SAILORS rejoiced in the sunshine during the second day of the Point Yacht Club’s Commodore’s Cup on Saturday, 19 November.
A small fleet of 22 yachts headed out into the gentle conditions for three races. The race officer for the day, Kevin Bingham, set a fantastic south easterly course. The young sailors kicked off the event and were followed by the Finns, Lasers, Dabchick and Hunter, the Flying Fifteens and the faster Hobies set off last.
During the second race, challenges arose for the keen participants with three massive ships being determinedly ushered through the race course. In the final race, Bingham opted for a safer windward leeward, shortened race as the port continued to shuffle the larger boats around the bay.
As the afternoon’s racing progressed, the traditionally south easterly winds dropped which made the conditions more tricky for the sailors.
In the first race, James Butler took the line honours on his RS Terra. He was followed by fellow junior sailor, Ian Bowman on the Hobie Tiger. In the penultimate race of day two, Robbie Goulden cruised to line honours on Laser, followed closely by CJ Milln on Hunter and Hannah Fokkens took third place on Laser Radial.
The rear commodore for the Dinghies, Myles White, said, “The biggest class on the water was the Flying Fifteens with seven boats out, while the Hobie 14s, Finns and Lasers had three each. It was an afternoon of Snakes and Ladders as the wind channels boosted and hindered the fleet around the race track.”
This weekend sees the conclusion of the Commodore’s Cup with sailing taking place in the bay. It is also the conclusion of the dinghy sailing for 2016.
