The Womans State Keelboat Racing Championships 2013
Hosted out of RFBYC, the start of the day was what we had expected, light breezes out of the East at about 5 knots and it was expected that once the track had settled then it would be a soft day on the water.
However Hughie had different ideas. The first race was set under way and was sailed in soft airs. Then the wind amped up and swung into the South with 10 to 15 knots on offer. I was riding with Jay Halligan in the WAYF rib and he mentioned in passing that he hadn't had a breakage in the last 3 tournaments. This was more than Lady Luck could tolerate and the rest of the race was a slaughter house of equipment as sheets, halyards, clips and eventually a mainsail and a spinnaker had to be replaced, not to mention a cardinal mark taken out at the end of a winning run by an un named yacht competing in the event. Jay mentioned that he had a fair idea of where it went down and that he was contemplating diving on it the next day.
The 4th race was the decider because Jen Sim's SOPYC team one had sailed two great races to trounce the field and was looking good, then a series of delays including a windshift broke the momentum they had building and it was Adele Jackson's team from RFBYC that managed to come home considerably better than Jen Sim's team and was the victorious team on the day making it clear on the 5th race with an emphatic win.
However in the fashion stakes on the water Royal Perth came out very smartly presented and even had their own personal trainer Tim Castles, who had been working with the team, lifting their racing skills and making a very good job of it as they moved well on the water.
Fashion aside, it could be said that the ability to pick the shifts down the track was the trick to the mornings sailing and thats what won the championships for Adele and her team.
My thanks to Skip and Carolyne for getting me onto the water and thanks also to the RPYC start team for that coffee and a tim tam. It was cold out there on the water and only when the sun shone, did we get some warmth.
However Hughie had different ideas. The first race was set under way and was sailed in soft airs. Then the wind amped up and swung into the South with 10 to 15 knots on offer. I was riding with Jay Halligan in the WAYF rib and he mentioned in passing that he hadn't had a breakage in the last 3 tournaments. This was more than Lady Luck could tolerate and the rest of the race was a slaughter house of equipment as sheets, halyards, clips and eventually a mainsail and a spinnaker had to be replaced, not to mention a cardinal mark taken out at the end of a winning run by an un named yacht competing in the event. Jay mentioned that he had a fair idea of where it went down and that he was contemplating diving on it the next day.
The 4th race was the decider because Jen Sim's SOPYC team one had sailed two great races to trounce the field and was looking good, then a series of delays including a windshift broke the momentum they had building and it was Adele Jackson's team from RFBYC that managed to come home considerably better than Jen Sim's team and was the victorious team on the day making it clear on the 5th race with an emphatic win.
However in the fashion stakes on the water Royal Perth came out very smartly presented and even had their own personal trainer Tim Castles, who had been working with the team, lifting their racing skills and making a very good job of it as they moved well on the water.
Fashion aside, it could be said that the ability to pick the shifts down the track was the trick to the mornings sailing and thats what won the championships for Adele and her team.
My thanks to Skip and Carolyne for getting me onto the water and thanks also to the RPYC start team for that coffee and a tim tam. It was cold out there on the water and only when the sun shone, did we get some warmth.