Port Macquarie Sailing Club

2-11-25

SUNDAY the Port Macquarie Sailing Club held their spring Marathon, sailing from the club, down river nearly to the Town Green, back up river to the Dennis Bridge (Pacific Highway), then back down the river to finish at the club. A light Easterly came in for the 11.30am start as forecast but remained a little on the light side, though quite sailable over the whole course, and the warm and mostly sunny day was just icing on the cake. Surprisingly, the best of it was probably the stretch from the Maria River to the Dennis Bridge. The work down to the Town Green was with the last of the run out tide, but then the reaching and running all the way back up the river to the Dennis Bridge was mostly against the tide. By the time the fleet was working back to the Sailing Club, the tide had turned, and they again had to punch the tide. Steve Couch ran the little safety boat on the downriver side of the fleet and Jeff Walsh looked after the upriver end of the fleet in the big safety boat.

The Arrow cat division had a leisurely race, and as usual, Frank O’Rourke on ‘Turbo’ took the lead early and was never threatened for the next 2 hours of their race. Visiting Arrow sailor Tony Rose from Clarence River Sailing Club on ‘B-Double’ was next, then came Scott Witchard on ‘Lukim Yu’.

The monohull fleet was boosted with 5 visiting boats eager for the challenge of a marathon race on our river. Paul Robertson and Martina Holt in their Tasar ‘Flembouyant’ took the yardstick win, just under a minute ahead of Troy Lewis from Taree Aquatic Club in his Sabre ‘Dead Reckoning’ and then the Impulses of Rob Barwick in ‘Drift’ and Terry Howard in ‘Flying Dragon’. Simon Gandy and Ezra Mert sailed their MG14 ‘Vamos’ this week for the 5th place, followed by Dirk Salm from Tasmania in his laser ‘St. Helens Tas’, Stuart Symons in his Tasar ‘Elmo’, Rob Dewar from Queens Lake in his laser ‘Blue’, Derck and Olive Ayriss from Queens Lake in their Tasar ‘Rumpus’, Steve and Lucy Bohlsen in their MG14 ‘Interceptor’, and Dave McNeil and Jock Simpson in the Tasar ‘Voyager’. Being late to the start did not help Sid Ayriss and Caeteider from Queens Lake in their Flying Ant ‘The Hunter’, who were behind the fleet but sailing well right to the Dennis Bridge. Unfortunately, a dying breeze and a strengthening tide forced them to retire half way back to the Maria River.

By Jeff WALSH