Fifteen DAC Sailors had beautiful conditions yesterday as a practice for the NSW Titles this coming weekend.

The temperature reached 21^oC with light winds, initially from the North West. There was a late change to the North East for the last race. There were some drifting patches throughout the day, “A” sails were the only ones selected.

The starts were a quiet and orderly affair. One or two boats jumped the gun but were quickly back in the action as we all headed for the first mark. This was the pattern for all the races with this mark copping quite a bit of bruising throughout the day.

Congratulations go to Peter Close, our winner. Peter always contests the starboard start flag well and with only one or two contacts this time, managed to get well underway. He had a very successful day on the water. Peter had 1 first and all places, a very good result. I also had a very good day, my lowest finish being a sixth. Judy Evans won race 4. Together with 3 places and all finishes up front, Judy placed 3^rd. Many Sailors had good results with wins and places going well down the page.

An unfortunate day for Rob Lowndes with a significant servo failure before the first race. Bruce Paterson had a similar problem with cooked wiring and was unable to sail. Bruce and Karen shared Karen’s boat #322 for alternate races. They also kindly shared the Race Officer duties. Noel McPherson and Martin Thearle also had battery and electronics issues, best they were found before the weekend.

A feature of the day were the drifting patches. Many boats changed positions, eagerly waiting for the next zephyr. The last race provided our excitement for the day. During our second lap, the Nor’Easter kicked in with a thump. Gusts up to 25 Km/Hr (13 Knots) gave our “A” sails no chance. All were flattened and it took quite an effort to get to the finish. Bruce Hilliard survived for a first place. Well done to all starters as all finished.

Race winners were Peter Close 1, Brian Chapman 3, Judy Evans 1, Philip Hetherington 1, Bruce Hilliard 1 and Noel McPherson 1.

Peter Close took the honours for the day to win 1st place on 12 points.

Brian Chapman finished in 2nd place on 15 points.

Judy Evans finished in 3rd place also with 19 points.

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

Our next Sail day is Saturday for the NSW RC Laser Championship.

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