Today was a good sailing day at the dam. We had 18 boats sailing, including 6 woodies - who had a special photo shoot by Rob Gavin and Ray Joyce for publicity shots to promote our woody fleet that will be displayed at the upcoming wooden boat festival. 
Don Ash bought along his very quick Alternative, Wayne B was sailing Peter Germeins Scar, Chris & Andrew their 2 Corby’s, Dennis Lees V8 & Stu Harris’s Corby derivative ( can’t remember the name). Whilst the photo shoot was on, the other yachts were sent off on a longer scratch course. Don’t know the results, but certainly Tony Brewer’s V9 was going very well - someone should buy that boat. It is quick.
At 11.00, the handicap started in a solid sea breeze from 5-6, to 4-3 to 7-8 & finishing at 4-3. Handicaps ranged from -40 secs to + 40 secs. As usual the wind shifts towards the finish line were quite tricky with many places gained or lost in last 100 metres of the race.
Kim Potter came out a clear winner, with Don Ash comfortably in second. Third place went to Rod Jackman and the other places within the top 10 were all very close to each other.

​The first event for the new year has been run, and what can you say – except that every dog has its day…..
 
A  confused Brook greeted us this morning, from very light A rig conditions, through to solid C rig conditions – all within one race. And if you think it was done there, the wind also swept around most points of the compass as well, making decisions prior to hitting the water hard, and only exceeded by the decisions required on the water. Chase the wind one minute, then try to avoid it the next. A few sailors experimented with B Rigs, which were quite competitive with the larger “A” setups, but I think the A was the better overall decision on the day – so long as you kept away from the little squalls that zipped across the dam.
 
Richard Barwick again showed great consistency, coming in third. He took the gutsy decision to drop down to B rig after lunch, which although competitive still, could have done more with the A rig. A few troubles with setup on the “B”, but watch out next month, he will have it tuned nicely.
 
Great to see Geoff Matthews doing well, coming in second - with a bullet in the first race and maintaining consistency throughout, with his handicap well and truly heading towards zero.
 
Yours truly got the bragging rights this month – and has drawn the fury of the handicapper – so next time will not be so easy. After a winch failure initially (from lack of sailing the 95), and then sailing the B rig, things were stepped up a notch when the A rig came out, and was the one to beat on the day. Judging tacks off waves and avoiding the bullets running down the dam proved decisive.
 
Other sailors on the day could have had much improved results, but gear failure and other rig issues blighted them this month. They’ll be much more competitive next month for sure.

Big thanks to Andrew, who sacrificed his sailing today to do the PRO duties for the entire day. We hope to share the duties from now on, with each competitor having a go at being the PRO for a race at a time.