Wrap up of the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta

Kris Anderson (NCYC) & Claire Heenan (GSC)
 

Of the fifth time, a team comprised of Gosford Sailing Club and Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club members have competed in the 30th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta Sailed out of Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron on Port Phillip Bay. This regatta is a highlight of women’s racing scene and brings together women sailors from all over Australia and New Zealand. Having suffered two years of COVID cancellations across 2020 & 2021 it was fabulous to pack our woollies and head south once again.

Racing on the borrowed Adams 10 Jungle Juice, the team of Claire Heenan (GSC, skipper & helm), Justine Ella (GSC, main), Kris Anderson (trim) and Teresa Michell (GSC, trim), Sam Hickey (pit), Nicole O’Donnell (mast) and Alison Burke (bow) raced hard, laughed often and fully enjoyed the competition and camaraderie of this sensational event.

The June long weekend proved typical for this regatta, with the first few days blowing 20+ knots and delivering some exciting conditions, before the breeze blew itself out to less than 5 knots on the final day of racing. After starting the regatta brilliantly with a clean sweep of line honours and all three handicap divisions in race one, race two and three were marred with an accidental man over board (13 degree water!!) and then gear failure. A good regatta result was a challenge with two DNF results.

The fresh breezes provided fast and furious racing with some smoking hot downwind legs on Day 2 under masthead kite made for smiles all around, although results were marred with continued costly gear failure throughout the event (main and spinnaker halyard, topping lift and spinnaker turning block). And despite the breakages the team raced exceptionally well and came home with a second place in ORC & fifth in AMS. Although we were unable to defend our handicap crown from 2019, we are very proud of what we achieved, inspired to return next year and build on our learnings.

Many thanks to the RMYS event organisers, Janet Dean for once again lending us Jungle Juice, and a big shoutout to Jeff Whiteside and all the ‘Boat Buoys’ who had several early morning mast climbs to replace broken halyards with borrowed gear to keep us on the race track each day.
Most of all thanks to this wonderful team of awesome and talented women. It was a joy racing with you all.

Photo credits - Andrea Francolini