This is the page for the
Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club's ICR.
As in other regatta's I'm using one page to allow us to track the events over the years.
You can now watch what happened this year and then last year.
The 2018 ICR at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht club
Despite early rumours that there may have been a Waszp around, it was to the contrary. This is the International Classes Racing after all.
A warm sunny day greeted the 150 plus sailors and the volunteers, parents, start teams and various odds and bods that happened to be watching. Despite the forecasts, a sou wester did come in and once it had settled, starter John Taylor ( JT ) had the trapezoid course laid out and the finish boat under Geoff Brown's ownership was ready to tick off the finishers as they ran around the course.
Mind you we'd spent the first hour on the water from 0900 to 1000 hrs watching the dolphins playing in the water and some exuberant Optimist sailors jumping into the water as well. A return to beach flag set was hoisted and dutifully we all did so, just as the first lick of the sou wester came about. It settled and the sailors returned to the water.
A great crowd of 29ers were out with the Mirrors in good contention as well. The Princess Royal Yacht Club of Albany had come up for the weekend with a number of entrants and their presence was noted amongst the fleet. Notably in the laser section, where the radials and the standards were combined and as usual, earned a general recall on their first start. Only three Contenders fronted for the line, but their lack was made up by the good representation of Mirrors with lots of colour in their sails and spinnakers. I grew up on a Mirror, so I've a sweet spot for them anyway.
The Flying Ants were well represented as were the Optis and Bics in both gold and silver fleets and the racing was tight between all the classes.
With commitments for the afternoon, I slipped away after lunch but I shall return for the full day on Sunday. Many thanks to Scott and Alex who drove for me today and got me into trouble only once. :-)
Enjoy the images and remember they are for sail.
A warm sunny day greeted the 150 plus sailors and the volunteers, parents, start teams and various odds and bods that happened to be watching. Despite the forecasts, a sou wester did come in and once it had settled, starter John Taylor ( JT ) had the trapezoid course laid out and the finish boat under Geoff Brown's ownership was ready to tick off the finishers as they ran around the course.
Mind you we'd spent the first hour on the water from 0900 to 1000 hrs watching the dolphins playing in the water and some exuberant Optimist sailors jumping into the water as well. A return to beach flag set was hoisted and dutifully we all did so, just as the first lick of the sou wester came about. It settled and the sailors returned to the water.
A great crowd of 29ers were out with the Mirrors in good contention as well. The Princess Royal Yacht Club of Albany had come up for the weekend with a number of entrants and their presence was noted amongst the fleet. Notably in the laser section, where the radials and the standards were combined and as usual, earned a general recall on their first start. Only three Contenders fronted for the line, but their lack was made up by the good representation of Mirrors with lots of colour in their sails and spinnakers. I grew up on a Mirror, so I've a sweet spot for them anyway.
The Flying Ants were well represented as were the Optis and Bics in both gold and silver fleets and the racing was tight between all the classes.
With commitments for the afternoon, I slipped away after lunch but I shall return for the full day on Sunday. Many thanks to Scott and Alex who drove for me today and got me into trouble only once. :-)
Enjoy the images and remember they are for sail.
Day two at the 2018 RFBYC ICR.
The day started with a round of egg and bacon rolls cooked by the volunteers and we were held on the beach until the light nor wester settled in. Once it was confirmed, we popped over to watch the bronze fleet racing around on the water over near the old Meads Restaurant and they were having serious fun ( what ever that is ).
Meanwhile the race course was firing up and we were able to see the fleets in the distance going through their paces on the water. It was just enough to let the dozen or so 29ers really start to fly and our driver ( Scott) was pressed to keep out of their way as the angles they sail made it hard to tell exactly where they were. The Lasers were having fun and the battle amongst the radials had Zac fighting off Michael and Stefan and not always getting his own way on the water. The fact that they had been mixed up with the Standards on the startline meant that there was strong competition for a good spot. The Mirrors don't give way to 420 sailors either and serious :-) noise was heard as the start line fired up.
