Power Prize Night

Another fun, well-organized prize night was attended by more than 60 of our members.  A fishing trip to the Montebello’s and other season-end commitments lured half a dozen of our regular skippers away, leaving the girls to book a table for themselves.

Thank you to Judy, Margaret and Maria who put in many hours working with F&B and OWG to have results calculated, programs printed and the ballroom ready, and to Helen and Justin for organising the playlist. Welcome to first-time attendees from team Jola, Mick Douthie and Debbie Swain, Angel Anthony Julian and Rita Singh, Tabarnak Travis Martin and his wife Josie and navigator Kim Muraszko with her partner Mark.   

Anthony Julian graciously accepted the historic Maevana Trophy for most points lost in an event. This year the wooden spoon trophy, first presented in 1979 and now covered in plaques, was accompanied by a $100 voucher from Wilson Marine, thanks to the generosity of Treasurer and section sponsor, Chris Pearson. For Anthony to amass the winning score, it took a rookie mistake. Always check that the speed on the start times sheet matches the speed you travel on the day.  The Greton trophy for Best First Year Time trailer was proudly accepted by Jola skipper Mick Douthie and navigator Deb Swain. Paul Stott was one of the fishing trip skippers. Still, his trusty, reliable, long-suffering friend and navigator onboard Trailer Trash Peter Black, proudly accepted the David Burton Trophy for Most Improved Competitor on Stottie’s behalf, reflecting Trailer Trash’s improved scores in 2023. 

As the MC for the evening, Michael Cook chuckled that there was a plethora of Commodores present with PC Frank Dalglish, IPC Michael himself, and PC Guy Skinner and our Commodore Troy all sitting at tables near the top of the room and sharing the microphone freely. It was announced early in the speeches that the Royal Perth Opening Day Celebrations had been a most enjoyable afternoon as a warm-up for the VIPs for the evening’s celebrations.

Maria Cook’s first speech as Captain reflected on the year which showed the resilience in the section as our competitor numbers grew and new ideas are being considered to continue this trend in season 2024.

A delicious dinner was served between announcements of the trophy winners by our starter Margaret Cooper. The three big announcements are based on the computation of the best scores for Champion boat 400, Consistency 401, and Starts and Finishes. These are represented by trophies, shields and coffee pots bearing the names of significant former champion Power Yacht members and the ultimate prize of our competition.

The first announcement was the winner of the Aub Berryman Trophy for the best scores in starts and finishes. The award was won by Dalusional, Troy Dalglish and Victoria Blanckensee with a raw score of 10. Thanet was runner-up with 13 points and Lone Star was in 3rd place with 17 points lost over the start/finish line.

The Jeff George Consistency Trophy for honour to compete with the 401 numbers was again given to skipper Jason Claricoates and navigator Caroline James on their new boat The Dolphin. Dalusional was runner up and Lone Star was 3rd place on consistency scoring.

The last announcement is saved for the holy grail of time trailing at SoPYC, the Reads Print Champion Boat trophy and the honour of wearing the 400 competition numbers. With The Dolphin named in 3rd position, it was a tense drum roll moment when Margaret announced a count back was required to divide between Dalusional in 2nd leaving Thanet as SoPYC Champion Boat for 2023. Congratulations go to PC Guy Skinner, who was so close to winning 400 during covid 2020 season when competition was suspended, that he made the 399.99999 numbers ready for Opening Day in 2021 for Thanet.

After being runner-up in the 2022 season, this season, Richard Evans Thanet’s long-time navigator had overseas travel plans, so moved over to teach Fiona Lyons how to take on the navigating and computer program.  

A very happy Fiona reminded me when I congratulated her after the announcement, that a few years ago when we’d first met, along with Deb Swain in the women’s sailing squad, I’d offered to give them some tips and tricks to get them started with navigating. Fiona and Deb have both proved they are accomplished sailors and valuable power yacht navigators and crew. Congratulations to all the 2023 winners.

 Next event is the Jetty 6 party from 6pm on Saturday 25th November.   BYO everything, decorate your boat with festive lights, come along and be prepared to dance the night away in the jetty to the live band.

Thanet is 400 The Dolphin is 401

Congratulations to our season champions who were awarded the following trophies at Saturday’s Prize Night Dinner:

MAEVANA TROPHY – Most points lost in an event + a $100 Wilson Marine Voucher