LAST Saturday saw seven Spirals and one Finn face the starter for Bomaderry Bowling Club Point Score 15 and Manildra Championship.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A light to moderate breeze of three to eight knots combined with a sunny day, flat water and a near full tide made for an excellent afternoon on the scenic river.
Two visitors came from Callala Bay and Illawarra Yacht Club and Nowra was delighted to welcome them to its club for the afternoon.
Michael Fairbairn’s Finn won a tightly contested start with Wayne Norris leading the Spirals from Steve Phelps, Cameron Phelps, Bill Jauncey, Mark Mckinnon, Joe Mason and Frank Sirc.
During the first lap Michael took some time to hit his straps and draw away from the tight battles developing in the Spiral fleet.
Michael was first to complete the lap followed by Bill, who was being hard pressed by Steve, Wayne and Cameron.
After that cluster came Joe, Mark and Frank, who were having their own battle. By the end of the second lap Michael had extended the Finn’s lead and Bill and Wayne and Steve continued their battle with Cameron keeping them honest.
A small gap had opened to the last three with Joe sailing his first season leading visitors Mark and Frank, who were fast learning the skills of river sailing.
The order stayed that way for the rest of the race, except Wayne managed to pass Bill on the second last lap and rounded the last mark just ahead of him for the run home.
But Bill, determined not to lose the race at the end as he did last week, successfully fought back and was second over the line behind Michael, and about two lengths ahead of Wayne.
This gave Bill a narrow Manildra Championship win by 11 seconds from Wayne, with Michael another 13 seconds back and ruing his running aground for about 20 seconds in the race while trying to squeeze the last few ounces out of a favourable lift.
In the Bomaderry Bowing Club Point Score Bill again won, giving him the Kel Campbell Trophy of the Day, from Michael, Wayne, Steve, Cameron, Joe, Mark and Frank.
Despite Bill’s win, this still gives Wayne an unassailable lead in the championship with only two races to go and a lead of 217 over Bill.
But Bill (880 points), Wayne (831) and Michael (770) are all in contention for the point score, and Cameron and Steve can be added to that list for the new Best Eight competition.
Again the club thanked its wonderful starters.
This Saturday the club sails again on the river and full details are on the website at www.nowrasailingclub.wordpress.com
Visitors are welcome.