THE forecast for wind improved as the week went on and by Saturday, it was a pleasant 11 knots from the north-east for race three of the Sussex Inlet Basin Yacht Club season.
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However, it was the rest of the forecast that put a lot of people off, such as the heavy rain and the possibility of severe thunderstorms.
But the first inside course of the season was on, with six skippers and crews deciding to go out despite the forecast.
As they motored out to the basin, the view to the west was menacing, with very dark black clouds gathering and the odd rumble of thunder in the distance but still, the fleet got ready to start the race at 1pm as planned.
That all changed in a flash when the storm arrived from the west with 33-knot wind gusts, torrential rain, thunder and lightning - never a good thing when you're on a boat with a tall metal thing sticking up into the air.
Luckily, a majority of the fleet was able to get their sails down before the storm hit so no harm was done, except for getting absolutely soaked.
The storm passed quickly, the wind went back to a gentle north-easterly and the rain stopped, so the race finally got underway, although without Optimist (Sandra, Katrina and Darren) who decided enough was enough and did not start the race.
HooRoo got away first with the fleet hot on their heels for the first work and it was all very close around the first mark.
In division one, Gone Too Farr (Greg and Ronda) and Sussex Inlet RSL (Silva, Macca and crew) started to pull out a lead and the lead changed a number of times for the duration of the race.
Backchat (Steve, Jan, Mark and guest crew Kenny) and HooRoo (Andy and Lou) had a similar tussle for third and fourth place, with multiple changes in position until Backchat were finally able to pull away towards the end of the race.
Eventually Gone Too Farr just pipped Sussex Inlet RSL to be first over the line with Backchat third and HooRoo fourth.
The handicap results were not available at the time of writing.
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In division two, Salty Tiger (Greg and crew) was the sole entrant with Optimist deciding not to start, so despite some confusion about the course, they had a lovely uneventful sail and were the first over the line and handicap winners of the division.
A huge thanks to committee boat Kingston Lady (Shawn, Greg and Lynne) who weathered the storm and provided moral support and photographic evidence of the conditions.
The club has a weekend off next weekend, so their next race will be a basin chase handicap start, on Saturday, November 7.
For any information about the club, please visit their website www.sibyc.com.au.
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