75th Anniversary Navigators ToD Race

October 11^th was the inaugural Navigators ToD Race. It is the first time a race of this race format has been conducted Offshore in WA.

The Navigators ToD race is a bit like a choose your own adventure or choose your own race. It was a race designed for all yachts who meet Cat 4 Safety to come out and have a go at Offshore racing. The competitors were given a set of legs to choose from with the aim of covering the greatest distance within the time limit of six hours.  The challenge of this is understanding your yacht, weather conditions of the day and your crew’s capabilities.  Each participants course needed to be submitted before the start.  Our cut off was Saturday 1700hrs.

Nine yachts competed in the event. Four were SoPYC yachts

After the start all yachts rounded the Day buoy and Burnell, then each went their own way to cover their course without going over time. The competitors were spread from as far north as Sorrento marker to south as Calista G (into Cockburn Sound). Finish was at South Mole.

The day started in ideal sailing conditions with the wind and sea state increasing throughout the day.

It is a difficult race to sail for many reasons. Quite often you cannot see any other yacht.  A comment was It was just like a long distance offshore race. You couldn’t see your competitors.

Another interesting facet to the race is you have no idea how you are doing against other yachts.

Considered a successful race as afterwards, the bar was a buzz with all boats discussing tactics, courses and challenges. The feed back has been mostly positive with suggestions for improvement for the next Navigators ToD race.

Thank to Todd Walsh for suggesting and then organising the race. Thank you to all our volunteers from all clubs and thankyou to FSC for their hospitality.

RESULTS