Congratulations to those hardy souls who raced in our Winter Series.
From what I saw it was cold, wet and unfortunately ended on both a bang and a whimper as a gale warning went out. I drove the tender after Race 3 on 1 June ferrying a sorry lot of teeth chattering, bluefaced sailors back to the clubhouse. Outside it was 5 degrees with wind-chill and, inside, a cosy 30 degrees, the excited roar of happy to be alive sailors spoke volumes for why we race when all sense suggests staying home in front of a fire. Thank you, tender drivers, bar staff and officers for looking after our cold, thirsty, hungry members.
Looking ahead over the next three months there is so much to take in you might ask your boss if you could go onto a three-day week just to keep up. By the time of publishing the Olympics will have started and I wish all our sailors fair winds and slippery bottoms. There are two new sailing events to take in this time, kite foiling and E-sailing. If the Aussies do well in these, I can well imagine two new divisions starting at the Club. Then again visions of kites wrapped around the bows of the Manly ferries suggest that kites and foiling may not be quite the right fit for the SASC.
Whilst the Olympics is in full swing the big boats and their crews have all migrated up to the Whitsundays for Hamilton Island Race Week which is followed by Airlie Beach Race Week. It’s a long sail just to get up there, if Cherub were to set off now, we would possibly be there in time for next year’s racing. Luckily, we won’t have to do that as Sarah and I have been asked to join a crew for the ABRW which will be a new experience for both of us. Throughout August and September, in Barcelona, The America’s Cup will be raced in five separate series comprising: the E-Series, the Unicredit Youth Series, the Puig Women’s Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup and the 37th America’s Cup. Australia will field crews in the youth and women’s series; about time we were back in the game. And while we are in Barcelona, what is with Spain winning the European Football Cup, Wimbledon and SailGP all in one weekend? Barcelona will be going off! But wait there’s more—the Lion Island Race start is on the 31st August followed on the 7th September by the SASC Opening Day Regatta. Then after all that excitement has settled and Grand Finals have been played and won, we will host our own unique world-class event, Gaffers Day, on Sunday 20th October. I am exhausted just thinking about all these events and I will ask David Pryke to provide an update on scheduling for viewing and participating. And if all this racing sounds like it’s a bit too much and you just need to get away, you can join a number of SASC yachts and others who will be cruising to Port Stephens and for the more adventurous the Lord Howe Island BBQ.
Happy Days
Peter Scott
Commodore
