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Perfect weekend for Bridge to Breakers

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.

Contact Bill Fenelon TVSC Commodore 0411 123 405

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Adults Training Sessions this Sunday

We’re running some Adults Try Sailing sessions this coming Sunday from 1:30pm NSW Time.

Places are limited and you must book online before the day.  The sessions can be booked here.

Please be early for your session and read the details on our website.

You will either need to be a member of the club or have a Sail Pass to attend this event.  Sail passes are available on our Membership page.  You will need to check in on the day, as per our Covid Safe Business plan.

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SheSails Brushing up Skills

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.

Love sailing on the tweed river!

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Two Weeks until the Harwood Weekend – Bridge to Breakers Regatta (Away Event)

Hi Everyone,

What a great day on Sunday!  Bill has a write up from the day on our website.

There’s no racing in two weeks time, as we’ll be at the Big River Sailing Club’s Bridge to Breakers Regatta.  (Map Link)  A two hour drive south.

Skippers must register online with the BRSC.

Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions are here.

Due to Covid, a maximum of 70 boats will be permitted to enter.

As per other years, Saturday will be the long race, Sunday will be a series of short races.

Free camping with basic washroom facilities is available.

A group of Tweed Sailors head down on the Friday afternoon so as to not rush Saturday morning, but coming down Saturday morning is fine too.  The Saturday night group dinner is limited to forty people this year, so we may not all fit in for that.

If you look in the background, you’ll see some people playing musical instruments. Heaven help us.

Skippers, if you’re heading down, please let Craig know what your crew situation is, so that he can help organise people who’d like to crew.  If anyone’s interested in crewing, then please email the club and we’ll see what we can arrange, but it’s better to make arrangements directly with skippers where possible.

We would like to organise some juniors training days during the school holidays.  If Adults and Skippers would like to volunteer their time, then please reply by email letting us know.  We will try to firm up dates very soon.  We aim to have three days in December and three days in January.

The Monomasters at Lake Cootharaba (Two hours north!) is on the weekend of the 5/6th of December too.  A few Corsairs will be heading to that event.  Our next club event race will be the NS14 Championships on that same weekend, the 6th of December.

Happy Sailing!

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Racing on the Richmond River on Saturday and Championship Race at home on Sunday

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

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Race 2 of the Class Champs is on this Sunday

Racing is on this coming Sunday, the 8th of November
Briefing at midday, race start at 1pm (NSW Time).
Class Championship Race 2 for all classes except NS14s

One Long Race.

Full details and all registration links are on the event page on our website.

Also on the weekend, Ballina are having their Annual Regatta “Covid-Free-Air Regatta” and a few boats are heading down for the Saturday long race.  All boats are welcome.  Registration for Ballina must be done online before the event and all sailors must have an Australian Sailing Number or RRSRC issued Sail Pass.  (So renew your TVSC membership today!)

For our Sunday Event:
All skippers, please register and pay online before the day
Everyone attending must fill in the COVID registration form.
For skippers looking for crew, the event page has a section for you to leave your contact details.  There’s also a new page for people who would like to sail, to leave their contact details for potential skippers to contact them.

Again, all of the forms/registrations mentioned are linked from the event page.

People looking to crew:
If you do not have a boat organised but would like to crew, whether you have experience or not, one option is to fill in your contact details here.  Skippers will be able to see the information and perhaps get in touch to arrange a spot before the day.

As a reminder, Memberships are due.

See you Sunday (or Saturday)!

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Sailing on Sunday 25-10-2020

The Tweed Valley Sailing Club conducted Race 6 , 7 and 8 on Sunday, with expectations of a storm keeping many at home. 12 boats turned up to race and a very close eye was kept on the sky. It was very quiet on the river and the boats enjoyed a pleasant afternoon sailing.

Unfortunately, the first race of the day had to be abandoned, due to the wing mark detaching from its anchor and floating too far up river! Thanks go to Geoffrey and his daughter for locating it and bringing it back for the second race of the day.

Fastest today was NS14 “Flight 24” (Adam Hurt & Kate Yeomans) and 2nd; another NS14, Impulsive Matt (Matt Andrews & Melissa Le Roux). Results are here.

The big race today were Heats 1, 2 and 3 of the summer NS14 Class Championship.

Five of these high performance, 2 handed skiffs competed, and included a team from Brisbane. The Tweed River has a very competitive fleet of NS14’s which has developed over the years to be of very high standard, and is attracting boats from other clubs to compete; but today the local boats dominated.

Winning the NS’s, getting the bullet in both (completed) races; last year’s class champion “Flight 24” sailed by Adam Hurt from Fingal Head, teamed up this year with the clubs Laser champion, Kate Yeomans, getting home 30 seconds ahead of 2nd place “Impulsive Matt” (Matt Andrews & Melissa La Roux), 3rd was Brisbane boat “Need for speed” (Adam Humphries & Lucinda Jones) and 4th was “On & Off” (Dave Robinson & Cooper Robinson).  “Blu Tack” also made an appearance with new owners, another Fingal team, Lucy Dyer & Simon Bicknell racing with the club for the first time.

NS14 Results.

Racing was on the short course and all boats competed very closely and separated by only seconds.

The Corsairs had a number of new to sailing crew who all had a great experience. Here’s new sailor Jack, recovering from nearly capsizing on a gybe.

The Tweed Sailing club supports regattas at other Northern Rivers clubs. Two club boats travelled to Harwood on Saturday for the Clarence River, Single Handers regatta. Congrats to Peter Fell on a fifth placing in the Impulses.

Next fortnight many club boats will travel to Ballina for their weekend regatta and saturday long-distance Richmond River race. If any Corsair skippers are intending to go, please get in touch so that we can organise things with crew. Registrations must be done online.

The Clubs next race will be conducted on the 8th of November on the Fingal Reach, starting at 13:00 (NSW). Spectators are welcomed.

 A big fleet is expected for the 2nd heat of the 3-handed Corsair Class Championship and there could be many crewing opportunities available so people can join in.

The Club currently needs Rescue Boat drivers. If you have a power boat license and are interested in helping out, then please get in touch.

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Summer Season Day 3

Racing is on this coming Sunday, the 25th of October.
Briefing at midday, race start at 1pm (NSW Time).
Handicap Racing for all boats except NS14s, which will be having their first class champs day.

Three Short Races.
Handicap Starts. (except for NS14s)

Full details and all registration links are on the event page on our website.

There is a Skippers Registration for all skippers (or boats) entering.  Please register before the day.  ($5 entry per boat.)

For skippers needing crew or people wanting to crew, there is a Skippers ‘Looking for Crew’ form on the event page.  Skippers, please fill that in if you need crew.  There’s also a link (on the event page) that lists Skippers who are seeking crew…(so maybe you’ve guessed what’s coming next already)…if you’d like to crew, then check that list and ring/email the skippers about a spot…and if you need crew…then fill in the appropriate form.  (There may still be random spots free on the day, as that is life, so you’re very welcome to come along and try to get a spot.)

To comply with our Covid safe plan, everyone attending must register with the Covid safe registration page…too.

Again, all of the forms/registrations mentioned are linked from the event page.

As a reminder, Memberships are due.

See you Sunday!

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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.