Hi all,

Second installment of my very bias (only from my perspective) Nats report below.

Monday dawned cooler and raining, but soon dried up to be cool grey and overcast with a fresh breeze from somewhere in the south. You could feel the excitement on the shore as final adjustments where made before heading out for the invitation race at a reasonable 11am. The wind was blowing up the lake so it meant there was some choppy waves in the middle of the course for the only time in the Nats and meant hobby horsing was possible on port tack if you hit a soft patch. The start of the invitation race was the usual slack affair, with some boats not trying too hard, but then the gun went and we where away, upwind was mostly trapezing, but with some soft spots requiring sitting on the side, the beats where difficult to pick the right way, with the wind shifting a bit and fluctuations in pressure. But the down winds with spinnaker where awesome as always in marginal wind, as that is when the spinnaker makes the most difference, before we new it the 3 laps of the invitation race where over and it was time to go in for lunch. After lunch Heat1 & 2 where held in similar conditions but with the wind building and swinging around to come off the land a little.

All went well with the course, the 3 fleets starting 5 minutes apart, with Cat and Sloop sailing traditional Triangle Windward and Return course and Spinnaker fleet sailing all Windward and Returns seemed able to co-exist around the same buoys ok. The Gate at the bottom end of the course was interesting for those not used to it, but offered options when the fleets came together to the bottom marks, allowing individual boats to avoid what could have been difficult situations at times and I think proved to be a good idea. That night after fluids had been replaced as is required after a hard days sailing by elite atheletes, it was noted that when some of the sailors arrived that they had labelled their boats Rye YC Racing Team and camper Lake Boga YC Racing Teams, but with “Still Bitten” and “Bee Alert” winning both heats in the Spinnaker and Cat rig divisions, it was suggested (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) to the boys from Rye and the Grumpy Old Men from Boga that the Gippsland Lakes Academy might be the place to learn to sail.