Hi Everyone: Unfortunately after setting up our new Junior Racing program mother nature had the final word last Sunday by bringing in winds up to 20 knots then 25 knots so it was definitely a non starter for Junior racing and also our normal 10.30 training class so we will be starting the racing well trying too on Sunday 24th of February lets hope mother nature agrees this time.
Over the past several weeks our caretaker Geoff has been very ill in ICU after a sudden collapse but with fingers crossed from everyone at the club and family support he is on the road to a full recovery . Geoff and his wife keep a close eye on the club when we are not around and are always there to lend a hand when needed .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Well if anyone saw my Facebook post on Monday you would have seen over 30 kids yes 30 kids signing up for this introduction class so it was all hands on deck pulling out boats and setting them up even the instructors started learning a new skill called looking for boat parts as a few boats hadn't been rigged for a while maybe they even learnt the value of putting everything back in its right place maybe! The conditions were on the change with a predicted southerly change mid morning but to start with we had winds around 6/9 knots s/e so a long reach was set up for all the sailors both new and beginners but conditions soon changed with the winds increasing to around 15 knots which was a definite challenge for our young sailors but with a lot of grit and determination everyone seemed to come to grips with the tough beginner conditions . I personally saw some good sailing amongst the more experienced juniors showing the new kids how its done with some good control in the worsening conditions . I cant pick individuals because both Casey and I with our crews were very busy towing boats back from under the bridge especially as the winds increased , I think my crew Addy has longer arms now from hanging onto bows while I towed boats backward . The best activity I saw was that when things became just too rough those smaller sailors who were having trouble came back to shore which is always a smart move .
10.30 am Training :
Well as you just read above the weather was getting a bit out of control so it was decided to cancel 10.30 and just do some theory so we started with reading sails for upwind sailing then we did sailing angles especially how to go down wind the best way . Theory usually has a tendency to become boring for young sailors but everyone actually chipped in with some good comments so to round the session off we took everyone out in the safety boats and did some on water sailing angles again upwind and broad reaching down wind rather than a dead run . We will see next weekend what everyone remembers . Just as a foot note these non sailing sessions are free as we don't charge if the don't get to sail so they can save their money for next weekend.
1.30 pm Open Racing:
With conditions worsening with wind gusts 20/25 plus knots everyone still decided to give it a go so just to be on the safe side I set an upwind downwind course in our channel only starting just down from the club . There were a few capsizes before we even put the first flag up so it was definitely looking like a tough race for everyone . The start was uneventful as no one wanted to be over early and have to come back but Casey cracked the line first with Tom , Steve and Michelle close behind on the first upwind . The waves were around half to 1 metre so it was a punishing upwind followed by some lightning downwinds but mother nature soon started to take over with Steve after umpteen capsizes pulling out then Matt with even more capsizes following the finally Charlie who while gybing the bottom mark pinched a nerve in his arm so his race was over . Tom was going well until two capsizes left him in second and Michelle third and yes you guessed it Casey was just flying out the front and no she didn't miss any Gybes ( must have been the training on friday ?) OK she was running a 4.7 but she couldn't have sailed anything bigger even if she wanted to but her speed was awesome and yes I forgot the camera so everyone will just have to take our word for it . Testament to the toughness of the conditions was the general look of I am shattered from everyone back at the beach even the start boat crew were looking a bit ragged after a rough session on the water.
CU on the water
John Murphy
Over the past several weeks our caretaker Geoff has been very ill in ICU after a sudden collapse but with fingers crossed from everyone at the club and family support he is on the road to a full recovery . Geoff and his wife keep a close eye on the club when we are not around and are always there to lend a hand when needed .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
Well if anyone saw my Facebook post on Monday you would have seen over 30 kids yes 30 kids signing up for this introduction class so it was all hands on deck pulling out boats and setting them up even the instructors started learning a new skill called looking for boat parts as a few boats hadn't been rigged for a while maybe they even learnt the value of putting everything back in its right place maybe! The conditions were on the change with a predicted southerly change mid morning but to start with we had winds around 6/9 knots s/e so a long reach was set up for all the sailors both new and beginners but conditions soon changed with the winds increasing to around 15 knots which was a definite challenge for our young sailors but with a lot of grit and determination everyone seemed to come to grips with the tough beginner conditions . I personally saw some good sailing amongst the more experienced juniors showing the new kids how its done with some good control in the worsening conditions . I cant pick individuals because both Casey and I with our crews were very busy towing boats back from under the bridge especially as the winds increased , I think my crew Addy has longer arms now from hanging onto bows while I towed boats backward . The best activity I saw was that when things became just too rough those smaller sailors who were having trouble came back to shore which is always a smart move .
10.30 am Training :
Well as you just read above the weather was getting a bit out of control so it was decided to cancel 10.30 and just do some theory so we started with reading sails for upwind sailing then we did sailing angles especially how to go down wind the best way . Theory usually has a tendency to become boring for young sailors but everyone actually chipped in with some good comments so to round the session off we took everyone out in the safety boats and did some on water sailing angles again upwind and broad reaching down wind rather than a dead run . We will see next weekend what everyone remembers . Just as a foot note these non sailing sessions are free as we don't charge if the don't get to sail so they can save their money for next weekend.
1.30 pm Open Racing:
With conditions worsening with wind gusts 20/25 plus knots everyone still decided to give it a go so just to be on the safe side I set an upwind downwind course in our channel only starting just down from the club . There were a few capsizes before we even put the first flag up so it was definitely looking like a tough race for everyone . The start was uneventful as no one wanted to be over early and have to come back but Casey cracked the line first with Tom , Steve and Michelle close behind on the first upwind . The waves were around half to 1 metre so it was a punishing upwind followed by some lightning downwinds but mother nature soon started to take over with Steve after umpteen capsizes pulling out then Matt with even more capsizes following the finally Charlie who while gybing the bottom mark pinched a nerve in his arm so his race was over . Tom was going well until two capsizes left him in second and Michelle third and yes you guessed it Casey was just flying out the front and no she didn't miss any Gybes ( must have been the training on friday ?) OK she was running a 4.7 but she couldn't have sailed anything bigger even if she wanted to but her speed was awesome and yes I forgot the camera so everyone will just have to take our word for it . Testament to the toughness of the conditions was the general look of I am shattered from everyone back at the beach even the start boat crew were looking a bit ragged after a rough session on the water.
CU on the water
John Murphy
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