It was all good natured though and the clouds began to get heavier and suddenly the wind dropped. 10 seconds later and out of the West came the rain. Survival time for the skiffs and surprisingly most of the smaller boats were doing very well despite the stiff breeze. One or two over, but they recovered and the support boats were kept busy ensuring that the younger sailors were ok. The RO John Taylor decided on lunch and sent everyone ashore to get out of the rain and around some food.
As the rain eased and the sou wester filled in, we went back out onto the water with a new driver ( Cameron ) and continued to watch and photograph the action. All the youngsters were still there apart from the occasional retirement from breakages and it was fun to watch them belting around the course in a fine breeze and a sunny afternoon. Everyone knew the trapezoid courses by now and there were no RAF's this time around.
As the sun began to dip, we retired to the beach and set up for the presentations. A feast of sausages in rolls was prepared and as the youngsters began to roll onto the beach, so they were fed by the hard working volunteers.
A novel way of clearing out the remainder of left over food in the canteen had the sailors mobbing the counter with free food offered to all. The resulting melee had food flying in all directions .
Many thanks to Commodore Gary McNally for coming down for presentations and of course sailing rear commodore Peter Chalmers was present as well. Did a good job cooking the snags as well. My thanks to Chelsea for the invitation down to photograph the event and to Jenn, Deb and all of the sailing crew who make this event such a great weekend. To JT and Geoff Brown, many thanks and well done to all the volunteers who made it run so well.
Oh, did I forget some one? To all the sailors over the weekend, well done. I hope you enjoy the photo's.
Presentations will go up tomorrow.
Of course these images are for sale. Just ask.
The day started with a round of egg and bacon rolls cooked by the volunteers and we were held on the beach until the light nor wester settled in. Once it was confirmed, we popped over to watch the bronze fleet racing around on the water over near the old Meads Restaurant and they were having serious fun ( what ever that is ).
Meanwhile the race course was firing up and we were able to see the fleets in the distance going through their paces on the water. It was just enough to let the dozen or so 29ers really start to fly and our driver ( Scott) was pressed to keep out of their way as the angles they sail made it hard to tell exactly where they were. The Lasers were having fun and the battle amongst the radials had Zac fighting off Michael and Stefan and not always getting his own way on the water. The fact that they had been mixed up with the Standards on the startline meant that there was strong competition for a good spot. The Mirrors don't give way to 420 sailors either and serious :-) noise was heard as the start line fired up.
It was all good natured though and the clouds began to get heavier and suddenly the wind dropped. 10 seconds later and out of the West came the rain. Survival time for the skiffs and surprisingly most of the smaller boats were doing very well despite the stiff breeze. One or two over, but they recovered and the support boats were kept busy ensuring that the younger sailors were ok. The RO John Taylor decided on lunch and sent everyone ashore to get out of the rain and around some food.
As the rain eased and the sou wester filled in, we went back out onto the water with a new driver ( Cameron ) and continued to watch and photograph the action. All the youngsters were still there apart from the occasional retirement from breakages and it was fun to watch them belting around the course in a fine breeze and a sunny afternoon. Everyone knew the trapezoid courses by now and there were no RAF's this time around.
As the sun began to dip, we retired to the beach and set up for the presentations. A feast of sausages in rolls was prepared and as the youngsters began to roll onto the beach, so they were fed by the hard working volunteers.
A novel way of clearing out the remainder of left over food in the canteen had the sailors mobbing the counter with free food offered to all. The resulting melee had food flying in all directions .
Many thanks to Commodore Gary McNally for coming down for presentations and of course sailing rear commodore Peter Chalmers was present as well. Did a good job cooking the snags as well. My thanks to Chelsea for the invitation down to photograph the event and to Jenn, Deb and all of the sailing crew who make this event such a great weekend. To JT and Geoff Brown, many thanks and well done to all the volunteers who made it run so well.
