On Saturday 7 November we had 13 starters, including Craig Nylund, a regular visitor from Safety Bay and a new visitor trying out the Association boat Tiwi. Two races were sailed in gusty conditions and both were won by Pete Coop. Following closely behind him were Nick Loney, sailing a borrowed boat from Perth Dinghy Sailing Club (which he is considering buying), Craig, Dave Quinn and Peter Johnston. Nick achieved the perfect result of first on handicap in both races. Will he buy that boat?
The competition in the Sabre fleet is quite intense, one mistake and 3 or 4 places can be lost, which can be difficult to regain. Everyone is learning how to sail faster. Special mention must be made of Kelly Mirragliotta, who has been practising regularly and has been improving rapidly.
We have had one Club Championship race so far this season, with Pete Coop first, Stacey Arnold second, followed by Peter Johnston in 3rd. Will this be the pattern for the season? The next heat is on 14 November and will be hotly contested.
Wednesday afternoon sailing has provided excellent opportunities for training and we have averaged 5 Sabres, with the best turnout of 8 last week. This training has been invaluable for sail setting and tactical competition, in a training environment.
We are looking forward to the State Champion heats on 22 and 29 November 2015.
Report by
Peter Johnson