THE firing of the cannon declared the 2017-18 Hillarys Yacht Club season open.
A festive atmosphere of colourful decorations, children’s activities, music and ceremony set the scene for a sail-past of yachts and power craft dressed in the theme of “sea creatures” on Sunday.
A highlight was the departure of Kraken. The crowd, sensing that history was about to unfold watched on as Todd Giraudo and David (Dubbo) White set off in their Sunfast 3600 yacht, a mere 36-foot long, bound for Melbourne where they will compete in the Melbourne to Osaka (Japan) race next March.
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READ NOWCommodore Neil Harrison, no stranger to such races himself having been in the Fastnet race, wished them fair winds, calm seas and a safe return.
Crew and family members were almost as adventurous with their sea creature costumes which featured sharks, octopi, colourful fish, alluring mermaids and even a lobster perched half way up the mast.
The best dressed yachts in the sail-past were Zinfandel and Sandrine and best dressed power boat was The Pom’s Boat. Following the sail-past, dinghies and keelboats left the harbour to compete in the first race of the season, the prestigious Commodore’s Cup.
A 10-knot southerly was ideal to test the rusty skills of sailors and those who made the least mistakes were victorious.
Presentations of pennants and trophies followed.
Joondalup Mayor Troy Pickard was amidst guests, office bearers and families.
Discover Sailing Day will be held at Hillarys Yacht Club on October 22 from 9am-1pm, when anyone can come and take a ride on one of the yachts.
Results Commodore’s Cup:
Keelboats
Div1: 1. Hard Evidence (D Riley & M Fox); 2. Perle (J Bird); 3. Salamander (B Bradford); Fastest Mulberry (M Pitt).
Div2: 1 and Fastest Covert Operation (G Atkinson & B Brouwer); 2. Blue Chip (K and D Fisk); 3. Zinfandel (S and G Osborne).
Div3: 1. and Fastest Pandora (R Giraudo); 2. Sheer Magic (T Waymouth)
Dinghies
Tasar: 1. and Fastest Escapade (C Carmichael); 2. Zest (G Jennings-Berinice); 3. Rum Line- (J Brett).
Laser 4.7: 1 and Fastest Maxed Out (B Taylor); 2. Club Boat- (M Masque); 3. Aurora (A Tucker).
Laser Radial: 1 and Fastest Ndege ll (M Fisk); 2. SS (R Conboy); 3. Calista (N Willis).
Optimist: 1 and Fastest Dinghy Blue (A Gardner); 2. Skywalker (B Dick); 3. Hang Loose (M Graham).
Young sailor learn new skills at WestSail camp
JUNIOR sailors from Hillarys Yacht Club’s Optimist and Laser fleets learnt new skills and enhanced existing skills from skilled sailing couches in the four days at the WestSail training camp at Rockingham.
“We had some very good results in the WA Youth Championships that were sailed from The Cruising Yacht Club at Rockingham,” club committee member Gemma Nicholson said.
“This included the intermediate Optimist fleet where HYC won 1st, 2nd and 3rd by Bradley Dick, Ben Graham and Mitchell Graham.
“Well done by everyone, and we look forward to seeing these people passing on these skills to their fellow sailors at Hillarys.”
Hillarys Yacht Club results:
Optimist Intermediate: 1st Bradley Dick; 2nd Ben Graham; 3rd Mitchell Graham.
Optimist Open: 10th Aidan Gardner.
Laser Radial: 3rd Campbell Stewart; 8th Connor Shaw; 9th Nick Willis.
Laser 4.7: 4th Caitlin Shaw (1st girl); 6th Catherine Pile; 7th Eleanor Wise; 12th Bryce Taylor.