Oh, did I forget some one? To all the sailors over the weekend, well done. I hope you enjoy the photo's.
Presentations will go up tomorrow.
Of course these images are for sale. Just ask.
The 2017 RFBYC ICR
Sailed over two days, the regatta is a great event on the river with hundreds of "off the beach sailors" hitting the water. If you want skin in the game, this is one of the places where it starts and I've been delighted to watch the development of the classes over the years.
Sailed over two days, the regatta is a great event on the river with hundreds of "off the beach sailors" hitting the water. If you want skin in the game, this is one of the places where it starts and I've been delighted to watch the development of the classes over the years.
Sunday the 26th of November 2017
The day developed as a copy of the Saturday with a sou easterly in as the boats moved onto the water. Sure we were expecting a bit of a breeze during the afternoon, but not as interesting as yesterday. The RO's were hoping to put in at least 3 races in the morning and then finish up with a couple of races during the afternoon, giving the race organisers a chance to clear up and prepare for the presentations. Huey had other ideas.
The breeze in the morning was still looking the goods as the boats set off and about half way through the race, the breeze began to drop and only with an amount of luck did the race get finished. By this time the Opti's, Bic's and Ants were being sent home for an early lunch while the larger boats were kept on course while RO John Taylor re-laid his course for the sea breeze that was coming down Blackwall Reach. In the mean time everyone took advantage of the break to catch up on some serious ZZZZ'ds.
In it came and away the fleet went with some great sailing that showed off the boats and their owners. In particular the Laser Radial battle between Zac Littlewood and Caelin Winchecombe, some great sailing there. Ditto for the 4.7's with Michael Compton taking all before him. The arrival of the Singaporean Optimist fleet played havoc in the class with some really classy work by the top Singaporean sailors who survived the battering of Saturday to put in great results with the bulk of them scoring in the top 13 of the fleet. In fact I felt sorry for Toby Coote who got pipped at the post for a second over all by a count back decision. But that's sailing.
In the bigger fleets, the 420's were holding their states in preparation for the nationals next month and Marcello Torre and Owen Ready made a clear statement that they wanted to be seen at the top. Not that Josh Pang and Liam Forrester were prepared to make it easy for them with a strong second. Lucy Alderson and Sophie Townes were the top U19 female team for the regatta. In the Flying Ants with a small fleet, the competition was still fierce with second and first being separated by one point. Well sailed Eleanor Green and Daniel Bower on Bert and Ernie who took the cake from Liam Vause and Niamh Carter on Temporary Insanity. I could go on praising the sailing of all the sailors who competed including the masters in the lasers who muscled their way through Saturday afternoon and those who suffered broken gear and capsizes in the same period. They all sailed well.
Terrific organization by the club and the canteen volunteers really showed how good it can be. Many thanks to them and their food. The Ron Tough foundation laid on some bangers in a bun for after sailing on Sunday and had Ron Tough recipients handing out the tucker. Thanks to the foundation.
To Rachael Torre who drove me again until my hip gave out; my thanks and to the staff at RFBYC who collectively made things happen-wonderful- you do it time and time again. No wonder I enjoy doing these regatta's. Well done Jenn and Chelsea.
The images below are in two tranches........ The sailing and then the presentations.
The breeze in the morning was still looking the goods as the boats set off and about half way through the race, the breeze began to drop and only with an amount of luck did the race get finished. By this time the Opti's, Bic's and Ants were being sent home for an early lunch while the larger boats were kept on course while RO John Taylor re-laid his course for the sea breeze that was coming down Blackwall Reach. In the mean time everyone took advantage of the break to catch up on some serious ZZZZ'ds.
In it came and away the fleet went with some great sailing that showed off the boats and their owners. In particular the Laser Radial battle between Zac Littlewood and Caelin Winchecombe, some great sailing there. Ditto for the 4.7's with Michael Compton taking all before him. The arrival of the Singaporean Optimist fleet played havoc in the class with some really classy work by the top Singaporean sailors who survived the battering of Saturday to put in great results with the bulk of them scoring in the top 13 of the fleet. In fact I felt sorry for Toby Coote who got pipped at the post for a second over all by a count back decision. But that's sailing.
