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Race 3 – Class Championships

A perfect day with a north-easterly wind of 10 to 14 knots made a great day for sailing for Race 3 of the Class Championships, on the beautiful waters of the Tweed River, with a high tide at 12 pm.  To show the Xmas spirit, our sailors wore Santa Hats, with Kate losing hers during the race (let’s blame MONOPOLY for this).

Fourteen (14) dinghies started  – 4 corsairs, 4 impulses, 4 lasers, 1 hobie and 1 pacer, with a starboard start to the left of the start boat which was the preferred start.  

First to the top mark were the Impulses, Adam on his new dinghy PUDDY and Dave on MATCHBOX.  Peter on MR PLOW tried a port tack entry with Debbie on FLYING DRAGON, which didn’t turn out well, leaving him well back in the fleet.  

A bit of ruckus for the first rounding at the top mark initially – a few apologies between sailors, with Mark on KEENAS coming in on port to Monique on ROLLING STONE (who was on starboard), with ROLLING STONE having to change course to avert a collision – an apology from KEENAS, and then heading down to the next marker, Mon asking Mark politely to get out of her air, which he kindly did!  Such chivalry!!

An unfortunate day for Michael and crew, sailing corsair EXHALE, with the block and fibreglass being ripped out of the hull!!  EXHALE had to retire, but will be back in 2023 once repairs are completed. Michael’s son, Charlie, rigged an X3 and enjoyed a great time on the water, improving his sailing skills.

Meanwhile, the Impulses were fighting it out with PUDDY in the lead.  MR PLOW overtook MATCHBOX in the 2nd run and was level with PUDDY by the end of the 3rd run, with Adam on PUDDY taking an unscheduled swim near the bottom mark, leaving Peter and Dave to come 1st and 2nd respectively.  

Lex sailed his laser and had mechanical issues with his mainsheet.  Debbie on FLYING DRAGON thought he was waiting for her at one stage, but he sailed off again, chasing after Mon and Kate (with Kate in the lead and being overall Laser winner).

Matt and his 3 minions, Aidan, Mia and Posie, on MONOPOLY, had a great start, having great fun playing tactics with Kate on BLUEY during the race, with MONOPOLY finishing ahead of BLUEY.

MONOPOLY won outright in the Corsair Class, with Mark and crew, Kynan and Luke, on KEENAS placing 2nd, and Guy and crew on SQUIRTLE placing 3rd.  Corsair owner Jason Benny-Morris sailed MIDNIGHT MAGIC with his crew Josiah and Debbie against the strong competition of other corsair sailors.  

Christian and Aimee sailed their hobie MLC, and had a comfortable and fun race.  Aimee had just completed the club Learn to Sail course that day.  John Hayward and Sasha (who also just finished the Learn to Sail course), sailed the club pacer.  Sasha loved the experience and is excited to race again.  

The Xmas Party followed afterwards with a sausage sizzle to celebrate the end of the sailing year for us all.  Family, friends and club juniors attended, with all sharing their experience on their most excellent sailing day.

Special thanks to Bryan, Commodore, for being on the safety and starter boat, Duty Officer Doug, who didn’t sail so he could assist Bryan on the safety boat (and became photographer too), John as race officer, Ashlie and Travis (club junior) who gave up their Sunday afternoon to do the important role of timekeeping, and Muriel (Byan’s wife) for cooking the BBQ for the hungry hoards.  

We wish you all a very Merry Xmas and look forward to racing again in 2023.

For full results: https://www.halsail.com/Result/Public/67776

Race Start from Start Boat
Debbie showing the Xmas spirit, on laser FLYING DRAGON
Laser Winner, Kate on BLUEY
Mark with crew Kynan and Luke, sailing corsair KEENAS, placed 2nd
Xmas Party Crew
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A Windy Time at the Monomasters

A reduced fleet size, (probably owing to the forecast unseasonably strong south easterly winds, cold temps and rain squalls), took to the brown waters of Lake Cootharaba for Monomasters 2022.

