Time triallers at South of Perth enjoyed another perfect afternoon on the Swan River last Saturday. Bright sunshine, light breezes and flat water made it a day that even the checkpoint crews could enjoy.
Our two sail boats were missing this time. Christina Heydon was in Medemblik in the Netherlands on umpiring duties while Laurence Hansen used up his available time in a morning meeting. We hope to see them both return in the next club event. Club champion Brett Morrison was also missing, caught up with work commitments.
With a number of regulars still away, numbers were a little lower than expected, but still 26 boats took part, plus Royal Perth’s Gary and Ray Smith in their banana boat. Conditions suited the top boats so it was little surprise that some very good scores were returned. Best of the bunch were Troy and Dee in Dalusional and Guy and Richard in Thanet, though Richard could not be consoled after watching his precious Geelong footy club go down. Dalusional and Thanet both finished with three points lost. At the other end of the scale, Jacqui Long obviously had a clock problem and being a minute or so out at every mark, was a standout selection for the wooden spoon.
First place, like least points lost, was shared between two boats – Michael and Maria in M&M’s and Magnifique, with Anton Jennings and Justin Taylor. The miniature Linfox semi trailers provided as trophies were a great hit with the winners, though for some reason Justin did not seem to want one himself….
The State Team was announced by Captain Amanda Watson in anticipation for the first State Heat of the season next Saturday. Amanda and Garry left Perth on Monday for a Scottish holiday with Dave and Fonny Ewart, so Brian Smith has stepped in as Regatta Control Officer for the coming weekend. Let’s hope that the magical run of good weather continues.
