SUNBURST SOUTH ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIP 09/10
The South Islands were sailed in Christchurch over Show Weekend, Nov 13th to 15th, with Friday (Show Day) being a practice day and the first two races of the Canterbury Champs.
During Friday morning there was doubt whether there would be any racing due to strong winds, but at the scheduled race start time the strong South-westerly lightened as predicted. The wind was still brisk for both races which was a challenge for those crews who hadn’t sailed together before or in the particular boat for a while. In Meindad the crew forgot (it’s always the crew) to put the centreboard down when they gibed, which ended in a swim and a last place. On Hurrie the crew forgot which sheet retracted the spinnaker pole, which resulted in them flying past the bottom mark with the spinnaker still up and calls from the committee boat of “THE MARKS BACK THERE !”. Just as well it was practice day.
The first day of the South Islands was slightly less eventful as everyone seemed to have their boats and themselves sorted out except for the skipper of Rek-Rap, who in the second race, managed to let go the tiller on the start line, and finish unusually back in the fleet. Hard to blame the crew for that one.
Race one was sailed in a moderate North-easterly with close racing between all boats with positions changing frequently.
The wind died away early in race two and we all drifted to the finish line of the shortened course, with spinnakers hanging to try and catch any little puff of wind.
For race three, the forecast strong North-westerly settled in, and we had some exciting racing, specially for those who were brave enough to fly their spinnakers. Hurrie had a DNF in this race with as broken side stay, while in third place and Soothsayer a DNF with a broken jib halyard.
A great meal was put on by PPYC on the Saturday night which was greatly enjoyed by the sailors, who all had hearty appetites after the hard days sailing.
Sundays races were both sailed in moderate (for sunbursts) North-easterlies, with again some close racing, apart for Rek-Rap who flew their spinnaker at almost every opportunity and cleared out to a healthy lead.
The second race finished at the club house, with a long reach, following a windward leeward. This lead to a very close and exciting finish under spinnaker, as the fleet bunched up when the front boats sailed into the lee of trees part way down the leg. A strong gust as the middle boats were approaching the line, lead to some anxious seconds and very fast movement for some.
Overall it was a great championship, with 5 out of 5 closely contested races sailed, and everyone having a good time. The short courses of the estuary kept the racing close and more exciting and enjoyable for everyone.
Murray Walls – Hurrie #712 |
