Whitsunday Sailing Club Report

A strong south easterly wind, with gusts in excess of 25 knots, was the order of the day for the Whitsunday Sailing Club twilight race on Wednesday.  

A number of boats in the 13-boat fleet chose to reef their sails to ensure a more comfortable race, while not sacrificing speed.  

Treasure VIII (Rob Davis) again made a perfectly timed start to take out the Doyle Sails sponsored best start prize, maintaining good performance against the faster boats for much of the race.  

Bobby’s Girl (Mark Beale) led the fleet around the first rounding mark, with QMS Ponyo (John Galloway) close behind.  

Smooth Criminal (Leo Rodriguez) struggled in the strong conditions and fell away from the leaders, having a great battle against Treasure VIII, while the heavier boats, Wide Load (Shannan Hart) and Twister (Kevin Fogarty) performed best in the strong wind.

On corrected time, Twister took the honours over Wide Load and Treasure VIII.

Wobbly Boot (Craig Piccinelli) was too keen to get a good start, resulting in a recall and having to restart in the next race.

This allowed Shiraz (John Cable) to lead the fleet away, with Matchless (Terrence Stevens) close behind.

After a slow start, Wobbly Boot soon joined the action at the front of the fleet, making it a 3 way battle, with the lead constantly changing.  

On the last leg of the course Wobbly Boot made a decisive move, hitting the front at the crucial time to take line honours from Matchless and Shiraz.  

Further back, both Rossgo (Greg Hammon) and Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) missed the start, sailing in close formation to finish 4th and 5th, while Lama (Louie Tuck) followed them home.  

On corrected time, Shiraz took the honours over Rossgo and Masquerade.

Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm

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Greg Hammon’s boat Rossgo at full power in theWhitsunday Sailing Club Twilight Race on Wednesday