Hi Everyone , well we are already into february and sailing is definitely under way at P.P.S.C. with our after school training back from next week on tuesdays and thursdays and our first school group for the year starting on the following week . This weekend we are also starting our first Adult Introduction to sailing course and saturday afternoon skilled practice is also back for the year We are on the last leg of our building upgrade application with council as well which will see an extension on our caged area allowing us to move some of our boats outside so as to make more space inside for teaching , its been a long drawn out process but we are looking good with our efforts at moving the club forward .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Sunday started with the usual blue skies and the standard humidity so we were a bit slow unpacking the club but we soon had to pick up the pace as all our keen junior sailors started turning up at 8.00 am ready to sign on for the morning session we even roped some of the parents in to help with getting the boats of racks and set up , One of our first sailors was Elizabeth how despite not being able to sail was still keen to help Charlie on the safety boat plus our two resident Bic sailors were keen to get started arriving at 8.15 . With a few running repairs also taking place we soon had everyone in the briefing area for our usual chat and welcome to some of our new sailors . Condiotions were perfect with n/n/w winds around 4/7 knots so while everyone was out sailing and Abby was showing the newbies sailing with her mainsheet person Willow Edwina and I took two new sailors at a time and showed them how to tack and steer in the shallows near the beach . Its amazing how this simple teaching program works with both the teams managing to sail around a buoy and return to us ok with the occassional capsize thrown in!
10.30 am Training :
With Abby , Edwina and Jackson not entered because of their 1.30 race commitments we still had a good group out in what was now around 6/9 knots n/n/e winds . Mason had his first run in a laser which of course was a bit of a hand full for him first time but he still managed to get around the course . Jade was just zipping around but she had a dodgy gybe at one stage and pulled her shoulder badly but after a few minutes on the beach she was soon back out there . Blake was having one of those days by just over pointing while Zac kept winding himself up to windward with too much mainsheet on but he kept working on it for the whole session . His brother Alex is really coming to grips with the Taz and sailed it really well especially when they were sailing to the second gree his upwinds are definitely improving . We also had the return of one of our juniors in Lewin who despite a long gap from sailing was soon getting around the course in a Bic with the odd bit of scrambling and the normal capsize on the downwind it looked like he was having a lot of fun .
1.30 Open Racing :
With the conditions changing with choppy conditions building and the winds turning n/n/e at around 15 knots and everyone sailing radials it was always going to be a tough race and with a course set with a start line in our channel and a mark near the club and c down at runners it looked a good course . Well it didnt saty that way as the start countdown began the winds moved e/n/e up to 18 knots so it was a fast start with everyone cracking the line right on time . Everyone was really into it early with a few position shangs but it soon turned into a battle between Tom and Greg with Steve after an ordinary start battling his way into third in front of Casey Charlie and Ben . Steve eventually overcookeed on the downwind with just too much outhaul off which did make the boat go quicker but the bullets down the bottom end ( 20/30 knots ) high sided him for a massive capsize which resulted in some rudder damage . Ben then settled into a good third and Casey overcame her early struggles controlling the radial ( more pies !) to finish in fourth the Charlie and Russell with Matt unfortunately missing a buoy and disqualifying himself . Finally the best move of the day was Charlie who while hiking out hard got a knock and completely went under but stayed there and next minute he popped back up and was off again , it looked really good from the start boat impressing myself and Chris .
1.40 Youth Racing:
By the time Abby , Edwina and Jackson started to line up for their start conditions were a bit of a challenge with the winds at the start line now around 15/18 knots e/n/e and increasing waves . Abby came up to tyhe line a bit early and had to hang around a bit ( now she knows why we were practicing stopping in training ) while Edwina sat up high behind the line and Jackson just went too far back . As the flag dropped Edwina came in near the start boat and had a good start while Abby was a bit low so she had to fight her way back up while Jackson was about a minute late so all the work was in front of him . Edwina and Abby were having a really good race until firstly Edwina,s centreboard got stuck up ( club boat ) on the downwind and Abby went past before the bottom mark but on tacking she touched the buoy so had to do a penalty turn so they were boath back together again once Eddy got her board down , Jackson was hanging in there but was struggling with the gusts . Finally on rounding the top mark ( gybe ) Abby clocked herself with the boom and pulled out while Edwina went on to finish first with Jackson second .