In the bigger fleets, the 420's were holding their states in preparation for the nationals next month and Marcello Torre and Owen Ready made a clear statement that they wanted to be seen at the top. Not that Josh Pang and Liam Forrester were prepared to make it easy for them with a strong second. Lucy Alderson and Sophie Townes were the top U19 female team for the regatta. In the Flying Ants with a small fleet, the competition was still fierce with second and first being separated by one point. Well sailed Eleanor Green and Daniel Bower on Bert and Ernie who took the cake from Liam Vause and Niamh Carter on Temporary Insanity. I could go on praising the sailing of all the sailors who competed including the masters in the lasers who muscled their way through Saturday afternoon and those who suffered broken gear and capsizes in the same period. They all sailed well.
Terrific organization by the club and the canteen volunteers really showed how good it can be. Many thanks to them and their food. The Ron Tough foundation laid on some bangers in a bun for after sailing on Sunday and had Ron Tough recipients handing out the tucker. Thanks to the foundation.
To Rachael Torre who drove me again until my hip gave out; my thanks and to the staff at RFBYC who collectively made things happen-wonderful- you do it time and time again. No wonder I enjoy doing these regatta's. Well done Jenn and Chelsea.
The images below are in two tranches........ The sailing and then the presentations.
The RFBYC ICR
Saturday the 25th of November 2017
Another late night getting this up, but a great day on the water for all. The day started with a mild sou sou easterly blowing and the chance of something better. And boy did we get that something better!
I was fortunate enough to be given a boat and driver and my thanks to the club for their organization.
With a good start on time we were on the Optimist, Bic and Flying Ant course with a great number of boats moving around the track. The sailors were relishing the racing and it was evident that the breeze was on the move already with the boat end of the start line packed by the second race. The numbers meant that there was a certain amount of compression on the start, but speaking to the jurists, they were very happy with the behaviour of the sailors all-round. The second race signalled a shortening up of the race as RO Geoff Brown could see the drop in the breeze and it was finished swiftly. A third race was set up, but abandoned as the breeze abruptly shifted and started to pick up. 220 degrees ( a sou wester ) and we'd gone from 5 to 8 knots up to 10 to 15 knots in a matter of moments. So with a realignment of the course in place, away we went and the carnage commenced amongst the younger sailors. Lets face it, if it's your first big regatta and you're a silver fleet sailor its a bit testing. No matter they tried their best.
Lunch was declared at midday after 5? races (we were busy towing in young sailors) and we all settled down for a protracted break while the big boats from the keelboat section had their starts.
The afternoon session was a matter of survival for most as it was blowing a gale. I checked the BOM site and on Melville Water they had base 22 and tops of 28 knots. We didn't have much less. This time I was on the Laser, 29er, 420 and Mirrors course with the Contenders wisely taking a break for the afternoon. No matter, there were boats flying around the course and RO John Taylor had the boats launching off the start line as if fired from a machine gun. Great sailing and my biggest problem was trying to keep the camera dry as there was plenty of spray around. A few great shots, but I'll let you be the judge.
My thanks to Peter Spencer and Rachael Torre who drove for me today. I hope that their sailor sons were happy with the day.
Here are the images for Saturday.
The RFBYC International Classes Regatta
Sunday the 4th of December 2016
After a midnight session getting the last lot up, I've taken the liberty to sleep on Sunday night and despite a break or two over the day we've got the Sunday images ready to go.
With a major protest in the 29er fleet left over from the previous day, the first chance for it to be decided was going to be at lunch time as the requirement was to get the racing going and sort out the stuff in the time available.
