The 2024/25 sailing season started with perfect conditions for the Port MacDonnell Sailing Club.
Blue skies and flat seas welcomed five boats back onto the water for the first two races of the season.
A simple triangle – loop course was set by race officer and new club Commodore Stephen Dyble, who was assisted on the committee boat by Nick Watson.
The first boat to start the first race of the season was ‘Farr-mer’ skippered by Dave Evans, closely followed by Don McLennan on Harmony Sonata ‘Harmony’.
The two boats were side by side to the first mark, where ‘Harmony’ was able to just pull ahead. They kept their lead heading to the next mark and from there pulled away from the fleet further, using the wind shifts to their advantage.
By the time the first boat reached the finishing line, it was ‘Harmony’ taking line honours by a clear distance with ‘Sandrine’ crossing in second place.
The wind continued to shift direction for the second race, with a bias to the start line due to the conditions. All boats were converging on one end of the line with the race started.
The smaller Austral 20s were able to use their size to their advantage with Dennis Illman skippering ‘Mirage’ crossing the start line first.
‘Windy Fred’, skippered by Tom Paltridge, was the next boat to start.
The fleet held together at the first and second marks before the larger boats were able to pick up some speed.
By the end of the first lap, ‘Harmony’ was once more in a clear lead over the other four boats. Despite the challenge of shifting winds and gusts, ‘Harmony’ was able to stay ahead of the fleet to once more finish the race in first position with ‘Sandrine’ close behind them.
After racing, a club dinner was held at the club house to properly start the season and welcome Stephen Dyble into his new position as Commodore of the club.
Race 1
1. Harmony (D. McLennan, A. Romescu, S. Harfield) 2. Windy Fred (T. Paltridge, L. Paltridge, J. Jones) 3. Papillon (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay) 4. Farr-mer (D. Evans, D. Brooksby, B. Mann) 5. Sandrine (C.Lynch, D. Bryson) 6. Mirage 2 (D. Illman, D. Widdison)
Race 2
1. Papillon (M. Ferguson, J. Kain, G. McKay) 2. Harmony (D. McLennan, A. Romescu, S. Harfield) 3. Windy Fred (T. Paltridge, L. Paltridge, J. Jones) 4. Sandrine (C.Lynch, D. Bryson) 5. Farr-mer (D. Evans, D. Brooksby, B. Mann) 6. Mirage 2 (D. Illman, D. Widdison).
