The day started with a true bluebird morning — clear skies and absolutely no wind. Egbert, keen to get things moving, had to settle for another cup of tea before the breeze slowly filtered in from the east. With that, briefing was called and a start time set.
Race 1 got underway in a steady 10 knots of easterly, with Joel and Eddy getting off the line cleanly and showing great style. With the Hobie 14s starting shortly after, there was plenty of action on the line — Jeremy squeezed Andrew for water, forcing him to tack away. Our youngest member, Elliot, lined up on the Hobie 16 with a huge smile on his face and plenty of excitement. Mick Butler took the win on his Turbo 14, with Andrew McKenzie close behind, while Matt and Oli enjoyed their new 16, ahead in the first race until Bridget and Eva cut in at the bottom mark to take the win.
Race 2 started in a building east-sou’easter. The racing was hotly contested as the breeze picked up in a proper fashion, with Mick Butler again streaking out in front on the Turbo. Joel and River showed good form on the Dragoon, just beating Eddy and Lottie over the line. Hazel, Fionbarr, and Dobbo got their elbows out at the bottom mark, and Dobbo managed to come out with the upper hand even after defeating his boom with his head to cross the line first. Bridget and her first-time crew, Eva Mackay, out-tacked Matt and Oli to retain the win in the 16s.
And the rest of the 14s? Well, between Jeremy, Steve, Adrian, Howard, and Doug – it was a stacked start line indeed.
Progressive Results - Spring ChampionshipsThe fleet made it back to shore just in time to be greeted by the rain the southerly brought with it. Luckily, Helen Mills had prepared us a well-deserved hot lunch, so a big thank you to her for keeping the rather damp sailors well-fed.
Meanwhile, up north, Paddy was racing at the Nacra 50th Anniversary Regatta at Mannering Park Amateur Sailing Club on a Nacra 15. Having not sailed the class since 2017 with Will McKenzie, Paddy teamed up with local Mannering Park young gun (and friend of the VSC) Sam Dalton. The boys sailed admirably against the bigger Nacra 5.8s, picking up plenty of lessons in the light air and showing the big boats how it’s done once the breeze filled in.
Next weekend is the October King’s Birthday Long Weekend, marking the first social sailing day of the season. With no club racing scheduled, we encourage all members who are around to get out on the water and enjoy the school holidays! A number of our VSC members will also be heading up to Forster for the annual Wildcat Regatta, which looks set for another year of record numbers — especially in the Hobie 14s. We wish all our sailors good luck and fair racing up north.
The following weekend will mark both the end of the school holidays and Round 4 of the Spring Handicap Series, run concurrently with the first Double-Handed Championship weekend of the season. We encourage as many double-handed boats as possible — Hobie 16s, Hobie 18s, Nacra 5.8s, Dragoons — to hit the water and get amongst the racing!
