Well another week of fickle weather and winds with a school group on Tuesday managing to have 10 knots during their session then back to twenty plus then Wednesday light winds especially for after school training and then anything from ten to twenty for the rest of the week.
Before I get started on all the sailing activities I would just like to remind everyone about the Bunnings Fundraising Barbeque this Saturday the 15th at their new store on Brisbane rd . These days allow the club to gain much needed funds to keep your club running so come down and buy a sausage and drink or even volunteer some time behind the counter, they are always great days for members to get together and have a laugh. C U all there on Saturday.
Sunday Juniors 8.30 am class;
Due to the weather conditions (15/20 knots) the early session was cancelled which gave us time to get the 420 back up and running , just couldn’t sail it as it was too windy for the eager crew.
Sunday Juniors 10.30 class;
Despite the conditions still being a bit unsettled we decided to send Max , Mat and Jasmine out as the winds had slowed to 8 to 12 knots and it was actually a good session for the boys to hone their skills and for Jasmine to get some one on one lessons on how to bear away and even gybe without letting go of the steering. With a bit of on boat help from me the group could actually see how I tack and gybe without letting go and not capsizing. I hope everyone had a good time and learnt something on the day.
Open BIC;
Charlie, Dallas and Dylan went to Oxley on Saturday and found out how good they have it here as the tide was roaring up there and the winds so fickle that only local knowledge let the Oxley kids get around the course. Charlie and Dallas had heaps of trouble and didn’t manage to finish all races but Dylan persevered and finished all three races which earned him a prize. Then there was Sunday at the club with winds back around 10 to 14 knots and a sausage course to tend with and despite the odd capsize everyone managed to complete both races. From where I was the broad reaches looked very fast, how great was it to be back home with wind and normal current boys! As a foot note any complaints about the flags on Sunday have to go to Jasmine who stayed and helped for the first time with racing. Thanks Jasmine for the assistance and don’t forget bring clothes to get wet in while in the rescue boats.
Open Racing;
With plenty of indecision regarding what sail to put on due to the big variances in wind speeds prior to racing everyone went a bit conservative withy most opting for radials and some 4.7 so of course the wind speed dropped to where everyone could have put the bigger sails on and survived quite easily which culminated with a few comments after racing about bad decisions. You should all do what I do just put the big one on and go for it after all its only water right. After an hours racing Jason managed to grab first with a nice gust just short of the line which didn’t happen to Andrew with Crash John coming a close third. The general opinion of the course for the day was good even if the upwinds were a bit punishing (sorry about the legs Jason) and lets not forget George Morton who did the full laser course in a BIC as part of his training for Midwinter cup, Youth week and Germany for the worlds, it must have been awfully lonely out there on your own George at least it s good training for focus and concentration.
The club has a round of the Qld Laser traveller Series in two weeks (23rd March) so there will be no 10.30 Junior class or Open BIC racing on the day this is so that we can focus on making what we hope will be a yearly event for this series with an estimated 35/40 boats here on the day and yes we will be looking for helpers mainly on the beach and in our new canteen which will soon be offering milkshakes and Coffee!!! We are also looking for help on Saturday the 19th of March at Bunnings again (Easter Saturday) where again we hope to raise more funds to keep our club building and going forward .
Volunteering dates : 23rd March , 19th Apr , 4th/6th July , 31st Oct/9th Nov check your calendars and let us know if you have time to help at any of these events .
CU on the water
John Murphy
President/Sailing manager
Paradise Point Sailing Club
Gold Coast Qld 4216
Mob 0407 145397