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Sunday February 21st, 2016

27/2/2016

Hi Everyone , It was a big maintenance week last week repairing rudders , centreboards , masts and sails so that we could have enough boats for the weekend because of the increase in Sunday numbers so we just needed more boats to accommodate all our new budding sailors .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

With the winds again getting above our safe operating levels for these learner sailors it was decided again to rig Lasers and a few Teras so that the juniors who were capable could sail in the windy conditions and the new sailors could sail with our Youth race crew in Casey , Sienna , Jess , Charlie and Pat . The winds were from the south again and gusting around 15 knots so it was a bit lumpy out there but everyone actually sailed well we even got Maria steering kind of ! As usual there were a few capsizes and a broken mast to put a bit of excitement in the session.

10.30am Sunday Juniors

By now the winds were up around 16 to 18 knots so after some coaching on the beach I decided to send those who wanted to out as two ups as they just needed the weight in the boats . The biggest surprise was Cody and Dan out in a club Laser who were actually flying and grinning from ear to ear , after the session all they wanted to do was go racing ! Ollie took Dad for a sail which as you could guess ended in capsize which resulted in much laughter on shore especially when the did it again .

Youth Racing

With our Bic fleet in the rebuild stage after Pat and Dallas moved to Lasers, we set an Adult course and a Youth course using the same start line but not sending the Youth sailors so far south as the Adults as conditions were up around 20 plus. It was a wild and woolly start for everyone and despite their best efforts all the Bic sailors pulled out as conditions reached past 25knots and the wave height was up around a metre making it just to hard to keep the boats upright . Even the Lasers were in trouble with Jess and Sienna pulling out early then Pat as conditions got worse but as usual Casey kept going and completed the course with a big grin as she went over the finish line .

Adult Racing

As I described in the Youth section, conditions were slowly getting worse especially at the top marks which were down near Runners with wind speeds down there reaching over thirty knots which made for some great upwind and down wind sailing. Both the guys and girls (Michelle) were all sailing to their maximums, and I think both the recent training and Masters helped with their overall performances. It was truly awesome to watch with Greg the best on the day slowly but surely getting away and getting over the line first. Both rescue crews also had a big day and we all ended up completely drenched especially Aidan and Dallas ( FINGER INJURY ) as they were unlucky enough to be on the Jet ski .

Club Championship 2015 Results

Adults

Greg Phillips (1st)
Roger Margot (2nd)
Maurie Meyer (3rd)

Youth

Dallas Smith (1st)
Jonah Parry (2nd)
Casey Evans (3rd)

Well done to everyone it certainly was a great year for racing !

Additional Notes

Coming up :

A round of the Laser States on the 20th March
Tentative Bendigo Bank Youth Cup to be approved soon dates 25th / 26th June
Master Games 4th to 13th November

CU on the water

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Sunday February 14th, 2016

17/2/2016

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Hi Everyone , I have heard our sailors went well at the masters at Port Stephens and with over 200 entries it sounds like a massive Regatta , even the guys at PSA ( Performance Sailcraft Australia ) who manufacture lasers said they were absolutely rushed off their feet .
So it sounds like sailing is alive and well in Australia so lets get our young sailors up and out there .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

Even with it being Valentines Day we still had over 25 children sign on for sailing in this class . The weather wasn't the best with winds around 15 knots from the south with the occasional gust of around 18 knots, and so it was decided to sail the Laser with our Junior racers taking people out and a few of the more experienced kids having a go in the Teras . With these conditions we did have a few capsizes and a few boats ending up on the other side of the bridge so Kyle and Ben were busy towing people back . Kyle even towed Ben back when Rescue one stopped ? I couldn't believe she stopped as it is so reliable !

10.30am Sunday Juniors

With conditions not improving we decided with this session to stay at the club and just let everyone sail across the channel. It was a bit of a struggle at times with some very strong gusts making life difficult and ending up in some good capsizes right Dan !
I did some work with Dan as he was really struggling with the Bic but once he started pulling the sail on and hiking out away he went .

Racing

With most of the fleet away down south, it was up to our Junior sailors plus Steve to rig up for what looked like a very windy race . We set a triangle in front of the club which included an extra windward mark half way down the channel . The start was hectic especially with Jess and Dan having their first taste of a race start line , there eyes were certainly wide ! Casey , Pat , Dallas , Sienna and Jas were all out there with the boys intent on giving the girls a run for their money, but they forgot about Casey's skills and she romped away and finished right behind Steve ( radial ) with the rest well behind . Bad luck cursed Jes with some early tangles and then we discovered she had a too small mainsheet which kept pulling through the main block and Dan had rudder trouble , Jas had one too many capsizes near the bridge with Ted and I towing her clear a couple of times until she finally was too exhausted to continue .

Additional Notes

Don't forget that the club championship presentation is on this Sunday after racing .

