A perfect Autumn day was fitting for the final race of the Special Trophies Series. The wind was cool but the sun was warm. And the humidity was less than 99%! The three usual combatants lined up (Still Festering, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Axis of Evil) , but the barrel chested men were reduced to only two, with an incident involving a ladder and some stitches keeping the Rear Commodore on his rear and not on the boat.
The breeze was out of the south for the long haul up to Shark Island, but the tacking duel just after the start would have you believe it was a short, round the cans kind of race. A few calls of starboard kept everyone on their toes. AOE tried to sneak past the old stone wharf before getting around to Searles Monument, then boom boom, the terrible sound of boat touching Australia, and not in a good way. The following call of starboard onto AOE was just cruel - Speedo should have called water! The old pier under there has claimed Scandal and Van Demon, and now Axis of Evil. There is a trophy for that.
In one of the more frustrating breezes of the season, we worked our way up the river, needing to tack away from the northern shore on a few occasions. At Goat Island the placings were SF, LOEG and AOE. SF skirted the northern shore under the harbour bridge then it looked like we would have to tack to miss the rocks at Kirribilli Point. Just then, we lifted onto the best lifting tack ever and were able to climb all the way above Fort Denison. Speedo said afterwards it was amazing to see (given that SF was the wind indicator for Div 1 this day).
Anyway, a rough ride across the harbour ensured, plus a skilled crossing of an etchells fleet under spinnaker (ok, we had right of way, but you still need to give them some quarter). Upon rounding the YA mark at Shark Is, it was decided that it was a tad fresh for our rookie crew to set a kite, so we surfed back to Kirribilli Point, passing in exactly almost the same water as earlier on. However, experience was not a problem on LOEG, and they had their big red kite set after running deep into Rose Bay.
Then the wind went silly at Goat Island, with 90 deg shifts. That's when the helm on SF changed hands, to allow the skipper to set the kite up for the run along Drummoyne. Around Snapper and up went Bluey. The fact that the new helm had little experience with the kite on and a narrow channel filled with 16's and TS's had little bearing on the event. Box ticked, experience gained. We arrived at the police buoy near Gladesville Bridge very quickly, only to find the wind very much forward and a kite was no longer an option. After some confusion about which red rope to strip (the OTHER red rope), the kite was dumped down below for the rest of the shy run home home. The scratch and handicap results were the same, with SF 1st, LOEG 2nd and AOE 3rd. The Club Championship now comes down to the final race of the Autumn Series. Willo, can you update the results so that all prognostications can be considered?
Don't forget the closing day dinner on 2nd April : The Italian Job. We will be indulging in some lovely fresh salads, some lasagne and cannelloni to make any italian mama happy, and well, dessert will be a sweet surprise. It would be nice to enjoy the last race day together by attending and swapping a yarn or two about the season past. Lets make a special effort for this one as your directors will be the servants for the evening. Please RSVP by Wednesday next week. See you on the water for the last race of the season on 2nd April.
In one of the more frustrating breezes of the season, we worked our way up the river, needing to tack away from the northern shore on a few occasions. At Goat Island the placings were SF, LOEG and AOE. SF skirted the northern shore under the harbour bridge then it looked like we would have to tack to miss the rocks at Kirribilli Point. Just then, we lifted onto the best lifting tack ever and were able to climb all the way above Fort Denison. Speedo said afterwards it was amazing to see (given that SF was the wind indicator for Div 1 this day).
Anyway, a rough ride across the harbour ensured, plus a skilled crossing of an etchells fleet under spinnaker (ok, we had right of way, but you still need to give them some quarter). Upon rounding the YA mark at Shark Is, it was decided that it was a tad fresh for our rookie crew to set a kite, so we surfed back to Kirribilli Point, passing in exactly almost the same water as earlier on. However, experience was not a problem on LOEG, and they had their big red kite set after running deep into Rose Bay.
Then the wind went silly at Goat Island, with 90 deg shifts. That's when the helm on SF changed hands, to allow the skipper to set the kite up for the run along Drummoyne. Around Snapper and up went Bluey. The fact that the new helm had little experience with the kite on and a narrow channel filled with 16's and TS's had little bearing on the event. Box ticked, experience gained. We arrived at the police buoy near Gladesville Bridge very quickly, only to find the wind very much forward and a kite was no longer an option. After some confusion about which red rope to strip (the OTHER red rope), the kite was dumped down below for the rest of the shy run home home. The scratch and handicap results were the same, with SF 1st, LOEG 2nd and AOE 3rd. The Club Championship now comes down to the final race of the Autumn Series. Willo, can you update the results so that all prognostications can be considered?
Don't forget the closing day dinner on 2nd April : The Italian Job. We will be indulging in some lovely fresh salads, some lasagne and cannelloni to make any italian mama happy, and well, dessert will be a sweet surprise. It would be nice to enjoy the last race day together by attending and swapping a yarn or two about the season past. Lets make a special effort for this one as your directors will be the servants for the evening. Please RSVP by Wednesday next week. See you on the water for the last race of the season on 2nd April.
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