Four of the Best

The Colin Wilson Trophy resulted in an extraordinary dead heat for least points lost.  Kryptonite (Justin and Helen Taylor), M&Ms (Michael and Maria Cook), Thanet (Guy Skinner and Victoria Blanckensee) and Dalusional (Troy Dalglish and Dee Kelly) each completed the course with a total of seven points lost.

The overall winner however on a countback, was M&M’s, who accepted the trophy from Colin Wilson’s Daughter Megan Berry.

It was a day to remember for the Blanckensee family, because father Ian, with navigator David Morrison aboard Neredes II, finished second on handicap in their fleet.

Justin and Helen Taylor’s performance was a standout because Justin has spent the season thus far as navigator with Anton Jennings so the outing last weekend was Kryptonite’s first time-trial this season. Setting aside for a moment, the fact that a boat of Kryptonite’s size takes a fair degree of skill in time trialling because the driver is such a long way back from the bow, to score least points lost after a long break is a very praiseworthy performance.

Another crew deserving recognition is Steve and Julie Leech.  Chilly Mussel is badly smoke damaged inside and awaiting repairs, so Steve and Julie have completed the last two time trial on board their little inflatable tender.  Even with the protection of a bean bag, Julie has returned to shore battered and bruised.  We can only admire their dedication.

How much is a boat hook worth?  You might ask Darryl Wilkes that question.  Unable to hold on against an ever-increasing load, Mary finally let go of the boat’s only boat hook, prompting Darryl to dive into the freezing river waters in order to retrieve it.  For that noble effort, the pair were awarded the Bent Prop.

This weekend sees the final round of the State Time Trial Championship.  Because Heat 3 was washed out due to poor weather conditions, this weekend will see two trials run back to back, the first starting at 1100 and the second at 1300.  We are fortunate indeed that all our Club’s checkpoint crews have devoted themselves to staying on station to check both trials so we owe them a debt of gratitude.  Good luck to the team.  With top boats Sunhunter and Amazon both unavailable it will be a good test of the depth of South of Perth’s time trialling talent.