Due to the conditions of the river, Sunday’s race will be postponed to another date, yet to be determined.
NO RACE Sunday 2 Feb – Corsair Convoy to Budgewoi & Farewell to the TVSC “Annexe”
The scheduled Corsair Class Champ / Pointscore race this Sunday has been postponed. There will be no racing at Fingal. The proposed rescheduled Corsair Class Champ/Pointscore race date is Sunday 29 March (which was the Chindy Challenge Race date).
44th Corsair National Titles
The reason for the change is that have 4 Corsairs and 12 members heading down to Budgewoi for the National Titles this weekend! We wish them all the best – expecting lots of tales to tell on their return and maybe even a trophy!
Farewell to a piece of TVSC History – 46 Fingal rd
The Corsair convoy will be departing this Thursday at 3pm NSW from “Bill’s Place” 46 Fingal Rd which is also the farewell moment to what has been the TVSC “Annex” since 2011. In the early years, this is where the after race BBQs were held and where many of us came to get our boats repaired or rigging explained or just for a general chat about boats; all the club equipment was stored in Bill’s sunroom until we got our first “club house” (an enclosed box trailer, also stored at No 46), the back yard has also been home to the club safety boats and then a sabot fleet took over the shed which kick started our juniors squad; followed by untold numbers of Corsairs and other boats made easily available for members to use.
Without this storage and work/meeting space the club would not be what it is today.
The Commodore closes the door for the last time this Thursday join him and the Corsair convoy at 3 pm to raise a glass to the end of a TVSC chapter .. and the start of the next one… a real club house? and to give the Corsairs a big send off.
BYO champers!!
First Race of the Year
The Tweed Valley Sailing club hosted the first race of the year on Sunday at Fingal Head, with a very competitive fleet turning up, and some crew shortening their holidays to compete.
The main event today was the 3rd heat of the NS14 class championship with 5 top boats competing, and the series wide open; while a reduced fleet of 3 Lasers contested the single handers yardstick championship, and 2 Corsairs joined the fleet for heat 6 of the summer handicap point score.
With the championship tied after 2 races, the top boats were keen to score good results.
Sailing conditions were good, but challenging with some big wind shifts and a strong Flooding tide lining up with a Northerly breeze forcing crews to work hard to get up the 3 x one mile long windward legs. It was a very hot day and the occasional splash from the Tweed River was very welcomed.
Taking the bullet in the Summer Pointscore Handicap series, Kate Yeomans in her Laser “Bluey” sailed very well, as she usually does, and took full advantage of the wind & tide situation.
In the Championship Series, making sure of it and getting the bullet, NS14 “Impulsive Max”, sailed by a determined Matt Andrews and Igor Prada, easily outpaced the fleet finishing 3 minutes ahead of 2nd Placed “Flight 24”(Adam Hurt & Tom Busbridge), while 3rd placed ”On & Off” (Dave Robinson & Hugh Robinson) getting home 1 minute ahead of Pura Vida (Robert Preston & Kynan Luescher).
Two races remain in the Class Championship and Impulsive Max now leads the series with Flight 24 moving back to second.
Meanwhile in the Single Handers race, Laser Sailor, Kate Yeomans on “Bluey”, was initially challenged by Laser Grand Master Gary McCrohan until Gary decided it was too hot and headed for a Bar somewhere; anywhere that had cold beer. Kate finished first in this division and only a minute behind the first NS14.
Also in a single hander today was Corsair Class Champion Monique Smith, scoring 2nd place in a Laser, and she probably really enjoyed beating all the Corsairs.
TVSC’s Corsair Fleet were sailing today finalizing preparations and team work to compete in the Corsair Class Australia Championships, being held in Budgeowoi on the 1st and 2nd of February.
Sailing conditions on the Tweed were very pleasant and all crews enjoyed the afternoon sailing.
The Next Race at Fingal Head will be on the 16th of February. This will be heat 4 of the NS14 Championship and Single Handers Yardstick Championship. Adults and Juniors are welcome to come down and crew on a boat. No experience is necessary and you will learn to sail for free!!
SheSails Event “Sisterhood of Sailing”
On Saturday 9 November, TVSC held their first SheSails sailing day, the Sisterhood of Sailing. It was a very casual day, with two lasers and one corsair sailing the beautiful waters of Tweed River.
When we set sail it was over 16 knots, sailing up the river towards Chinderah, returning for a bite to eat at the Sheoak Cafe, where the girls sat and chatted in a more relaxed atmosphere.
After lunch, the girls went out again, with dolphins following the boats – it was magical!
The day’s participants were Kate, Deborah, Alison, Rachael, Karen and Monique. The day was a huge success, with Alison saying she hadn’t enjoyed sailing so much for a long time.
Another sailing day will be held in the new year and we encourage our other club members to come and going the sisterhood of sailing.
