8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
With the heat back again and lots of phone enquiries during the week we knew that we had to have everything prepared early for the expected rush and we werent wrong with 18 Juniors signing up for the beginners class so it was action stations for all the volunteers helping rig Teras and lasers to accomodate everyone . With the winds basically S/E at around 6 knots and smooth conditions Casey set a reach accross the channel but no sooner than the course was set it had to be changed to suit a more e/s/e wind change . The conditions were extremely hot so everyone was soon asking when capsize practice could begin which even for the new sailors sounded like a good idea . Blake and crew were the first to have an accidental ?? capsize so I soon had to give in and allow the rest of the fleet the same opportunity so in no time there were boats over everywhere with even the instructors getting into the act . I had a couple of our sailors asking how to capsize alone and in no time they were tacking and rolling the boat over then back in and off again . Its actually great to see everyone purposely capsizing which is all part of the sailing experience .
10.30 am JuniorTraining ;
We had an influx of new sailors in this session comprising of some of our 8.30 sailors who had decided to come along and try out this more advanced class . We probably had the biggest group ever and it showed as we struggled to get enough boats on the water especially amongst the Tera,s where the sails are just starting to tear from age but with some creative rigging and adult looking we managed to get everyone on the water . We started with a reach tacking at one end and gybing the other then as a said at the briefing we then added a third mark to include a bear away and after a lot of intense instructing from Casey and Charlie in Sarah C and me in rescue four everyone yes even the new sailors were tacking , gybing and bearing away and once we got everyone to sail remembering the outgoing tide and its effect everyone as actually sailing good courses . To finish the session we sent everyone from public nuisance to the second green channel mark so they could have a nice long broad each then a reasonable upwind return all in all a great session by everyone .
1.30 Junior Race Series ;
This being a new series had some very nervous young sailors sitting at the pre race briefing where we discussed the course and starting sequence both of which were pretty straight forward . The course was a start in front of the club with a rounding buoy in front of allisee . The winds were around 8/12 knots with the winds at their strongest below Ephriam which made for some exciting sailing . After a good start from everyone it was pretty close heading towards the A mark wel that was until some people decided to follow felix who wasnt at the briefing which gave Edwina the chance to jump in front ( she helped lay the course ? ) with everyone in hot pursuit . Addy had trouble in the gusty bits and we found after racing tha her mainsheet was a metre and a half to short so she couldnt let her sail out far enough . Felix had to be towed home due to main sheet failure ( knot practice ? ) and Kaleb had a couple of capsizes in the laser . Jackson finally learnt the benefit of sheeting on and was a much improved sailor by the finish . Ok so who one out of Edwina and Abbey well just in case you didnt hear the screaming at the finish line it was Abbey who slowly pegged back Eddys lead finishing 50 seconds in front well done girls ! Th whole lot had plenty of stories back at the beach so yep their turning into sailors
1.30 Open Race Series ;
Thanks to Glen and Matt who volunteered their time to run the club race so that i could run the Junior racing so after a quick rundown of flags and times I sent them off to start the fleet which apparently went well for first timers even with the starters clock only counting down and not up for elapsed time , next time I will show them the count up position ! on the clock . Most of the news is from the competitors with Tom having a good start as did Charlie but I believe Casey forgot turn turn her timer on so you guessed it she was late as was Tara ( toms daughter ) Greg and Tom had the usual battle but fro what I saw the excitement was in the middle of the fleet with everyone trying to get a break with Charlie breaking away and developing a hand break that everyone else just couldnt get back . The final result was Tom first Greg Second and Charlie third . Matt and Glen did a great job even with having to ask tom for the elapsed time as he went over the line then they could time everyone else .
Upcoming ;
Easter , please be aware that the club will be closed on Easter Sunday
2019 Mid Winter Cup 29th and 30th June
2019 Youth Week Manly 5th / 9th July
CU on the water
John Murphy