Heron National Sailing Championships

Sailing out of the Marina

Happy New Year to Everyone!

The last few days have been a bit of a blur for us as we have been sailing every day out on the coast in the Australian Heron National Championship Regatta. As you may have read in earlier posts, about a year ago we bought a Heron Class sailing dinghy. The boat really appealed to us since it is designed to be sailed by an adult and a child and was raced at a club not too far from our house. Not until we already owned the boat, did we learn that the Heron National Championship Regatta would be held in Brisbane the next year. So here we are now a year later, participating in a week and a half long regatta at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. It's a bit of a drive, 45 minutes, but the sailing and facilities are well worth it.

Boats on the Rigging Lawn

Since many of the competitors have come from New South Wales and South Australia for a two week holiday, it's more of a social/camping/family type event than a typical US regatta. Just the registration and practice races dragged out over three days. Originally, I was just going to be shore support crew, but I got drafted into skippering a boat when someone dropped out at the last minute. My crew is an older, fairly small woman, who actually owns the boat but doesn't want to steer. We are not doing all that well, but seeing that I've never raced a Heron and the sails are old, it's fine. Hopefully we'll improve as the week goes on.

Erik and Mark are the real story anyway. They won one of the practice races and are in fourth place after two days of official racing. Actually, Mark is happy to be be out of the lead since it takes the pressure off. Just getting ready for this regatta was a bit stressful since our boat didn't have a current measurement certificate and we had to get it measured on registration day. Then there was the insurance requirement. Because our boat is "timber" and over 20 years old, it took me three attempts before I found a company that didn't require a marine survey! Oh yeah, there was also the score board and cards that we had to make as our minimal support to the local fleet. Luckily, we got everything sorted and can now concentrate on racing and socializing.

Erik's fairly keen on the sailing part but especially enjoys playing with all the other kids before and after sailing. Since the boats are normally sailed by an adult and child, it's a very family oriented fleet. Sometimes it feels like we are back in the 70s, with older boats and silly activities at the social events. For example, at last night's dinner we played "Heads or Tails" in which everyone stood up and put their hands either on their head, bottom (tail) or one hand on their head and the other on their bottom. Then two coins were tossed, and those with the proper hand position (for example for two heads, both hands on their heads) remained standing up while the others sat down. Everyone played, not just the kids. Silly hat and "Australian Idol" nights are also on the schedule. Since Australians in general seem more relaxed and willing to poke fun at themselves, it should be interesting. I'll try to remember to take pictures.

Here is the link to the results, so you can follow Mark and Erik's progress. My boat is Seaforth, but the names listed are those of the original skipper and crew. Today is a lay day so we all get a chance to recover and stay out of the sun for a while. Check back in a few days for an update.