PORT MacDonnell Sailing Club faced changeable conditions on Saturday for the latest round of racing.
What started as an ideal day turned quite bizarre when a sea fog rolled in just after the start.
Eleven boats turned out for the two races, with Evan Steel’s No Fear and Darryl Brooksby’s Lethal Weapon visiting from the Rivoli Bay Sailing club.
With a flat sea and a light wind, the first race of the day was off to a good start, with all boats closely bunched together.
However, by the end of the first lap the sea fog blew in from the south and the race tower could no longer see any of the fleet.
Visibility was down to a couple of hundred metres and the rescue boat anchored near the inshore buoy to record times.
Nine boats managed to complete the course after handling the difficult conditions.
It was a tight finish, with six of the nine boats appearing out of the fog and finishing within a minute of each other.
On class basic handicap Kevin Knott’s Famous Blue Raincoat claimed the honours, Mack Ferguson’s Papillon was second and Robin White’s Salt Peter rounded out the placings.
Finishing order on club handicap was Famous Blue Raincoat, Salt Peter and Dennis Illman’s Mirage.
Two boats failed to finish the race as one of the catamarans hit the reef between the clubhouse and the breakwater as he was disorientated due to the conditions and damaged the boat.
The other decided to pull out and head back into the harbour.
Race 2 was abandoned due to the poor visibility.
After racing life members and club patrons join in with 40 members and their families for a Christmas dinner held in the clubhouse to finish the year off.
Racing for the Port MacDonnell sailing club will return on February 9, 2019, with a few club members attending either Robe Sailing Club’s Guichen Bay Challenge January 19-20, or the Milang to Goolwa races on January 26.
