Port Macquarie Sailing Club

9-11-25

WITH a light 5 knot southerly and a forecast predicting more than 20 knots early in the afternoon, there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm at Port Macquarie Sailing Club on Sunday morning.

Slated for the day was the Ted Kuhn Cup, held over two races in memory of long term club stalwart Ted Kuhn who was instrumental in the construction of the current upstairs clubhouse.

The first race started against the last of the run-in tide which proved quite strong in the light wind. Reid Lucas set the course with the first mark off Girraween Road, and two more up river across from the rowing club.

In the monohull division, Steve Bohlsen, sailing solo in his MG14 ‘Interceptor’ and Rob Barwick in his Impulse ‘Drift’ were the smart competitors staying near the start line, while several others took between 2 and 3 minutes to actually cross the start line. Simon Gandy and Esra Mert in Tasar ‘Voyager’ (with Esra on the helm) slipped past Terry Howard in ‘Flying Dragon’, Steve Couch in ‘Lazybuoy’ and Troy Lewis in ‘Dead Reckoning’ who was visiting from Taree, but on the last lap, ‘Voyager’ decided to cross the finish line from the wrong side before realising the mistake and continuing on to complete the race as the wind was starting to improve.

‘Interceptor’ was able to cross the line in front of the monohull fleet but was not far enough in front to avoid the yardstick penalty. In the end it was quite a close race with just over 3 minutes between first and last position. With yardsticks applied, the Race 1 monohull result was: ‘Dead Reckoning’ first, followed by ‘Flying Dragon’, ‘Drift’, ‘Lazybuoy’, ‘Voyager’ and ‘Interceptor’.

In the catamaran division, the race was led by Frank O’Rourke on ‘Zero’. Tony Kuhn was back on ‘Stella’ after several months off the water and was ably assisted by grandson Julian. On the other hand, Scott Witchard on ‘Lukim Yu’ took young Abbie for a sail and she was quite happy to get in the way, and dangle limbs in the water to help slow things down for dear old dad.

During the lunch break, Jack Corthals arrived bringing with him the forecast strengthening wind. Reid extended the course more upriver towards Hibbard Ferry to provide a longer course in the stronger winds. Several monohull sailors decided to avoid the punishment and didn’t partake of the second round. With winds now exceeding 15 knots, and significantly stronger gusts pulsing in between the houses and trees on the southern shore, the excitement started within minutes of the second race with ‘Interceptor’ turning turtle and taking a significant effort to get pointy side up.

Towards the end of the first lap, Jack Corthals, sailing ‘Crackerjack’, had a capsize causing some boat damage and was forced to limp back to the beach. Even ‘Zero’ had a rare swim but was quickly up and racing again. ‘Lukim Yu’ also stuck difficulties with a capsize in the shallows which made it tough to get going again with the wind and tide pushing the boat against the river bank. With the main safety boat still tied up with ‘Interceptor’, the smaller safety boat was launched, but by the time it got on scene, ‘Lukim Yu’ was sailing again but headed to the beach having had enough. This left only ‘Zero’ competing in the catamaran division for the win of the second race and the event.

In the monohull division, ‘Dead Reckoning’ nearly capsized, but some quick athleticism saw the skipper step over the gunwale to right the boat and step back inboard without getting wet. The crew on ‘Voyager’ found they were at their limits and, perhaps intelligently, decided to quit while they were dry. ‘Interceptor’ eventually had to lower the sails for a tow back to the beach, leaving only ‘Dead Reckoning’ to grind it out alone for the last lap to take the win in the second race.

Next week is Race 3 of the handicap Start Series starting at 2pm with Scott Witchard rostered on duty.

By Jeff WALSH