The 2017 National Schools Team Racing
at Nedlands Yacht Club
This year it will be a little different in that I'll be attending a few events this weekend and I'll be jumping in where I can. I've heard Jenny Medd will be on the water with a camera as well and I'll look forward to her interpretation of the regatta.
Speaking to Alison Robinson, the managing secretary at Nedlands YC, they have the support of the start team from Royal Freshwater Bay yacht club and there will be a strong attendance from the volunteer groups of the river. Apparently there are 20 + teams racing this year with strong representation from the other states with Canberra putting up a couple of teams as well... Awesome! I'll put up a daily shoot and see how we go as I have to cover the Valmadres and the Solo's this weekend as well, with Monday as the feature day for the teams racing. Please be patient as I work to get images up.
Speaking to Alison Robinson, the managing secretary at Nedlands YC, they have the support of the start team from Royal Freshwater Bay yacht club and there will be a strong attendance from the volunteer groups of the river. Apparently there are 20 + teams racing this year with strong representation from the other states with Canberra putting up a couple of teams as well... Awesome! I'll put up a daily shoot and see how we go as I have to cover the Valmadres and the Solo's this weekend as well, with Monday as the feature day for the teams racing. Please be patient as I work to get images up.
The 2017 National Schools Teams Racing
at Nedlands Yacht Club
Monday the 10th of July
As I suspected, the weather dropped out completely by lunchtime on the Sunday, so any travel over to NYC in the arvo wasn't going to be of value.
But Monday was a different kettle of fish with a lovely nor easter in place by the time I rocked up at 8.40 am. All that breeze was going to do was fluctuate a little in pressure and once or twice flick into the north. Good sailing. But cricky it was cold.
Well rugged up I joined jurist Christina Heydon on the front of her boat with a camera and we shot the mornings take very nicely. The racing was good but not windy enough to have any boats flip and there weren't any swimmers as we'd had on Saturday.
A quick lunch and back out onto the water for the finals with a number of fancied teams struggling a little to make the cut. This time out with Jenn Suffield and we had the honour of doing the finals so I was there to catch a thumbs up from one of the winning boats as they came back from the line. Shock and horror for the WA teams though, not one team into the finals... it was a Scots College affair with both a and b teams battling it out for the win.
My thanks to NYC for the regatta and the well run canteen. And especially the race management team from RFBYC headed by John Taylor with the addition of a large number of volunteers from all around the river clubs. Yes it was a winter regatta, but we do those well in the West.
Enjoy the images
As I suspected, the weather dropped out completely by lunchtime on the Sunday, so any travel over to NYC in the arvo wasn't going to be of value.
But Monday was a different kettle of fish with a lovely nor easter in place by the time I rocked up at 8.40 am. All that breeze was going to do was fluctuate a little in pressure and once or twice flick into the north. Good sailing. But cricky it was cold.
Well rugged up I joined jurist Christina Heydon on the front of her boat with a camera and we shot the mornings take very nicely. The racing was good but not windy enough to have any boats flip and there weren't any swimmers as we'd had on Saturday.
A quick lunch and back out onto the water for the finals with a number of fancied teams struggling a little to make the cut. This time out with Jenn Suffield and we had the honour of doing the finals so I was there to catch a thumbs up from one of the winning boats as they came back from the line. Shock and horror for the WA teams though, not one team into the finals... it was a Scots College affair with both a and b teams battling it out for the win.
My thanks to NYC for the regatta and the well run canteen. And especially the race management team from RFBYC headed by John Taylor with the addition of a large number of volunteers from all around the river clubs. Yes it was a winter regatta, but we do those well in the West.
Enjoy the images
Saturday the 8th of July
Finishing off with the Ensign race earlier on this morning I bowled down to the Nedlands Yacht Club to see what was going on. We'd had a slight but meaningful breeze on the ocean and it was enough to get the big boats rolling, though coming along the ocean drive on the Stirling highway the breeze could be seen to be a little gappy in the overall view. Arriving at Nedlands, nothing was happening and as I walked in, the RO John Taylor was updating everyone with the promise of a 1 pm deadline. On the water or the rest of the day off.
So we filled in the time with photo's of what was happening around us ... a little line dancing, a bit of footy, a card game that had high stakes ( M & M's) and the general observations of what was happening on the river including a lot of ducks swirling around the river bank.
