Hi Everyone yes Iam back from holidays and despite what everyone was saying yesterday its not cold here its definitely colder down south , the only saving grace is that apparently only Queenslanders sail in Sydney in winter so I had virtually the whole of botany bay to myself ( no bloody powerboats or jetskis trying to run me down like here ) with some great sailing in 20 knots reaching heaven with no islands or sand bars .

Junior Sailing ; Yesterday brought some new beginner sailors Will Sam and Lilly joining with some of our locals cruising around out there in 6 to 10 knots which did increase to around 12 knots towards the end . A special mention goes to both Joshua and Callum who are improving each week with them both steering and crewing their boat around the course with ever increasing confidence .

Even Sam and Will after some early shaky moments which included some swimming got the hang of our Teras and apparently had a great time according to mum.

Junior Race training ;

Although we didn’t have our usual numbers we still managed five racers on the water with some initial trouble with the shifting wind directions finally being sorted out by Dylan who is improving each week and the others with some coaching from both Aidan and I also got the idea , never fear guys and girls I am working on a race format for you which should be up and running either this weekend coming or the following . I should also mention that  I brought back from Sydney two new Bic dinghys which now brings the club fleet to four and many thanks goes to our local Bendigo Bank at Paradise Point for supplying the funding to purchase these boats .

I almost forgot thanks Dylan for helping me set up the new boats on Saturday and also Sienna who wanted to help but had to go to her brother,s Karate presentation ( well done Alex )

Club Racing;

Two races were held yesterday with mother nature throwing some wind and rain at us prior to starting which threatened to continue but by race one start it had stopped raining and the wind had backed off to around 6 to 10 knots S/E with some minor gusts helping things along . Race one had one casualty with our intrepid Treasurer breaking his mast straight after the start but he was back out for race two with the full rig .

Race two had one early starter ( sorry Peter I had to call you back there was too much boat over the line ) with the rest of the fleet right on time , There was nice pressure until half way up and then it dropped and shifted just to make everything interesting , It looked like a good race up front with Tom first over the line , careful Tom it might become habit forming.

We also had a couple of extra laser 4.7 sailors out with both Lachy and George giving it a go matched up against Tara who with a bit of coaching from the rescue boat kept George honest all the way to the finish line . God sailing everyone .

Just a reminder also that both club memberships and boat storage fees are now due and are payable at the club ( sorry no credit cards )

 

President/Sailing manager

Paradise Point Sailing Club

Gold Coast Qld 4216

Mob 0407 145397

Hi Everyone , Here is the club sailing news updated from the Midwinter Cup.

Sunday Juniors ;

Numbers are still consistent with an average of sixteen boys and girls joining in both the learn to sail at 8.30 and the Race training group starting at 10.30 . Early conditions were light to nothing making it perfect for me to get the two new boys Corey and Callum some much needed tacking training and on water practice . We also had one of our previous students return with her friend and we set them up on a laser as firstly Felicity has like most kids has grown and combined with Danielle they just wouldn’t fit in a Tera . Felicity decided it would be great to practice capsizing ( its winter time you know Felicity ! ) but luckily for Danielle she jumped on the rescue boat and stayed relatively dry .

Junior Race Training ;

Since our recent Bic regatta all the kids who competed in the regatta have shown a marked improvement in both their volunteering  in the early class and then backing it up with much improved sailing , we still have to work on a few minor things such as LOOK AT THE SAIL , LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING , SIT FORWARD /FACE FORWARD DONT DRIFT OVER TO THE BRIDGE and oh yes PULL THE SAIL ON , LET THE SAIL OFF ???? other than these few minor things everything is excellent .

Iam off to Sydney this week and while Iam there I will be picking up two new Bics which have been donated by Bendigo Bank Paradise Point , once I have the new boats here there will be changes made to both Junior racing and general training . In regards to pushing forward with the club Bic program we are looking at joining with several other clubs with the view to sailing away and inviting other sailors to our club for a combined competition , more news on this when I return .

