2016 NSW Etchells Championship
The Club will be hosting the 2016 NSW Etchells Championships starting on Friday 25 November to Sunday 27 November . With many Club Etchells participating there will be plenty of information and news being circulated around the Club . To keep up to date with the racing make sure to check out the NSW Etchells Association Facebook page and also the RPAYC website . www . rpayc . com . au
http :// www . etchells . org . au
Menace ’ s mighty MC38 act one win
Menace ’ s heavy air prowess on day one of act one of the MC38 ’ s fourpart Summer Championship series gave them an advantage the local lads couldn ’ t close-up during a second breezy Pittwater outing , this time north-east winds up to 22 knots by the final race . It ’ s been sometime since the Kiwi outfit on Menace has overcome an Aussie team , and an eight point victory for Royal Akarana Yacht Club is “ sweet as ” says owner Howard Spencer ’ s mainsail trimmer Alastair Gair . “ We got our head back in the game at the last regatta ; we are doing the basics right - starting and getting to the top mark in a good position rather than fighting from the back . It ’ s hard to get the speed advantage in this class , everyone ’ s sailing so well and the races are short . “ It was nice to begin the day with a win , we wanted to start strong and ease a bit of pressure on us , and second in the second race closed it out for us . It was really fantastic to get breeze both days , Ray Davies did a nice job on the tactics and Howard ’ s really happy … which is what you want ,” Gair added . Menace regularly sails with at least two women crew and Gair says having an eighth body on the boat works well and is good for team dynamics . “ We don ’ t take things too seriously and let things get out of control , we have fun too .” Steve Barlow helming Leslie Green ’ s Ginger turned a costly day one yesterday - both in terms of sail damage and points - into a North Sails boat of the day performance with 2,1,1 results . Tactician David Chapman said Ginger ’ s usually brilliant crew work wasn ’ t up to scratch in the gusty sou ’ east winds up to 28 knots on Saturday October 8 , and the guest skipper needn ’ t have shouldered the blame . “ Steve was a bit upset with himself afterwards ,” admitted Chapman . “ He did a good job yesterday …. we weren ’ t our usual polished selves . He took us
out to dinner and we had a few attitude adjusters and today he was rewarded with the North Sails boat of the day . To jump in to the class for the first time and be straight on the pace is a credit to him .” On Menace ’ s series victory , an honour Ginger hasn ’ t shared with any of its classmates since the MC38 Winter Regatta in June 2015 , Chapman said , “ Howard ’ s very good in really strong breeze ; they are a polished team and they don ’ t make many mistakes .” Third overall with a three point shortfall to Ginger was John Bacon ’ s Dark Star , sailing for the regatta host , the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club . Principal Race Officer Steve Merrington added that today ’ s execution of three final races back-to-back was straightforward compared to running racing on a blustery white-capped Pittwater on Saturday .
By Lisa Ratcliff