The Sabres Nationals 2013-14
at Perth Dinghy Sailing Club
The Sabre is a well known one man dinghy, currently undergoing a renaissance as the more senior members of the dinghy sections look toward competing in a more civilised manner.
Civilised... no way! The sailing I saw on the 31st of December once the leaders had passed, maintained all the civilisation of a pair of feral cats fighting over a bird carcass on the back lawn.
Every corner was contested, every inch of the course was given away grudgingly as these masters, grand masters and veterans fought their way around the course in 15 to 18 knot breezes with the puffs coming down the less sheltered eastern side of the course. Three general recalls (one under a black flag no less) finally got them away on the first race of the day and the sight of these dinghies in full flight was a sight to behold. Great start lines and the images were good. Then the corners where up to a dozen boats were battling for rights and the smart ones went around the pack and picked up places while the others were picking over the bones.
The second race was as good as the first, though a number of craft had retired through lack of will to continue or inability to muster the strength to do the full race. Still, Scott Olson went on nailing the finish in each race, even though for a moment in the second race we thought the impossible had happened and he had lost the lead . He had, but it didn't matter ... he got it back and was leading by the finish.
A special mention to Oliver Medd, possibly the lightest and youngest sailor in the fleet. Well done, sailed the course both races on the day and stayed upright, picking up places. Sailing in a full rig Sabre, he was hiking on all the beats to keep the boat flat in the water and still had enough energy to go larking after the second race.
Enjoy the images. I'll be back for the final race on Saturday.
Civilised... no way! The sailing I saw on the 31st of December once the leaders had passed, maintained all the civilisation of a pair of feral cats fighting over a bird carcass on the back lawn.
Every corner was contested, every inch of the course was given away grudgingly as these masters, grand masters and veterans fought their way around the course in 15 to 18 knot breezes with the puffs coming down the less sheltered eastern side of the course. Three general recalls (one under a black flag no less) finally got them away on the first race of the day and the sight of these dinghies in full flight was a sight to behold. Great start lines and the images were good. Then the corners where up to a dozen boats were battling for rights and the smart ones went around the pack and picked up places while the others were picking over the bones.
The second race was as good as the first, though a number of craft had retired through lack of will to continue or inability to muster the strength to do the full race. Still, Scott Olson went on nailing the finish in each race, even though for a moment in the second race we thought the impossible had happened and he had lost the lead . He had, but it didn't matter ... he got it back and was leading by the finish.
A special mention to Oliver Medd, possibly the lightest and youngest sailor in the fleet. Well done, sailed the course both races on the day and stayed upright, picking up places. Sailing in a full rig Sabre, he was hiking on all the beats to keep the boat flat in the water and still had enough energy to go larking after the second race.
Enjoy the images. I'll be back for the final race on Saturday.
The Final Day.
From reports of the previous day, the breeze must have been pretty good, as there was damage to someone's hull from a boom that got in the road. Just glad no-one was hurt. A few capsizes and I believe that the second race was a few short. Even the regatta organiser Brian Jones got his photo taken on the water, just to prove he had been sailing in the regatta. Well done that man!
To todays race
It's a pity when your opportunity to continue taking good images is cut short, but when you are running two regattas at the same time, the boats must go where they are needed. Ok, we still got some great shots anyway.
The RO took us out and by 11 am we were waiting under AP while the breeze settled in out of the south and started to lift in tempo. I mentioned on the Tuesday that these guys and girls couldn't wait and it took three tries to get the start line sorted, with the start eventually under the now customary black flag. The start line was remarkably well behaved by now and a great line developed so rather than waste the good light we ducked in behind the fleet and shot them going up on the first leg. Some good shots came from this. Then the first corner and bang around came Scott, way ahead already. Unless he sinks, he's a Monty and even then he'll get through anyway.
To my delight along came the Captain Cook ferry, who courteously went around the racing, incidentally giving their passengers a good look at the racing. I managed to get a shot of some of the Sabres in front of the ferry and counted myself lucky.
I'm sure you know the results, so enjoy the images and my thanks to PDSC and the Sabres Assoc. for the ride.
To todays race
It's a pity when your opportunity to continue taking good images is cut short, but when you are running two regattas at the same time, the boats must go where they are needed. Ok, we still got some great shots anyway.
The RO took us out and by 11 am we were waiting under AP while the breeze settled in out of the south and started to lift in tempo. I mentioned on the Tuesday that these guys and girls couldn't wait and it took three tries to get the start line sorted, with the start eventually under the now customary black flag. The start line was remarkably well behaved by now and a great line developed so rather than waste the good light we ducked in behind the fleet and shot them going up on the first leg. Some good shots came from this. Then the first corner and bang around came Scott, way ahead already. Unless he sinks, he's a Monty and even then he'll get through anyway.
To my delight along came the Captain Cook ferry, who courteously went around the racing, incidentally giving their passengers a good look at the racing. I managed to get a shot of some of the Sabres in front of the ferry and counted myself lucky.
I'm sure you know the results, so enjoy the images and my thanks to PDSC and the Sabres Assoc. for the ride.