For Sydney-to-Hobart racers, Christmas Day meant flying to Sydney, taking seasickness tablets prophylactically, and absorbing the nerves and media buzz at CYCA.
Boxing Day at RBYC started with free early-morning egg and bacon rolls in the cafe. Sailors then headed off to join the large fleet competing in the Cock of the Bay race to Mornington. Others hung around the clubhouse, watching the boats sail past Brighton pier, and later in the Members’ Bar watched the start of S2H on our TV.
27th December was the start of the Petersville Regatta at Blairgowrie.
And then off Portsea pier, the Melbourne-to-Hobart race across Bass Strait and down the challenging west coast of Tasmania.
We congratulate the RBYC crews for the huge effort these races entail.
January is regatta month.
We have just finished the 12 ft Cadets Centenary Australian Championship (Yes, first race was in 1924!) with participants rejigging skills in old wooden boats and rekindling friendships made many decades ago.
At the same time RBYC ran the RS Quest Youth Series Competition including the 94th Stonehaven Cup Regatta. Participants honed skills sailing in fibreglass Quests and formed relationships with 70 or so young sailors from around the country.
I hung around the Club, hearing stories of unprintable adventures and watching inventive repairs being made to boats long since retired. I watched kids energetically playing ‘cricket’ on the beach using oars as a bat and a deflated soccer ball whilst waiting for the weather conditions to allow racing to begin.
I sat behind one of our coaches as she scooted a rhib from Quest to Quest with questions and advice to sailors between their races. Advice about sail trim, weight movement, looking for wind holes on the water, and avoiding unnecessary tacking duels.
I spent a day on our new mark-laying boat RB3, watching race management volunteers and sailing staff manoeuvre buoys into place at the direction of the Race Officer on the Start Boat. I counted the 40 Cadets and Quests round the windward mark, noting how easy it is to see when a boat hits the buoy. (And have noticed how easy it can be to see boats over the line when on the Start Boat.)
Congratulations and thanks to all participants, both those on and off the water.
Look out at RBYC for VX-Ones National Championship this week (Jan 13 – 19), and 2.4MR Nationals later in January (26 – 28th).
Good luck to all involved, and to those heading to Geelong Festival of Sails at the end of January.
And lastly, Summer is School Holidays Programmes time. Watch the buzz of young people learning sailing skills, developing leadership, and having fun mucking about in boats.
From Marnie Irving
Club Captain