MYC ladies compete at Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta
The Sunshine Coast was represented for the first time this year in the 28-year history of the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR). The Sunreef Women’s Sailing Team representing Mooloolaba Yacht Club sent 2 teams (10 ladies) to Melbourne over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend (Vic), June 7-9 to compete with 25 other teams from all over Australia and New Zealand.
The event is hosted by the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in St Kilda with racing in nearby Port Phillip Bay, so the girls invested heavily in ensuring they had plenty of warm and waterproof gear.
The teams collected their boats on the Friday before racing from Sandringham Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria from generous owners who loaned their vessels for the event. It was a cold, grey, drizzly and very windy day- baptism by fire to what Melbourne could throw at them. Undeterred they safely sailed their vessels back to the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron.
The vessels the teams were able to secure were Swarbrick S80’s. The S80 is a one-design yacht designed for racing and cruising, providing high-performance racing for inshore and limited offshore events. Melbourne is home to a large fleet of these racing vessels and the owners are dedicated supporters of the AWKR. This year saw twelve S80’s competing.
Day 1 of racing dawned with little wind and the organizers were only able to squeeze in one windward-leeward race late in the day. But no-one minded as teams enjoyed the warm sunshine, music, dancing, chatting, eating….
Day 2 dawned with light winds & sunshine again. Fortunately, the wind lifted a little and everyone became excited when it reached a staggering 5kn. The organizers were then able to complete 3 races- 2 windward-leeward races and a triangle race.
Day 3 – another sunny day with light conditions, but we knew a front was on the way, so organizers hoped to have all boats off the water early. Two windward-leeward races were held with the front hitting on the second leg of the last race. Described as ‘20knots from nowhere’ it made for fun and exciting racing to the finish line.
The months of training paid off with both teams coming home with silverware. The ‘Merak’ team- Tanya Kelly (helm), Abbie Glenister (foredeck), Del Morrison (main), Karen Young & Kerri Smith (pit/ strings) placing third overall on handicap.
The ‘Bon Vivant’ team- Casey Sutherland (helm), Kerry Teed (foredeck), Sarah Johnson (main), Seisia Mair and Cheryl Mair (pit/ strings) were awarded the ‘Most Improved’ trophy.
The girls had a wonderful time, enjoying the variable and challenging conditions and the keen competition. They would like to congratulate the organizers for putting together such a well-organized and friendly event and are eager to return next year with more teams!
All this could not have been achieved without the generous support of sponsors and the teams are indebted to Sunreef Diving, Sunshine Coast Council and Mooloolaba Yacht Club – a huge thank you!