NSC 2011Feb Bulletin.pdf - Northbridge Sailing Club

NSC Teams Racing Day
Northbridge has previously held a Teams Racing
day a number of years ago, where the Tasar fleet
was kind enough to lend their boats for the day.
The requirement to improve the training fleet
gave the Club the opportunity to purchase boats
that could have a dual purpose and allow all the
members to use these new boats.
With the majority of members who attended
the day having never teams raced before the
first flight of races was interesting and lots was
learnt by all! As the day progressed the teams
became more accustomed to the format and the
idea that you may actually need to sail slowly for
the benefit of your team. Ten teams (yep that’s
60 sailors) battled it out through 4 flights before
moving on to the semi finals and finals. The
racing was very closely matched as we utilised
the ‘Swiss league’ format, which effectively
creates a ladder. The top team going into the
semi finals was 3 optimist sailors sailing with their
dads doing well to lead the more experienced
NS14 youth teams. There was also a 4 way tie
for 4th place which had to be broken via count
back.
The semi finals were a first to 2 wins format with
both ending after 2 races. This put the Optimist
team (Taylor, Graeme, Max, Michael, Harry, Scott
and super sub Conor) against team FAFT (ask
Tara McCall what this means) (Tara, Charlotte,
Jack D, Kiah, Rosie and Hugh) in the final. With
more weight and experience team FAFT closed
out the final with a 2 wins in the first to 2 win final,
including a 1-2-3 finish in the final race.
The weather couldn’t have been better with a
north easterly wind coming in early and building
throughout the day. This allowed for the course
to be very close to the club and change overs
to occur form the pontoon. There was a bbq
during the days for competitors and the social
interaction between all members a highlight of
the day. I would like to make special mention
and thanks to those who volunteered and made
this possible. Rick Mcfee for starting many more
races than a typical Sunday! John Dorling for
umpiring, Colin McCall and Michael Chittenden
in the mark boat, Tony Potter and Ray Cook in
the finish boat, Sue McCall for results, and Letita
Hodgkinson for organising a great bbq!! If I have
missed anyone I sorry and thank you for your
help!
Many people have told me how much they
enjoyed the day and hopefully we can see it
become a regular fixture on the Club calendar!!
Cheers, Hugh Tait
Northbridge Sailing Club - www.nsc.asn.au
February 2011 p32