Gday everyone,

Heat 4 of the NSW GPS series is coming up on Saturday 23rd January (or Sunday as a reserve day), on Lake Macquarie (2 hrs drive from Sydney). The series is generously sponsored by The Windsurfing Shed, Boab Boat Hire and Wicked Promotional Products.

Where
- Lake Macquarie - either Coal Point (Nor-east wind) or Marmong Point (Southerly wind)

When
- Saturday 23rd January (with Sunday as a backup if forecast looks bad - final call made on Thursday night)
- Registration 11am-Noon
- Briefing 12noon
- Sailing period 12:30pm onwards (wind dependent)
- Series Awards presentation - Trophy (freerace) and Prize (handicap) and beer/snacks at end of the day

How Much
- Single day entry is $30, for those who haven't already signed up for the series - everyone who competes get a free series T-shirt!
- Pay in cash at rego, or do an electronic deposit to: Marmong Point Sailing Club, BSB 062827, Acct 00901519 - Please put your name in the Reference field so we know who has paid
- Thanks to those people who have already paid for the series, we'll have a list of names at rego.

What are the sailing conditions?
- Lake conditions vary a lot depending on wind strength,.from relatively smooth downwind of the "sand islands" to larger chop / rolling swell in the middle.
- A weed fin shouldn't be required for sailing the majority of the lake.

What kind of GPS can be used?
- Locosys GT11, GT31, GW52
- Canmore units which can export a FIT file
- Sorry but the GPSLogit app is currently NOT approved for the event (See GPSTC site)
- If your device requires a cable/cradle to download the files, please bring it along so I can get your data. Or you can email me the file when you get home.

Whats a GPS freerace event? How is it scored?
- Basically, everyone goes sailing, then at the end of the day hand me your GPS and we will crunch the numbers in the software to find out everyones results
- This year we will have two divisions, Freerace and Handicap
- Freerace is determined by who can sail the furthest distance (ie highest average speed) during a defined 30 minute session (eg 2:30-3pm). Conditions permitting we will run two or more of these 30 minute sessions each day. This is the same format as last season.
- Handicap takes into account all of your sailing during the calendar day, and compares it against your GPSTC top 5 results for 2sec, 5x10, Alpha and NM. The person closest to their top 5 average is the winner.

What kind of support have the sponsors provided?
- The Windsurfing Shed contributed towards costs of the t-shirts and supplied prizes for winners
- Boab Boat Hire provided us with discounts on boat hire for the Sanctuary Point GPS and Slalom State Championships event
- Wicked Promotional Products provided the series t-shirts at heavily discounted prices
- Also, Adam Craven from Stormriders handmade some excellent trophies for the Freerace series winners

Remember to check back here on Thursday night for final details of location / start times etc.

Looking forward to seeing lots of people up here in Lake Macquarie next weekend.