Apollo Bay Sailing Club

Tell Tales

Sat. 14 December 2019

With a West South Westerly wind predicted at about 15 to 16 knots (+/ 30km/h) it certainly looked like it was going to be a less hard work compared to our previous sailing weekends. Well deserved conditions for our sailors that have had to ensure the heavy winds of late!

A port course was set for today consisting of a series of triangles and a windward return. Ten minutes to two  and the on station flag goes up. This means all boats are on high alert and pre race strategies are in play. All the boats are trying to keep their starting strategy hidden from the other boats while at the same time lining up for exactly that start they want.

We started with the smaller boats today. SS Margaret seemed to be on their way for line honors. Yet, April Dancer who squeezed in very tightly next to the duty boat took the honors instead. Euffamism came across last, but made up for it during the race. The second start of the larger keelboats followed 5 minutes after and Boheme took line honors. But, 10+1 was right behind them and would promise to have a fight in them. Wild Rose and Interlude crossed the start after.

Before they keelboats got to the Topmark, 10+1 had overtaken Boheme and was now leading the race. And amongst the smaller boats, April Dancer was leading, but followed very closely by the other two boats.

By the time they finished their first triangle, most boats chose to head inland for the windward return and sail towards Wild Dog Valley, whereas, 10+1 and Wild Rose took a different route and sailed out to sea towards Marengo. All to reach the mark that was set close to shore in the direction of the SLSC. In the end all boats ended up at the Topmark around the same time and 10+1 was still in the lead.

The second triangle came around and Boheme was catching up, they were able to point slightly higher than 10+1 and found their way in front. With 10+1 attempting to point at a similar height they got pulled into the wind twice, costing them dearly and loosing distance over Boheme. Nevertheless, they were able to stay ahead again before they reached the mark.

During the upwind, Euffamism got themselves into gear, smacked the crew with the spinnaker pole to get them in line and caught up before they reached the top mark and April Dancer was now sailing at second place. This was topped by April Dancer, cutting corners and hitting the Topmark with their boat. A 360 followed suit after the Crew on Boheme was quick to point out their fault.

One more triangle to go and Boheme is right on 10+1’s stern. The same goes for the little boats, Euffamism is leading, but April Dancer is right on their tail. One little mistake and the following boats will overtake.

Boheme fought hard on this last leg, and got to the finish line first. But only 17 seconds in front of 10+1, which is a very small margin. They have not been far apart for the entire race.

Our club Yngling was also intended to join the race, which would have given Interlude a bit of competition. But, unfortunately they filled the boat with a considerable amount of water making the boat heavy and uncompetitive. Instead they enjoyed a cruising sail along the foreshore while the rest was out.

Life is good. Come Sailing!

To find out more see our website www.apollobaysailingclub.org.au or our Facebook group - Apollo Bay Sailing Club