The jellyfish were truly awesome. I actually had a jelly stuck on my fin a couple of times, which worked about as well as you might think.

Good on you Simon for showing us a clean pair of batwings. I attribute my higher than usual level of knackeredness to my futile efforts to chase you down whilst also trying to fend off the menacing Matta.

tonymatta said...
I was also feeling more tired than the conditions would otherwise suggest. I guess it was the extra competition. Great fun. Sorry again Simon for running over you at the start.

Classic, it's the best strategy for evening the odds on that fellow

Great racing on Saturday. It was nice to have the wind fill in a bit for the second race. The washing machine chop on the northern side of the course was unbelievable and really tested my poor gybing skills. If I could only stop falling in I might finish on the same lap as Simon, Jamie, Tony and Brendon. Well sailed guys.

Jamie, your suggested to use the Oceanics championship for the Qld raceboard title is a great idea.

cammd said...
My poor old Mistral Equipe suffered a ding, any idea on how to repair them, do you use epoxy and glass like a normal modern board.

yes use epoxy and glass if you want to get in done the Ed doolan does a top job

Ed doolan
dsdbyron@yahoo.com.au
0402 537 715

Or a Qld course racing titles combining all the classes racing together but competing for different titles raceboard techno rsx and formula. I might have a chance of a podium spot if no one else enters formula.

ANZAC day is on a Thursday which perhapes creates an opportunity for a long weekend to hold the QLD titles. The jellies will have hopefully gone by then. As for who competes. The more the merrier.

Definitely not Easter for me but Anzac could be an option.

Great work guys. Good to see raceboards are on the comeback in QLD. I hope to catch up with some (all?) of you at Hawks Nest, end of January

I would be keen to make up numbers in a fleet on 4th and 5th May. Haven't managed a race in QLD yet, but silvercard is on the way and with any luck I should have a decent raceboard sail in the new year.

handyman0708 said...
So, what are people sailing- both board and sail wise? For example, if I turn up with a 20yr old Mistral with a 10 yr old 8.5 sail- am I going to look just ridiculous and be ssoooooo far off the pace I will be asking everyone which way the sailors went? Just old and slow now!

Not at all , if the board is an Equipe 2 or superlight still very quick , same goes with sail if its an older generation sail with a tighter leach will work fine.

handyman0708 said...
So, what are people sailing- both board and sail wise? For example, if I turn up with a 20yr old Mistral with a 10 yr old 8.5 sail- am I going to look just ridiculous and be ssoooooo far off the pace I will be asking everyone which way the sailors went? Just old and slow now!

Handyman, I wouldn't worry about the "old" part. The under 40's division is going to be very small indeed. And I believe the nationals last year were won on an Equipe, so don't worry about the board either. The 8.5 will be off the pace in the light stuff, but faster when the 9.5's are overpowered.

Re the 4th and 5th at LCSC - great idea, but just so everyone's aware, this is the All boats regatta. Tony can hose me down if I'm overstating this, but there are a lot of boats on the water, most noticeably a large contingent of very fast off the beach cats. Mark roundings can get "interesting". Separate courses aren't really an option - even if LCSC was willing to do it, these cats are so fast they basically use the whole lake.

I actually think it adds to the excitement, but if you're not secure in your board handling it can get a bit confronting, and if getting gassed by eight A-classes and a Nacra 5.8 is going to ruin your day, well, you have a high likelihood of having a ruined day. I've been sailing in mixed fleets forever, so as I say it's all part of the fun for me, but I'd hate for anyone to get a nasty surprise on the day.

Great pics. .So who won ?

jmetcher said...

handyman0708 said...
So, what are people sailing- both board and sail wise? For example, if I turn up with a 20yr old Mistral with a 10 yr old 8.5 sail- am I going to look just ridiculous and be ssoooooo far off the pace I will be asking everyone which way the sailors went? Just old and slow now!

Handyman, I wouldn't worry about the "old" part. The under 40's division is going to be very small indeed. And I believe the nationals last year were won on an Equipe, so don't worry about the board either. The 8.5 will be off the pace in the light stuff, but faster when the 9.5's are overpowered.

Re the 4th and 5th at LCSC - great idea, but just so everyone's aware, this is the All boats regatta. Tony can hose me down if I'm overstating this, but there are a lot of boats on the water, most noticeably a large contingent of very fast off the beach cats. Mark roundings can get "interesting". Separate courses aren't really an option - even if LCSC was willing to do it, these cats are so fast they basically use the whole lake.

I actually think it adds to the excitement, but if you're not secure in your board handling it can get a bit confronting, and if getting gassed by eight A-classes and a Nacra 5.8 is going to ruin your day, well, you have a high likelihood of having a ruined day. I've been sailing in mixed fleets forever, so as I say it's all part of the fun for me, but I'd hate for anyone to get a nasty surprise on the day.

I sailed LCSC last May. Sailing in the large mixed fleet was very disconcerting. It's a bit like riding a push bike in heavy traffic. You feel quite vulnerable. However the club is friendly, the camping is good, the lake is great to sail on and if the raceboards start before the slower classes then the raceboards would sail away from the conjestion.
May has my vote.

Well- all the comments so far are very encouraging- might have to come out of my little duck pond to have a sail against those whom cast a wider net. From what I can see in the photos we have the Exocet D2, Mistral Equippe 2, Starboard 377, a Bic?? and another board I don't recognise. Is there also an F2 Lightning amongst the racers? Is everyone on 9.5 sails or there about?

tonymatta said...
The May Day regatta doesn't generally have as many cats as our other allboats regattas. Last year I think we had 4 or five smaller cats with yardsticks not much faster than Open Class Raceboards. Most of the boats at this regatta will be Jack Holt designed boats such as Herons, Pacers, National E, and Mirror.
There usually are a lot of Junior sailors so it is a good opportunity to put on the Technos so the young sailors can have a look at Sailboarding as an option to progress to.

Sorry, I must have been thinking of the August regatta with all the cats. Yes, the Jack Holt one is much less hectic. Great vibe, lots of kids.