Nowra Community Sailing Club sailors hit the jackpot with a good north easterly breeze of ten to eighteen knots on January 1, after a string of poor conditions in recent weeks.
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Visitors came in from Jervis Bay Sailing Club as their rigging area was so congested with holiday traffic.
Eight boats faced the starter to sail heat four of the Kel Campbell Point Score and heat four of the Bomaderry Bowling Club Championship.
Steve Phelps just won the start from Merve Lotze, Peter Eslick, Mick Fairbairn, Dave Ginty, Bill Jauncey, Richard Pryor and Wayne Norris.
With a strong outgoing tide the works into the wind to reach the eastern mark were relatively quick while the runs back to the western mark were relatively slow, but not by much in the strong gusts of wind.
At the end of the first lap Mick Fairbairn's Finn class dinghy was only just ahead of Merve's Spiral with Steve sailing a Spiral with the optional 5.6 smaller sail, just behind him.
Peter who had rarely sailed on the river was moving along as he learned the conditions quickly while Dave's Aero was well suited to the conditions and was moving through the fleet. Bill, also on a Spiral 5.6 was falling off the pace and Richard was just behind him on his Laser 4.7.
Over the next few laps Dave managed to get to second place behind Mick, while Merve who was looking so good early, found a sand bank and ran aground, out of contention for the podium. Wayne and Peter, both on standard rig Spirals, were also big movers, passing Steve and holding third and fourth place. Peter had a swim abruptly and Steve regained his fourth place until Peter passed him again just before the finish.
As expected, Michael's Finn was first to finish with Dave's Aero about five minutes back in second. Wayne was just eighteen seconds behind Dave with Peter finishing seventeen seconds later and Steve twenty seven seconds behind Peter.
The four boats finishing within one minute at the end of a rather gruelling race. The Bomaderry Bowling Club Championship is decided on class yardstick results and Wayne took this one out from Peter, then Mick, Steve and Merve, all in fifty four seconds on corrected time.
The Kel Campbell Point Score is based on individual handicaps which are adjusted after each race, and Steve convincingly took this one by fifty seconds from Wayne, then Merve, Peter, Bill, Mick, and Dave. However the podium finishers lost handicap while the others gained a minute.
A big thanks to our visitors who all agreed it was a great way to spend an afternoon, and a bigger thanks as always to our wonderful wharf crew who started the race and recorded the results to the second with some close finishes, as they do every week.
This Saturday we plan to race for heat five of the Kel Campbell Point Score and heat five of the Bomaderry Bowling Club Championship with the start around 2.15pm.
Visitors are most welcome at the park to the south east side of the bridges.
Turn east at the helicopter on the pole. Further details at www.nowrasailingclub.wordpress.com
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