals in Sydney next month. Sidney Willis did well despite missing his crew and completed the 2 laps on his Flying Ant.  A really fun day for everyone involved.

Goodbye to 470 La Siala… Over the last 8 years generous people have donated boats to the club. One of the best ones was the Olympic class 470 La Siala donated by Bill Foley. This class of boat is sailed by both female and male crews in the Olympics and La Siala has provided many a wild ride on trapeze for TVSC members. We’re losing our storage area so all our non-essential club boats are being sold and sadly this one has to go too. We also have a more stable design 16ft Corsair for sale call 0434 982 922 if interested.