On Saturday the club hosted the annual Tyrrell and Rousso races. Federal Member for Wentworth, Dave Sharma joined the club for the briefing and was the guest starter on the Jazzman for the Tyrell race.

It was yet again another wild and woolly day of racing. 22 sailors braved 25-30 knot southerly with gusts of 35 registered during the racing period. Given the conditions, most of the full rig sailors downsized to radial sails, except Mike Dunne and Ian Alexander who muscled out the conditions in their regular rigs. Peter Collie and Daryl Lawrence opted to sail in 4.7 rigs.

There were some wild rides downwind (see The Top Mark) and a graveyard for a gybe mark, yet aside from Peter Collie’s nose, there wasn’t much carnage to report. The race winners were Mike Dunne in the pursuit (Tyrell) race and Luke Parker in the Rousso.

Racing was overseen by Craig Sheers (PRO) and Christine Patton (LTRAR) with the assistance of Clare Alexander and David Sharma on the Jazzman.

Our rescue boats with Emily Ball (COTD), Ross Ramsay (Co-COTD), David Murphy (CSO) and David Airey did an excellent job keeping the marks in place in challenging conditions. Tim Heath and Christine Linhart were on hand to assist Paul and Shirley in the canteen.

After racing, members returned to the club for the Christmas party with excellent food, drinks and entertainment (and a few weary faces).