The Boatless!

It is time we paid homage to the boatless members among us.

The contribution they have made to the South of Perth time triallers this season is hard to overstate.

Several of our regulars are “between boats” at the moment and have used that unfortunate situation to the benefit of their colleagues. Greg and Valerie Power stand out in this regard.  Every Saturday through the season they have unfailingly turned up for checkpoint duty, turning in accurate high-quality checkpoint sheets.  Mal and Margaret King are another couple who have given very generously of their time to assist in the running of our events, as has John Meldrum.

Others have given their time to newcomers to the sport, sharing their expertise to ease their entry to time trialling. This is the kind of camaraderie is so commonplace at our Club that it is hardly surprising that time trialling remains so popular with our powerboat owners.

Last weekend it was time to contest the Frank Dal Autos trophy.  The weather forecast might have been daunting, but God was on the side of time triallers because the event was run under partially sunny skies and a breeze which never exceeded fifteen knots – perfect!

Brett Morrison and Dilana Ramirez showed the way again with a total of seven points lost, but carrying a 20 handicap, were never going to be in the race for the trophy. In the port fleet, Dalusional and Emily May took the minor placings, locked on 14 points apiece.  In the starboard fleet, M&M’s and Innuendo made the podium but it was Brad Pearce and Mal Taylor on Thelissos who made first place in their fleet, only to realise that Jola, in winning the port fleet on 16 points beat them by a single point to claim the Frank Dal Autos Trophy. A delighted Dave Millard was joined by John Meldrum as navigator.

So thanks to the volunteers who made this one of the fairest contests of the season so far and to the weather gods, who kept the rain and strong winds at bay until well after the last boat had finished.