Thursday Twilight Division

Ahoy Thursday Twilight Sailors!

The Twilight Winter Series has been an interesting and sometimes challenging season, with continued crew shortages due to Covid disruptions and bad weather, and the introduction of the much sought-after Offshore Twilight series for the larger vessels. due to poor weather and challenges with the Southport bar, it has proved to be a great success and we look forward to continuing the series into the spring season. The top three placings for the season were awarded to Hotseat who came third, Black Diamond in second place and Flow Sails Yeah Baby which came in first – congratulations to all involved.

Despite the occasional hurdle however, I continue to be impressed with the number of sailors who continue to show up and comment on how much they look forward to the Thursday sail. From the somewhat competitive racing and friendly banter to the presentation and drinks, we have created a sailing community we can all be proud of.

On that note, I’d like to pass on sincere congratulations to Drew Jones as the new SYC Commodore, and to Glenn Burrell, the Vice Commodore Sailing. While neither need introduction, the appointments are well deserved, and I know they both have our utmost support.

Right, now for the detail… As mentioned above, this winter saw the launch of the inaugural Offshore Twilight Series which was proudly sponsored by EVOLUTION SAILS. While it had a slow start The Inshore Series sponsored by DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS continued to experience a strong fleet. Despite varied weather conditions, we welcomed two new boats to the fleet, Amelia and Lady Katherine. Lady Katherine introduces sailing to A.D.F and Ex Vets who are encouraged to join as crew, and as with all our sailors, they will be warmly welcomed. The top placings this season were awarded to Howard on T&T coming in third, Murry on Accomplice who came second and Colin on Cool Change who took out first place. Well done to all participating skippers and invaluable crew.

As the start of the spring series approaches, the sailing office has asked me to congratulate all the boats that have completed their safety audit on time.

Of course, we could not run the Twilight Series without the support of the Board, Sailing Office and Volunteers. A very big thank you to all those involved. These roles can be challenging at times; however, everyone continues to show a fantastic attitude to keep the series alive and fun. A special thank you goes to Brett, the General Manager and his team – they all continue to work hard to keep Thursday nights enjoyable, and you can often see him and other senior staff on the floor as they do their best to keep the Club running smoothly through this incredibly tough time of staff shortages. Well done and thank you.

This report would not be complete without acknowledging and expressing gratitude to all the skippers at the Club. Their ongoing investment in the boats, their crew and the Club ensure that we can all continue to partake in the sport and activities that we love and enjoy.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all in September for the start of the spring series proudly sponsored by Document Solutions (Inshore) and Evolution sails (Offshore), and please remember, should you have a friend who is interested in a sailing experience, or would like to learn, bring them along on a Thursday afternoon and we will find them a spot.

Happy sailing all!

Peter Karlovic