SAILING SECTION REPORT
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unday October 3rd marked the opening of the 76th Summer Sailing season at the club and the day’s proceedings had it all. From a full complement of VIP’s, members and guests present, the entries for the afternoons racing put on spectacular show that included smart matching crew outfits, themed costumes, music, and even fully choreographed dance numbers! Congratulations to Matt Rose and his team on King Canute who took out best dressed boat for the day, the whole experience was something to behold! Something for our yachties to be elated about this season is the return of our beloved Sharon Skinner, who we welcome back to the club as our Sailing Administrator. Sharon returns following a few years down the creek with another club and brings back her many years of knowledge and experience in the role, and at SoPYC so we are delighted to see her smiling face in the on water group office once again. Welcome home Sharon! The Wednesday keelboat sailing competition continues to attract strong fleets of competitive boats and crews which is great to see! A few weeks of wild and stormy conditions at the front of the season saw the cancellations of a few races to the relief for some and frustration for others however, all acknowledging the care of our Race Officers in making these tough decisions in our sailors’ best interests. The current standing for the Midweek and Saturday competitions can be found on the club website. Saturday Keelboat racing has seen a mix of conditions and a fluctuating number of boats. Many invitation races held by our fellow River clubs at the start of the season have been well attended by boats from SoPYC which is great although did impact fleet numbers at the club. The ongoing challenge of finding willing and able crew has seen
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SOUNDINGS | Dec 2021 ~April 2022
some boats in our fleets struggle to get out of the pen on the weekends. A big thank you to the efforts of Sharon as well as those sailors and members who have taken on the mission to assist boats and skippers in finding new and experienced sailors to join their crews! In addition to our regular weekly racing, the club has been able successful in compiling entries for the Swan River Racing state and interclub competitions. Being part of the team that competed in the Women’s Keelboat State Championship last year off Fremantle was a fantastic experience with our team enjoying a 1st in one race and 5th position overall. I encourage all yachties to keep an eye out for these competitions and complete and EOI on the website if you would like to get involved in future events The Yimbala Eun Na Mara competition was a hugely
