12 FEB 2014
DOWNWIND
SHINING SEA SUCCESSFUL IN GEELONG
Day 3 saw lighter north-easterly to easterly conditions around 9 – 13 knots with 2 races scheduled. The first 2 lap w/l race saw Shining Sea jump to a handy lead on the first lap courtesy of some Chris Tillett brilliance at picking the left, favoured side of the course, which was consolidated to the finish. The second race in similar conditions was a course where there was a mix of w/l racing which blended into a fixed mark course around the bay, followed by a sail through the Outer and Hopetoun Channel to the finish in the inner bay. Again Shining Sea had a lead after the W/L leg and was never headed to the finish line. Highlights being multiple gybing along the 100m wide Hopetoun channel whilst dodging various cruising division and the odd ship! By the end of this day Shining Sea was in first position on IRC within the regatta, with 2 more races to come. Day 4 saw the wind from a different quadrant again. Hot north to north west winds 9 – 13 knots were blowing across the course within the inner bay, this time strongly influenced by the topography of the land. With 2 W/L races scheduled and the forecast showing the winds to abate early afternoon it was important to get a good result in the first race. Fortunately a good start with speed put Shining Sea in a commanding position over the fleet and with a shift to the left turned the race into a soldier's course for the 2 nd lap. Some good performances by the First 40’s made it difficult to determine what the results would be in the final wash up. Fortunately there was a delay of 1.5 hours whilst the race committee tried to set a course for the second race. Minutes out from the warning of the second race we saw we had won race 1 that day and could not be beaten in the series (taking into account 1 drop race from the point score). This was most fortunate as the second race was started in very light conditions and many boats played the adage “from the roosters tail to the feather duster” in terms of position changes in the fluky conditions. For Shining Sea, this was our worst result for the regatta (7th) and subsequent drop. Despite the last race, we were relieved that we had a successful regatta winning Division 2 Racing series on IRC and AMS and also winning the Beneteau First National Championship. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect was the recognition from the other Beneteau owners for a consistent series across varying conditions. By Colin Gordon
COASTER RESULTS RACE 6: 8 FEBRUARY 2014 PHS 1: ANOTHER PLANET (BRENTON PEGLER) 2: DR FEELGOOD (JASON COONAN) 3: ALLIANCE (JIM HALLION)
AMS 1: ANOTHER PLANET (BRENTON PEGLER) 2: ALLIANCE (JIM HALLION) 3: DR FEELGOOD (JASON COONAN)
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