Wild Start
Race 6 of the Summer Series was conducted in pretty wild condidtions last Sunday as Melbourne's changable summer weather continued. Prior to setting out from the moorings there was a lot of discussion amongst the crews as to whether or not they'd participate and in the end five vessels lined up to go. Race starter David Moate decided to delay the start to allow for a couple of vessels to complete their set-up and that alone tested the skill of some skippers, who either didn't hear the starter horn signal or couldn't read the appropriate flag!
In any case the fleet finally set off for a "once around No1 and back" but because of the wild conditions the toll on gear and crews was too much for all but two, Moondancer & the appropriately named Stormy Affair, who completed the race.
As coordinator Mike commented after the race: " The story out of this morning's event is that you can still have a lot fun even in tough conditions and you also begin to understand the limits of your boat and skills. This underlines that every sailing event is a learning experience for skippers and crews."
Jenny and I braved it on Nina to get some shots on the water and then all rugged up, Jenny took some great shots as the boats came home.
