Our Scratch Racing day was held in “testing“ conditions.

Can’t blame the met man as he was very close to the mark. The actual wind from the DAC weather station recorded 22 to 34 with a top gust of 55 Km/Hr at 3:00pm, (12 to 18, gusts to 28 Knots), all from the North West. The temperature was in the low 20’s and despite the windspeed, the direction didn’t raise much of a chop until the last few races.

“D” sails were it, all round.

We welcomed some visitors to the Fleet.

Adrian and Meredith Heard from Mawson Lakes Model Yacht Club, South Australia and Peter Burton from Forster-Tuncurry Radio Yacht Club sailed with us today. Peter is the current NSW Champion.

Thirteen DAC sailors were joined by Adrian and Peter for the day’s event.

And now to the racing. The score sheet tells most of the story.

Strong wind gusts made the start a testing time. All starts were clean but as the chop developed, it was difficult to actually cross the line. If one was in a good position and the wind eased a little at the gun you were away. Many had this opportunity and had a good finish as a result. Sailing the course was arduous. Tacking was quite a task with several choosing to gybe just to get around. It was a long haul from the downwind gate and back up to the finish line.

Our guests settled in and were very competitive although they commented that their “D” sails were rarely used. It was a first also for some of our newer Members with Richard Thorpe winning race 1 and a seasoned Karen Paterson winning race 3.

The day belonged to Graham Brown and Noel McPherson who won the bulk of the races. Two wins and all places for Graham gave him a winning score of 12 points. Three firsts and 2 places gave Noel second place and 13.5 points. Rob Lowndes grabbed 2 places and all Rob’s finishes were  in the front group. Rob placed third with 25.5 points.

Although places only went down to eighth, with Adrian Heard, Peter Burton, Richard Thorpe and Barry McCarthy claiming the last available ones, there were many sailors who scored well with good finishes in the front group. In the wash up, most scores were not that far apart.

Race winners were Graham Brown 2, Noel McPherson 3, Richard Thorpe 1 and Karen Paterson 1.

Graham Brown took the honours for the day to win 1st place on 12 points.

Noel McPherson finished in 2nd place on 13.5 points.

Rob Lowndes finished in 3rd place also with 25.5 points.

The Club Championship now has Graham Brown in front from Noel McPherson and Phil Stevenson.

There are many thanks for good deeds for the day.

David Moont offered his boat #299 for Adrian to sail, which Adrian gratefully accepted.

Stephen Deane kept his boat in its holster but made many journeys to rescue wayward and tangled boats. It was not nice in the tender today, thank you Stephen.

Jill Brown was our scorer for the day’s racing, thank you Jill.

At the end of racing, Martin Thearle was quick off the mark to retrieve our buoys and flags, thank you Martin.

And again, there were many hands to put it all away at the finish, thank you all.

Our next Sail day is Thursday 17^th August for a Scratch Event.

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