Report from Adrian Heard
I have now had the pleasure of sailing four times at one of the ARYA’s most recently registered RC yacht clubs – Wallaroo Sailing Club – which conducts their RC sailing on the Copper Coast marina at Wallaroo. Each time I sail there my estimation of the venue goes up and last weekend with brilliant sunshine and winds in the range of 7-12 knots all weekend was no exception. It is one of South Australia’s top RC sailing venues in my opinion.
A fleet of 14 RC Lasers from 3 states gathered at Wallaroo for the first RC state titles ever to be run at Wallaroo Sailing Club. We began on Saturday afternoon with a south-easterly breeze varying in strength from 5-12 knots and capable of producing some moderate shifts in wind direction.
Peter Burton’s ability to keep his boat pointing high in shifty conditions and his determination to hold his course even in significant lulls in the wind made him stand out from the rest of the fleet. He also positioned himself well at the start, often 5-10 metres down the start line to get clean air and then would work his way up to windward on the rest of the fleet.
The other standout for the day was local sailor (and Wallaroo Sailing Club Commodore) Peter Elverd, who showed the benefit of being used to the conditions and he sailed consistently well over the whole day, often being in the top 2-3 boats to the first windward mark.
Peter Yates and Gary Hein (both from Victoria) were also quick out of the blocks to notch up an impressive line-up of finishing positions in the early races.
By race 5 Peter Burton has won 4 races and with the Victorians also doing well things were looking bad for the locals. Tim Arland and Alex Hayter had both had a tough day and when Bob Whitehead and I were both black flagged in race 10 things looked even worse. The top local sailors were definitely Phil Clerke (who was only able to sail on the Saturday) and Peter Elverd.
However, after a delay of half an hour, Sunday produced a beautiful westerly breeze of about 8-10 knots which was very consistent in direction. Neville Hank and I benefitted early on from sailing out to the starboard side of the course and picking up some extra wind, but we were soon joined by Peter Burton and others. Also, the starboard side of the course didn’t always pay off and Alex Hayter had some top finishes by sailing on the port side. John Berry and Rob Lees also had some very pleasing results.
All in all, it was a magnificent day for sailing and Peter Burton did more than enough to maintain his winning position. Gary Hein nudged Peter Elverd out of second position and Tim Arland, Alex Hayter and I all moved several places up the ranks from our positions on the first day.
Many thanks to the wonderful volunteers at Wallaroo Sailing Club who provided us with great meals and warm country hospitality. Margaret Pope and Julie Elverd did an excellent job. Thanks also to the board and volunteers from Mawson Lakes Model Yacht Club who played a role in organising the event.
Filling the rescue boat and observer roles were Bevan Atkinson, Colin Bridgeman and John Orchard. Scoring was ably conducted by Lorraine Berry and Rose Ross. Our RO for the series was Stewart Ross, whose vast RO experience was clearly on display over the weekend – despite the black flags!
