Hello all,
I must say, today's regatta was fantastic! Huge thanks to the parents and leaders who made it all happen.
Photos are up on our gallery site (https://picasaweb.google.com/109310999096060098606/OnepotoRegatta2012)
Conditions were pretty varied all over the course, with a good breezy bit around the bottom mark, and completely dead pocket up near the top mark.
So when you were tacking around the bottom, you had to let the main out or too much power would come on too soon.
And this was a slightly weird course in that the top mark was quite close to the start line which made for a full crowd around the first turn before everyone had a chance to spread out. Please do take care with the boats - even a little bump against another boat can cause a significant amount of damage.
That dead pocket was a 'wind shadow' caused by the big hill directly to the west. So it was a bit amusing to see a dozen boats beetling for the top mark then stop dead just before getting there! The clever ones went a little further out into the harbour to keep the wind as long as possible and have some speed going into the turn. You could see the wind pick up again literally meters past from the mark... it must have been so frustrating to get caught there.
At the end of the day, however, it was a fantastic event, and especially since it was our first of the season!
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This coming Thursday is our last night of the term and I'm hoping the glorious weather will hold. Bring your sailing gear as chances are good we'll be back out on the big blue.
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And of course, Saturday 15 December starting at 7:30 will be our end-of-term/end-of-2012/possibly-end-of-the-world campfire. Bring the whanau, chairs and a stick for roasting something sweet
Cheers,
R
