Competition in the catamaran fleet stepped up a notch this week with the return of Hobie 18 crew Mick and Abbey Maginnity.
Quickly finding their sea legs again after an extended break, the highly experienced father / daughter team pushed their rivals all the way to a tight and exciting finish. After an hour’s hard racing they crossed the line only a minute behind odds-on favourite Tony Rose and have set the scene for an interesting season ahead.
Conditions were mixed, with the breeze ranging everywhere between 5 and 15 knots. Typical of a south easterly it was gusty and swung wildly. However, as the afternoon wore on, it settled down to a steady 15 knots and crews enjoyed some magnificent sailing to finish the day.
A single race was sailed with three laps. Marks were set at the bridge, Marina, Convent and Rowing Club. All boats competed in a single division with yardsticks levelling the diverse fleet. A sudden wind shift right at the start, had skippers feverishly rethinking their strategies and the short fetch to the top mark proved to be a lot more challenging than anyone expected.
Overall winner of the day was Arrow skipper Tony Rose who claimed both line honour and yardstick prizes. With the breeze nearing 15 knots Tony was able to stay out on trapeze with his sail fully powered. Under these conditions, the Arrow is hard to beat and well done to Tony on a great result.
Hobie 18 crew Mick and Abbey Maginnity were next over the line and still accelerating. Had the race been a fraction longer, the results may have been very different. With yardsticks applied they were awarded third place. Next in was Luke Denham. Luke put in an outstanding performance completing the course in his very demanding Hobie 16, single-handed and without a trapeze. Arafura skipper Greg Lee pushed his compact but speedy little craft around the course in a very respectable time that keeps improving each week.
Sole monohull contender Peter Zietsch had a strong finish and was rewarded with second place on yardstick. Finding a series of favourable lifts, the Laser skipper was able to complete the long final work from the bottom mark in just two tacks.
See the website for full results.
Sailing again on October 7 with the first round of the Club Pointscore.
If there’s enough interest, we’re considering a social sail next Saturday 30. Watch for updates.
Visitors or anyone wanting to have a go at sailing are most welcome to drop in. Start time is around 1pm on Saturdays.
More details on our website. https://crsc.yachting.org.au