We arrived at Rodd Point on Sunday morning, raincoats in hand, expecting a repeat of 2006 when it teemed down all day. A last minute reading of the weather forecast gave no reason for optimism but at least we could expect reasonable winds.
The field was down from previous years but only in numbers, not enthusiasm. We think the smaller turnout was the result of the timing in early February – a busy time for most of us and not ideal for pre-regatta publicity.
It turned out to be a wonderful day of racing at a very relaxed pace we completed twenty races. Each of the A, B and C sails were used with the wind freshening as the day progressed. We could see rain all around us as the showers skirted Rodd Point and by the end of the day had suffered no more than a few spots of rainfall throughout the day.
John Lamey looked unbeatable after the first few races but as the day progressed, Pat O’Brien, Paul Derwent and Graham Brown sailed consistently to eventually take the first three places – in that order.
The racing was very close throughout the day with the leader board typically changing after each race.
In the final count, Pat and Paul ended up on the same points separated only by Pat having an advantage in the drops. There were occasions at the finish line when it looked like a handkerchief would cover all of the boats as they crossed the line.
A special thank you to Bob White for giving up his place in the starting line-up to be PRO for the day and for doing the job in the best manner. Bob commented afterwards, the sailing was held in fantastic spirit with no-one having to be called to do penalties and nothing but good humoured banter throughout. Arguably Noel took things a bit far by doing penalties without having infringed but I think that was just to give 01 a chance of keeping in touch with him at the final count.
Thank you also to Paul and Carola for providing the post-race catering and Carola again for her efforts behind the camera lense.
If all of the RC Laser events in 2011 can be as enjoyable as this first regatta then we have a great year ahead to look forward to.
Check out the calendar of events – coming up are the Victorian States and the Nationals in Queensland – time to do that trip planning!
Result Summary
Position    Name               Sail #      Gross Points        Points after dropsÂ
1st            Pat O’Brien         77              48                            31
2nd           Paul Derwent       21               48                            36
3rd            Graham Brown     87               58                            40    Â
4th           John Lamey         43               86                             65
5th            Paul Martin         158              98                            77
6th           Noel McPherson   65              110                            89
7th           Cliff Bromiley         01             112                            91