Arriving as the first fleets kicked off with a breeze of about 4 to 8 knots out of the sou east and the consequential realignment of the course to fit. And of course it worked! Jumping on board with Big Trav, I shared the knowledge of the O'pen Bic classes that he has been attending to. At the same time I was able to get some good images of the Opti's as they soared past. Ok, I'll be honest it was quiet and thankfully RO Brown managed to get the first two races done and dusted with few problems ( well one abandonment ), but the seabreeze had already been seen on the radar moving in from the coast and it was when not if. Race three started and within a few minutes the first puff was noted coming up the reach. Not long...... And the half way through the final race, madness reigned as the breeze boomed in and suprisingly few boats were flipped. Just sailors having fun!
Of note in the Bics, Barney Woo has been driving one for way too long. He's quick and knows the boat inside out and can work the boat like a 49er. He's a bit light for one of those yet, but on a 29er he'll be quick. And there are two or three who will be chasing him as well ( one of them is a ten year old and she's quick too.)
Lunch intervened and the 29er protest began. It was the big one and meantime the other smaller protests were arbitrated on. Come one thirty pm, the race officers had the Opi's and Bics under way with only two races to finish, but the other classes were fired off from the beach as the protests were finished and the classes could proceed. So a staggered procedure was evidenced on the startline as fleets arrived and were sent on their way. The rub was that they'd only managed to get two races in in the morning session. So three to do during the afternoon.
Exciting battles were happening with lots of fun on the start line for all and I did note a black flag in presence somewhere on the start boat. I'd missed the early racing in the morning with the big boats and I was keen to see how they were doing. The better wind pressure of 15 knots plus out of the south west meant that working the left hand side would pay off and the pin end was an exciting place to be for a bloke with a camera. Mind you, when the wind flicked back, the centre was working well for those who chose it.
A good job was done by RO John as he worked with his team to get the last of the races underway by the 4 pm deadline. Many thanks to Rachael and Ed Torres who (again) drove for me and assisted in the many rescues on the water as youngsters and (oldsters) were helped as required.
My thanks as ever to Jenn Suffield, Deb Blaaww and the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht club for taking me on board for the event. To the ladies in the canteen... the smell of the coffee in the morning was superb as were the luncheon rolls. The parents and volunteers to a person thanks. And of course the sailors without whom we wouldn't be doing all this.
Enjoy the images and the presentation images will go up tomorrow.
With a major protest in the 29er fleet left over from the previous day, the first chance for it to be decided was going to be at lunch time as the requirement was to get the racing going and sort out the stuff in the time available.
Arriving as the first fleets kicked off with a breeze of about 4 to 8 knots out of the sou east and the consequential realignment of the course to fit. And of course it worked! Jumping on board with Big Trav, I shared the knowledge of the O'pen Bic classes that he has been attending to. At the same time I was able to get some good images of the Opti's as they soared past. Ok, I'll be honest it was quiet and thankfully RO Brown managed to get the first two races done and dusted with few problems ( well one abandonment ), but the seabreeze had already been seen on the radar moving in from the coast and it was when not if. Race three started and within a few minutes the first puff was noted coming up the reach. Not long...... And the half way through the final race, madness reigned as the breeze boomed in and suprisingly few boats were flipped. Just sailors having fun!
Of note in the Bics, Barney Woo has been driving one for way too long. He's quick and knows the boat inside out and can work the boat like a 49er. He's a bit light for one of those yet, but on a 29er he'll be quick. And there are two or three who will be chasing him as well ( one of them is a ten year old and she's quick too.)
Lunch intervened and the 29er protest began. It was the big one and meantime the other smaller protests were arbitrated on. Come one thirty pm, the race officers had the Opi's and Bics under way with only two races to finish, but the other classes were fired off from the beach as the protests were finished and the classes could proceed. So a staggered procedure was evidenced on the startline as fleets arrived and were sent on their way. The rub was that they'd only managed to get two races in in the morning session. So three to do during the afternoon.
