Sailing Club

Tell Tales

Every sailing season is different from the last. Which is only what you would expect from a sport that uses the sea as its court, wind as its racquet and a boat as the ball (strange analogy I know, but hey, analogies don’t grow on trees you know!). And with two of those components changing minute by minute it often makes for a very fluid and dynamic game.

Hard to know if it is weather or sea that makes the greatest difference on a sailboat and every sailor has their own opinion on the special mix of conditions that they prefer. Just as every boat design has a “sweet spot” when it comes to wind and sea, so do most sailors.   

Saturday was not a series race day, but it was decided the 15s would go out and run a number of short, windward leeward races so people could practice a few things. And with light winds and little swell it was the perfect day to practice a few starts, mark fetching, spinnaker handling etc.

After a quick chat at the clubroom, Jesse set off in the rubber duck to drop the marks, then anchored the duck as the starboard end of the startline and jumped on board Windswept as Gary sailed by to join the fun. Then Geeks and Brigitta on Ziff used a whistle to start the three minute sequences. With 5 boats on the start there was a real mix of results. And plenty of chat between boats, as the racing was happening at very close quarters, on a short course and in very quick succession.

In such a benign sea state each and every boat had enough wind to sail competitively, even though it cannot have got above about 6 knts. Affrodite was skippered by Chris, with crew Karen, who was having a wonderful time. Katie took on the helming role on Euffamism for the day. They did miss the first race completely due to a little pre-race prawn trawling with the spinnaker, but improved with each race and came a very respectable 2^nd in the last one, kite flying! State of the Arc came off the startline well a number of times and pushed Ziff hard more than once.

So, after a fun day out it was back to the harbour to washup and unpack the day. And what better way than with a cold drink and a tasty bbq cooked to perfection by super chef Octavia, as she was wielded the barbie-mate with delicious precision.

Well done to Katie and Karen for your helming and crew work. Thanks to Geeks and Brigitta for the race plan and starts, Jesse for setting the course and organising food. And thanks to Octavia for stepping up and cooking for everyone.

Lastly, congratulations to Bruce and Geraldine for taking April Dancer up to Gippsland lakes to compete in the Flying Fifteen state titles.

Life is good. Come Sailing!

To find out more please see our Facebook group - Apollo Bay Sailing Club.