Lake Cootharaba II

It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since we first went to Lake Cootharaba for the Queensland Heron Sailing Championships and the Jack Holt Regatta. See the 2008 post. Back then, we didn't know many people in the fleet and weren't even sure Erik would make it through the whole regatta or if the trailer would make it to Noosa. As it turned out, Mark and Erik had consistently good finishes and to everyone's surprise won the championships.

Now, we were back to defend the Jack Holt title at Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club. The regatta includes all dinghies designed by Jack Holt, so we had a mixed fleet of Mirrors, Herons, and Pacers to make up a total of 26 or so boats on the starting line. After a bit of rain and light winds, the Sea Gherkin boys went out and took a first and second. Unfortunately, they were not so successful at the "Toad Races" later in the evening back at the club. I tried to explain this last year, but this time I'll just leave you to figure it out from the photos.

On Sunday, I spent some quality time with my kayak, going for a 6 hour (including breaks), 20 kilometer trip up the Noosa River to Harry's Hut. It was a beautiful paddle but a bit of a slog on the way back home into the wind and chop. I'll post more of a write up and pictures on my On the Water page when I get a chance.

While I was off paddling, Mark and Erik continued their winning ways and once again claimed victory for the Herons, South Brisbane Sailing Club and invertebrate sea life everwhere! Actually, the boat is not so much named for the sea creature but more for one of the insults of Tintin's Captain Haddock. "Blistering barnacles, thundering son of a sea gherkin!" In any event, the silly name seemed appropriate for an old wood boat, which in comparison to most modern designs is rather plodding and slow.

The following Monday was a public holiday, so we hung out at the beach, babysitting for another couple while they went for a sail. Erik and the other "crews" enjoyed some non-racing time on the boats and played pirates. It's really wonderful to have such a family oriented fleet for Erik to learn to sail in.