Another great weekend on the water

October 27, 2015 Leave a comment

I’ve just spent a classic Sydney weekend out on Sydney Harbour, two days with clear skies and a classic NorEaster to boot. Two days and four races run each day for the Australian Farr40 fleet in Sydney. Whilst it was a small fleet, they were as competitive as ever, one mistake/ bad tack or gybe and you lost fleet position.

Former Farr40 World Champion Team Transfusion were the most consistent across the eight races with Kindergarten and Exile taking up the minor placings. With five different heat winners across the eight races, nothing was certain till the finish and there were some close finishes too. The gate roundings were also keenly contested and I witnessed a few luffing matches downhill. I hope that the photos give some idea of how close the racing was. The start sequence with Transfusion and Kindergarten hitting the line at speed and then taking alternate gates at the bottom. The last photo was taken showing downwind from the startboat at anchor and just what great conditions we had.

I’m off to Perth next  weekend to do the rounds showing off some more of the new DeckHardware range. Then it’s another weekend of closely watching the Farr40s again on the harbour. Hopefully it’s another great weekend weather wise too!

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Weekend on Lake Macquarie

October 20, 2015 Leave a comment

I have just spent an enjoyable couple of days at Toronto with the NSW Sabot State titles. With just on 50 competitors, some just starting out, it was great to see these young sailors out on the water. The breeze co-operated too with pleasant southerlies on both days of around 10-12 knots, perfect conditions for the younger ones.

The village of Toronto was also holding its annual fair so there was plenty of buzz around, with rides and food stalls as well to keep everyone entertained on the Saturday. The sailing started out with a ‘Dash for Cash’ event up the foreshore showcasing the class and the enthusiasm of the junior sailors. Plenty jumped the gun, as I couldn’t see the other end of the line at the start! All in fun though and having some fun is what it’s about out on the water.

With two races each day, a triangle followed by a windward return, Jed Fatches from nearby Wangi lead the leader board with 2,2,1,and 1. We’ve been following Jeds sailing for a couple of years now and we look forward to seeing more of this young sailor. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more to catch our eye as well in the following rounds.

The support from the association and the members of Toronto Amateur Sailing Club was fantastic and I commend them on the success of the event.

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