Hi everyone , Well after an extended trip to Sydney last week it was nice to finally arrive back on the Coast even if it was a day late due to extreme winds which apparently topped over 100 kph on Friday making takeoff and landings to dangerous . At least the Sydney weather in general was fine and sunny allowing my sister to visit friends and do some shopping it definitely was a well deserved break.

8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
With the temperature in double digits at 5.30 am it looked like another great start on the gold coast for Sunday on the water. We didn't expect too many sailors as it was the first week of term but we still had eight starters with Charlie and Taine the first in the door . After setting up enough boats and with the winds coming out of the south at around 4/7 knots it was perfect for a nice reach across the Broadwater. So who sailed well ? just about everyone with Dean just cruising on the main sail trim and jack steering like a 10.30 sailor plus Taine and his crew who despite a collision with a mainsheet and a bit of coaxing from me managed to get back out there and sail well . Athenia just gets better every week as does Josh and Lucas who had a sail on his own and slowly managed to pick up the sequence between mainsheet and steering . Casey took a new student out for an intro on the laser and even had her kind of steering ? at one stage so well done Casey and Anna.

10.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Again with this class we didn't expect many sailors signing on but we ended up with seven sailors keen to improve their skills which included one new addition to this class in young Charlie who had decided to give this class a try . Oliie brought a friend along and they sailed a Tera and despite my prediction of a capsize with a chocolate bet I lost and had to pay up back on the beach Tain and Tom handled the conditions wekll ( 6/10 knots ) with Mason and Felix also giving it a red hot try well except for Felix's 5 capsizes but who's counting ! Young Charlie did find the whole thing a bit intimidating as everyone does at first but with some practice sailing with the coach she managed to start sailing half the course so well done Charlie . OK now for the outstanding sailors of the day and that was Teegan in her Opti and Addy in her bic and both girls showed great skills in both all out speed then tacking and Gybing with Teegan doing some of the best gybes I have seen in a while while Addy was just smoking on the broad reaches . All in all a great session !
1.30 pm Open Racing :
With the weather settling in from the s/e at around 6/10 knots I set a windward leeward in our channel then a run up to the top of Soverign to finish back near runners . With a start down near the canal and a very interesting start line I had Addy my scorer also pull out the recall flags as everyone was looking very keen to get away which usually means a recall but to our surprise everyone got away cleanly even Kaleb and Teegan were right there in their practice race section . Tom slowly got away with Peter chasing and then Greg and Matt . It was a close tussle until they set of up the main channel with Tom just pulling away uncatchable . I have to say the quality of racing gets better every week with the total bunch sailing much closer to the leaders with just under twenty minutes between the frist boat over the line and the last boat to finish being the 420 which doesnt run a kite but probably sailed the fastest I have seen the guys sail since taking the boat on . So in case you hadnt guessed it was Tom over the line first closely followed by Peter then Greg just over a minute away in third then Mat , Roger, Casey ( in a radial ) Russell , Ben, Charlie ( who also sailed well ) closely followed by Simone then Steve , Lance, Torin then Greg in the 420 .

Upcoming :
Pan Pacific Masters Games ;
This bi yearly event is starting to take shape with not only Aust based inquiries but also overseas inquiries as well and lets not forget the paperwork and meetings which is starting to really move along , luckily for me we have Ron Beswick helping me out as their is always a lot to do to make this Event successful with meetings and paperwork which becomes more involved as the Event gets closer so lets hope for a great event again for Paradise Point Sailing Club !



OK CU on the water
John Murphy

Hi Everyone , We are really into our winter season now with very cool temperatures in the morning but luckily mostly sunny days even where I am in Sydney the days are good but the nights aren't cool they are more like really chilly .As you can see by our main page our next event for the year isn't far away and that is The Pan Pacific Masters Games which this year is even receiving enquiries from overseas competitors mainly in the Wetta class so far so its looking promising for an even better event this time around.

