Port Macquarie Sailing Club had a handicap start for the third race of the summer series on Sunday.
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It was held in muggy conditions with a lightish easterly and the last of the run out tide, then low water that saw quite a few boats hit the mud flats, and finally, the start of the run-in tide.
The arrival of our new (to us) centre console IRB safety boat was quite a highlight for the club members, but it didn’t need to assist anyone in this race.
In the catamaran division, the easy conditions suited Dave Winter on Spica, allowing him to win on both yardstick and handicap over Tony Kuhn on Stella.
The monohull fleet had quite a few new and varied crew combinations, creating a bit of a headache for the handicapper.
With his regular crew away, and not wanting to damage his own boat before the Booti Cup in two weeks again, Steve Bohlsen sailed with newcomer Steve Couch in the club boat Big Bang for an easy win on both yardstick and handicap.
They were followed on both yardstick and handicap by Paul Robertson and Jack Corthals in Flembouyant, Terry Howard in Ratz, Simon and Elsa Gandy and Jaiden in Voyager (despite a heavy collision with a starboard channel marker).
Tony Walker in Deep Purple came after them, followed by Geoff Smith and Andrew Hurrell in Jupiter, and, in a great effort, young Caitlin Hicks and Ilsa Smith in Sailfish.
Next Sunday is race four of the summer series with a 2pm start.
Jeff Walsh is rostered on duty.