RACE REPORT 16 December 2023

PRO Andrew Cox reports:

It was a tough day for the last races in our Spring Point Score Series. During the day, the BOM readings hit all but one of the 16 points on the compass, miraculously only missing SE. Fortunately, during the race period, the official recordings only showed a 45-degree shift range from ESE to ENE. However, as those sailors who were backwinded into the water shortly after the first radial start will attest, we felt shifts on the course throughout the afternoon all the way from NE to the “missing” SE.

 As if that did not make course-setting (and racing) hard enough, we had the Sail Sydney ILCA 6 fleet monopolizing the Dardanelles, leaving us to set an almost due-east “average-wind” course from somewhere north of Clark Island to somewhere north of the Point Piper YA Mark. After a couple of adjustments to the start line, we were off. The fleets were well-behaved on the start lines during the afternoon, but for a general recall in the second Radials race that resulted less from over-exuberance than from a significant right shift towards the end of the sequence that compounded the outgoing tide.

 Congratulations to Kate McHugh who maintained a large winning margin in the first Radial race, followed by a commanding lead in the second until pipped somewhere in the middle by Martin White, who (as those who have the pleasure of competing somewhere near him each week will attest) has Terminator-like tenacity and effectiveness.  Meanwhile, in the Standards, Quentin Burns exhibited a dominating performance for two first-place finishes across the line. Special mention to Jasper Kinsman who pulled a 3rd and 2nd across the line in his first two outings after graduating from 4.7 to Radial.

 On handicap, winners were ILCA 6: Mike Morris and Daryl Lawrence and ILCA 7: Joshua Dorey and Maxim Djura.  Overall series winners are Peter Collie in the ILCA 6 and Maxim Djura in the ILCA 7 – nice one to them both!  Coincidentally, the PRO and Co-PRO each snagged second place in their respective series, some distance behind the winners.

Photo by Grant Lovelady

Thanks to the on-water team of Andrew Cox, Grant Lovelady, Jason Wilkins, and Jacqui Winship – particularly to Jason, whose tired arms and sore hands were evidence that he must have pulled up close to 15 mark-anchors during the day. Thanks also for the super-tasty sandwiches from the canteen team of Paul and Shirley, assisted by Isabelle Wilkins and Geoff Kirk. And congratulations to lucky Scott Hunter who received from Shirley what she declared to be her “best-ever” toastie. Jealous!

Photo by Andrew Cox