Sunshine Regatta

Once again the weather forecasts were correct.  After the previous weekend of 40+ degree days the forecast for Sunshine was for squallly winds with rain.  And so it was.  
The warnings and conditions unfortunately also thinned out the number of boats who made the trip to Sunshine.  Five Vee Esses rigged in a total regatta fleet of 25.  This would have to be the smallest fleet in history.  Unfortunately our starters were reduced by one when 2 sailors + 1 launched the boat but found the rudder pin missing.  Bugger.  A replacement pin couldn't be found so Geoff, Mark & Pete only got wet from the rain.

Despite the small numbers it was still a good race.  We shared the start with a couple of skates so there was still some aggression on the line.  TBS, with Gabe subbing in for Janine, won the start & were first round the windward mark, closely followed by Firestorm, Stowe & Incognito.  And already a comfortable margin ahead of the skates.  There has always been a friendly rivalry between the classes.  For the record, and bragging rights, we lapped one skate & were not far off doing the same to the second. Another one for the VS !!!
Up front TBS & Firestorm again pushed each other all race and cleared out, with Firestorm holding on for the gun.  TBS were comfortable in second, until returning to the shore with a spectacular flip.  Stowe did the same.  It looked great but I'm not keen on following the trend...
But back to the racing, Andrew & Chris on Incognito grabbed Joe for the weekend.  They continued their performances from the recent Sunshine nats and pounced when Tim, Scott & Lennon had a quick swim on the home run.  Incognito 3rd.  Stowe 4th.
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Sunday morning and the rain was nearly horizontal.  When we got to the club two flags were flying - AP over A.  No racing today.  So we lost a race but that's not the end of either the TT & state title series.  Vaucluse regatta is in on in two weeks time - 22nd February.  If you can please get make an effort to get there.  It is a great club & they are great hosts.  They looked after us in our 70th year and always make us welcome.  Let's show them we appreciate their hospitality by having a good turnout.


Happy sailing
John


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