It was the second round of the Spring Handicap Championship, and concurrently the first round of the Round the Bay Rally (RTBR) Long Series. The RTBR are long-distance, marathon-style adventure races that provide our members with a different format of racing once a month. RTBR rallies allow our sailors to experience the vastness and variety of Jervis Bay’s landscape and stunning, world-class waterway. We truly have the best race track in the world!
With a Round the Bay scheduled for today, the forecast was looking shifty at best. Arriving at the Club to a nice 12-knot west-nor’wester, the day was looking promising for some fun racing. With the first mark set off Huskisson Beach, a downwind start was on the cards. Changing wind speeds meant that being in the right spot paid dividends, as Pat Butler found out by reaching the first mark well ahead of the other small boats on his Hobie 14 Turbo.
With three Hobie 16s and one F18 starting three minutes after the small boats, the chase was on to catch the fleet. Andrew and Pat managed to hold off the big boats to take first and second, while Joel and River completed their first long-distance race on the Dragoon, finishing ahead of the “old boys” on the Hobie 14s.
After a fabulous lunch cooked by club legends Oliver Lawson and Hannah de Rooy, we headed out for a second go at the Round the Bay Rally. With the wind shifting further west, the duty officer decided to reverse the course, which was better suited to the conditions. In the fresh westerly, competitors were challenged to keep their boats flat through the bullets and moving in the lulls — as Bridget and Charlie discovered while “tea-bagging” their way to Huskisson.
Pat once again found the right side of the course to arrive home ahead of the fleet, making it a clean sweep for the day.
Tune in next week for the third round of the Spring Championship, with some epic short-course racing right off Plantation Point.