The Bendigo Bank Mid Winter Cup has been discussed at our last committee meeting and dates have been picked for late June now all we need to do is check with our sponsors for 2016

CU on the water

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Sunday February 7th, 2016

13/2/2016

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Hi Everyone , well another week has passed for the year with the club now getting ready for the round of The Queensland Sates on March 20th after a very successful Windsurfing Nationals in January . We are still working on the Youth Regatta at the end of June and then the Pan Pacific Masters Games in November which is booked in as a definite .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

Again this first introduction class had big numbers with at least half the group being first timers . The weather was a bit iffy so it was decided to rig 4 lasers and have experienced sailors take the new people out and the rest who had experience just sailed the Teras which proved a bit of a challenge with winds around 12 to 16 knots testing everyone's skills including capsize . Tianna and I put the new people through their first capsize then I jumped on a Laser and took some of the kids for a sail while Tianna helped those who were finding the wind strength a bit challenging .

10.30am Sunday Juniors

With numbers around 14 sailors and conditions getting even windier (15/20 knots), I decided to have everyone sail as a team which worked out well as it was getting very choppy and gusty .
I have to say young Alec Caban who sailed alone was at times unrecognisable with the amount of spray coming off his boat on the broad reaches . We even had Charlie Bratten out there in a Laser with Pat going absolutely hammer and tongs although after they came in Jess and Spencer had a go but ended up breaking the top section and tearing the sail . So much for Pats laser racing debut !

Racing

With conditions getting even windier ( 25 / 30 plus knots ) I decided to run two courses , one for the Juniors and one for the adults .
The Juniors most of whom were having their first laser race stayed near the club and had two short races while the Seniors who requested a good upwind leg were sent to A at Runners then back to the club before hedding back to A and off up the Ephraim channel . With large chop to contend with and gusty conditions everyone was absolutely flying with the odd capsize but very few considering the conditions .

Additional Notes

All the guys who are heading for the Laser Nationals at Port Stephens this coming weekend said it was great practice as its known to get a bit lumpy down there as well . Good luck and safe sailing to Tom Greg Maurie Peter John and James and John P who are off to the big event.

As usual a special thanks to all the volunteers who come and help make the Juniors happen from our Junior Racers to our Parents who help rig and derig boats and man the canteen so everyone can get a coffee and a sausage roll .

2015 Club Champion Presentation is running a bit late this year due to a few problems with the scoring system but its now sorted and the Trophies are of at the engravers so keep Sunday the 21st free as we will be having the presentation of Trophies and Prizes including a sausage sizzle after everyone has packed up after racing so c u there !

John Murphy
President P.P.S.C.

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Sunday January 31st, 2016

7/2/2016

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Hi Everyone , well I know I said we had a big weekend with the National Windsurfing Titles, but our Sunday Juniors last weekend was just as awesome with probably one of the biggest number of kids we have ever had on a Sunday .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

Well we started last Sunday morning actually very quietly, and up until 8.20 am we hardly had any takers for this class, but then the flood gates opened with over twenty budding junior sailors signing on, so it was a mad rush to find enough boats so that everyone could have a sail . The conditions although very muggy were excellent for our learners with bright sunshine and 6 knot winds from the north allowing us to set a short and long reaching course towards Ephraim .
We even had the opportunity to practice knots as a few of the kids now want to go to our later class and learn even more !

10.30am Sunday Juniors

By the time we finished with the early class it was really heating up so everyone in this class was reminded to slap on the sunscreen before heading to the boats . The winds had now started to turn more n/e so it was perfect for a triangle course and despite some early complaining everyone managed to get the hang of it, oh except Jeff who managed to end up under the bridge several times nearly taking out the mast on one of his excursions . After generally a good session learning triangles we opened it up and sent everyone over to the second green mark for some broadreaching down and a close reach back . It was a lot of young sailors first go at going upwind over distance so there was definitely a steep learning curve involved with the smart sailors following Alec in the Bic who has done all this before , all in all it was a great session just to bloody hot !!!

Additional Notes

Racing starts next Sunday with the usual kick off time of 1.30 and with a few of the young sailors leaving the Bic for Lasers it should be a good first race of the season. Now all we need is more kids to take over the Bic racing, so all you budding racers out there come and have a chat on Sunday about how you start your racing career .
As always many thanks to the volunteers ; Kyle, Casey, Sienna, Cody, Dan, Andrew and whoever else I might have missed on the day . Apparently Tianna will be back on Sunday for all those who were asking where she was , lets hope she had a great break especially after all the time she put into the recent Nationals at P.P.S.C.

C U ALL ON THE WATER

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Sunday February 21st, 2016

8.30am Sunday Juniors

10.30am Sunday Juniors

Youth Racing

Adult Racing

Club Championship 2015 Results

Additional Notes

Sunday February 14th, 2016

8.30am Sunday Juniors

10.30am Sunday Juniors

Racing

Additional Notes

Sunday February 7th, 2016

8.30am Sunday Juniors

10.30am Sunday Juniors

Racing

Additional Notes

Sunday January 31st, 2016

8.30am Sunday Juniors

10.30am Sunday Juniors

Additional Notes

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