The start of race one was postponed due to a rain squall preventing the boats from even getting off the beach. Unfortunately for the Corsair campers, they didn’t know this and fanged at warp speed past the yacht club to a huge cheer from the beach only to have to sit around in 30 knots waiting for the committee to remove the postponement…

Two races were held on Saturday afternoon with winds ranging from a pleasant 15 knots up to 30 knots in the squalls. Heaps of thrills and spills and for the Vanuatu boys in Epic, a capsize and mast damage saw their regatta end early. Kate in “bluey” the laser and Justin, Emily & Annabelle in Corsair “none the wiser” has good tussles all day.

Sunday saw three races held back-to-back in similar strong condition to Saturday just with less rain squalls. Winds were a shifty 15-22 knots and all three races saw reasonably similar results to day one.

Kate took out the coveted “best female on the water” prize and was thrilled to receive her prize pack.

For some unknown reason all the Corsair sailors decided to skip presentation and instead climbed up to the summit of Mt Cooroora. Kate decided to give the mountain a miss and went to the pub instead – wise choice!

Monomasters really is one of the best flat water, non river sailing regattas in South East Queensland. For the river sailors it provides an opportunity to really perfect your wind shift reading skills as tide and shallow aren’t a factor.

Side note:- All campers turning up with a boat trailer and a Tweed Valley sticker seemed to get a daily SMS from the camp ground reminding them about the excessive noise rules – no doubt as a result of Craig’s stella electronic keyboard solo’s from last year….oh and Holans Ed Sheeran Bongo cover with backing track…

Justin Johnson

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Racing and Xmas Party this Sunday

Racing is on this coming Sunday, with a briefing at midday. (Skippers registration link)  This is a championship day with one longer format race.

Juniors and adults new to sailing will have a separate start and course – they’ll need to register with the above link too.  (This is intended for people who have recently attended one of our courses)

We have Manly Juniors and Pacers available for hire for the day, please use the hire links on our website.  (Note that someone will need to approve the hire, and you must be a member.  You’ll also need to register.)

After the race, our Xmas Party will be on. Please RVSC to Monique and see this post for details.

The summer season roster is here.  (Everyone, please help out the day if you have time)

Note that all times are NSW.

Please fill in this form for Sunday if you’d be interested in crewing (no experience necessary). A skipper may get in touch with you. Or come along on the day (the earlier, the better) to see if you can find a ride. Details on what to bring are here. Skippers, your list of the available crew is here.

See you Sunday!

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Race 2 – Club Championship Summer Series 2022-2023

A big incoming tide and a sustained 20 knots of wind greeted our intrepid fleet for race 2 of the summer season. It had all the ingredients for a great race.

looks more like 30 knots to me…cough

After practising his racing starts with Matt Andrews on Friday, Brennan jostled It’s Academic for a ripper start and it was on. The It’s Academic crew have really found their form, and it won’t be long before they will be heading for a podium finish.

John Haywood crewed for Mark on Keenas, after teaching all morning!

Four Lasers, an impulse, a Cat, and four corsairs were racing, and it was a close one.
A big shout out to Bryan on the safety boat, who had his work cut out supporting the lasers who struggled in the gusts and had some excellent practices dealing with capsizing. Of course, strong winds did not seem to bother Kate Yeomans, who treated the whole affair as one long abdominal workout. Dave Robinson’s impulse loved the downwind leg.

Look at that tide!

The race was three laps long. At the end of the first lap, it was Kate Y (24.51), closely followed by Mark Reynolds on Keanas just 59 seconds later. The second lap saw Kate crossing at 47.08 with the Keanas crew nipping at her heels at 48.28. It was close! The final lap was a nail-biter, it was neck and neck all the way, and there were two contenders for the crown, you guessed it Kate va Keanas. Kate crossed for the win at 1. 09.31, and just 49 seconds later came the Kennas crew. Lex Branch was not too far off the money, coming in for a solid third place at 1.13.04. It’s Academic came in at 1.16.15.

A bunch of powder monkeys

Matt Andrews, with his trusty crew of three powder monkeys (Mia, Aidan and Posie) crossed soon after (1.17.09)

Charlie did a great job on the hooter. Letting everyone know when they crossed the finish line on every lap.

Words by Michael Grace.

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Bridge to Breakers Regatta

After two disrupted seasons affected by either floods or the pandemic, this year’s Bridge to Breakers regatta was a welcome return to something more traditional. The Saturday forecast of a fresh NE sea breeze proved accurate, providing almost ideal sailing conditions for all classes. The catamarans and multihulls, which had entered in numbers not seen for many seasons, were particularly well suited to the longer course and enjoyed close racing within and between classes. 

