Pacer Team Racing, 2nd March 2019: Match #1 Saturday afternoon saw the return of the popular Pacer Team Racing Series. The first match for 2019 started enthusiastically and the ideal sailing conditions made for a wonderful afternoon of competitive sailing. The four crews arrived at the Clubhouse for the briefing and random selection of teams and boat allocation which took place on the Ndongeni Lawns. The teams were made up of the following: With a Southerly breeze blowing of 10 to 12 knots, and with the kind permission of the Port Captain, the windward leeward course was laid in the deep water off Pier One making a nice spectacle for those watching the racing from the shore. The racing started promptly at 14h00 following the usual Team Racing format of 3 races of approximately 40 minutes duration, with 3 laps per race and the 3 minute start sequence which always seems to catch the skippers off guard. The Bridge Crew and Jury on board the Committee Boat were anchored towards the leeward mark end of the race course providing a good long beat off the start line and superb vantage point to monitor the racing especially as the fleet rounded the leeward mark.
Race one started with a hotly contested start and both the teams displayed their eagerness and determination to defend their teammates and dominate the opposition. Right from the start Pacer Two and Three were engaged in a duel with both boats taking their turn with their penalties for rule infringements while Pacer One and Four sped off down the beat trying to make some ground and cover tacking each other along the way. Unfortunately Pacer Four suffered a crew injury on the downwind leg during a gybe when someone, who shall remain nameless, forgot to duck. A mistake we all make only once! Fortunately Moses was standing by on Galaxy and swiftly transferred the bloodied nosed crewman ashore where Sithembile very kindly rendered some first aid and hopefully a stiff drink! In the meantime the crew of Pacer Three managed to break the mainsheet block leaving them hamstrung without the addition mainsheet purchase for the remainder of the afternoon. The Race was eventually won by the yellow team. The start sequence for Race Two started immediately after the last boat crossed the finish line catching the yellow team completely off guard and with a separate start sequence commencing for the fleet of assembled Flying Fifteens there was much confusion on board Pacer Two who started late and had to work hard to catch the rest of the fleet. With Pacer One and Three substantially in the lead it looked as if Race Two was going to be a whitewash with the yellow team unable to catch up. At the end of the second beat the Race Officer took the bold decision to shorten the race and immediately the game changed. With Pacer Three out in front their teammate was now fighting off Pacer Two and Four who had both managed to catch up. At the leeward mark Pacer Three had to return to the fleet and “dig” Pacer One out of trouble and all of a sudden we had a titanic battle and only about 75 meters of race course to the finish line. While the Pacers were battling it out the Flying Fifteens had to tack their way through the battle ground to the finish line which kept the Bridge Crew on their toes recording all the finishing positions. Race Two was taken by the yellow team by only a few metres making it one of the most exciting finishes witnessed on the Bay in a long time. Without delay the Bridge Crew commenced the start of the scheduled Race Three much to the howls of protest from Pacer Three who took their 2-0 defeat very seriously. Race Three saw a much improved contest on the start line and positions changed constantly throughout the 3 lap race. By this stage the wind strength had increased to 20 knots making Coert’s all girl crew, all dressed in bright pink shirts, work really hard to keep the boat moving forwards. Pacer Three’s disheartened young crew bravely battled on without the extra purchase in the mainsheet system but could not hold Pacer Two and Four back leaving the afternoon 3-0 to the yellow team. With the boats all safely back on their moorings the crews retired to the bar to exchange war stories and enthuse about the amount of fun they all enjoyed while the novices expounded about just how much they learnt about yacht racing in a single afternoon. Our grateful thanks to Moses and his team on Galaxy and the Bridge Crew and Jury consisting of the Price family, the OC Rescue Alec McNamara and our visitor from Cowes, Kerriann together with our photographer for the afternoon Shaneé who escaped from the front office for the afternoon to enjoy the view from the Bridge Deck on the Townsend. We look forward the next Pacer Team Racing afternoon and hope to see some more new faces getting involved and enjoying the fun. Contact Shaneé to get your name on the Pacer Team Racing leader board.
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With a total of 17 boats competing, the penultimate RNYC Wedneday Night Fun’d Race was exciting, interesting, and as always, fun! To all those generous Yachties who pledged funds at our RNR Regatta last year, we will be contacting you at the end of the month for payment.
You will be pleased to know that our fundraising which this year will be allocated to the Highway Hospice has been a fantastic success. So an appeal to give generously and thank you to all our donors so far. Regards Your Fundraising committee |
AuthorThe Royal Natal Yacht Club is the oldest yacht and sports Club in Africa and the oldest yacht club in the southern hemisphere. Read our Newsletter to find out more! Archives
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