Flying start to Yacht Club’s racing season

The Mackay Yacht Club started its 2010 racing season with a good fleet for the two short inshore races on Sunday.

Conditions were less than favourable with the wind changing in speed and strength as each heavy rain squall passed. Crews didn’t seem to mind the lumpy seas, and alternated between being soaked in salt and then fresh water.

There were three new boats in the fleet. Club secretary Jim Kirchner entered his recently purchased Foxtrot for his first race as skipper. Jim had a few teething problems with the boat, but put in a respectable performance for how little training the boat and crew have had together. Tom Jordan & Donna Jackson entered their new boat Upmartet with a fully experienced skipper & crew, and were well prepared for the day. This showed up in the results with a first and second on handicap, showing they are capable of exceeding the class benchmark for their breed of boat. Graham Spooner has joined into the racing scene with the small trailer sailer Tip-E. Conditions were a bit too heavy for a boat of this size, and Graham wisely choose to retire from both races.

There were also a couple of returns from absence on Sunday. Greg Tobin has brought his Dehler Magic back to Mackay to race for the season. This has started a two boat battle of friendly rivalry with last year’s season championship winner The Poacher . These closely matched boats have shared crew members on previous years, so now the bets are on. Another return from repairs & modifications was Wayne Halliwell’s Trapdooor. Wayne is committed to racing the full season this year, and hopefully won’t have any further mishaps.

Conditions in the morning race started with strong winds and wind shift which allowed Bob Critchley’s trimaran Trinket to tear off to an unbeatable lead, to take the line honours & handicap double. Second on corrected time was Tom & Donna in Upmarket, which must have really pleased them for their first race in this boat, and third Trapdoor, which must have also pleased Wayne after his absence from racing.

The afternoon race still had strong squalls, but more light conditions in between. This gave John Rae and his team on the remarkable sports boat Guided Missile a chance to vie for line honours, but a breakage on the first wild spinnaker run left them without a spinnaker for the remainder of the race, letting Trinket take the line again. Handicap results were first to Upmarket, second Trinket, and third to Guided Missile.

Race Results:

Coal Mines Technical Services Trophy

Race 1. 1st Trinket, 2nd Upmarket, 3rd Trapdoor, 4th Guided Missile, 5th The Poacher, 6th Daddy Long Legs, 7th Dehler Magic, 8th Slick Willie, 9th Foxtrot, DNF Tip-E.

Race 2. 1st Upmarket, 2nd Trinket, 3rd Guided Missile, 4th The Poacher, 5th Trapdoor & Daddy Long Legs (tie), 7th Dehler Magic, DNF Tip-E.

For more result details, go to Race Results page

Upmarket (Tom Jordan & Donna Jackson) squeeze through in a fast tight start under the breakwater in Race 1, above the performance trimaran Slick Willie (Eric Smith) and Trapdoor (Wayne Halliwell) . Upmarket went on to take a first & second on handicap for the days racing.

Trinket (Bob Critchley) powered up to the limit in one of the squalls, went on to take line honours, and a first & second on handicap.

Dehler Magic (Greg Tobin) is almost lost in the groundswell as it crosses arch rival The Poacher (John Foster) off the breakwater. Meanwhile, the much smaller sports boat Guided Missile (John Rae) seems to be just showing them the way.

Daddy Long Legs (Jim Garner) having an overpowering moment in Sunday’s racing.

Tight racing as Slick Willie (Eric Smith) and Dehler Magic (Greg Tobin) hold their spinnakers to the very last second before rounding a mark on Sunday.

Trinket (Bob Critchley) flying along under spinnaker in the morning race on Sunday.

For more photos of Sunday's racing, visit Rebecca Savill Photography