Race Results – 31 October 2020
A passing thunderstorm forced late rig changes before Club Championship Heat 1, with six skiffs starting in Athol Bight in a puffy SSW breeze and The Mistake away well at the boat end.
SFS Race Report Sat 31st October 2020 by Bob Chapman, 2 Nov 2020. Race 4 of the 2020-21 Season, Heat One of the Club Championship and Heat Four of the Spring Point Score. The weather forecast was for unsettled conditions with rain showers while the wind forecast was somewhat benign, not a lot of wind expected during the afternoon. Six skiffs were on hand for the day’s racing, with a variation in rig selection, some opting for no.1 big sail while others looking at no.2 intermediate. However, a passing thunderstorm around 1.00 pm accompanied by fresh gusty conditions was cause for some to re-think their rig options. Some crews decided to reduce sail but with very limited time available to do so, hence a delay for some skiffs in launching and sailing to the start line. The race got underway from a delayed scratch start in Athol Bight on the no.4 Sth course into a puffy 12 -15 kt SSW breeze, at the end of the run-out tide. Other sailing/boating activity on the harbour was somewhat reduced following the thunderstorm giving the skiffs a clear course on the first beat up to Clark Island. The Mistake carried full size no.2 rig, Britannia had a reef in the no.2 mainsail, Aberdare had a reef in a borrowed big mainsail off Top Weight, and Australia IV had a no.1 mainsail with no.2 jib. The Mistake made a good start at the boat end with Britannia, Aberdare and Australia IV close at hand while Tangalooma was delayed in clearing Careening Cove and missed their start. Scot launched and headed out from Careening Cove but rig issues forced them to retire back to the club.
Britannia, Aberdare (with Top Weight’s mainsail) and Australia IV approach the start. The skiffs appeared evenly matched but soon after starting The Mistake had a problem when a jib halyard fitting carried away and lost time in effecting a repair. Meanwhile Britannia, Aberdare and Australia IV tacked onto port and headed to the right hand side of the beat. The Mistake eventually sorted out their issues to get back into race mode and carried a good lift from the left side back to Clark Island to converge with the lead group. The Mistake was first to round Clark Island for the square run to Chowder followed closely by Australia IV, Britannia, Aberdare and then a gap to Tangalooma. The first run started with plenty of breeze out of Double Bay, with some light patches along the way and the wind direction moving around between South and SSW. The Mistake made good time down this run. Unfortunately, Australia IV had some issues with a skying/unbalanced spinnaker that started a chain of events ending with the boom hitting the water and a terminal fill-up. The Mistake was first to round at Chowder for the beat to Shark Island followed by Britannia, Aberdare and Tangalooma. The breeze had moved into the SSW at this stage providing a long starboard leg into Rose Bay and just a few tacks at the end of the leg to lay the mark. The Mistake was first to round at Shark Island for the long main & jib reach back to Kurraba Point, followed by Aberdare, Britannia and Tangalooma. The skiffs enjoyed a fast reach to Kurraba and then a long starboard tack beat up to Clark Island as the breeze continued to fill-in from the SSW. There were no further changes in positions as the skiffs continued to power along to round Clark Island for the final run to the finish at Kurraba with The Mistake first to finish, followed by Aberdare, Britannia and Tangalooma. Aberdare was the clear winner on handicap from The Mistake and Britannia.
With thanks to our on-water support team of Bentley, Bob, Peter, Barley, Su, Russell, Chuck and Bill; along with COVID Marshalls David and Nicki. We look forward to seeing you down at the Squaddie next week.
Seabreeze.com.au wind data as recorded for Sat 31 October 2020. Results for Sat 31st October 2020. Race 4
Skiff The Mistake Aberdare Britannia Tangalooma Australia IV Scot Yendys Myra Too Top Weight Alruth Australia
Skiff Aberdare Alruth Australia Australia IV Britannia Myra Too Scot Tangalooma The Mistake Top Weight Yendys
31-Oct-20
Skipper J. Winning J. Tickner I. Smith N. Turbit T. Stewart M. Flanagan
Spring Point Score 15 0 0 18 8 0 9 9 16 0 0
Race Hcap 0:01 0:14 0:15 0:15 0:03 0:15 0:00 0:07 0:14 0:15 0:06
Scr Start Sth Course S/SW
12 - 20 kts
Start Time 14:43:00 14:43:00 14:43:00 14:43:00 14:43:00 DNS DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC
H'cap New Ring AHSSA Rating Rating Time Hcap tail Rating C'Time Place 1:25:42 0 0:02:00 1:24:42 1 1:18:51 12 0:00:00 1:32:51 2 1:32:12 15 0:07:00 1:40:12 3 1:51:42 15 0:05:00 2:01:42 4 3 15 0 7 14 15 6
Finish Time 16:09:42 16:15:51 16:30:12 16:49:42 DNF
Race Time 1:26:42 1:32:51 1:47:12 2:06:42
Ringtail Point Score 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
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