Exciting battles were happening with lots of fun on the start line for all and I did note a black flag in presence somewhere on the start boat. I'd missed the early racing in the morning with the big boats and I was keen to see how they were doing. The better wind pressure of 15 knots plus out of the south west meant that working the left hand side would pay off and the pin end was an exciting place to be for a bloke with a camera. Mind you, when the wind flicked back, the centre was working well for those who chose it.
A good job was done by RO John as he worked with his team to get the last of the races underway by the 4 pm deadline. Many thanks to Rachael and Ed Torres who (again) drove for me and assisted in the many rescues on the water as youngsters and (oldsters) were helped as required.
My thanks as ever to Jenn Suffield, Deb Blaaww and the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht club for taking me on board for the event. To the ladies in the canteen... the smell of the coffee in the morning was superb as were the luncheon rolls. The parents and volunteers to a person thanks. And of course the sailors without whom we wouldn't be doing all this.
Enjoy the images and the presentation images will go up tomorrow.
The RFBYC International Classes Regatta
Saturday the 3rd of December 2016
Once again it was a pleasure to venture out onto Freshwater Bay for the annual International Classes Regatta run by RFBYC. On a Saturday it gets a little crowded and the parking was at a premium. Lucky me, someone pulled out of a spot just outside the gates. Jenn Suffield welcomed me and a brief phone call had me heading off to the fuelling jetty for my ride.
We were soon on the water and the sailing was just commencing with courses one and two in full swing with about 5 to 9 knots at hand out of the West. Swirling too and speaking to the sailors at lunch, picking the gusts was the way to go forward.
It woudn't be an ICR without rain and sure enough just after the lunch break which was taken to avoid the keel boat starts the western sky clouded up and we hurridly covered up and the sailors found themselves battling through the gusts that came with the showers. Yup! A couple of boats blown over and mayhem at the top mark where we were.
The Opti's and Bics were doing well and we had a fun hour or so with them before lunch catching up with a lot of faces from last year, but the main frenzy was on the bottom mark of the big boats course and I did feel sorry for the baptism of fire the younger Flying Ant and Mirror sailors were getting as they endeavoured to round the mark amid the 29ers, the 505's and the 420's. Not that they didn't know their way, but the sight of the larger skiffs, agile Lasers and the hard core 420 drivers coming at you..... you had to hold your nerve.
An interesting note, there were aproximatley 170 boats and over 220 sailors on the water. Fantastic response for the day and there were lots of coaches sharing their skills and knowledge. Matt, Tom, Grant, Trav and even Coach K down from Hillaries. Good to see the interest in the dinghy classes is growing stronger.
Then the RO's went for the 7th race. It had been privately mentioned to me that they might do it, to have one up their sleeves, but I was running out of time and very kindly Rachael Torre who was driving me for the day, whipped me back to the pens so that I could head home to start processing images. Enjoy the images and remember that they are available for sale.
We were soon on the water and the sailing was just commencing with courses one and two in full swing with about 5 to 9 knots at hand out of the West. Swirling too and speaking to the sailors at lunch, picking the gusts was the way to go forward.
It woudn't be an ICR without rain and sure enough just after the lunch break which was taken to avoid the keel boat starts the western sky clouded up and we hurridly covered up and the sailors found themselves battling through the gusts that came with the showers. Yup! A couple of boats blown over and mayhem at the top mark where we were.
The Opti's and Bics were doing well and we had a fun hour or so with them before lunch catching up with a lot of faces from last year, but the main frenzy was on the bottom mark of the big boats course and I did feel sorry for the baptism of fire the younger Flying Ant and Mirror sailors were getting as they endeavoured to round the mark amid the 29ers, the 505's and the 420's. Not that they didn't know their way, but the sight of the larger skiffs, agile Lasers and the hard core 420 drivers coming at you..... you had to hold your nerve.
An interesting note, there were aproximatley 170 boats and over 220 sailors on the water. Fantastic response for the day and there were lots of coaches sharing their skills and knowledge. Matt, Tom, Grant, Trav and even Coach K down from Hillaries. Good to see the interest in the dinghy classes is growing stronger.
