The clouds threatened last Wednesday’s twilight race conducted on Pioneer Bay by Whitsunday Sailing Club, however on the water everything was fine, with a light north westerly breeze propelling the boats. A fleet of 15 boats and 83 crew took place in this weekly event.
Given that one minute before the start, QMS Ponyo (John Galloway) were still raising their mainsail after some last minute repairs, it was surprising to see them clear the entire fleet to take the Doyle Sails sponsored best start prize for Division 2.
The lead, however, was short lived, as Bobby’s Girl (Mark Beale) led the fleet around the first mark, never again to be headed. QMS Ponyo slotted into second place, while Smooth Criminal (Iyas Shaheen) and Reignition (Charles Wallis) took up the next couple of places. Behind them, a close tussle between Treasure VIII (Rob Davis) and Houdini (Rob Meizer) finally went the way of Houdini. On corrected time, QMS Ponyo took the honours over Treasure VIII and Bobby’s Girl.
The start of Division 3 was a bit more interesting, with Norbert G (Ghigo Casalini) attempting to thwart the efforts of Rossgo (Greg Hammon). The end result was that both boats were deemed by the starter to be on the wrong side of the starting line, and while Rossgo redeemed themselves by restarting, Norbert G completed a penalty turn, but failed to restart the race.
In the meantime, Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) felt that they may have also fallen foul to the starter, returning to restart, only to find that they were not guilty. A great recovery race however saw them finish just 16 seconds shy of Rossgo. Wobbly Boot (Craig Piccinelli) was first home by a large margin of seven minutes which was only enough for 3rd place on corrected time. Race honours went to Rossgo over Masquerade.
Races continue every Wednesday from 4:30pm, apart from the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year, so those wishing to participate as crew need to be at the club by 2:30 pm (limited spots available). Full results are available at https://app.sailsys.com.au/club/85/profile?tab=results.
Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm
Twilight races beatthe clouds last week
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