Wind was patchy from the South-west but at start time was beginning to swing to the south-east. A delayed start got the racing under way in a light easterly, with shifts aplenty. The fickle winds saw 505s, Tasars, 29ers and the Arrow all fighting for the lead but the winner was the Flying 11, On The Run, sailed by Breianna Whitehead who made the best of the windshifts. At the end of the day, the event was won by Darryl Skinner on his Arrow, from Myra Robertson on her Laser Radial with Bill and Jenny Mairs overtaking Greg Heath and Mike Spillman to be the top Tasar and third overall in the senior fleet.

The junior sailors continued their close racing and managed to have another five races today to round off the regatta. After ten races, the winner was Chris Barsi on Another Menace from Townsville who was the most consistent winner, and broke away in a couple of races for big wins. John Hatfield on Another Menace was the second placed Sabot with a win and a couple of second placings to get ahead of Aidan Gummow on his Optimist. Aidan managed one win on day two, but it was not enough to beat the top two Sabots.

Well done to all our sailors for their conduct on the water, thanks to the volunteers who helped all weekend, and the staff at the club for all the food, drinks and support.

A special thanks to Marlin Marine and Embroidery Plus, our sponsors who help to cover the costsof putting on the regatta, and are great supporters of Junior sailing.

Sun shining, 10 to 15 knots of breeze from the south-east and calm water. The Sabots and Optimists sailed three short races on the inshore course whilst the seniors sailed their three races outside.

On the senior course, Kaos, a 29er sailed by Eva and Klaus Lorenz, led the fleet and crossed the line 5 seconds ahead of Airpower 2, an Arrow cat sailed by Darryl Skinner from Yeppoon, and further back, Myra Robertson sailed her Laser, Thufferin’ Thuccotash very well to take third on yardstick.

The Juniors started well with five boats finishing the first race within ten seconds! The winner on yardstick was Aidan Gummow in his Optimist, Plan B, with Chris Barsi in Another Menace just behind.

By the end of day one, Fire 6, John Hatfield was in the lead on the Junior course, having won two races, Aidan was in second and Chris in a close third place overall.

The honours on the Senior course were split between Myra, Eva, Darryl and Greg Heath, sailing with Mike Spillman in their Tasar, Icon. After five races, Darryl had won three to lead the event, followed by Myra and Greg, with Bill and Jenny Mairs close behind with consistent placings in all races.

28 Boats fronted up for the races, with a good group of Tasars, Corsairs, Lasers of all sizes, a Sailboard, flying 11, 29ers and an Arrow cat. The Arrow streaked away after the start and was chased by the 29ers. Eva Lorenz, with her brother Klaus crewing, had a couple of good races in only her second time on a 29er! Myra Robertson from Mackay sailed her Laser Radial very well to beat most of the fleet. Breianna and Scot Whitehead sailed thier Flying 11 really well after getting the boat only last week.

The wind was gusting up to 20 knots at times, so was a very good test for all. Looking forward to a great weekend.

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We have confirmed entries for Optis, Sabots, 29ers, Laser 4.7 , Radials and Full Rig, Tasars and one Arrow cat.

Get cracking, have the car ready and the family packed!

Looking forward to a great Easter.

So far we have entries from Townsville and Keppel Bay, and looking forward to more.

Fri 29th Mar ‘13

Bread & Butter

Fresh Greek inspired salad

w kalamata olives & feta

Beef, Bacon, Mushroom & Guinness Shepherd’s Pie

served au gratin style w grilled cheese

Grilled Vegetable Lasagne

w spinach & cottage cheese

We know we will have a good number of Tasars, Lasers, Corsairs, Optis and Sabots.

Last year we had a couple of high performance cats and we’d love to have more this year.

The 2013 Notice of Race is available for download and you can jump over to our online entry form right now to register!

Thankyou to all of our competitors who made the journey to Airlie Beach in order to take part in the regatta, and a huge thankyour to our volunteers who made the weekend happen.

We’ve got the makings of a Tasar division, Laser division, a Junior division including Sabots, Optis and a Flying 11 as well as a number of other senior dinghies and skiffs including an MG14, 29er and an RS Feva.

Of course, as with all racing - the more the merrier. We’d love to see the Laser division fill out enough to split into full, radial and 4.7 divisions, more Tasars and another three 29ers would allow us to create a class division!

So spread the word. Tell sailors in your area about the regatta, the free camping and the great company and point them towards this website!

See you on the water!