A strong fleet of 21 yachts participated in last Wednesday’s Whitsunday Sailing Club twilight race, conducted in an 18 knot south easterly breeze. Although the breeze was shifting in direction, the course selected by the race committee suited the majority of boats.
First away were Division 2, and while the fleet was jostling for position, a gap appeared that allowed Wide Load (Shannan Hart) to charge through to take the Doyle Sails sponsored best start prize. Once clear of the starting line, Bobby’s Girl (Mark Beale) held a slender lead over Black Jack (Michel Van Der Zwaard) and QMS Ponyo (John Galloway), with Smooth Criminal (Leo Rodriguez) also in the picture. By lap 2, Black Jack had hit the lead, while Smooth Criminal moved into 3rd place. Behind them, Reignition (Charles Wallis) and Houdini (Robert Meizer) swapped places several times before Reignition finally took control. After 3 laps, the positions had settled, with Black Jack winning comfortably by 2 minutes over Bobby’s Girl. On corrected time, Wide Load took the honours by 3 seconds over QMS Ponyo, with Black Jack a further 15 seconds back.
Division 3 saw Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) lead the fleet away before being overtaken by Good Vibes (Robert Holm). As the leader sprinted away, a three-way battle ensued between Masquerade, Rossgo (Greg Hammon) and Symbiosis (Anne Ross), with little to separate these three throughout the two lap race. Behind them, there was a steady gap back to Shiraz (John Cable), Riff Raff (Dan White) and Lighthorse (Di Forster). On corrected time, Symbiosis took the honours over Masquerade and Good Vibes.
Division 1 saw three trimarans competing, with G’nome (David Chittleborough) leading throughout. Frankie (Joanne Norbury) was second throughout the race, while It’s All Good (Ric Burnup) completed the trio. The results were unchanged after handicaps were applied.
The Whitsunday Sailing Club twilight series continues every Wednesday with racing commencing at 4:30pm. Limited crewing positions may be available. Those wishing to participate as crew need to be at the club by 2:30pm (limited spots available). Full results are available at https://app.sailsys.com.au/club/85/profile?tab=results.
Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm.
