Posted on by Paddy Butler
When we first tossed around the idea of sailing a state title at Forster, we thought, “No way, that would be way too good to be true. I guess we’ll just tie it in with Wildcat?” But if you told me three years ago that the NSW Hobie Class would have Forster all to ourselves, there’s no way I would’ve believed you. But from Thursday through till Sunday, the Hobie family had the Great Lakes Sailing Club all to ourselves. And it was bloody brilliant.
As one of the best sailing destinations on the east coast, Great Lakes Sailing Club has the ocean on one side and the lake on the other, situated right in the middle of Wallis Lake. As a very shallow lake, particularly out the front of the sailing club, Forster is perfect for young families. With a large area for camping, excellent facilities, and volunteers to match, Great Lakes Sailing Club is something else.
For this year’s state championships, we decided to spice things up and run it just a little bit differently, including a long-distance race on Friday evening, followed by two days of short-course racing. With Wallis Lake offering a perfect race track for a long-distance adventure, the Earps Island Marathon was a go!
With a light to mid-range east-north-easterly blowing around 10 knots, it resulted in a downwind, SailGP-style start, with the fleet racing towards a turning mark before heading south towards Earps Island and then heading north once again.
In the 16/18 fleet, Court & Sophie on the Hobie 16 rounded the turning mark of Earps Island first, before Sam & Emily chased them down on the Hobie 18, securing line honours and a brand-new Ronstan drybag after a very successful upwind beat. Linda & Alannah finished second across the line, followed by Jamie & Henry.
However, the action truly began when the 25-boat fleet of Hobie 14s started downwind. Rod, MB, and Boydy started down the pin (southern) end of the line, hoping for a tighter angle and ultimately buoy room at the rounding mark. Meanwhile, the likes of Big-Mac, Fisher, and myself started up towards the boat (northern) end to secure as much clear air as they could on the short run.
It was sheep stations at the turning mark, with room being called from all directions. Reflecting, I think I must’ve sailed the longest distance around the mark, providing everyone below me enough room before gybing onto port and weaving through the fleet to ultimately bury Boydy and Will on the downwind run to Earps. Check out the Friday photo gallery to see the full start and rounding at Earps Island.
Click HERE to read the full article by Paddy.
@HobieClassAustralia
Interested in seeing more Racing News?
