Batemans Bay Marine Park Race - SAILING REPORT

Last Saturday Batemans Bay Sailing Club conducted the Batemans Marine Park Race. There was no sponsorship from NPWS for this ecologically sound activity, but extensive use was made of the recently laid marine park markers as rounding bouys. Race Officer Peter Smith and his trusty crew aboard “Avior” got the fleet going from the start line off Casey’s beach. There was a moderate south easterly blowing on the first leg out to the marine park mark in the middle of Batemans Bay. This strengthened and backed slightly as the yachts went from there to the marine park mark off North Head. There were some stomach testing seas on the next leg around the Toll Gates and back to the middle mark. Here the asymmetric spinnaker of “Fractious”(Tim Devlin) was employed to good effect. Disaster struck “Black Velvet” on the next leg to Black Rock when the boom broke. Matt and the Walshy crew continued on with a baggy looking mainsail which was slightly off the pace. In midfleet “Fractious”, “The Shed”(Ron Spelman) and “Periwinkle” (Tony Sutton, Geoff Perrem and Robin Davey) were quite close. They spurred each other on to the extent that they filled the placings on performance handicap. On IRC “Periwinkle” won from “Wishful Thinking” (Andrew Bain) and Black Velvet.

This weekend the Batemans Bay Sailing Club will be hosting the annual Eurobodalla Tourism ANZAC Weekend Regatta. The event caters for dinghies, multihulls and trailerable yachts. Over one hundred boats are expected. Competitors will be coming from Sydney, Canberra and all over the south east. Several sailors from the local Coila Lake fleet will be taking part including off the beach supremo Roger Freney in his Sabre. BBSC webmaster Simon Byrne has entered his ultra lightweight 8m trailerable “Shot In The Dark” to take on Canberra’s finest. The Flying Dutchman, B14 and Contender classes will be conducting NSW Championships as part of the regatta. The Magic 25 class will be staging their Nationals. There should be a great spectacle from any vantage point around the Bay. Racing is scheduled to start at 1230 on Saturday and 1050 on Sunday.