MIRROR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS CONTINUED

On Sunday the wind was a little fresher but still no more predictable even though it was for the most part coming from the southwest. We still had no clear strategy on where to go for the best wind as it changed every time you sailed a particular leg, with plenty of wind holes appearing at random places. To make it even more interesting a local motor launch owner decided the best place to watch the racing from was the middle of the course. By the time they had realized their error in getting too close, it was too late, and they were surrounded by 20 mirrors going in all directions to avoid them. The solution, stop 15m downwind from the top mark and turn sideways. This meant as you rounded the top mark and looked up before putting the spinnaker up, you were confronted with a 8m x 3m high white timber wall. The skipper did all this while on the phone to Maylands Yacht Club criticising them for running a regatta on the river, an impressive effort! Anyway, to the racing. With 20 yachts in the regatta, it was quite a spectacle. The start line was relatively short and made for interesting starts. Some of us proved that you can’t win a race at the start, but you can lose it. A lack of concentration, missing the late wind shifts and multiple other excuses meant the leaders, who knew what they were doing, were 100m up the course before we got going. Playing catch up in light winds was never going to end well.

All through the fleet there were tight battles going with regular position changes. In the tricky conditions there was no real pattern of results except up front where the same boats were regularly jostling for the win. The result was multiple race winners and by the end of the regatta the last race was just as important as the first as the title was still up for grabs. At the end of the regatta first, second and third were separated by 2 points with fourth not far behind. After that the spacings increased as local knowledge and ability to sail in the conditions eventually caught up with those that were not so adept at picking the wind.

From RFBYC Simon & Tyson Barwood took several wins and second place overall. Guy & Lauchlan Naylor, in their first Mirror regatta and having only been sailing the boat for 6 weeks were the standout performers of the regatta. They came in a close fourth despite not flying a spinnaker, earning themselves the rookie trophy. A bit further back were Peter & Janine Judge who took out the Cruiser Weight trophy.

Susan Ghent