And then the breeze came in. Not much, but enough to sail on and it built a little with the occasional white cap being seen in the gusts. Once the breeze had settled in, sailing got underway and they managed to get 15 rounds in before I reluctantly took off knowing that I'd have a late night processing one day of regatta let alone a full morning and afternoon.
Once again thanks to the sailors, the mums and dads who upend the whole family to travel across the continent to support their children and the volunteers who attend these on going events. It's fabulous. Oh and the coffee machine man who made a killing on Saturday... a lot of nothing going on means lots of coffee being sold. :-)
Enjoy the images
Finishing off with the Ensign race earlier on this morning I bowled down to the Nedlands Yacht Club to see what was going on. We'd had a slight but meaningful breeze on the ocean and it was enough to get the big boats rolling, though coming along the ocean drive on the Stirling highway the breeze could be seen to be a little gappy in the overall view. Arriving at Nedlands, nothing was happening and as I walked in, the RO John Taylor was updating everyone with the promise of a 1 pm deadline. On the water or the rest of the day off.
So we filled in the time with photo's of what was happening around us ... a little line dancing, a bit of footy, a card game that had high stakes ( M & M's) and the general observations of what was happening on the river including a lot of ducks swirling around the river bank.
And then the breeze came in. Not much, but enough to sail on and it built a little with the occasional white cap being seen in the gusts. Once the breeze had settled in, sailing got underway and they managed to get 15 rounds in before I reluctantly took off knowing that I'd have a late night processing one day of regatta let alone a full morning and afternoon.
Once again thanks to the sailors, the mums and dads who upend the whole family to travel across the continent to support their children and the volunteers who attend these on going events. It's fabulous. Oh and the coffee machine man who made a killing on Saturday... a lot of nothing going on means lots of coffee being sold. :-)
Enjoy the images
Friday the 7th of July
Its a cool morning and not much happening. The water is flat and occasional gusts cover the water, but not enough to excite the sailors. Then a waft from the east filled in sufficiently to get the boats going and the boats are released. 26 teams from all over the country .. great stuff and a number of people filling the car park etc. Stop and meet people, see who's coaching who from a WA perspective and then meet the umps as they take off.. I'm only here for an hour or so to get the lie of the land so what I'm doing today is getting the feel of the place and then as my other commitments are covered, I'll be back onto the water. Probably Monday all day, but I'm not going to tread on Jenny Medds work as she's covering the entire regatta while I'm bouncing between three regatta's this weekend.
Many thanks to a number of the parents who have popped up to say hi and to the volunteers who have got this show under way. Amazing isn't it... people who willing give their time. Should be more of them I reckon.
Enjoy the images. We're setting the scene for the rest of the regatta. It promises to be a good one.
By the way... the breeze did switch into the west around 11 am, with quite a few gusts imbedded in it.
Its a cool morning and not much happening. The water is flat and occasional gusts cover the water, but not enough to excite the sailors. Then a waft from the east filled in sufficiently to get the boats going and the boats are released. 26 teams from all over the country .. great stuff and a number of people filling the car park etc. Stop and meet people, see who's coaching who from a WA perspective and then meet the umps as they take off.. I'm only here for an hour or so to get the lie of the land so what I'm doing today is getting the feel of the place and then as my other commitments are covered, I'll be back onto the water. Probably Monday all day, but I'm not going to tread on Jenny Medds work as she's covering the entire regatta while I'm bouncing between three regatta's this weekend.
Many thanks to a number of the parents who have popped up to say hi and to the volunteers who have got this show under way. Amazing isn't it... people who willing give their time. Should be more of them I reckon.
Enjoy the images. We're setting the scene for the rest of the regatta. It promises to be a good one.
By the way... the breeze did switch into the west around 11 am, with quite a few gusts imbedded in it.
The 2011 National Schools Teams Racing
at the South of Perth Yacht club
These guys were incredible.
And I don't mean the organisers and volunteers, though they worked very hard and the overall result was great.
The junior sailors from all over Australia came together in a freezing cold July and sailed their collective backsides off to give us a wonderful show. Each day I would drag myself down there, to watch these sailors racking up race after race and on occasions sailing at a level that would defy some of us senior sailors. Just great to watch and record.
And I don't mean the organisers and volunteers, though they worked very hard and the overall result was great.
The junior sailors from all over Australia came together in a freezing cold July and sailed their collective backsides off to give us a wonderful show. Each day I would drag myself down there, to watch these sailors racking up race after race and on occasions sailing at a level that would defy some of us senior sailors. Just great to watch and record.