​8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
With Charlie missing because of his Mum's Birthday and Casey weighed down by her medal it was up to me and Addy to set up the club for the mornings sailing. With a cold start we didn't think that we would need many boats but as usual we had to get 5 boats down for our nine starters . Nearly everyone was wearing wetsuits well except for Tain but he didnt fall in only his crew did on purpose? The winds were from the n/w and fluctuating from 2/ 6 knots so it was perfect again for everyone to practice their steering and sail set . A few skippers went a bit haywire not so much with their tacking just the straight line stuff but generally everyone had a great session so much so we let it run over to around 10.20 am just so everyone could take advantage of the conditions . A special thanks to Addy for taking the two new junior sailors for a session it certainly makes for a big day right Addy?

10.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
with again only a couple of sailors turning up for this session we decided to run both tacking and gybing plus some sail set work . We stretched the course out so that both Addy and Kaleb had a good distance between marks so that we could work on trim . Addy started a bit tangled in her tacks but her general speed was good where Kaleb tacked well ( even if it was backwards ) but wasn't trimming his sail for max speed . The conditions were a bit blustery with wind speeds anywhere from 2/ 12 knots so it was a challenge at times but after some tips from the coach boat they were both just cruising but then came the gybes ! Miss tangles ( addys feet ) was fumbling a bit but generally getting around reasonably well and Kaleb was getting around but with not enough speed again because of facing backwards so we still have a bit of work to do , there's always next week !

1.30 pm Open Racing;
With conditions settling in fro the north west I set a course starting at Runners with Triangles and windward leeward legs but the biggest challenge for the day was always going to be the tide because it was absolutely screaming out . Even Casey used a radial sail just to get some speed in the lightening conditions . Even the start was difficult against the tide so much so that we had to coach both Lance and Brendan just to the start . Addy was out there as well yes she had sailed both the previous sessions and was really struggling in her first ever open race against a punishing tide , we decided to up anchor and coach her up the track which to her credit she gave it her all but finally tiredness and frustration took its toll and we towed her home . While all this was happening the rest of the fleet started to loose the wind so we raced back down and shortened the course by one lap allowing Roger over the line first with Michelle second who I have to say sailed the conditions expertly and Russell over the line third just as the gust he was riding over the line just stopped at the line causing to nearly fall out backwards . Casey probably would have finished further up the ladder except for the weight of her first Youth week medal !

Upcoming ;
Pan Pacific Masters Games 
Try Sailing Day
Club Xmas Party
also somewhere in there a Bunnings sausage sizzle fundraiser ?

CU on the water
​John Murphy



​

Hi Everyone , yes I am a day late this week with the news letter because I spent all of yesterday learning how to be a sailing instructor which I have to do every five years , not much study is required just a very long day . On brighter news Casey Evans who attended her first 5 day Youth week at RQYS last weekend which attracts all the best young sailors from around the state and was hoping for a top fifteen finish actually achieved an excellent result with a bronze in the girls division and a twelfth overall and yes she is bringing the medal on Sunday , congratulations Case for a stellar effort .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
With brigth sunny skies and surprisingly light winds considering the forecast it turned out a perfect morning for yearly juniors . The wind was out of the west but the gusts were relatively mild so Charlie and I set a straight reach out in front of the club which turned out perfect for our learner group . We even got young Blake who was booked in for the camp this week to finally sail at the buoys after a few wandering journeys around the track . The best of the day was Athena who was the perfect crew straightening the steering occasionally and we could even see her giving a few sailing tips while keeping the main set right so well done Athena .

OH yes just in case you were wondering it was COLD ! 

10.30 am Sunday Juniors;
A combination of school holidays and cold conditions meant that only Addy was there for this session so Charlie ( coach ) and I decided it was a perfect opportunity to really get Addy to practice her upwinds in gusty conditions of around 4/10 knots which considering her weight has always been a challenge but after a few laps of upwind and some nasty gusts she we think has finally mastered this sailing angle . There were a few gybes as well but Charlie and I think there is still a bit of work to do regarding hands and feet oh and lets not forget bum in boat before she gets her gybes spot on .