Then the RO's went for the 7th race. It had been privately mentioned to me that they might do it, to have one up their sleeves, but I was running out of time and very kindly Rachael Torre who was driving me for the day, whipped me back to the pens so that I could head home to start processing images. Enjoy the images and remember that they are available for sale.
The RFBYC International Classes Regatta
The Sunday 6th of December 2015
These are the first set of images taken during the morning of Sunday the 6th of December. I was unable to attend the Saturday owing to sailing commitments.
It was a licorice allsorts sort of a day with something for everyone. Rain, sun, a reasonable track and lots and lots of wind. Sailing in Freshwater bay below the yacht club can be interesting with the gusts swirling around the edges of the bay and every now and then sending a bullet down the line. As the day progressed so the wind picked up and the showers came through at a rate of knots. Nothing like Saturday I hasten to add, but with a west south westerly blowing it was cold enough.
I started on the Opti/O'pen Bic course and saw some great sailing with the skiffs fairly skating along and even the Opti drivers had their hands full when the pack descended on the marks.
Then over to the other race track where everything from Contenders to 29ers were pounding out the message that the wind was good. The Laser fleets were there as well and it was noticeable that the Masters were in good shape. However the battle was in the radials as ever and Richard Maher was having no truck with the new kids on the block. Good sailing and hard pressed by James Stewart with Zac Littlewood picking up the crumbs as he grew accustomed to the new fleet. I would have loved to see the full fleet here today, but with most of the gang away in Melbourne, its time for others to shine. Enough said. This is the mornings shoot.
The rest will probably go up tomorrow morning.
It was a licorice allsorts sort of a day with something for everyone. Rain, sun, a reasonable track and lots and lots of wind. Sailing in Freshwater bay below the yacht club can be interesting with the gusts swirling around the edges of the bay and every now and then sending a bullet down the line. As the day progressed so the wind picked up and the showers came through at a rate of knots. Nothing like Saturday I hasten to add, but with a west south westerly blowing it was cold enough.
I started on the Opti/O'pen Bic course and saw some great sailing with the skiffs fairly skating along and even the Opti drivers had their hands full when the pack descended on the marks.
Then over to the other race track where everything from Contenders to 29ers were pounding out the message that the wind was good. The Laser fleets were there as well and it was noticeable that the Masters were in good shape. However the battle was in the radials as ever and Richard Maher was having no truck with the new kids on the block. Good sailing and hard pressed by James Stewart with Zac Littlewood picking up the crumbs as he grew accustomed to the new fleet. I would have loved to see the full fleet here today, but with most of the gang away in Melbourne, its time for others to shine. Enough said. This is the mornings shoot.
The rest will probably go up tomorrow morning.
The afternoon was slightly less wet, but they still had a number of races to get through. Some of the Laser Masters decided that they'd done their dash (all they needed was 3 per day), but some didn't and they went out and sailed their hearts out. As for the Opti's and Bic's , they were there for the long haul and I'm sure they slept well once they got home. But 12 races in two days is a lot for any one and in the high performance rigs, the drop off was noticed. But the faithful kept going and it was fantastic to watch as they pounded around the track. Mind you the number of boats that fell over ( and there were a few ) seemed to grow as the afternoon wore on.
Many thanks to Jenny Suffield who invited me on board for the day and to David who offered me the use of a "Protector" rib, complete with cover and a cabin to store the other camera and even more... protection from the biting wind that was building during the day. My thanks to the RO's on the day and to RFBYC for getting me out there.
This is the afternoons selection
Many thanks to Jenny Suffield who invited me on board for the day and to David who offered me the use of a "Protector" rib, complete with cover and a cabin to store the other camera and even more... protection from the biting wind that was building during the day. My thanks to the RO's on the day and to RFBYC for getting me out there.
This is the afternoons selection