Crews set sail on the Tweed and beyond
TWEED Valley Sailing Club held heat four of the Summer Pointscore Series in near perfect sailing conditions on the Tweed River on the weekend.
Up to 20 knot winds and a strong tide making for fast, fun sailing for the 16 boats competing.
Spectators spread along the Fingal river bank watched the race unfold, with Murwillumbah local David Chester with Karen Vidler first to cross the line on Hobie 16 - Sledder.
The race day was hotly contested, and the first Corsair home was No. 199 Minnow, skippered by Reg Court from Victoria and crewed by Deborah Flannery and Peter Ross.
Sunday was also the heat three of the Tweed River NS14 & Laser Championships.
Five Boats competed in the NS14 class, with Glenn Slight and Kynan Luescher on Radical Phase coming in first, Malcolm Maiden and Tom Busbridge finished second and Mark and Ty Banbury on Sulis Blue came in third.
This was the third win for Slight and Luescher and with two heats remaining, they appear certain to win the series - but anything could happen.
The Laser win went to Gary McCrohon with John Haywood in second.
Meanwhile, a hard core group of Tweed Sailors competed in the Monomasters Regatta at Lake Cootharaba SC on the Sunshine Coast at the weekend.
The regatta included the single hander Impulse and three crew Corsair State Titles. Monique Smith from Elanora and her team, Matt Andrews and Kate Yeomans, secured a second placing in their first ever Corsair State Titles on their Swell Lady vessel.
In Impulse States, Adam Hurt from Fingal Head battled through all six races in up to 30 knot winds and very choppy conditions while many of his fellow competitors went for one capsize too many and retired to the shore. Hunt's skill and experience took him to 14th out of 26 entrants, despite being in the oldest Impulse in the fleet.
Tweed Valley Sailing Club's next event is their most competitive class race this Sunday for the Tweed River Corsair Class Championship.
Racing starts at Fingal Boat Ramp at 1pm, with the event set to be great for viewing with all boats flying Spinnakers.
To find out more about sailing on the Tweed, email tvscmail@gmail.com.
