Hosted by Mackay Model Mariners

Well, The Nth Qld RM championships have been run and won, without incident apart from a couple of broken masts, leaky boats and radio problems.

Saturday saw 15 Skippers line up at the Gooseponds lagoon, facing a chilly SSW wind blowing up to 15 to 20 knots, however by the time racing got underway, it had settled somewhat into a fine B rig regatta, hampered by occasional swirling bullets that had holes behind them, so it was a challenging upwind leg, you could go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye. Racing was competitive but it did not take long before the two Tasmanian visitors showed there skills and started to take a strangle hold on the event. However the locals were determined to have their say as well and the first day had a mixed bag of winners, though after 14 races Cass, Den & Col were clear runners for the trophies.

Saturday night was a pleasant and very sober affair, as we mixed it with the locals at the Shamrock Hotel, and we all had a great time. As far as I know no arrests were made, though one of the Volunteers was fined for driving home without his lights on, of course he shall remain nameless, hey Michael.
Sunday saw a couple of retirees so the fleet was reduced to 12 or so, but the wind remained steady and all sailed with their B Rigs, and we were able to get another 17 races in, so everyone got value racing for their money. The highlight was the freshly cooked scones and jam and cream supplied by Ross Anderson and his parents, thanks guys they were yummy.
At the end of racing at 3 pm and 31 races, the winner was Dennis Mcloughlin, followed by Cassie and then Col Cameron and the points showed that it was a very close event.

The whole event ran smoothly, no major disagreements, a lot of sportsmanship and camaraderie with everyone pitching in to help anyone in distress, so a big thank you to all the skippers, the Barfields for scoring, buoy judging and the McKellors for the computer scoring system and to Ross for the sausage sizzle lunches and scones.
Till next time, be safe and keep having fun.
Cheers
Col C

Full Race Results