The Sunday forecast was likewise accurate; however, the strong blustery NW winds proved a handful, with many deciding the morning race was enough sailing for one day. The gnarly conditions persisted for the third and final race, and those that ventured out returned battle weary and thankful for the early finish. 

The club takes the opportunity to thank all those who participated in the racing or who otherwise enjoyed the regatta for the socialising and opportunity to camp and enjoy the area for its special place. Particularly pleasing was the number of families and younger children in attendance, encouraging for the sport, and hopefully a sign of more to come. The next major event is the Annual Regatta over the weekend of 25/26 Feb 2023 and the club looks forward to welcoming back as many return visitors that can make it.

Some of the TVSC sailors who attended the Bridge to Breakers

Source: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/brsailingclub/

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Racing is on this Sunday

Racing is on this coming Sunday, with a briefing at midday. (Skippers registration link)  This is a non-championship day and will either be pursuit starts, multiple races or some other more casual style of racing when compared with the championship days.

Juniors and adults new to sailing will have a separate start and course – they’ll need to register with the above link too.  (This is intended for people who have recently attended one of our courses)

We have Manly Juniors and Pacers available for hire for the day, please use the hire links on our website.  (Note that someone will need to approve the hire, and you must be a member.  You’ll also need to register.)

We have a sausage sizzle after the race.

The summer season roster is here.  (Everyone, please help out the day if you have time)

Note that all times are NSW.

If you’d be interested in crewing (no experience necessary), please fill in this form on Sunday. A skipper may get in touch with you. Or come along on the day (the earlier, the better) to see if you can find a ride. Details on what to bring are here. Skippers, your list of the available crew is here.

See you Sunday!

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Juniors Fun Sailing Day

We will be holding a Juniors Fun Sailing Day, for our experienced/trained juniors, on Saturday, the 26th of November, from 8:30 to 11:30. With a BBQ lunch afterwards.

Please contact John on 0431 025 497 if you can make it!

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Race 2 of the Championships is this Sunday

Race 2 of our Summer Championship Series is this coming Sunday. Skippers, please register here.

Juniors and adults new to sailing will have a separate start and course – they’ll need to register with the above link too.  (This is intended for people who have recently attended one of our courses)

We have Manly Juniors and Pacers available for hire for the day, please use the hire links on our website.  (Note that someone will need to approve the hire and you must be a member.  You’ll also need to register.)

We have a sausage sizzle after the race.

The summer season roster is here.  (Everyone, please help out the day if you have time)

Note that all times are NSW.

If you’d be interested in crewing (no experience necessary), please fill in this form. A skipper may get in touch with you. Or come along on the day (the earlier, the better) to see if you can find a ride. Details on what to bring are here. Skippers, your list of the available crew is here.

We have a lot of events coming up, so please take a look at the Calendar.

See you Sunday!

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RRSRC Regatta – A Thank You

To all the Tweed Valley Sailing Club.

On behalf of RRSRC I want to thank all the sailors who joined us last Saturday to sail our marathon race. It was wonderful having you all there to sail, and great to see different classes represented in the monohull division.

The conditions were not easy, that’s for sure, pushing against that brown surge of flood water, working all the way to the ferry and beyond, dodging wind shadows, bullets, and holes, trying to keep moving. It was a relief to round the turning mark and flow with the current, knowing you’d get to the finish even if the wind died!

For some boats, it was a true marathon, taking many hours to complete the race, not being helped by an NNE wind coming in, later on, making for more upwind work to get home, and having to dodge the bullets passing through the big buildings in the Ramada section. Well done to all boats for persevering.

One of our corsairs had a crew member who had sailed twice ever (in a recent learn to sail course) and had jumped in with an experienced skipper. It took them about four hours to complete the race, a true marathon. After the race, I asked the new crew member if he still liked sailing and was pleased to receive a resounding yes!

The sense of goodwill from the Tweed sailors was evident, the standard of sailing from Tweed was obviously very good (check out the start alignment), and it would be good if RRSRC members could make the journey to the Tweed every now and again to sail with you. We’ll have to work on it. Best wishes for the remainder of your season, and we hope to see you again next year!

Results are here.
Trent Morgan