Strong winds test sailors

The best wind in many moons helped make the inaugural Broome Sailing Club regatta a resounding success with plenty of action and drama on the water.

With ten boats on the water, Saturday’s start made for some interesting tactics with Miranda Dibdin and Jen John first across the line on Broome Time, a position they held as line winners in Race 1.

Their closest competitor, Loi Odore on A Frayed Knot was forced to do two 360 penalty turns after he touched the mark not once but twice.

In class B, the monohulls were fighting it out over a shorter course, with Steve Simper the winner on his boat A Big Swelling.

The race officer made the decision to run both of Saturday’s races back-to-back to make the most of the north easterly breezes, which have evaded the club for much of the season.

This time, Loi Odore on A Frayed Knot was first across the start line and resisted tough competition from Broome Time and PH Balance to hold his position and take line honours for Race 2 in the catamaran category, with Steve Simper unstoppable in the monohulls.

Sunday’s breezes were stronger with a few of the competitors facing early exits and equipment failures to contend with as a result. A Frayed Knot and Broome Time battled it out with both crews suffering near capsizes.

In the monohulls, Steve Simper couldn’t stay upright, capsizing five times, allowing John Dayman on Blue Bob through for line honours in Race 3.

A Frayed Knot suffered a big equipment failure just after the finish, losing her mast due to a broken side stay. That left Miranda Dibdin and Jen John on Broome Time to fight it out for line honours in the second race of the day with Sarah and Phil Liddiard on PH Balance.

A big gust caught Miranda and sent her into the water but amazingly she avoided capsizing, which let PH Balance sneak a win from under their nose in Race 4.