The Great Lakes Sailing Club season 2017/18 is set to get underway from 1pm on Sunday, September 17.
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The club has just completed two weekends of warm up sailing for members, with the junior and senior divisions welcoming a number of new boats to the club.
The senior Catamaran division now includes several new A class Cats, Taipans and of course a Hobie 16 (which is a must have in any Catamaran division).
The single hull divisions have seen a number of juniors join the senior division and several of our juniors moving into their own boats, including a Lord Howe Island 14 (one of only 12 ever made).
Over two weeks of sailing in a variety of conditions such as no breeze and a stiff 15 knot northeasterly breeze, the sailors have ironed out a few kinks in their bodies and one or two in their boats in preparation for the season ahead.
Over two weeks of warm up sailing, it became clear that Scott Farley and club commodore Bill Stokes, both sporting new Lasers this season, were in for a tussle at the front of the monohull fleet.
Meanwhile, Kingsley Pursch, who recently defected from the Laser class back to his roots when he acquired an A Class Cat, will likely be a front runner in the Catamaran class.
Although, the Lazy Bones team on the Nacra 5.8 seemed to have his measure in a warm-up.
In the juniors, it is wonderful to see the third generation of the Pursch family taking to the water when five-year-old Adam joined the junior fleet on Sunday before backing up to assist on the start boat for an afternoon of senior racing when his dad Kingsley took to the water.
“I was excited to see so many members taking advantage of the warm up weekends before the season proper commences, and with new members joining the club, and many of our juniors progressing into seniors it promises to be an exciting season,” Club Commodore Bill Stokes said.
Club president Tim Haffner has mixed up the program a little this season.
“We’ve added a few different styles of races this year, including what should be a fun passage race to the Pacific Palms Rec Club and of course the 46th annual Wildcat Regatta on the October Long Weekend and the Booti Booti Cup in February,” he said.
The Great Lakes Sailing Club is situated on The Lakes Way, south of Forster, and sails seniors every Sunday with starts at 1pm.
Juniors are held one Sunday a month, with the next day scheduled for October 8.
All classes of boats are welcome to sail and new sailors are always welcome.