Club Racing;

Although numbers were small (10 boats ) the racing was good with winds increasing during the race starting at around 6/7 knots and then up to around 12 knots . Andrew came in first with an excellent sail and Pieter V came in second with a very active commitment although there was some mumbling from the peanut gallery on the start boat about pumping , hooching and over rolling which Pieter has no recollection of ? he puts it down to the extra kilos he put on while on holidays ( sure pete ).

The day was rounded of with a barby at the club as a thank you for the volunteers who all worked at making the Regatta such a success .

Finally It was a bit of a sad day yesterday with one of our most tireless volunteers and her family saying good by as they are returning to Europe to spend time with family , Paradise Point Sailing Club wishes Gordana , Mike and Thomas a safe journey and good health for the future and of course happy sailing ( even though Mike broke my waterblaster !)

Catch you all in two weeks as Iam going sailing

John Murphy

President/Sailing manager

Paradise Point Sailing Club

Gold Coast Qld 4216

Mob 0407 145397

The event attracted 20 competitors for all over Queensland which included the current female champion Kristen Wadley (sorry if I have spelt it wrong, Kristen ) who was a pleasure to watch in both her sailing skills and friendly attitude.

For the Gold fleet I can only heap praise on everyone from the kids from as far away as Tinaroo to the kids from Brisbane's Oxley sailing club and to our own local sailors who all competed in a friendly but competitive manner over the eight race series.

There was some hectic start lines out there with everyone jockeying for position resulting in one general recall and some very close calls in other races with boats just on the line at the start.

The tide played a big part with everyone with a lot of frustrated experts ( parents ) on the shore watching their children slide sideways both on the upwind and on the reaches across the channel.

Definitely more tide work needed there! I should also thank you all for being such good competitors in regards to penalties with nothing but praise from the on water Judges.

Along with the Gold Fleet we also had a Silver fleet out there competing amongst the Goldies. Just let me tell you all this important fact: the kids who started the regatta in silver weren’t the kids who completed the regatta. They all started with little knowledge of racing and only a small amount of Bic experience but by the end of the regatta these same children ( youngest seven ) were sailing triangle race courses in winds from as little as two knots to up to fifteen knots. Sure there was a lot of sailing backwards, sailing upside down, hitting marks and each other but what a great achievement to come so far in three days.

There was one moment that has stuck in my mind and that was the first race that one of our most inexperienced Bic sailors actually completed the course and crossed the finish line (great smile Sienna) but that is not taking anything away from the whole group who at times wanted to chuck the towel in but each time they turned around and gave it another go in the next race. Great work Mums and Dad's on the shore giving them some much positive encouragement.

Last Race

In the last race the winds decided to play havoc with everyone, especially at the finish line with barely enough at times to make headway against the current.
If you are wondering: Gee how did I finally make it over the finish line?, it was the four crew on the finish boat who, I am sure were mentally pushing everyone's boat that last half a meter. There was even a report of one Dad who had to have a lay down on the floor of his boat when his son finally scraped over the line.

Finally we had the adventure race and freestyle which were the funniest part of the weekend and were held on Sunday morning while we were waiting for the wind.

The adventure race consisted of a race to the sandbar in front of Paradise Point where any form of manual propulsion was allowed with a few people trying so hard that they capsized. Then we had Will and Tallia who thought that they would go faster if they jumped out the back of their boat and started kicking? That didn’t work either!

And to finally round everything off there was the freestyle race with some very interesting freestyle antics with people hanging upside down of the boom, hanging of masts, capsizing while both standing on the transom. Lets' not forget the costumes with wigs , tiara's and hoola skirts the norm. There was even a short Alice Cooper look a like whose wig was virtually down to his knee's. Very funny everyone.

OK everyone that's about it although I am sure there were many more funny moments but lets keep them for next time.

CU on the water!

John Murphy
President/Sailing manager
P.P.S.C.

P.S. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT PHOTOS OF THE BIC CUP THROUGH THIS LINK HERE
http://midwintercupatppsc.weebly.com/photo-gallery.html