Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Whitsunday Sailing Club Report

Twilight Race: At midday on Wednesday, the heavens were open and visibility was very limited for the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s weekly racing.

By 1.00 PM, when the call was due to be made, the rain had stopped, the wind was sitting at 10 knots, and a fleet of 15 boats were ready to go.

By the time they got to the starting line at 4:30, the conditions were ideal for an afternoon on the water.

Treasure VIII (Rob Davis), after a few weeks away, led the fleet away to take the Doyle Sails sponsored best start, but was soon overtaken by the bigger and faster boats, allowing Smooth Criminal (Leo Rodriguez) to lead around the first mark of the course.

Behind them, a race-long battle took place between Bobby’s Girl (Mark Beale) and QMS Ponyo (John Galloway), with Reignition (Charles Wallis) on their heels.

The highlight of the race was the battle for second place, with Bobby’s Girl finally breaking away on the last leg of the course, but still one minute shy of Smooth Criminal.

On corrected time, Wide Load (Shannan Hart) took the honours over Smooth Criminal and Treasure VIII.

Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) led the next division away in conditions which suited the Masrm750 perfectly.

Initially, Aquatarius (Tom Parker) stayed in touch, but eventually gave way to Rossgo (Greg Hammon) before settling for third place on the water. Even using the spinnaker didn’t help Shiraz (John Cable) as they battled to keep up with the fleet.

Lama (Jim Hayes) was the only retiree, heading ashore after just one lap. For the second week in a row, Norbert G (Ghigo Casalini) took the corrected time win over Masquerade and Rossgo.

The Club was glad to see some multihull yachts competing, with G’nome (David Chittleborough) winning the start and competing their three-lap course, while Malice (Graham Matthews) completed 4 laps. On corrected time, G’nome took the honours.

Races continue every Wednesday from 4:30pm, with limited crewing positions available. Those wishing to participate as crew need to be at the club by 2:30 pm (limited spots available).

Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm

Tom Vujasinovic’s helmed Masquerade in the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s weekly race

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