Sailing News
From Des' Desk
New Division in a Close Finish
Two skippers at PRSC have been in a quandary since the end of last season. They are either too good and too fast for Division 2 or not as quick as Division 1, so they have been placed in a new Sport Yachts Division.
Geoff Oliver in Excitabull was matched against Gary Eaton in Faster in Saturday's King George Sound competition. They both gave great displays of fast and furious sailing in the light conditions with Oliver content in leading for most of the race. However Eaton, with a slightly better handicap, managed to pip Excitabull by five seconds on corrected time. These two will no doubt be seen match racing for quite a while and it will be interesting each weekend.
In Div2 four yachts faced the starter, including two skippers having their first competitive race in their newly purchased boats for the Terry Bridge Trophy. Karen Timmins was at the helm of Grey Moose and as a novice skipper showed some promise especially as she completed the course to gain third place.
The other skipper in his first outing was Peter Bain in Dunluce. Unfortunately something came 'luce' and the mast came down. The crew managed to salvage the mast and they motored safely home. That left Josh Hughes in Joker and Stephen Brown in Mary Maitland to see who would get bragging rights.
Hughes, sporting a new set of sails, probably had the advantage over Brown as he finished well ahead to win the cup. Brown gained some valuable points with his second placing.
Two Div1 yachts also competed in a KGS race and Murray Deere was away to a great start with Wild One leaving Harold Keay in Shagabull well behind. Keay finally got some speed under spinnaker but couldn't bridge the enormous gap. Deere went on to win the race and the Jack Baxter Trophy in a faultless display.
Picture above: A splash of colour in the sound. Geoff Oliver in Excitabull narrowly leads Gary Eaton's Faster.
Dunluce still in contention
Eligibility to Race
Just a reminder that at PRSC, every sailor shall register their crew and meet the Eligibility to Race criteria.
Potential crew can register and race at no cost the first three times. Thereafter, they choose:
- The new Crew Membership fee of $375
- An Australian Sailing SailPass at $15 per race.
Handy Links
Nominating a yacht to race at Princess Royal Sailing Club:
- PRSC Yacht Nomination Form; including
- Australian Sailing Equipment Audit form; and
- A copy of your own boat's insurance certificate
To stay informed of racing requirements, special events, set courses and much more:
Weather tools:
- Southern Ports' new weather tool, here. The weather is derived from the beacon in the channel.