SPRING POINT SCORE Races 1 & 2
By Murray Stone
Last Saturday saw a magnificent start to the 2024 Spring Pointscore series with the weather gods giving their blessing and delivering blue skies, a pleasant 22 degrees and a relatively consistent 10 knot north north easterly - a pleasant surprise given the harbour was looking like glass during the morning's Learn to Race session. The forecasted afternoon 6 knot northwesterly and late shift into the south west didn't eventuate, much to the delight of the fleet of around 40 sailors.
Both the Radial and Standard fleets got away without troubling the starter on a course accommodating the northerly gradient in the breeze. The wing mark was set not far off Clark Island and while this resulted in a deep first reach, it made for a tight bottom reach with most sailors working the leg and enjoying some good rides in the lighter conditions.
Healy Ryan took line honours in the first race in the Radials with Pia Hattersley getting the time adjusted victory. Campbell Patton took fastest time in the standard fleet with Peter D'arcy King winning on adjusted time.
A few minor tweaks were made to the course in the Race 2 and both fleets again got away cleanly despite a lapse in concentration by the starter that saw a quick hoist of the AP flag after missing the 4-minute signal was missed in the Radial sequence.
As that race progressed, the breeze seemed to fill in slightly and shift a little to the east, with the near perfect conditions continuing through the afternoon.
In the end, Healy and Sylvie Stannage could not be separated crossing the finish line for the Radials and a dead heat was declared. Roberto Blum had a solid race and took the honours on adjusted time. Campbell continued his form again taking line honours in the Standards, while Andrew Foote took first place on handicap following a podium finish in Race 1, seeing him take a strong position early in the series.
Thanks to Murray, Omer, Kerryn and Quinn, along with guest Charles for running the races, and to Peter D'Arcy King and Jason Wilkins for their help in the canteen.
