Hi all,
by popular demand, here is the write up so far. Not finished yet as have to mention some of the Division stuff, not that I saw much of the slow division with the Mossies with out spinnakers in it
. Managed to get write up on full back page of local paper today, with colour photo of Hobie Tiger from McCrae, don't get to keep the mainstream sports off the back page too often, was a great photo of the Hobie Tiger, with all crew full stretch and a hull out, by Christie from GLYC. Should be in GLYC flick away folder.
By the way Simon I do have a life outside of sailing and the internet
, though you may not believe it and have you ever known me to only have a few words to say, of course it it is a big write up.
Victorian Catamaran Championships 30th & 31st October 2010.
The catamaran sailors started arriving in Paynesville on Friday night, many of them enjoying the hospitality of the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club upon arrival, joining the locals for the regular Friday night meal and drinks. After bellies filled, the discussion turned to the already obvious fact that Mosquito Catamarans where going to be the largest represented class, with the local Mossie fleet being joined by metro based Mossies bringing the total number of Mosquito’s entered to 10. By the close of entry Saturday morning thankfully Hobie Tigers and Getaways, Taipans, A class and 2 Paper Tigers from Southern N.S.W. had added diversity.
Despite the terrible weather forecast for the weekend reducing the number of catamaran sailors that travelled to Paynesville for the Victorian Catamaran Championships, the 21 catamarans that attended enjoyed the conditions that the Gippsland Lakes provided on Saturday. At first a grey overcast day with intermittent showers doesn’t sound so good, but when you add a top temp of 27 degrees and 15 knot winds, that built through the afternoon to 20 knots, along with the odd shower to wash off the salt spray, it was cat sailing heaven.
Racing started late in the morning and in the first race many of the sailors showed they where a bit rusty and lacked some preparation, as the weather had played havoc with the start of the sailing season across Victoria seeing many sailing days cancelled. The local crew of Neil and David Joiner on their sloop rigged Mosquito “Immunity” won on Yardstick from another local Gary Maskiell on his cat rigged Mosquito with spinnaker. Only 53 seconds separated them, the pattern for the day was set, with many close results to follow. Third place was Steve Floyd from McCrae Y.C. on his cat rigged Taipan, a number of other sailors had looked likely to do well, but mistakes and gear failures cost them a place. The second race was started as soon as the first was finished, in very similar 15-knot conditions, again the result was very close with only 9 seconds separating the first 3 on yardstick. 1st “Immunity”, 2nd “Thrice Bitten”, 3rd Kingsley and Lisa Pursch on the sloop rigged Taipan “Tangles” as they started to find the pace they are well known for, then it was back to shore for a late lunch. The shopping area of Paynesville was treated to the curious site of wet bedraggled sailors walking the streets in wetsuits and sailing gear in search of sustenance. There was little time to change for most and the occasional showers meant, sailing gear was easier than changing and trying to keep dry.
After cleaning out most of the bakeries and take away shops in Paynesville, the sailors hit the water again. It seemed strange heading back out to race at about three o’clock in the afternoon, but with daylight savings there was plenty of light left in the day for two more short races. The wind had increased while the sailors were on shore, race 3 started in about 18-knot winds, making the reaches very exciting. “Immunity” again took 1st on Yardstick by just 18 seconds from “Tangles” 2nd, with Matt Stone from Somers Y.C. on cat rigged Mosquito “Unko” 42 seconds behind taking 3rd place by 18 seconds from “Thrice Bitten” 4th, the racing was getting even closer. Race 4 followed shortly after race 3, with the wind getting up to 20 knots at times, “Immunity” showed the fleet a clean set of heels, revelling in the strong winds. You could throw a blanket over second to sixth, separated by only 1 minute and 3 seconds on Yardstick. With “Unko” 2nd, “Tangles” 3rd, Tim Shepperd from Gippsland Lakes Y.C. on cat rigged Mosquito “Karma Cat” 4th, Mitchell Meade from Gippsland Lakes Y.C. on cat rigged Mosquito “Catalyst” 5th and the Emonson’s on sloop rigged Mosquito “Dances With Waves” 6th.
It was a very tired but happy group of catamaran sailors that came off the water late on the Saturday afternoon and retired to the yacht club to relive the day’s races. A few drinks and then all you can eat Pizza organised by the club from one of the local shops, capped off a great days sailing.
Sunday morning dawned fine and warm with a gusty wind, another great sailing day, except the forecast was for winds to increase to 30 knots. The race officer was keen to get racing under way as close to the start time of 10 am as possible, but light winds meant the cats where slow to get to the start area, until the wind shifted west and increased in strength. Now the cats where flying across the flat water with plumes of spray everywhere, however the wind shift necessitated moving the start line across the lake. All the while the wind kept increasing, soon it was approaching 30 knots in the gusts, causing a number of the waiting cats to capsize, the race officer then made the decision to abandon racing for the day. All the sailors headed back to shore feeling deflated that the championships had finished this way, but happy knowing the race officer had made the right call, as the winds blasted through the car park while they packed up their cats to head back home.
The Victorian Catamaran Championship was decided over the four heats sailed the previous day, with Neil and David Joiner on the sloop rigged Mosquito “Immunity” the clear winner with 4 race wins. It was a close event from there though, with Gary Maskiell on cat rigged Mosquito with spinnaker “Thrice Bitten” and Kingsley and Lisa Pursch on sloop rigged Taipan “Tangles” tied on points after dropping their worst score. A count back of heat results was necessary to separate them and Gary’s two 2nd placing’s against Kingsley and Lisa’s one 2nd place gave Gary second overall, ahead of Kingsley and Lisa third, with Matt Stone just one point behind for fourth. First Junior was awarded to Mitchell Meade on cat rigged Mosquito “Catalyst” just 2 points clear of Chase Lurati from South Gippsland on the Hobie Tiger F18 “Rusty Nuts”. Chase is part of the current world youth championship Hobie 16 crew but on this occasion was joined by his father crewing on “Rusty Nuts”. First Female was awarded to Lisa Pursch crewing the 3rd placed “Tangles”.
.
.
, although I believe it is about the same distance as Gippsland boats have travelled to sail in S.A. 
.
). Also local school fete Saturday and foreshore market Sunday, so family and friends should find something to keep them amused, while we enjoy the 15 knots forecast.
, so us weekend warriors have a chance at being Yachting Victoria's Catamaran Champion 
, forecast is maybe showers and thunderstoms for the East of the state, still 27 degrees Saturday and 15knots, just doesn't get any better, but of course it's like that every day on the lakes 