Wrapping the successful Sunburst Nationals; here is a word from Mary-Clare about the event. The nationals were Mary-Clares first event she has organised and had the great support of our wonderful members.
Sunburst Nationals 60th Anniversary Regatta at Wbbc 26th to 29th January.
What a challenging regatta to be part of. We started with an invitation race on Friday in sunshine and pleasant conditions. A great welcome to the club .
Saturday morning , the wind turned up a few notches, 20 to 30 knots all day. Sailing was delayed till after lunch. People kept registering, so 35 boats in all registered for the event. 12 from Worser Bay. 2 races completed on Saturday afternoon in challenging conditions.
Saturday night Francis Motta, our cordon Bleu chef laid on a magnificent dinner for 82 of us. It was gastronomically and nutritiously delicious. We had live entertainment with Pearl Wislang performing a dance and Maurice Scott sharing stories of sailing in the Sunburst . That was followed by Daryl Wislang, a professional sailor , who sailed with his 9 year old daughter Pearl at our event and shared of his many sailing adventures further afield.
Then, Scott Beavis, Sunburst Association president and round the world sailor, winner of recent Sydney to Hobart race in "Law Connect", also shared some good sailing stories.
I was presented with a Sunburst model as a gift for the club as a thank you for hosting the 60th Anniversary Regatta. It was such an honour. It will be put on display in the club.
Sunday, winds much the same, but bigger seas, Dean got 3 races in. Monday winds were 25 to 40 knots, so sailing not possible.
Over the weekend, there were many capsizes and several boats suffered damage, broken tiller, 2 rudders, 5 masts , including Darryl Wislangs , which was captured on the water. Also torn sails. Despite this, people were in good spirits and well supported on the water.
Dean did a sterling job as Race Officer in very testing conditions. Our rescue boat vessels and health and safety team, did an outstanding job on the water. I myself tested them to the limit and had 3 rescues involving 3 members in wetsuits dive into the water to help us get our boat upright and back to the club when we were exhausted after multiple rolls over .
Everyone I spoke to said they felt well supported and safe with our highly skilled rescue fleet. A huge shout out to each and every one of you. I for one, am indebted to them.
The Sunburst is an all age class. This was well demonstrated with our youngest competitor Pearl Wislang, 9yrs old, and our oldest pair were 82yrs and 86 yrs Colin and Wal from Muritai. We had sea scouts, siblings and College age kids participating.
The event was not for the faint hearted and you can view the results on our website.
I am very proud of all our sailors from Worser Bay who participated on and pff the water.
A huge thank you to all our outstanding volunteers, in the kitchen, bar, beach, shore management, health and safety, rescue boat teams, committee, results team .
We did well with sponsorships. All in all a memorable event and hopefully another boost for the Sunburst fleet at Worser Bay continuing to grow.
Mary Clare
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