Regatta sailing strong

BOATING enthusiasts descended on Gippsland over the weekend for Inverloch’s fifth annual Wooden Dinghy Regatta.
The event saw a record 58 wooden dinghies race in Anderson Inlet with sailors travelling from Tasmania and Queensland to participate.
Regatta Commodore Rob McNair said the event got off to a flying start on Friday, with almost all entrants participating in the opening event.
“We had beautiful conditions later on Friday afternoon which saw about 50 boats out on the water,” Mr McNair said.

“A lot of the boats have been recovered or restored when we have salvaged them from being thrown in the tip. Some of the people involved have spent many hours restoring their dinghies and they are a lot of work.”
The three day event saw both traditional dinghies and international foiling moths take to the water in the Cavalcade of the Moths with Saturday culminating in the Wooden Dinghy Regatta Race.
Both the classic dinghies and foiling moths were put on display across the Australia Day long weekend, with many tourists gathering to enjoy the spectacle.
“The regatta provides a venue and incentive for people with an interest to restore their old boat and get together with like-minded folk to compare techniques and compete against each other both in sailing races and in judged categories,” Mr McNair said.
“Judged categories consider a number of factors including appearance, age, type and historical significance.”
Regatta coordinator Andrew Chapman said he was pleased to see the event continuing to grow in its fifth year.
“It is a competitive event but mostly it is an opportunity for all of us with an interest in wooden boats to get together and enjoy a weekend of sailing,” he said.
“In its first year we had about 30 boats registered and it just keeps continuing to grow. The event is recognised Australia wide and we have been written up in publications in the US and the UK.”
Tasmania’s Terry Lean brought his boat across on the Spirit of Tasmania. The voyage proved worth it when his boat Jabiru won the judging component of the Regatta.
David Larry and crew member Ian Knell won the main race in a mirror while Emma Milton took out the junior prize sailing in her sailfish.
Brian Carrol won the fastest sailfish trophy while Mark Teasdale took home the Gwen 12 award.
Jonathon Pulham won the Calavcade of Moths and the fastest foiling moth race was won by Ian Ward.

All set: South Gippsland Yacht Club member Jeff Cole had his boat prepped and ready for the Wooden Dinghy Reratta social sail on Friday afternoon in Inverloch.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Jan 30 2018. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry