MOST sailors would have described the wind as fickle, capricious, or changeable. The more cynical have described it as being constantly faithful only to bad habits.
So it was on the Hastings River when seven yachts faced the starter on the Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s inshore series river ‘B’ course between the Settlement Point and Hibbard ferries.
The pre-start breeze of around six to seven knots timed the start to perfection, dropping into a lull of two to three knots as the start timer hit zero.
Fortunately, with all seven yachts carrying some momentum, it was a surprisingly even start, with no immediate breakaway leaders.
However, the lighter, more nimble yachts found conditions to their liking. The very smart Salty, (Jim Bignell) and Folie a Deux (Brian Parsonage) soon took the lead up the first leg, while the heavier Cool Change and Third Man fell behind.
Inshore series leader, Tribal Wave (Mike Schulzer), Ninja with Larisa Trapeznikova’s all-female crew, and Galene (Phil and Andrea Johns) swapped positions several times in the first leg’s light airs.
While the two leaders rounded the top mark cleanly, a returning breeze saw the remaining yachts become bunched at the top mark, resulting in hails for “room” and “proper course”. Fortunately, no red protest flags appeared.
The breeze filled to a more comfortable eight – 10 knots on the second leg. Once around the mark, the yachts began to separate with Salty and Folie a Deux extending their early lead.
Tribal Wave settled in behind the two leaders, while Galene, Ninja and Cool Change, sailing out of phase, appeared to swap places, with Galene gaining ascendancy over the leg.
With the breeze building to around 18 knots, the final two legs were sailed very differently. By heeling and putting their decks under water, Salty and Folie a Deux built an unassailable lead, while on the following yachts’ boat handling and tactics were tested.
Third Man suffered a broken spreader, and advised she would record a DNF (did not finish), while the mid-fleet leaders, Tribal Wave, Galene and Ninja, were keenly observed by the following yachts for any small changes in the conditions ahead that they may have been able to exploit.
Keen eyes aboard Cool Change found a lift that had seen the other yachts on an unfavourable tack and, for the first time in the race, passed Ninja and fell just short of catching Galene, while Tribal Wave finished well ahead of those yachts.
The finishing order was Salty, followed by the smallest yacht in the fleet, Folie a Deux, then Tribal Wave, Galene, Cool Change and Ninja, with Third Man failing to finish.
On handicap, series leader Tribal Wave took first place in 65 mins 13 secs, followed by Ninja (69 mins 50 secs), with Folie a Deux third (73 mins 36 secs).
Post-race, several crew from competing yachts joined Ninja’s crew in celebrating second place, joining the PMYC Cluster of yachts group moored to the north of Port’s Marine Rescue boatshed.
By Captain SLIPPERY
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