After two weeks of abandoned racing due to the weather and a race in Portland, sailors were finally able to take to the waters off Port MacDonnell and properly start the 2023-2024 sailing season.
Four boats of varying classes braved the white caps to sail the course set by the race officer, commodore Jennifer Jones.
She and committee boat driver David Jones set an interesting course, with a loop from the start line to the first mark to the south west and back, another loop from the start directly south and a final loop to the south east before finishing in front of the club house.
It was a spread out start, with Sandrine skippered by Chris Lynch as the first boat across the start line and Mack Ferguson’s Papillion behind them.
New boat to the club, Billy 2 sailed by Nick Watson, did not compete in the first race, instead opting to sail around the course to get a handle on the new boat.
Chris Lynch and David Bryson’s hard work at the start paid off as they led the fleet the entire race and claimed line honours.
Dave Evans, Adrian Romescu and Damian McMahon on Farr-mer were second across the finish line.
The wind held steady for the second race, with a close start.
Farr-mer had a strong start as first boat across the line and Mack Ferguson, John Kain and Graham McKay on Papillion were close behind.
The whole fleet was close by the end of the first lap, with three boats rounding the buoy in short succession.
Despite starting the race in third position, Billy 2 showed the speed which little catamarans are capable of and pulled out well in front to take its first line honours.
Farr-mer was able to stay in front of the other two trailable boats and crossed the finish line in second position.
The wind speed dropped during the two races and due to the favourable conditions, a third race was undertaken.
The third race had a close start, with all boats crossing the line within seconds of each other, but Farr-mer once more crossed the line first, ahead of Papillion.
With a near capsize at the finish line, Billy 2 managed to stay upright and take out line honours in the third race as well.
Sandrine and Farr-mer had a tussle to the finish line, with Sandrine winning out and crossing the line in second place.
A fourth race commenced straight after the third, to make up for some of the missed races in October.
It was another close start, with Sandrine this time taking out the start and Farr-mer close behind.
However, once racing started it was easy to see the advantage Billy 2 had over the larger boats as it once more easily took line honours.
There is a two-day regatta at Port MacDonnell this coming weekend, with boats of all classes encouraged to enter.
The public is welcome to come down and take a look on both days.
Race 1: Sandrine (C. Lynch, D. Bryson); Farr-mer (D. Evans, A. Romescu, D. McMahon); Papillion (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay); DNS. Billy 2 (N. Watson).
Race 2: Papillion (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay ); Farr- mer (D. Evans, A. Romescu, D. McMahon); Sandrine (C. Lynch, D. Bryson); Billy 2 (N. Watson).
Race 3: 1. Papillion (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay); Sandrine (C. Lynch, D. Bryson); Farr-mer (D. Evans, A. Romescu, D. McMahon); Billy 2 (N. Watson).
Race 4: Billy 2 (N. Watson); Papillion (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay); Sandrine (C. Lynch, D. Bryson); Farr-mer (D. Evans, A. Romescu, D. McMahon).
