ANZAC Weekend Regatta - SAILING REPORT
“From drifting to survival conditions there was something for everyone at the 2008 Eurobodalla Tourism ANZAC Regatta conducted last weekend by Batemans Bay Sailing Club. There was an excellent fleet of 114 boats competing. These ranged from small single handed dinghies through to high tech skiffs, catamarans and trailerable yachts. The competitors mainly came from Sydney and Canberra but there were also Novocastrians and Melburnians represented. There were also quite a few local sailors competing including Norm and Bodie Larden, Neil Starmer, Geoff Rutherford and James Gardiner in the catamarans, Laser sailors Peter Schwarz, Robert Sanders and David Grant and Broulee’s suave Sabre sailor Roger Freney.
On Saturday the challenges of staging a sailing event at this time of the year became clear when the light easterly sea breeze dropped out as the afternoon progressed. The first race provided some interesting tactical battles as the breeze oscillated. Well known Tasar sailors Rob and Bronwyn Douglass did themselves no favours by heading to the wrong windward mark – read the Sailing Instructions next time Rob! The second race caused more widespread frustration when it degenerated into a driftathon. Several boats had difficulties even getting over the start line. The Principal Race Officer Peter Connell sensibly shortened the course at the leeward mark allowing everyone to get back to shore before sunset approached. “Stress Relief” (John McDaniel) and “Shot in the Dark” (Simon Byrne) pulled off a deciding move by finishing inside the time limit unlike all the other trailerable yachts in their division. More challenges awaited the trailerable yachts with a rough bar crossing to be negotiated. One sailor had to be retrieved when he was thrown off his Magic 25 yacht while crossing the Clyde River bar.
Sunday by contrast featured plenty of breeze from the North West. Although the forecast gale did not eventuate, the wind strength did reach 25 knots at times causing plenty of thrills and spills. The trailerable yachts sailed the Pentastar course around the Bay using permanent BBSC marks. This race was shortened for safety reasons when the breeze came in strongly. The Elliott 7 class had their usual close racing. “Evergreen” (Mike Green) won on a countback from “Caspar” (Nick Faulks). The Magic 25 class held their Australian Championships at the regatta. Elliott 7 champ Matt Owen and his crew aboard “Hit n Run Over” achieved a clear victory in the five strong fleet.
The dinghies and multihulls completed two races on a course set on the Northern side of the Bay. There were several capsizes but few crews ended up needing assistance. Young Spiral sailor Andrea Garvey from Canberra sailed very impressively to win her division. In the Lasers the wily veteran Martin Linsley just beat former sailboarding professional Chris Thompson. Chris was quick but had a couple of untimely capsizes. In the Tasars Rick and Carmen Longbottom were fast in the light conditions on Saturday and hung on when the wind came in to prevail from the Dougli sailing “Scribbel” in a close one. Norm Rydge and Richard Scarr achieved a clear win in the NSW FD Championships. The Lightweight Sharpies also conducted their NSW Championships at the regatta, won by “Suicide Blonde” (Derek Milligan). The 13 strong B14 fleet were there for their NSW Championships. The winners were Guy Bancroft and Nick Darlow sailing “Bonework”, despite the fact they are from Victoria. The yardstick divisions always produce some interesting results including this year in the faster dinghies division where “Temeritous” a Fireball sailed by Rob Hughes and Anthony Wilkins just beat “The Big Kahuna” an International Contender skippered by David Leask.
The multihulls put on a spectacle with their colourful sails and high speeds, particularly on Sunday. “Long Way To The Top” (Mick Butler) prevailed amongst the eight strong Hobie 16 fleet. The remaining multihulls were split into two yardstick divisions. In what could be described as the fourteen foot cat divison Tony Hastings from Mallacoota won sailing his Paper Tiger “Pelikinetic”. He was stoked to be sailing in such a big fleet. The big cats division was won by the Hobie 18 “Get It Wet” sailed by Jake and Jackie de Rooy on a countback from Mike Dunn and Leslie Donahue sailing the Hobie 20 “Bullet Proof”.
As usual local power boat owners lent their boats as well as their skills to act as race management boats. They were Frank Bottomley, Michael O’Brien, Tony Sutton and Charlie Lavender. They were crewed by Glenn and Rosemary Wall, Robin and Celia Davey, Ron Spelman and Andrew Bain. Richard, Steve and Chris from the Tuross VRA made an invaluable contribution by coming along with their rigid inflatable boat. Joining Peter Connell on the committee boat “Cape Fear” were Peter Walsh, Lachlan and Imogen Brown and James Levy. Helpers ashore included Libby Gardiner, Lorraine and Roger Freney, Sandra Davey, Lynn Bain, Rob Douglass, Judy Brown and Peter Smith.”