What a exciting start to the season plenty of good sailing and excitement .
Upcoming : Try Sailing Opening Day at Varsity Lakes Sailing on Saturday the 29th of february from 10.00 am until 2.00 pm
CU on the water
J Murphy
8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Sunday started with the usual blue skies and the standard humidity so we were a bit slow unpacking the club but we soon had to pick up the pace as all our keen junior sailors started turning up at 8.00 am ready to sign on for the morning session we even roped some of the parents in to help with getting the boats of racks and set up , One of our first sailors was Elizabeth how despite not being able to sail was still keen to help Charlie on the safety boat plus our two resident Bic sailors were keen to get started arriving at 8.15 . With a few running repairs also taking place we soon had everyone in the briefing area for our usual chat and welcome to some of our new sailors . Condiotions were perfect with n/n/w winds around 4/7 knots so while everyone was out sailing and Abby was showing the newbies sailing with her mainsheet person Willow Edwina and I took two new sailors at a time and showed them how to tack and steer in the shallows near the beach . Its amazing how this simple teaching program works with both the teams managing to sail around a buoy and return to us ok with the occassional capsize thrown in!
10.30 am Training :
With Abby , Edwina and Jackson not entered because of their 1.30 race commitments we still had a good group out in what was now around 6/9 knots n/n/e winds . Mason had his first run in a laser which of course was a bit of a hand full for him first time but he still managed to get around the course . Jade was just zipping around but she had a dodgy gybe at one stage and pulled her shoulder badly but after a few minutes on the beach she was soon back out there . Blake was having one of those days by just over pointing while Zac kept winding himself up to windward with too much mainsheet on but he kept working on it for the whole session . His brother Alex is really coming to grips with the Taz and sailed it really well especially when they were sailing to the second gree his upwinds are definitely improving . We also had the return of one of our juniors in Lewin who despite a long gap from sailing was soon getting around the course in a Bic with the odd bit of scrambling and the normal capsize on the downwind it looked like he was having a lot of fun .
1.30 Open Racing :
With the conditions changing with choppy conditions building and the winds turning n/n/e at around 15 knots and everyone sailing radials it was always going to be a tough race and with a course set with a start line in our channel and a mark near the club and c down at runners it looked a good course . Well it didnt saty that way as the start countdown began the winds moved e/n/e up to 18 knots so it was a fast start with everyone cracking the line right on time . Everyone was really into it early with a few position shangs but it soon turned into a battle between Tom and Greg with Steve after an ordinary start battling his way into third in front of Casey Charlie and Ben . Steve eventually overcookeed on the downwind with just too much outhaul off which did make the boat go quicker but the bullets down the bottom end ( 20/30 knots ) high sided him for a massive capsize which resulted in some rudder damage . Ben then settled into a good third and Casey overcame her early struggles controlling the radial ( more pies !) to finish in fourth the Charlie and Russell with Matt unfortunately missing a buoy and disqualifying himself . Finally the best move of the day was Charlie who while hiking out hard got a knock and completely went under but stayed there and next minute he popped back up and was off again , it looked really good from the start boat impressing myself and Chris .
1.40 Youth Racing:
By the time Abby , Edwina and Jackson started to line up for their start conditions were a bit of a challenge with the winds at the start line now around 15/18 knots e/n/e and increasing waves . Abby came up to tyhe line a bit early and had to hang around a bit ( now she knows why we were practicing stopping in training ) while Edwina sat up high behind the line and Jackson just went too far back . As the flag dropped Edwina came in near the start boat and had a good start while Abby was a bit low so she had to fight her way back up while Jackson was about a minute late so all the work was in front of him . Edwina and Abby were having a really good race until firstly Edwina,s centreboard got stuck up ( club boat ) on the downwind and Abby went past before the bottom mark but on tacking she touched the buoy so had to do a penalty turn so they were boath back together again once Eddy got her board down , Jackson was hanging in there but was struggling with the gusts . Finally on rounding the top mark ( gybe ) Abby clocked herself with the boom and pulled out while Edwina went on to finish first with Jackson second .
What a exciting start to the season plenty of good sailing and excitement .
Upcoming : Try Sailing Opening Day at Varsity Lakes Sailing on Saturday the 29th of february from 10.00 am until 2.00 pm
CU on the water
J Murphy
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