Another perfect day for time trials last Saturday saw a healthy fleet of thirty-three power boats competing, with mixed success. It was a heartwarming response to the sport, with a number of competitors missing from the fleet to attend Mark and Jared’s wedding at Rottnest Island.
Domini Coyle and Rob Perks became the fourth newcomer to join the fleet this season, posting a very respectable 132 points – pretty good going for a first timer who only picked up the course sheet just before heading for the starting area! Welcome, Rob and Domini – we hope to see a lot more of you both during the season.
It was also the first outing for Greg and Valerie Power’s big Ranger, Bon Appetit. They discovered that losing steerage when in the close proximity of a navigation mark on the river is not necessarily a good thing. Although all parties escaped relatively unscathed, the incident won the Powers a wooden spoon.
It was nice to have Garry Morrison back in the race officer’s chair, albeit for just two weekends. Joining him in the start box was another volunteer who has been absent from time trials for many years – Cherry Callcott. Welcome back to the Dark Side, Cherry.
Lana Kaaks, the longtime timekeeper for our Off the Beach classes on summer Sundays, was asked by Doug Smith to take the navigator’s chair on Reel Escape. Seems counting down instead of counting up is not as straightforward as it seems. With an eleven point total though, it couldn’t have been too bad. Will she be back or will John Crosby hold his place?
Competition on the water was really close. Vern and Judy, with a two handicap and just seven points around the course, were second in the starboard fleet, one point behind Steve and Julie, who had an excellent eight points to take first place.
Jason and Caroline, with six points off the stick and a three-point handicap, pulled off a second place in the port fleet but left the victory to Guy and Richard, who lost two points on the course with a four-point handicap and a total score of six. So Thanet finished the day with the Linfox Trophy (plus two large model trucks, a host of smaller items and a couple of large golf umbrellas) least points lost and first place in the port fleet.
Next weekend is the first CPYC State Heat, which of course is also counted in Club consistency scores, so we are looking forward to a good contingent of South of Perth entries to reinforce our position as the leading time trial club on the river.
Remember – you need to nominate for the Heat either by filling in the form in the foyer outside the on water group office or by emailing .
