Midtsream DRAFT March 2012 - Claremont Yacht Club

Weekend Dinghy Sailing - 19th February 2012By John RasmussenThis month we have had three Consistency races and one ClubChampionship heat. The fleet is divided into two sections, and thefull rig heat was won by Mal McKercher, and the radial by WillNunn. Congratulations to both of you.We have bought a RIB as a second rescue boat, and have beenusing it for a few weeks. It gives us extra safety, and is also usedfor coaching.At the Club open day on Saturday the 18 th , we managed to arrangefor people interested in Dinghy sailing to come back on Sunday,and many of them did. Thanks to John Rasmussen for rigging hisboat. We showed people the rigged Laser and a rigged Optimist,as well as Mirrors in the shed. On Sunday the 17 th we had sevenMirrors, one Optimist, and one Laser as a result of the open day.I would like to express our thanks to Dean Caple, who promotedus on the Saturday, and coaches on Sundays.On Sunday the 26 th the fleet consisted of 22 Lasers, 8 Mirrors, and3 Optimists, which is very reassuring for the future. Ross Campbellorganised and cooked a sausage sizzle, which was well patronisedby all, including the Starters/Rescuers, and new members.Thanks Ross.About ten families have expressed interest and have been givenMembership packs, and at least three have already applied formembership. We are endeavouring to get volunteers, or a paidcoach, to help out on Sunday mornings, thus allowing those whowant to sail to do so.We only have seven weekends of racing left, so get down to theClub and make the most of it. The Commodore’s Cup is on Sundaythe 18 th of February at 2 PM, and as noted before we arestarting last so the Commodore’s big boat has a chance of beatingus to the finishing line.An ongoing thank you is extended to the Starters/Rescuers fortheir efforts every Sunday.MAX BROWNRear Commodore DinghiesSunday saw 14 Lasers, 7 Mirrors and 1 Optimist racing and trainingon the bay. The SSW wind was strong enoughto provide decent racing conditions but not so strong that itwould scare off the new sailors (which it can easily do!). The Laserfleet divided into two packs with the usual suspects battling itout for line honours and the rest of the fleet trying to catch aglimpse of their sterns. Line honours in the Laser fleet went toMichael Wilson in a time of 49:50, followed very closely by MalMcKercher 3 seconds behind. Line honours in the radial fleetwent to Will Nunn who convincingly beat the author from thelast mark to the line, despite flying a smaller sail!Judging by talk on the lawn afterwards, competition in the Mirrorfleet was fierce with some conjecture regarding results. Oneyoung chap was honest enough to admit that his boat was fastbut that he didn't REALLY know where he was going around thecourse. I think many can relate to that at some point when wewere learning! With no handicaps in place yet, the Mirror resultsare based on line crossings only. Results below:Lasers:Fastest Full Rig - Michael WislonFastest Radial Rig - Will Nunn1st - John Rasmussen2nd - John Ryan3rd - Will NunnMirrors:1st - Sam and Rob Bennett2nd - Cameron and JamesMardardy3rd - Natalie Andrews and Chris SimmonsThank you to all the starters and rescue crew - you must havehad your work cut out with so many boats!