​Today, the RO and his crew did a great job.  With two morning races scheduled on a hot day, the lake was a millpond at 1030 and the predicted Easterly breeze didn't start to blow until after lunch.  So, we lost a race as the sailing was condensed to a 3 race back-to-back to back session after lunch.  But by then a 10-15 knot breeze had settled.
 
The results are posted so no need to run through the placings.  And you can see from the times how close the racing was.   I can't give a race-by-race report as I was concentrating on other things, but I can give some random observations:

• The fleet is still very keen at the starts.  I think there was at least one recall at each start.  And a GPS type device is no guarantee of not being over early.  I saw one boat that has one circling back...
• Capsizing just short of the finish line can be costly.  Not only in places but in the bribe to the camera operator to delete the photos of the boat drifting backwards across the line.
• There IS a limit to the number of pies that can be eaten in a day.  Whilst a lack of maintenance is more likely the reason, young Luke was seen dragging behind Stowe after his trapeze ring broke.
• Sibling and family rivalry is strong in the fleet.  Wobbygong was seen piling pressure on SFC, resulting in a swim.  Macka scored 2-1 over Lennon today.  The Wyatt family continued their bragging rights battle too, with young gun Zac scoring 2-1 over Chris today.  It will come down to the results today.
• Last, but not least, the VS's scored 3-0 over the F15's to see who is the fastest around the track.  With an unassailable 5-1 lead we can claim to the faster craft (but don't tell the yardstick people).

John

Is this the start of a new era?  The traditional week-long VS nationals regatta just after Christmas has been replaced by a 3 day event at the end of January.  10 races are still scheduled.  Let’s see how us old fellas go with fatigue.  But without competing regattas, such as Sydney-Hobart, 16 footers, 13 footers & F11’s, we have a good number of entries – 12 in total.  So that is a good start….
 
Race 1
With a 8-12 knot SSE breeze blowing the fleet was eager to go.  So eager that three boats were pinged for being over early – Wobbygong, SFC & Meeks.  In a very wise decision, Matt, Pete & Macka took Wobbygong back.  Mick & Jeffo didn’t realise they were also OCS until the dreaded chat with the RO after the finish.  So much for that good start...
 
When the fleet settled Firestorm had found the lead up the first beat & picked some good pressure lines for the rest of the race to hold the position to the finish.  Steve, Jeremy & Troy on Runaway also liked the ‘swinging two’ breeze to finish 2nd not far behind the red boat.  TBS just didn’t find their mojo in this race but still managed 3rd.  On corrected time Rog, Tim & Will on Devocean scored a 3rd, Measurement Solutions scored 2nd, but the winner on the day, and the first to collect the wine donated by our terrific sponsor, Quay Accounting & Tax, was Wobbygong!!!.  Told you it was a wise decision to restart.
 
Race 2
The breeze softened a little for this race so it was a bit more tedious.  A fantastic pin end start from Devocean saw them cross the fleet and lead until Firestorm, Troy Botting Shipwright & Meeks eked their way to the front of the fleet and battle race long for the win.  Firestorm thought they had a winning lead until Mick, Robbie & Katie on went hard left up the 2nd work and tailed the red boat around the top mark.  Col, Adam & Janine were also not far behind & completed one of their legendary gybe sets and held the breeze down the run to the finish.  In the end Firestorm got the gun, closely followed by TBS & Meeks.  Runaway and SFC soaked home to 4th and 5th, but after that it got closer.  Doddsy completed a great tactical gybe close to the finish line to get Stowe home in 6th, 7 seconds ahead of Narwahl with Incognito just a few more seconds further back.  One up for Zac & Byron vs Chris & Greg.
On corrected time it was the same result.  Narwahl 1st.  Incognito 2nd.  The new era continues to emerge…
 
Race 3
The breeze was still blowing from the same direction and was better than race 2, but still less than race 1.  The start lines were a nice length & true to the breeze so it was hard to pick a favoured position.  Firestorm was at the pin & thought they had a good lead until they tacked & saw Narwahl raging away from the boat end on port tack.  Narwahl rounded the top mark in 2nd, but on board Firestorm Wade was doing a stellar job filling in for Dale, picking the pressure lines flawlessly, speeding himself, John & Courtney to a nice lead and take the win.  The Narwahl boys are still learning the nuances of getting a VS downwind quickly and held on gallantly for 5th, not far behind Meeks, TBS & Runaway.  That is good company to be competing with.  And they beat Incognito again…
On corrected time it was close.  Wobbygong  finished 3rd but in ahead was very close.  1 second in fact.  Narwahl had sailed a great race, but so too had Jock, James & Issac on Measurement Solutions. They scored the victory by 1 second to get the wine.  Well done!!

Our facebook page (VS 15 Foot Skiff Sailing | Facebook) has a bunch of photos from today's racing.
 
Finally, if it interests you, the VS’s were faster around the course than the F15’s in races 1 & 3.  Is this a trend that we are faster in a breeze?  I hope Saturday is just a repeat of today 😊

Cheers
John