Late on Saturday 11th December 1943 a group of boy scouts and cubs were in a small punt returning from a Christmas excursion on Susan Island.
A rapidly approaching storm from the southwest had whipped up a strong wind and there were large waves on the river. Midway across, the small and overloaded boat was swamped and in the ensuing panic everyone ended up in the water. Many of the younger boys couldn’t swim and of the 31 onboard only 18 survived. The thirteen who drowned were all aged between eight and ten. It was a tragedy of enormous scale and remains the worst loss of life on the river since settlement.
Exactly 80 years on – competitors in Saturday’s Club Championship heat sailed around a mark set on the very site of that awful event. Crews couldn’t help but reflect on what it must have been like for the terrified youngsters in the water that day but in the bright sunshine and river filled with colourful sails it was almost impossible to imagine something so heartbreaking in such a magnificent setting.
Unlike 80 years ago there were no storms, but it was hot and there was plenty of breeze. A lively north easterly arrived early and kept pumping all afternoon. Three full races were completed – all in blisteringly quick times. Course layout was a windward mark near the bridge, reach marks at the Marina and Convent and a leeward buoy at the Memorial Park. The leg to the leeward mark was largely a broad to beam reach – the fastest point of sailing. As a result, some spectacular rides were enjoyed on this wet and wild section of the course. An outgoing tide pushing against the incoming breeze generated a nice swell and crews were regularly able to surf waves to gain extra speed.
Two divisions were contested – monohulls and catamarans.
In the catamaran fleet Arrow skipper Tony Rose fought off some solid competition to score a perfect three out of three. A very determined Phil Cavanagh had his measure at one stage but was incredibly unlucky to fall into an isolated ‘pothole’ on the river which saw him come to a complete stop while his rivals sailed straight past. Nevertheless, he still clocked up second place in all races. Hobie 18 crew Lindsay Cowan and Tansie Higgins claimed the bronze. Lindsay and Tansie also took home the overall line honour title after being first across the finish in every race.
Monohull results were more mixed. Laser skipper Peter Zietsch struck the first blow with a narrow win in Race 1 – just ahead of Deb Parkin in second and Neil Burgess in third. There was some remarkable action in Race 2 when rescue boat driver Dennis Boyd swapped places with Laser skipper John Nelson to give him a rest. Following a daring on-water transfer Dennis quickly settled into the helm and was soon setting the pace for others to follow. His opponents narrowed the margin on the down-wind legs but couldn’t match his speed upwind. After twenty torrid minutes of sailing Dennis claimed the prize just five seconds ahead second place-getter Deb Parkin with Peter Zietsch in third. Deb also took out first place in Race 3 with Neil Burgess in second and Peter Zietsch again in third.
See the website for full results.
A big thanks to event volunteers especially race official Mick Maginnity and boat driver Dennis Boyd.
Sailing is on again next Saturday (December 16). This will be our last outing for 2023. Following tradition this will be a low-key fun sail followed by a couple of drinks on the deck afterwards. Visitors, friends and family are most welcome. The season starts again on January 13.
Registrations for our annual Regatta on February 3-4 are now open. This year will incorporate the NSW Arrow State Titles but all off the beach classes are cordially invited. A top weekend is assured. Go to https://crsc.yachting.org.au/regatta/ for more information or to register online.
Visitors or anyone who’d like to have a go at sailing are always most welcome. Just drop in to the Club. Start time is around 1pm on Saturdays.
More details on our website. https://crsc.yachting.org.au
Peter Zietsch