Twofold Bay Regatta

The Twofold Bay Sailing Regatta was conducted over the weekend 16-17 Feb 02. Don Shortridge has been a keen promoter of the event to the Canberra GEM fleet. This year he achieved a 100% increase in GEM participation. Okay, it was only one more boat but there were 3 other skippers present. Graeme Wykes took Imagem. Leigh Nielsen and Nick Hildyard crewed for Imagem and Dodgem respectively.

The forecast for the Southcoast was ominous - possible thunderstorms, occasional showers and 15-25 kts. Skipper Wykes was convinced nothing ventured, nothing gained so an unfavourable forecast was not going to scare Imagem off. Imagem and crew departed Canberra around 5pm and arrived at Eden 830pm. The road conditions are okay so there is no problems there. The regatta was to be conducted over four races, all to count. Division 5 consisted of the two GEMs plus a Princess and miscellaneous dinghys.

Saturday

We awoke to a clear blue sky and light breezes! So much for the weather forecast! Ideal conditions for a leisurely sail.

Race 1 saw Imagem get a good start and led Dodgem towards the first bouy. Despite having Dodgem covered at this stage Imagem decided to tack away and look for some more wind. All it managed to do was be headed in lightening wind and had to watch Dodgem round the mark with a handy lead.

The second leg was a broad reach and both boats flew their kites. Imagem was creeping back into contention but Dodgem had the upper hand. When rounding the second mark it was necessary to gybe the kite. Imagem's crew could not believe their luck when Dodgem's gybe went awry and their kite snarled. At the third mark Imagem had a couple of boat lengths lead. Back to the first mark. Imagem was in a controlling position and should have been able to hold off any Dodgem challenges. No one told Dodgem that however! With better sail trim Dodgem was able to come from underneath Imagem to now be a boat length in front.

This was the second time that Imagem had squandered the controlling position. For the next ten minutes the two GEMs sailed in close proximity. Imagem decided to sail a little higher and as luck would have it that was just enough to enable it to pass Dodgem. Imagem was able to sail above some on-coming traffic whereas Dodgem had to contend with the dirty air.

Imagem led around mark one (second time). The now infamous Imagem navigation system came into play and they were heading for mark two. Dodgem decided to stick to the course the regatta officials had set and headed for mark three! Imagem was not that far away and seeing Dodgem realised their mistake. Dodgem was now on Imagem's quarter but could not push through. Imagem led around the final mark and was now on the home stretch, although they did not know it (remember Imagem's navigation system)!

Dodgem popped their kite and were making good way. Imagem realised they were heading for the finishing line and quickly set their kite. Despite a barn storming finish by Dodgem Imagem hung on in what must have been a photo finish.

Race Two

The conditions in race two were similar if a bit stronger than race 1. Imagem started well and led over the line. It was obvious early that there were two sailing concepts at work. Imagem was sailing higher, if slower, and Dodgem lower and faster. The question was at the first crossing who was going to be ahead. Dodgem crossed comfortably ahead. After that it was how far would Dodgem win by. Despite its best attempts Imagem was never in the race. In hind sight Imagem probably did not adapt to the conditions as well and was guilty of sailing with a Lake Burley Griffen setup rather than adapting to the swell and chop experienced on the day. End of day One - one all.

Race Three

Sunday presented an overcast sky and very light conditions. The conditions were similar to sailing in Canberra, flat water and light breeze. For the first time Dodgem won the start and proceeded to lock out Imagem, extending its lead at every mark. After three races it was two-one to Dodgem.

Race Four With the wind fading further it looked like it was going to be a drifting contest. The fourth race was scheduled to start at 1pm, however, by 2:30pm the officials decided to call it a day. A reasonable call for visitors to the club. One consolation was that while waiting a pod of dolphins swam through the course. A bit more interesting than the jumping carp at Lake Burley Griffen!

The conditions were not what we expected but interesting none-the-less. Driving the boat through swell and chop was a new experience. Of course if we could get six GEMs down there next year, that would be a superb weekend's sailing! Gemsters, pencil it in your diary!