1.30 pm Sunday Racing ;
With a good fleet of ten boats and winds now around 4/12 knots so very fluky and no Casey at the start line which was very strange Charlie started the early entertainment with a blood curdling scream when his roll gybe failed and he capsized ! apparently the water was cold?  Everyone was keen to get going but just as the starters flag dropped Greg who decided to swing around the front of the start boat ran out of wind at the crucial time and had a coming together with our anchor chain so you guessed it he started last again chasing the fleet up the track . Peter Fell got out in front with Roger close behind and Ben third and over the two laps in our channel it pretty much stayed that way until the set of in the main channel were slowly but surely Greg mowed everyone down finally finishing second behind Peter . I have to say everyone sailed well on the day resulting in a lot of smiling faces as they went over the finish line even Charlie who must have been absolutely frozen after his capsize and no wet suit . I should also thank Addy and her dad for coming out and helping with flags and finishing records well done guys .
​
Holiday sailing Camp;
We only ran one camp this holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and despite the weather being really cold everyone had a great time even with limited sailing time as really it was just too cold to have them out there too long . Thanks to Charlie for his help again which just makes the camps more fun and easier to run .

CU on the water 
John Murphy

Hi Everyone , With the John Murphy Invitational Mid Winter Cup successfully completed last weekend it will be back to our standard Sunday classes next Sunday followed by Sunday afternoon racing .

Mid Winter Cup ;
Fleet numbers were down on last year especially in the green fleet with only a couple of laser 4.7 and an Opti registering for the event but at least they managed to get a taste of what racing is all about . The open fleet however had a big contingent of both laser 4.7s and radials and also Open Bics with a 420 also showing up on Sunday just for the practice .

Every year the annual Midwinter Cup presents its own challenges in making sure the event is always a success, last year was a lack of wind over the two days and this year was looking the same with race one of the five race calendar starting with 2/4 knots then virtually dropping off to zero . Luckily the afternoon races did have around 3/5 knots so that not only could we get the open fleet around the course but we could also give the green fleet sailors something to sail too . The racing was close throughout the fleets on Saturday with everyone trying to get that edge on everyone else which in some cases succeeded and in others just didnt make it but thats what sailing is all about .
​
Sunday started with no wind again so as in the day before racing was postponed while we waited for the southerly to creep up the coast which finally popped in around 10.30 so with a bit of a mad panic it was off to the start line which we set down at our canal . Greg and I set a good upwind followed by a complete triangle just to give everyone a challenge . Start one was hotly contested especially down at the pin end but blowing away the whole fleet was Torin who took the chance and started on port and cleared the whole fleet , we thought on the start boat that he wouldnt make it but with that extra bit of pressure in front of the fleet he proved us wrong . Race two was a whole different ball game with the wind now around 8/12 knots the startline became very busy with a few minor collissions but nothing serious . As everyone started to line up for their start to the last race and the one minute flag down I asked my crew for the general recall flag because I knew that we were going to need it ! yes everyone forgot the outgoing tide which resulted in two general recalls and then prior to the start the third time Andrew and I spent the last two minutes waving everyone back allowing a clear start .

Our own club sailors represented their club well in all divisions and from what I could see all of them improved their sailing techniques over the two days .

There was one very funny incident in the last race which had Andrew and I in stitches when we heard this little voice at the start line yelling out for everyone to get out off the way who was it it was our only Opti sailor Teegan who is nine telling all the lasers to get out of her way and you know what they did which made Andrew and I laugh even more , well done Teegan .

Acknowledgements ;
Fiirstly thank you to our sponsors ; Bendigo Bank , Ronstan , Performance Sailcraft Australia and Hungry Jacks for your support in this Event . Secondly we would like to Thank Australian Sailing , Queensland Yachting for their support of this event and also Paradise Point Bowls Club for supplying the fun on Saturday night and also a great meal .

Our thanks also go out to Member for Broadwater Mr David Crissafulli for kindly presenting all the prizes on Sunday .

Finally to both the staff from Bendigo Bank who volunteered their time over the weekend and most of all to all our club volunteers who unselfishly donated their time to make it a truly awesome event .

CU on the water
John Murphy