What a fantastic start to the 2020 Victorian Optimist State Championships hosted by Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club on the Mornington Peninsula. SSCBC were keen to make this a fun, family event with fair competition and from registration to competitor briefings and race management over the day they did not disappoint. After a cloudy start to the morning we saw patches of sunshine that I am sure our friends from the north welcomed. One of our guests from NSW commented “what's wrong with Melbourne’s weather?” 😉
Open and Intermediate fleets made their way out to the shared course around midday with a southerly breeze averaging 12 knots. Gusts continually found their way on each side of the track and together with a strong tide conditions were tricky and getting them right paid off.
The Open fleet kicked off the first race and saw Adelaide O’Donoghue (TAS) round the first mark almost a minute ahead of the fleet. Adelaide managed two bullets over the three races; Matt Goss (VIC SYC/RBYC) managed the third bullet. Results after day one has Matt Goss leading with 9 points, followed by Aidan Simmons (VIC IHYC/RGYC) on 14 points and Adelaide O’Donoghue on 17 points.
Intermediate also managed three races with a few of the leaders in the first race heading straight to the finish from the bottom gate and missing mark 5. Oh no! The two bullets Miles Levenspiel (VIC SSCBC) managed in races two and three helped him repair his first race mishap. Results after day one has Olivia Cameron (VIC DBYC) leading with 12 points, followed by Mavis Laverty (VIC MYC) on 14 points and Heath Jones (VIC MYC) on 22 points.
Mid-afternoon, there was a debate for a 4th race or not and both Scott Llewelyn the R.O and David White the organizer made the right call in sending the kids home after race 3.
The mighty Green Pirates were inspiring also getting in three races. They had a great day on the water. Juliet Sanky from SSCBC said “The racing was great today and I look forward to the Pirate dress up tomorrow.” Lilly Cantwell from RGYC also had a great time saying, “I did some tricks and was rewarded with lollies.” Results after day one has Ashlea Tan leading with 4 points, followed by Flynn Beck on 8 points together with Atticus Tan on 8 points.
Full results can be found here http://sailingresults.net/?ID=80324
Thank you to our great sponsors: OTB Marine / Forward WIP, Optiparts, Sly Boat Building, Sport Phillip Marine and Nut huggerz.