If you have any ideas or enquiries for future events, please contact Monique via the club website.
A Little Bit On for the Second Day of Racing in the Summer Series.
At the briefing, with an average reported wind speed of 21 knots, but gusts reaching 29, we decided that racing was on! Eight boats with 19 crew readied up on the beach, including two junior crews in their Flying Ants, who could just not be dissuaded from having a go.
However, before the start, three boats were already out with capsizes and gear breakages.
Sid and Skye, in Sid’s Flying Ant, made it to the top mark of the first leg. A tremendous effort.
Every boat went for a swim, except for the Weta and Mark and the crew on the Corsair, Keenas.
The across the line finishers were Monique and crew on the Corsair Swell Lady, followed by Dave and Isaac on the Hobie 16, followed by Keenas. Three finishes. Total.
See you next time!
Juniors Squad on the Road
This month the TVSC Juniors packed up the boats, loaded their tents (and their families) and headed south to the mighty Clarence River for the first of a series of Australian Sailing run Youth training camps. The venue was the envy of all sailing clubs, especially “container club” TVSC. The brand new club house at Big River Sailing Club in Harwood with camping in the spacious club grounds by the river was ideal. The kids were also impressed with their young kiwi instructor, George Martin – he did an excellent job along with assistance from TVSC’s Nicole Bushnell with the race training group who sailed in their first full length race on the Saturday afternoon.
Morgan and Miles Bushnell (13 & 10) from Eviron had their Manly Junior “M&M” flying. They’re looking forward to being joined on the water at Fingal Head this summer in the TVSC’s newly acquired fleet of 6 Manly Juniors. Kynan Luescher (12) from Fingal made a big step up from our X3 training boats to a 4.7 Laser (smaller sail than a full rig Laser) and Konnor Wheeler isn’t far off doing the same.
Lots of new sailing buddies were made and our youngsters learned a lot from George and all the other sailors. It was a great experience for them and a fun weekend for all the families too.
Back on the Tweed, we’ve had our AGM and the committee welcomes new Club Secretary Garry Bargh from Ocean Shores.
Our “She Sails” Rep Monique Smith would also like to hear from you if you’re keen to join some women’s sailing events this season – there’s always room for more!
AGM this coming Sunday
Our upcoming AGM will be held at the Sheaok Shack on Sunday the 15th of September at 4pm.
Use these links to download the Nomination Form and Position Descriptions.
Sailing Club’s 6th Tweed River Marathon – Best Ever!
At the helm with Alison Blatcher.
The Race day morning saw a chilly start, the Condong Sugar Mill chimney showed there was a good breeze but this was all to change. The crowd started to roll up at Clarrie Purnell Park before 7am and soon there were eggs and bacon sizzling and the kettle boiling, the catering team kept the sailors well fed and ready for what started to look like being a truly marathon race. The TVSC Safety boat crew – Reg Court, Garry Bargh and Richard Roberts had an early start at Fingal – launching the RIBS and heading off upstream to Condong. Roland Schwertner and Rick from Richmond River SC arrived early too and the Murwillumbah Rowing club boat was also ready to go. We welcomed visitors from Oxley SC, Brisbane Sailing Squadron, RQYS (Manly) and the largest contingent from TSS (The Southport School) bringing 6 Pacers. All boats 27 boats were on the water, the starters at the ready ….and the breeze died to nothing. So as the start horn sounded a burst of laughter went around the boats as they sat in the water not moving! This soon changed and the fleet moved off with the wind behind them, brightly coloured spinnakers were hauled up and they disappeared around the bend towards Tumbulgum.
Spectators waved along the river bank and the wind started to pick up as the fleet arrived at Tumbulgum and navigated under the bridge and on towards rainforested Stotts Island.
Three classes of boat were well represented this year – the 3 handed Corsairs (8 boats), 2 handed Pacers (6) and singlehanded Impulses (5). There were also 4 Lasers. In the Corsairs Alison Blatcher, skippering 683 Fairlight with crew Karen Vidler and Imogen Potts had an impressive lead for nearly half of the race but a couple of lulls in wind and river currents spinning them in a full circle at one point saw them start to lose the lead. Corsair 490 Keenas (Mark Reynolds, Marg Walgers & Craig Foley) crept up and flew past through the Stotts Island narrows never to be caught again. In the very last stretch of the race at Chinderah Corsair 396 Nimbus (Scott Jones and daughter Caitlyn) also over took Fairlight and they fought to the finish line ending just 6 seconds in front of the early leader.
The Pacers sailing without spinnakers were the slowest boats in the fleet but were still only a minute behind the last Corsair at the finish line. After 3 and a half hours of sailing, 3 of the 6 Pacers still managed to finish only 1 second apart. Xavier Doer and Keely Whitaker from TSS took out 1st with TVSC members Igor Prado and junior Kynan Luecher, sailing a Pacer for the first time, coming in 2nd followed by TSS crew Monet Mooney and Jess Sabin. TVSC juniors Isaac Poulsen with Layla Scholz also sailed a Pacer for the first time. This was Isaac’s first time skippering in the Tumbulgum race – he was up with the 1st placed Pacer for much of the race and so should be very pleased. The flukey breeze that this race is known for caught them out and left the other 3 Pacers 10 minutes behind the others by the finish.
In huge contrast to the becalmed start the sailors faced 15-23 knot gusts as they came to the Chinderah reach with the wind coming from all and any directions. They had to be on their toes not to end up going for a swim which made for an exciting last leg. The smiles as they crossed the line may have had a tinge of relief to them!
An unusual boat sailed by Mark Harper, a Devoti D zero, led the fleet for most of the way. Laser sailor John Pring on “Fig Jam” put in a heroic effort to keep up with him and hung on to be second across the line just over 3 hours after the start. The Lasers and the Impulses played cat and mouse all the way to the finish line – all of them excellent and very experienced sailors so after John crossed the next 3 were only seconds apart – Peter Fell (Impulse Mr Plow) then Mike Robinson (Impulse Plymouth) and TVSC’s Kate Yeomans (Laser Radial Bluey). TVSC’s Adam Hurt from Fingal took the 3rd place in the Impulses on Rosie, by far the oldest Impulse in the fleet.
Commendations also go to the Dads celebrating early for Fathers Day. Jan Trueman and daughter Ruby from Chillingham sailing their Tasar for the very first time; Matthew Plummer and son Finley sailed one of TSS’s Pacers and David Robinson with son Hugh sailed their NS14. It was a cold race after the Tasar and the Pacer both went for a swim but they made it to the finish line and Ruby, Finley and Hugh will have many stories to tell their friends at school this week.
Once the finish times were adjusted for the different boat speeds Peter Fell from Oxley SC in Brisbane came out this year’s Tumbulgum Passage Champion and took home a voucher for a Husk Distillery Tour for two. Other great prizes donated by local businesses included Red Box Gym and Gold Coast Yoga monthly passes, vouchers for Cubby Bakehouse, Tyalgum Gelato, Watersports Guru and Tweed River seafoods so everyone went home happy.
We look forward to doing it all again next year – with maybe a few practice sails up to Tumbulgum for lunch and back to Fingal before the next marathon race comes round. If you would like to be part of this great event next year – come and join us for the start of our summer season. Get involved in sailing or as part of our enthusiastic support team – we’d love to have you on board.
Winter is Over
Thanks everyone for a great Winter 2019 Season! Here’s a collection of photos from various events held during the season.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”27″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]Last Race of the Season
At the Helm with Bill Fenelon.
Several TVSC members were away for Hamilton Island Race week so a smaller than usual fleet of 9 boats competed in the final day of the Winter Series last Sunday.
Three 1 lap races were contested in a blustery Northerly wind reaching 21knots breeze, which was gusty and unpredictable making conditions difficult for the sailors on the river, so the sailors really earned their post-race sausages!
Joining the Tweed River fleet for the first time today were locals Steve and Tai Grimes, sailing an International 420. These guys had an enjoyable first afternoon and easily beat the Corsair fleet. The top boat today was a visitor to the Tweed. Single Hander, Impulse “Sapphire” sailed by Oxley Sailing Club Commodore Keith Briers. Keith was fastest in two of the three races and only dropped to second, missing first place by only 7 seconds to Laser “Siesta” sailed by Gary McCrohan from Tyalgum. Also sailing a Laser, Maurie Meyer was only a few seconds back who took third place.
Four boats competed in the Three Handed one design Corsair division, fastest today was “Nimbus” (Scott, Debbie, and Sahara Jones), winning all 3 races, and second was “Keenas” (Mark Reynolds, Marg Walgers and Garry Bargh).
Next Saturday 31st, the club hosts its premiere event, the long-distance Tumbulgum Passage race, starting from Clarrie Purnell Park in Condong at 10.30am and finishing at Fingal – when they get there. The sailing boats really brighten up the river and are a great spectacle to enjoy from various places along the River foreshores. It’s taken between 3 and 6 hours in the past so it can be a long day on the river – cheers from the river bank at Tumbulgum and Chinderah really help the crews so come down and follow the race. This will be the 6th annual running of this event which attracts sailors from Brisbane and all the Northern Rivers with around 30 boats entering.
The Club asks that other river users are aware they may encounter sailing boats at any place along the river this Saturday. TVSC acknowledges the support of local businesses sponsoring this Saturdays race: Hakka Hire, Red Box Gym, The Water Sports Guru, Cubby Bakehouse Café, Tweed River Seafoods and Body Connection Pilates.